GameNight: Improbable Comeback Lifts Hawks

[jaywalker72]

http://hawks.realgm.com/showarticle.php?artid=491

Hawks Rookies join Antoine Walker in rallying to the first home win

GN brings the news from a rocking Philips Arena, where the home team stood strong in the fourth quarter, taking their first lead with two minutes left in the game and then not letting up, upsetting (in every sense of the word) the visiting Houston Rockets, 88-84.

As always, GameNight talks to the coach, the players, and looks at the little things that led to the Hawks surprising everyone, especially those who left with 6 minutes left (and yes, we know who you are)….

Well….What Happened?

Like most other games we’ve seen, it looked as if the opening tip victory by Jason Collier over Yao Ming was going to be the highlight of the game, as the Hawks promptly turned that possession over as well as two more in the first two minutes, allowing the Rockets to jump out to a early seven point lead.

The offense lacked identity, as the team stood as if stapled to the arena floor. The lack of movement led the team to tough shots, including a pair of missed shots by Boris Diaw. Things were so stagnant that Diaw shot 3 times in 5 minutes, a load considering he had attempted 4 shots in the previous 2 games total.

But the movement picked up, and with some nice passing from Al Harrington, Walker, and Jon Barry, the Hawks were keeping it close.

Considering the trouble that the Hawks had in their previous home game with Cleveland and their center, Zydrunas Ilgauskus, one had to figure that the team would struggle with Yao. And they did. With Woodson demanding that the team play straight up man-to-man defense, Yao made shots consistently over the Hawks centers, making all six of his first quarter baskets, and 8 of 9 in the first half.

“We tried to throw some different looks at him,” explained Coach Woodson about the Rocket center’s dominance. “They guys wanted to double and were losing some composure, but I reminded them that he was making 15 foot shots with a hand in his face. That’s the shot we wanted him taking, but he was just making it.”

As the second quarter began, Josh Childress began to make his presence felt for the first time as a Hawk. Chill attacked the basket relentlessly in the quarter, scoring over both Dikembe Mutombo and Yao, the latter being a thunderous dunk that shook the arena, sending the crowd into hysterics. Chill was passing, driving, and rebounding, getting 6 points, 4 boards, and 2 assists in the quarter, keeping the Hawks in the game in the first half.

But every time the Hawks would draw close to the Rockets, they would turn the ball over or allow another basket from the visitors. Particularly frustrated was Harrington, who had 3 first half turnovers and was forcing his offense a bit much in the half. In fact, after Harrington hammered home a response dunk to a Yao dunk with 3 ½ minutes left in the half, Harrington had two of his turnovers, stunting the Hawks finish to the half.

Down eight at the break, the Hawks opened the second half by turning the ball over again. Boris missed another shot, and the team scored 4 points in the half’s first five minutes. It was during this stretch of time that the Rockets opened up their biggest lead, fourteen, 55-41. Yao continued to thrive from the 15ft range, knocking down another four consecutive shots, making him 12-13 for the game.

It was at this point that Woodson put Peja Drobnjak back into the game, to front Yao and keep him honest from the outside, where Collier and Kevin Willis could not. Drobnjak’s front defense worked as it severely limited the touches that Yao could get with his back to the basket.

The Hawks continued to try and whittle away at the Rockets, but someone always seemed to answer the home team when they got closer. It was either a Jim Jackson three, or a Juwan Howard shot, or Tracy McGrady making it happen from the free throw line, where he ended up 3 times in the last 2 minutes of the third quarter. Those fouls seemed to always take the steam out of whatever good thing had just happened to the Hawks on the other end. And as the third quarter ended, with the Hawks down 7, it looked like there was nothing the Hawks could do to get closer and past the Rockets.

The final quarter started the way the other three had played out, with the Rockets answering everything the Hawks did that was positive. Royal Ivey went in on Yao and laid it in over the big fella to cut the lead to 5, but then the Rockets scored and the Hawks turned it over again. With 2 seconds left on the Rockets shot clock, Childress came up with a big block on Howard, leaving the Rockets with little hope of getting a good shot. After Childress deflected an inbounds pass back OB, the Rockets fed Jackson underneath the hoop for an easy bucket, deflating the team.

The Hawks continued to battle, getting back to 7 on a Childress layup with about 7 minutes left, but Howard answered and the Walker missed a three, and the margin was 82-71 with 6:07 left.

At this point, with the team seemingly in a cycle of trading hoops and getting no closer to victory, some fans (who had been pretty rowdy all night) started heading for the exits, surely knowing what the conclusion to the game would be. After all, seen one Hawks game, seen them all, right?

The comeback was subtle, and the Hawks seemed to sneak up on the lead as they hadn’t been able to do all night. But little by little, minute by minute, it was happening.

With Yao unable to get the ball inside, the Hawks began to suffocate the perimeter, forcing turnovers, and converting in transition. As he had the entire game, Rockets coach Jeff Van Gundy called a timeout when the Hawks cut the margin to 5, this time with 4:18 left in the game.

For the first time, it didn’t work, and the Rockets couldn’t answer.

The Hawks stole the ball and Walker scored, and now the lead was 3 points. Walker was demonstrative on both ends, hollering the defensive plays and making extra effort on every move he made on both ends.

When Drobnjak made a mistake, a dribble that was lifted by Tyronne Lue, Walker made a definitive play for the night.

“I saw him making the steal, and I broke quickly,” remembers Walker. “I was going to foul him, not let him score for sure, but he showed the ball and I whacked it.”

What Walker did was outrun the speedy Lue to the basket, and when it looked as if Lue was going to lay it in and stretch the lead back to 5, once again warding off the Hawks comeback attempt, Walker smacked the ball out of Lue’s hands and out of bounds.

The Rockets did not score.

Meanwhile, Royal Ivey was once again logging major minutes (Said his coach---‘he’s earning it’), even though Kenny Anderson was not playing particularly poor. Ivey presence on the perimeter was part of the Hawks suffocating defense, and his ‘no fear’ approach in the lane got him some free throws to cut the lead to a mere point, the closest the Hawks had been since the second quarter.

And then, with two minutes left, Ivey made his move, stealing the ball and lifting the Hawks to their first lead of the night, lifting the ¾ full crowd (at least those who stuck it out the last six minutes) to its collective feet.

“It was the greatest crowd I’d played before,” gushed Childress about the faithful.

The Hawks made it a 3 point game, and when McGrady missed another shot (He finished 7-20), Walker lined up a dagger….a three point shot with a little less than 50 seconds left. But he missed.

But after the Rockets again could not score on the Hawks, Ivey was sent to the line to seal the game away. But as has been their problem, Ivey hit one of two, giving the Hawks an 86-82 lead with 22 seconds left.

The Rockets finally broke their nearly 6 minute scoring drought by getting Yao inside, finally, for a quick bucket, but Jon Barry cashed in a pair of free throws, and the game was in hand.

Improbable. Exciting. Victory.

The Starters

Al Harrington, as discussed above, struggled from the floor, hitting 5-13. But he was very active defensively, winding up on McGrady down the stretch, forcing the All-Star into difficult shots. He also saw clear to dish 8 assists, contributing as he says he can, without scoring the ball himself.

Antoine Walker was fantastic, showing what he can mean to a team when he leads as he did tonight. His play on Lue’s breakaway was a message sender, and his leadership on the court was obvious to those attending. That he also shot 9-19, pulled down 10 boards, stole 2 balls, and dished 5 assists also tells that he is the most productive Hawk as well.

Walker is the type of guy who, if you were playing against him on the playground, you would say was lucky every time he made a shot. We at HFO don’t know how he gets half (heck ¾) his shots to go down, but they do. Now about those free throws (more later on this).

Jason Collier didn’t have it again tonight and played only 8 minutes. He was clearly frustrated by Yao and physically wasn’t strong enough tonight to stand in and take the abuse.

Kenny Anderson is looking over his shoulder. With Royal Ivey playing strong and playing down the stretch, conversation about his starting job will surely begin. Anderson played well tonight, hitting 3 of 5, getting a steal and 3 boards, but there was a noticeable defensive spike up when Royal starting playing. We believe that KA should continue to start, which takes the pressure off the rookie and allows the vet to set the tone. And whoever is playing better shall finish.

Boris Diaw, however, is in grave danger. Diaw tried to shoot more, but it was not effective. Combine that with the facts that Childress is starting to emerge and that Woodson tried to start Chill in the preseason, and you can see this being the place where a change might be made. Diaw was active away from his scoring, as usual, with 3 boards and 2 assists in his short, 13 minute stint tonight, but we can see him sliding into a catch all, 3 position reserve very quickly, especially if Childress continues to assert himself positively into the game.

The Bench

We say it now, and we say it loud. We were wrong about Peja Drobnjak’s role on this team. From outcast to Outkast, Drobby looks like the go to big man for the team. He is very aggressive, more than he showed before the season, and can keep opposing centers honest from long range. He might wind up the best or second best 3 point % shooter on the team by the end of the year. Against the Rockets, he attempted the second most shots on the team with 14 (Walker’s 19 led). 15 points, 5 rebounds, and a pair of steals combined with his terrific second half defense in front of Yao and we at HFO doff our cap to the man. We are now a part of Drobnjak’s Maniacs.

Jon Barry seemed effective when in the game, but got lost in Childress’ play. He had a pair of steals, a nice assist, and made two big free throws late, but played a mere 11 minutes. He stands to gain if Diaw gets benched, as he would likely back up Chill and play more minutes on the nights when Childress doesn’t have it.

Royal Ivey continues to impress, looking more like a defensive stopped late in games, and a playmaker on the offensive end. The Eric Snow skills comparisons look real good right now, as he has delivered in every game he has been in this season. Woodson has obviously fallen for him, as he is closing games with no second guessing.

“I am the backup,” clarified Ivey about playing over Anderson late in the game. “I am called upon to give energy and defense, no matter how long I play. I just want to fill my role.”

Josh Childress opened some eyes tonight with his game. He relentlessly attacked the basket and the basketball, scoring 12 points on 6-6 shooting. He claimed 8 rebounds, including 2 offensive boards, one of which ended in a facial of Yao, setting the tone for the inside game of the Hawks. The Hawks dominated with points in the paint, outscoring HOU 52-38 in there despite not having a 7’6 center.

Kevin Willis and Jelani McCoy weren’t able to contribute much tonight, combining for 2 points and a single rebound in 13 total minutes.

Woodson Not Worried about Late Game Walker

You may have noticed if you have seen both late game wins again NO and HOU that late in games, when the opposition is prone to foul, Coach Woody has noted free throw struggler Antoine Walker in the game.

“He’s gotta be out there,” says Woodson emphatically. “He’s our best guy, our leader, and he’s gotta be out there. If he gets fouled, he has to step up and make those shots. He is a good shooter, and these (free throws) are a matter of confidence.”

Says Walker, “It’s early. I know I am only at 50 percent, and that’s no good, but I am just going through a thing where I miss the first one and hit the second. I am going to get it going.

It’s a strong statement by Woodson to keep Walker in the game, despite the struggles from the line. Woodson believes he is telling Walker that he believes in him to make the shot if fouled, and Walker thinks that confidence is well placed.

Still, we will see what happens the next time the Hawks are in a close game and Walker gets fouled and must knock down a pair to keep the lead. We like the vote of confidence and the fact that Woody isn’t overreacting and taking his best player and another ballhandler out of the game, but we will be among the many holding our breath when that scenario comes to pass.

And for Employee #8, we hope Coach Woody’s faith goes rewarded.

[Boondocks]

Thanks Jay for that great recap..

[Packfill]

Good stuff Jay. Meaningful victory for the Hawks from a overall team standpoint - helps confidence across the board, a buy in to Coach Woodson's defense first game plan and solid contributions from the Rookies.

Tonight will be tough against Indy, but we all need to remember it is a long season.

[Lascar78]

I hope Boris isn't reading the squawk...

[d2v16DKG]

What a great recap of last night's fantastic game! Boy, last night made a believer out of me! I feel real good about this team now and feel bad about the early criticism I had of these guys. However, I never would have left early if I was there last night; I would have stayed to the bitter end. Unfortunately, I'm in Connecticut and had to watch on the NBA Pass network.

I was so impressed with Royal and Chill! You guys kept saying Chill was good, give him time; well now I see what you were talking about. Unbelieveable energy! And Royal, unbelieveable composure for a rookie! Where did this guy come from? Wasn't he picked in the 2nd round? But, how about the great steal by the vet, Jon Barry!! In fact, I even liked Long's color work (even though I still miss the "Stinger").

I know these foul shots are going to kill me before the season's over, however. Please tell me they practice shooting foul shots all the time. Two final comments, very impressed with Woodson's coaching (inserting Barry was a stroke of genius)and 2) not happy at all with Diaw. The man can't shoot and now I know why he wasn't shooting before.

Bottom line is, I'm PSYCHED!! GO HAWKS!!!

[delanceyj]

Positve for tonight:

Walker and Harrington both played 42 mins, no one else played more than 32, should have some fresh legs tonight!

[d2v16DKG]

Good point! I think Woodson's use of the bench has been masterful so far. He seems very careful to get fresh bodies out there!