On the Philadelphia Victory
Michael Cunningham says it was a bizarre night at the Highlight Factory:
Bizarre night at the Highlight Factory. Smoove gets benched in the fourth quarter and the Hawks are better for it. Jamal misses clutch free throws. Zaza grabs a key rebound. Marvin gets it done all night. Al couldn’t get anything going much of the night but owned the final moments.
This also shows how many contributions the Hawks had to get from many different players to pull out this victory. It is this line of thinking that could make the Hawks a much better team when Joe Johnson returns and is healthy.
Larry Drew talked after the game about the need for having to grind out some victories:
"You’re not going to put the perfect game together every time," L.D. said. "There’s going to be some games where you’ve just got to grind it and gut it out. I’m very proud of our team because we did that tonight."
Bret from Hoopinion states that the Philly offense had more to do with the comeback than the Hawks defense.
But then the 76ers stopped attacking. They slowed down and tried to score on isolations (many of them Andre Iguodala against Marvin Williams rather than Jrue Holiday or Lou Williams against Mike Bibby or Jamal Crawford) as the shot clock wore down. Philadelphia made one (1) field goal in the final 8:45, made one (1) free throw in the final 8:45, Lou Williams missed one (1) fast break dunk in the final 8:45, Jrue Holiday had one (1) jump shot blocked by Mike Bibby in the final 8:45, and the team committed five turnovers in the final 8:45.
SB Atlanta's Phil Foley says that the Hawks did what good teams do in the Philly win.
The Atlanta Hawks looked like a lost basketball team for more than three quarters on Friday. But they clamped down and did what good teams do -- dominated the final moments of the game. Marvin Williams had 22 points and Al Horford and Jamal Crawford had 15 each, leading the Hawks to a 93-88 win over the 76ers at Philips Arena.
Doug's rotations were pretty awful the entire second half. Both units were clicking on all cylinders through two frames, but he didn't go to Spencer Hawes or Evan Turner nearly enough later on, two guys who were hitting shots and making plays in the beginning of the game.
On the signing of Damian Wilkins
Bret wasn't impressed and it appears that a few of Peachtree Hoops' readers weren't either. I don't have a problem with the signing if you consider what the signing is. He is an end of the bench guy that can compete in practice. Wilkins may end up getting regular minutes while Joe Johnson is out but it wouldn't appear that he would be guaranteed a role when Johnson returns. Perhaps I got excited for bringing in a former Bulldog who just happens to be connected to the Hawks because his uncle played in Atlanta and made a pretty good name for himself. Of the players that were available and could be afforded by the Hawks I don't see that it is a bad move.