Quick Thought: The Heat ain't the Sixers, and everything Larry Drew did right last night he did wrong tonight.
Summary:
Just a thought....if a guy gets you back into the game in the third quarter, why ignore him in the fourth?
Also, if a guy plays balls-out defense and good offense, why not play him in the fourth quarter instead of a guy who gets his stuff tossed at the rim, doesn't hustle for loose balls, and gets slaughtered trying to defend the small forward position?
The Hawks started the game tentatively, almost scared to do anything more than try to shoot over their hosts. It wasn't until the third quarter, when Al Horford began to assert himself, that the Hawks made a move on the Heat.
In the end, the Heat 's LeBron James, Chris Bosh, and Dwyane Wade scored a massive 75 of their team's 89 points, and that alone was almost enough to beat the Hawks.
Also:
Josh Powell proved tonight that, unless he continues to hit 90-100 percent of his shots, it's not worth the minutes he's playing. His stats look good, but what isn't shown are the massive misses he conducts defensively. Out of position and lacking good post defense, Powell got scored on more than he scored and played way too many crucial minutes, those in the fourth quarter, where his deficiencies surely cost the Hawks. He's a hustle player who is better in much smaller doses, and certainly not down the stretch.
Zaza Pachulia and Marvin Williams played pivotal roles in the Hawks comeback win over the Sixers. Tonight, they were on the bench in favor of Powell and Mo Evans. The results were not positive and, in the interest of not punching my keyboard repeatedly, that's the last I'll say on that matter...tonight.
It was hard to understand what the Hawks were trying to do offensively down the stretch, especially as they had reached a two point deficit with over four minutes left to play. There was no discernable strategy to the string of possessions late in the game. Chaos, Jamal driving, and turnovers were the recipe, and the resulting meal was not edible.