Bobcats 103 Hawks 83

Boxscore

Team	Poss	Off Eff	eFG%	FT Rate	OR%	TO%
ATL	89.7	0.92	41.4	18.3	13.7	7.8
CHA	89.7	1.15	53.6	16.9	30.0	16.7

Ouch.

One could look long and hard and still fail to find a silver lining to this cloud. The Hawks settled/Charlotte forced them into a stagnant* halfcourt offense that resulted primarily in jump shots (16 3PTA, 16 more 2PTFGA of 15' or more, unofficially). The Hawks mostly missed those shots and almost never rebounded one of their own misses.

But at least they didn't turn the ball over.

Charlotte entered the game having scored 86.6 points per 100 possessions. They were a full 33% more efficient tonight. Sure, that year-to-date figure included games facing tough defenses @Boston and @Cleveland but it also included home games against New York (82 points in regulation, 102 after two overtimes) and New Jersey (79 points). Charlotte's 61.8 3PTFG% is probably just one of those things** but they also made 28 of 62 two-point attempts*** (45.2%), far better rate than the 40% they averaged through four games and dominated their offensive glass. Charlotte's three-point shooting only amplified a poor defensive performance for the Hawks.

With the possible exception of Jeff Teague, who saw most of his action after the game has been decided and nicely stripped Gerald Wallace twice when forced to attempt to guard him in the post, no Hawk player should get off scot-free but Jamal Crawford, after giving a masterclass in instant offense for the better part of the last four games, offered a sobering reminder of how little he contribute when he is not making shots. 34 minutes, 14 shots, 13 points, 3 rebounds, 0 assists, 0 steals, 0 blocks, and little resistance when Flip Murray wanted to back him down before shooting over him.

As Drew points out, a 2-2 road trip isn't damaging in any real way but another poor defensive performance and/or loss tomorrow night when Denver visits Atlanta won't inspire confidence within the team or among observers.

*A road game and all, but the 10 Atlanta assists on 33 made baskets did not appear to be a result of stingy scorekeeping.

**Charlotte made 10 three-pointers in their first four games. Total.

***Not counting the combined 0-3 efforts of Gerald Henderson and Derrick Brown in deep garbage time.