Miami Heat (94) Atlanta Hawks (76)

(AP Photo/Gregory Smith)

The Miami Heat flipped the script on the Atlanta Hawks last night utilizing some outstanding bench play to steal a win in Phillips Arena. The Heat bench outscored the Hawks 45-8 with Daequan Cook, whose game has been missing most of the season, leading the way with 17 points. Granted the Hawks were missing key contributors Jamal Crawford and ZaZa Pachulia but it appeared that the team checked out and got a head start on the All Star Break pretty much at the beginning of the 4th quarter.

The short bench appeared to culminate with tired legs and led to a very sub par defensive effort from the Hawks. The Heat were able to get just about any shot they wanted and to their credit they knocked them down. Udonis Haslem started it for the Heat in the second quarter and Cook picked it right back up in the fourth. All of this on a night when Dwayne Wade scored an ordinary 18 points. In fact the Heat lead ballooned to double figures in the fourth with Wade on the bench as he didn’t check back in until their was only five minutes to go with the Hawks down ten.

Offensively the Hawks got off to a good start. All five starters scored in double figures but without Crawford who sat out the game with a sore shoulder, they were unable to get anything from the bench. Without Crawford on the floor the Heat threw a zone at the Hawks for much of the second and late in the third quarters and the Hawks were not able to shoot them out of it. I thought that was a good move by Coach Spoelstra who had the zone shaded towards Joe Johnson and was daring someone else to make a shot. It didn’t happen and when they dumped it inside the zone just collapsed on top of Smith or Horford who had a tough night finishing at the rim.

It might not have been exactly how the team wanted to close out the first half but it doesn’t hide the fact that it was a very successful first half. The Hawks go into the break with a 33-18 record and trail Orlando by 2 games for second place in the Eastern Conference. A lot of the questions have been answered such as how Jamal Crawford would fit in with this group. Tonight’s game showed that he is a very important part and was a great move that was made by the Hawks front office. However, a lot of questions still remain and we are anxiously awaiting the answer to them in the second half. This team is right in the middle of the battle for a top seed in the East. It is imperative that they maintain that level and eliminate nights like tonight’s game.

I was lucky enough last night to witness this game up close with some of my fellow Hawks bloggers. I want to thank them personally for being friendly and allowing the new kid on the block the opportunity to be included for last night’s game. The other bloggers in attendance were from Peachtree Hoops, Hawkstr8talk, and The Vent and we were also joined by a writer from the Hawks Real GM page. I would also like to thank the Atlanta Hawks and General Manager Rick Sund for setting up last night and allowing me to be a part of it. It was an experience that this Hawks fan will never forget.

Tags: Atlanta Hawks, Miami Heat

Matthew Svoboda

Tough loss heading into the break, but the Hawks will bounce back. They're pretty good this year.

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KWillis

In the end you are right, I look at it as a missed opportunity. We missed a chance to pick up a game on Boston. In the end though how we respond coming out of the break will be a ton more important. I just hope that we can stay healthy. Some nagging things are starting to pop up.

Co Co

Well, as you know, I don't really do the whole positive spin thing. LOL I used to and I actually vowed to do so this season. I got over it quickly. There are some things that just are what they are. This was a bad loss to a bad team. I can't even summon up the energy to try to make it okay.

I guess my positive tone has to do more with me being happy for being there. Looking at the numbers it was a really bad game for the Hawks. Luckily for us other than Cleveland, Boston and Orlando have also had their share of bad losses. Just trying to spin a little perspective.

I love all of the different tones among Hawks bloggers. I'm pretty much disgusted with this loss and am now convinced that the Hawks will be no higher than the 4th seed. They've lost too many games to teams they shouldn't lose to. You can't lose two at home to the Knicks, nor can you lose to the Miami Heat who have been terrible. Mike Woodson got out-coached by Eric Spoelstra which says a lot about Mike Woodson. When he found out Jamal wouldn't play he should have made Marvin come off the bench. We all know the Hawks bench is limited offensively, yet he did nothing to even attempt to make up for the loss of Jamal. Marvin ended up having a bad game, but it doesn't change the fact that he's a better offensive option than anyone else who was left on the bench. It could have worked, but obviously we'll never know. They also should have gotten Al more touches. He only had 7 field goal attempts of which he only missed 3. This was just an inexcusable loss.