Atlanta Hawks vs Chicago Bulls game thread

[MaceCase]

Checking the replay over and over it seems that Josh was supposed to sag off on the pick thus covering any roll or move to the basket but I guess because the pick itself by Rose was so goddawful it was practically nonexistent that it screwed up the fluidity of the planned switch. Go figure.

[ATL Boy]

I've been a fan of the hawks during the 8 year playoff drought, I've been a fan when the Magic blew us out in the most lopsided playoff series in NBA history 2 years ago, I've been a fan watching Josh Smith labor away his superstarlike potential at the hands of a 20 foot jump shot; and I can honestly say that this is the most disappointed I've ever been as a Hawks fan. We not only blew a 4th quarter 14 point lead but we also choked; we were up by 1 with 18 seconds left at the free throw line and we choked we missed 3 out of 4 of our free throws with less than 19 seconds left. WE CHOKED!!!!

[FCNATL85]

I was so diasppointed last night that I did not want to come on that board... i did check the game box though and it confirmed my feeling. Joe and Al played too much during this game at time they were not needed.
Then when we had the bench late in the game and that CHI was surging, Drew was forced to put them back in with little rest, in spite of having one of the deepest bench in the league and on a back to back travelling out of MIA.
ATL: 57 ' of the bench
CHI: 86' or an average of 5-6' extra rest for your starters... mostly Korver, Asik and Gibson. Yet those 3 had modest stats except for Asik rebounds...

Zaza mostly, Vladi and TMac could have been playing heavier minutes in the 2nd half when ATL was ahead...

I also agree on the fact that JJ was not at the level that we needed in order to win. Also agree on the fact that Marvin could have helped a bit more, while sharing the load in terms of minutes... Too bad as such an opportunity will not present itself often...

[HMFFL]

The issue I have with ZaZa is that he seems to be making poor decisions (bad fouls). At times he's being too aggressive and trying to bully around his opponent when it's not necessary. I do agree that T-Mac needed to be used more.

[Ruhiel]

Checking the replay over and over it seems that Josh was supposed to sag off on the pick thus covering any roll or move to the basket but I guess because the pick itself by Rose was so goddawful it was practically nonexistent that it screwed up the fluidity of the planned switch. Go figure.

Seeing the replay the plan was clearly to use Smith's athleticism 1 on 1 with Rose to prevent Rose scoring 1 on 1 and hide JJ on Deng.

But then here's Horford's and MC's response from ajc.com

Deng slipped behind the defense thanks to a pick by Rose and confusion by the Hawks. “I was kind of covering the ball with Joakim [Noah],” Horford said. “We all assumed the ball was going to come back to Rose and we were going to trap. That was a great play by them, by their coach, to take the pressure from Rose and hit Deng on the backdoor. We didn’t expect that at all so that’s a great play by them. I think we just fell asleep on the back line.”

So we are so scared that we double just like we doubled on Dwight in years past.

I hope Drew and the team makes adjustment to beat CHI and MIA.

[FCNATL85]

So it is just that final play? Com'on! The game should have been in the bag with 5-6 minutes to go. On the opposite, we allow them to get back into it, using poor timing on bench use, on a back-to-back, period.
I like Drew but messed up on this one big time.
PT management is one of the biggest coaching skills in any team sport but especially in BB in those circumstances... We had Horford and JJ playing their reserves at the wrong time...

[dms269]

I do question LD's lineups he runs out there. There are times where we are running a full second unit. I can understand a mix and match of players, maybe some starters and some bench guys, but not everyone. Is it necessary to run a Pargo/Green/T-Mac/Vlad/Zaza lineup out there?

[Years80HAWKS]

Yes, it was a pity (sorry, I just watched the game). But the pity was that it is always the same teams and players which get the good luck, and the same those which seem to run from it.

I also do question LDs lineups. It is not possible that, during many (or all) 2nd quarters, the 5 on court is Pargo-Green-McGrady-Radmanovic-Zaza.
Mr. Drew, this is not admisible!
Against the Bulls there was a perior of time during which Pargo and Green shot two many no good shoots. The quality of those players is not so high as to share the court all together.
Even we are lucky here, as McGrady, Green (at times) and Radmanovic are playing above anyone's expectations. But, would LD do this even if their performances were not that good?

Anyway, I have to show my apologies here. I have been relly tough on coach Drew and now I see that the level and imput of this team is above our best expectations. Best defense in the L with such an undersized team is not easy to get.

Also we are lucky that McGrady and Marvin are feeling that good after all.
Here a nice shor interview with TMac:

http://hoopshype.com/interviews/tomasson/tracy-mcgrady-i-didnt-want-to-go-to-a-team-to-chase-a-championship