Quotes, Notes, and Links: Hawks 118 Bulls 83

Gameflow

Highlights

Al Horford:

"I think we really came out aggressive early, kept defending and rebounding...We were making the game easy for each other."

Joe Johnson:

"We know we can't let up in games like this. We've got to approach it like it's a big game every game."

Josh Smith:

"At halftime we told ourselves 'no letdown.' We didn't want them to come back and get some momentum."

Jeff Teague:

"It was a great win. Everybody got an opportunity to play. That's always good."

Derrick Rose:

"I don't really know what to do. It's all mental. Either you want it or don't. It's not about what plays we run or nothing. It's about hustle. If want it, defend people and rebound. It's all mental now."

Vinny Del Negro:

"I look at the glass as half full, not half empty."

Matt McHale at By The Horns:

You know the story: the Bulls couldn’t buy a shot (36.4 percent), couldn’t hold onto the ball (19 turnovers), couldn’t defend (50 percent shooting for the Hawks), couldn’t protect the paint (where they were outscored 46-34), couldn’t finish in transition (only 6 fast break points compared to 22 for Atlanta), couldn’t even begin to cool down a hot hand (former Bull Jamal Crawford scored a season-high 29 points on 10-for-16 shooting)…let’s face it, the night was nothing but a series of “couldn’t’s” for the Bulls.

John Hollinger:

Del Negro has had more than a year to implement his system, and it's one his players clearly don't believe in. Whether he is removed Thursday morning or at some other point, the clock is ticking on his tenure in Chicago. Wednesday's humiliating loss in Atlanta might just be the crack that sends him through the ice.

Kelly Dwyer:

The Hawks pulled ahead in the first half by making quick penetration early in possessions and moving the ball after that. They were able to take it to the Bulls on the offensive glass, which Vinny Del Negro blamed on Atlanta's "athleticism," conveniently overlooking the fact that it was Zaza Pachulia(notes) and Joe Smith(notes) that were doing most of the damage in the first quarter run that VDN was talking about.

On national TV.

On national TV, Mark Jackson then called VDN out on this very point. And, really, if Mark Jackson gets it, and your head coach doesn't? What hope do you have?

You know when a head coach is overmatched and/or his team's quit on him? When Mike Woodson feels comfortable enough to get creative. In apparent homage to Don Nelson, and distinct from anything I can every remember him trying before, Woodson played a lineup of Teague/Bibby/Crawford/Johnson/Evans for the final 48 seconds of the first half. The Hawks scored 2 points in 3 possessions and allowed 2 points in 2 possessions with that lineup on the floor. I have no idea how I'm going to account for that unit in the next post about the team's backcourt defense.