To recap this game. Hawks make jumpshots early. Magic miss jumpshots early. 1st quarter ends. Hawks offense became too jumpshot-happy and they started missing. Orlando continued to struggle offensively. Halftime. Magic started going inside to Howard and started having success offensively. Hawks offense continued to struggle more and more. 3rd quarter ends. Hawks offense continued to struggle. Orlando’s offense struggled. Gilbert Arenas only one scoring, ties game up 68 to 68. Hawks started making shots again and Orlando started missing shots. Hawks take lead. Hawks up 3. Hedo for 3, miss. Hawks win 88 to 85.
Not sure what to write about in this one. It was just a weird game.
Orlando went completely cold from beyond the arc. It’s starting to look like it’s becoming a mental problem for the Magic shooters. The Hawks have done a good job defending the perimeter, but again, the Orlando Magic shooting 9% from three point range yesterday isn’t something that’s normal for the Magic. The Hawks are playing well defensively but I don’t think their defense is that great that it will lower the Magic’s 3pt FG% from 37%(that’s what they averaged in regular season, good for 1oth in league) to 9%. The Orlando Magic have struggled in the 4 games but I’m still not sure that the Orlando Magic’s struggles from the perimeter is something the Hawks can rely on.
And again, Jamal had another huge night scoring 25 points in 18 shots. Most of them being pretty tough looks. Is that something the Hawks can rely on every night?
We’re four games into this series but I have yet to see which team really is the better team. The Hawks being up 3-1 in the playoff series suggests that the Hawks are better than the Magic but somehow I have yet to be satisfied about any Hawks win. Rare things the Orlando Magic struggle with and the rare things the Hawks had found success with are there for them.
I’m not taking anything away from the Hawks, I’m just pointing out that even though the Hawks are up 3-1, there are still reasons to be concerned. This series is far from over. The Hawks are up 3-1 meaning the Magic will have to win the next 3 games to win the series, but Orlando can do that. I wouldn’t put it past Orlando to do that.
==============================================================================
Don’t get me wrong, I’m not saying the Hawks wins have been because of Orlando’s faults, I actually believe the opposite. The Hawks winning games I think can be credited more to what the Hawks have been doing right than to what the Magic have been doing wrong. Larry Drew has done a good job in this playoff series. Asides from a few rotation/foul trouble mistakes, LD has had a good gameplan and has adjusted well whenever things aren’t going the Hawks way.
The defensive assignment he does against Dwight Howard and the Magic perimeter players have been smart. At times he would let Dwight go 1 on 1 with his man and at times LD would send an extra body over to help out and force Dwight to pass the ball to his teammate, making sure Dwight never gets in a rhythm or his teammates in a rhythm.
I think Larry Drew has done a good job on finding the mismatches on the offensive end too. If he sees Joe being guarded by JJ Redick, he’ll go to him. If he sees Jamal being guarded by Jameer or Redick or whoever else, he’ll go to him. Al Horford even receives the ball (yes, Al has been getting touches!) whenever Ryan Anderson is guarding him.
Some things worth mentioning….
In the past 3 games, a team finished with 88 points. Game 2, Orlando scored 88 points and won by 6. Game 3, Atlanta finished with 88 points and won by 4. Game 4, Atlanta finished with 88 points and won by 3. So first to 88 points wins the game?
Great job by Al Horford defending Hedo Turkoglu on that last play. Some people on Twitter were criticizing Hedo for missing that shot but what almost everyone failed to see was how Al Horford defended that play. He poked the ball loose and forced Hedo to shoot a very tough 3 without fouling.
In my Game Preview, I said to look out for Josh Smith’s decision making. I believe it was better than what it was in Game 3, but that’s not saying much. Josh Smith’s decision making yesterday was nowhere near where I (or anyone rooting for the Hawks) wants it to be. Josh Smith did make some nice plays in both ends to even out his mistakes, but if Josh Smith were to play smarter, this game wouldn’t have gone down to the last possession of the game.
The Zaza Pachulia vs. Jason Richardson Suspension Effect. I thought losing Zaza would hurt more than Orlando losing J-Rich, but I agree with TNT’s broadcaster, Steve Kerr and say it was pretty much even. Dwight Howard had an easier time scoring the ball without Zaza but Orlando probably missed Jason Richardson’s shooting.
Hilton Armstrong, who was asked to play more minutes because of Zaza’s suspension, did a good job on Dwight though. A lot better than I expected anyway.
The Kirk Hinrich trade is looking better and better. This trade reminds me of the way the Bibby trade was on 2008. At first, Bibby didn’t really look like he would affect the Hawks’ play that much but when the playoffs started, Bibby’s effectiveness showed with his veteran leadership from the point guard position and just his playoff experience. Kirk Hinrich is the same thing. He didn’t start off well and almost everyone had written the Hinrich trade as a bust, but when the playoffs started, that’s where we all started seeing Kirk’s contribution. The Hawks are clearly a better team with Kirk than without Kirk. His defense on Jameer has been solid and he looks comfortable in the offense. He also outplayed Jameer yesterday.
Seriously, where is Marvin? Just wondering….I keep forgetting that he’s still on this team. He played 15 minutes but I don’t seem to remember him making any plays.
Next up: Back to Orlando. The Hawks are up 3-1 and it would be nice to close it out there in Orlando. Maybe the Hawks can make the Magic save some money by ending the series there so Orlando won’t have to fly back to Atlanta.
Final Thought: One more game. The closeout game is always the toughest. Is it possible the Hawks first round series actually not go 7 games like it has in the past 3 seasons?