By James Goeders
Initial feedback: A completely subjective and immediate response to the events of tonight's game, featuring a comment and rating, the latter on a scale of 1 to 10, on every player who saw the floor and the head coach, along with ephemera and miscellany as the author deems necessary.
Your ratings and commentary, dear reader, are welcomed in the comments to this post.
Boxscore
Players
Jeff Teague: Looking at the stat sheet alone, it was a decent night for Teague scoring 15 points and adding 7 assists. The downside was the 7 turnovers, the poor defense of Monta Ellis (more later), and Jeff's desire to dribble out the shot clock and either leave a teammate in a bad position or not get a shot off at all. Far too timid and did not drive to the basket like we saw him do against the weaker opponents of the last week. 4/10
Joe Johnson: Joe suffered a busted lip early in the 1st which saw the Hawks fall down by 12 by the time he got back into the game. Obviously used up all of his magic with the late threes of the past few games because nothing was falling tonight. Did finish in double figures and had 8 assists, but was 0-for-5 in the 4th and only 1-for-6 from behind the arc for the game. 4/10
Marvin Williams: When Joe went out early in the first it was Marvin that carried the offense. Sadly that did not carry over into the 2nd half, as Marvin only had 1 basket in the 14 minutes he played. 3/10
Josh Smith: Absolutely monster night rebounding, grabbing 18, and had 30 points, which on the surface sounds like an amazing game. At times it was, but then there were the frequent airballed jumpshots that left the viewer questioning what Josh was thinking. The effects of the 4 OT game also seemed apparent in Josh's legs and lack of hustle at times, but that could have also been the significant minutes he played again tonight trying to carry the team in Joe's absence. 6/10
Zaza Pachulia: Quiet night for Zaza who lost most of his second half minutes to the red-hot Ivan Johnson. Helped the Hawks outrebound the Bucks, and it would have been interesting to see him and Ivan on the court together as it may have forced the Hawks to go inside instead of relying on perimeter shots. 4/10
Kirk Hinrich: When Kirk had his shot against Ellis it wasn't much different than Jeff or Joe. If the defense is going to be that poor, it would help if the outside shots were falling (Hinrich finished 1-for-6 from behind the arc). 2/10
Ivan Johnson: The lone bright spot for the Hawks in an otherwise forgettable 4th quarter. Finished a perfect 7-for-7 from the floor for a career high 17 points, including a three pointer. Also was impressive defensively getting a pair of steals from Milwaukee guards 8/10
Tracy McGrady: With the Hawks only playing 9 players, and Joe missing significant time in the 1st, it's surprising how little TMac played. Missed both of his shot attempts, but at least grabbed a couple of rebounds and had an assist. 2/10
Willie Green: Certainly doesn't seem healthy, and also played quite sparingly. Only had two quick fouls and a turnover in his 6 minutes of action incomplete
The head coach It's like a broken record. Injuries and a shortened-schedule have left the Hawks with a tired roster that is going to have games where Joe won't score 20+ and save the day in the 4th. With 15 games to go, can the Hawks secure a top 6 seed (to avoid Chicago and Miami in the first round) and be healthy enough to make noise in the playoffs?
5/10
A thought regarding the opposition
Last night in the loss to the Knicks, Monta Elis was 2-for-14 for 4 points. Against the tired legs of the Hawks, he scored 33.
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