Atlanta Hawks: News and Notes From the Motor City

Some pre-game notes:

Ben Golliver of Trailblazers blog Blazersedge quotes a story by Jason Quick of the Oregonian that the Trailblazers have inquired into the availability of Atlanta guard Jamal Crawford.  

But if Cho isn't talking, he at least appears to be working the phone lines. One Blazers player and one source within the organization said Cho has inquired about the availability of Atlanta guard Jamal Crawford, only to be rebuffed by the Hawks.

(My only question is what are they offering)

Michael Cunningham talked about the Hawks success against bad teams:

The Hawks should win this game and the temptation is to say it won’t tell us anything about them. But the thing the Hawks almost always do win this kind of game. Their troubles against the good teams have been well documented, and they have to start winning more games like Thursday in Boston to be considered legit contenders in the East. But until the Hawks figure that part out, there’s something to be said for handling their business against the league’s also-rans.

(Does this qualify as a jinx? Sorry MC.)

Coach Drew on Mo Evans:

"There is a high probability as the season wears on he may not play on back-to-back nights," Drew said. "From what I am told, that may be a little bit too much on his knee. Now that Damien is here I am able to buy Mo a little time with his minutes. I certainly don't want to do anything that will be a setback."

Post Game Reactions

From MC's post game blog post:

Bad night for Jamal. He took just six shots, making one, and had five turnovers to offset four assists. He said his back was bothering him and he’s not sure if he will play Thursday.

Bret LaGree of Hoopinion on Detroit's game plan coming in:

Detroit's plan was clear: attack Mike Bibby or Jamal Crawford in the half-court offense and push the ball up the floor to take advantage of Atlanta's poor transition defense.

Coach Drew post game:

"You've got to give the Pistons credit," Hawks coach Larry Drew said. "They made shots. Defensively, we didn't play with a sense of urgency."