Atlanta
Philip Maymin
Basketball News Services
Staring at the second-worst record in the league, these Atlanta Hawks go out and crush the defending world champion Detroit Pistons 88-72on Friday only to lose the fairly woeful New Jersey Nets 90-95on Saturday. What was the difference? How could such a large swing happen in the space of 24 hours?
The only significant difference in the Hawks offense between the two games was that in the Detroit game, the offense was balanced and even, with three players attempting ten field goals or more, and the difference between the most shots and second-most shots was just one field goal. Against New Jersey, however, the offense was spelled A-N-T-O-I-N-E. Walker took 21 shots on Saturday and the second-highest attempts by the Hawks was Harrington with 13.
Perhaps the real reason the Hawks beat the Pistons had less to do with the Hawks than with the Pistons: Detroit went on to lose to the Memphis Grizzlies the very next night, scoring just 68 points. Something about their offense seems to be off.
Fortunately the Hawks were at least able to take advantage of a foe who is down and get a much-needed win. The first phase of winning is beating opponents who are poised to lose. The next phase is beating opponents who are poised to win.
NEXT GAME
The Hawks (4-16, fifth in the Southeast) host the Indiana Pacers (10-10, second in the Central) tomorrow night, Tuesday, December 14th. The last time these two teams met, Atlanta lost, triggering a string of nine consecutive losses. Perhaps a win tonight will trigger a string of nine consecutive wins? The game starts at 7:30pm Eastern and will be broadcast on FSO and NBA League Pass.
TEAM NOTES
The All-Star nominations are out, and Hawks players Antoine Walker, Al Harrington and Peja Drobnjak are on the ballots. Want to see them in the 2004-05 All-Star contest? Don't forget tocast your votefor your favorite players now.
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INJURY UPDATE
Chris Crawford(torn ACL) is out for the season and on the injured list.Royal Ivey(strained right knee) andDonta Smith(back) are also on the injured list.
Karen Rosen ofThe Atlanta Journal-Constitutionwrites: Two in a row was too much to ask from the Hawks Saturday night.Coming off their sensational win at Detroit the night before, the Hawks squandered an opportunity to beat New Jersey and win consecutive games for the first time this season.
Sam Smith ofChicagoSports.comwrites: Atlanta Hawks: At least they have two guys--and not much else--who you can throw the ball to at the end of games and have a chance to score.The problem is throwing it to anyone else during games.