Here we go again...

Hawks 127, Raptors 120

I'm going to use this game as an impetus to delve into some of the topics I've been meaning to write about. This was obviously a huge win (for now), but we can celebrate the good parts later. There were so many aspects of this game we've seen over and over again this season.

Inability to Defend PG's

TJ Ford cut up the lane like warm butter, and a slumping Calderon dished out 10 assists. Don't get me wrong, I'm a big fan of the Bibby trade (an amaziing 26-12-6 tonight, with that RIDICULOUS 3pt at the end of the 4th. Was that really the best defense TJ Ford had to offer??), but the fella can't play defense. Our PG defense has been lackluster all year (and the year before that and before that and before that...), but it's actually gotten worse since the trade. Though it's not my favorite statistic, John Hollinger's PER is very solid and provides a good baseline for comparing players. If you're unfamiliar: explanation here, current league leaders here. The league average is set to 15, but I'm mostly going to be talking about net PER. The following numbers show Atlanta's net production at each position, meaning Hawks player PER/48 min - Opponent player PER/48 min.

• PG -4.2
  
• SG +3.1
  
• SF +0.4
  
• PF +1.5
  
• C -3.1

I doubt any Hawks fan is surprised that we fare worst at PG and C. At this time, I'm just going to focus on our PG play.

Player, PER, opponent PER, net (only for time played with Atlanta)

• Anthony Johnson, 13.7, 14.6, -0.9
• Tyronn Lue, 14.4, 15.0, -0.6
• Acie Law, 7.0, 19.1, -12.1 (ouch)
• Mike Bibby, 17.1, 19.6, -2.6

Surprisingly, AJ and TLue played good enough defense to balance their mediocre offensive contribution. A-Claw IV's numbers are atrocious, but I'm going to blame injuries and Mike "Point-guards-can-develop-by-playing-four-minutes-a-night" Woodson for that. Bibby's offense rates above the league average, but he's been getting lit up on defense. Both his offensive and defensive numbers have improved lately, so hopefully it has a lot to do with getting a feel for the "system." I reiterate that I'd much rather have Bibby than AJ or Lue, but allowing PG's to put up a PER of 19.6 is pretty bad. It's easy to try to shift blame from Bibby. Maybe it's the coach or the small sample size. How'd he do in Sacremento this year?

• Mike Bibby, 16.7, 20.5, -3.8

Oh... Well, he was injured, right? Okay, okay, his defense is terrible. Who am I kidding? You can see it on the floor. He's older, slower, and hobbled. I'm gonna cut him a little slack anyways.

Team defense is especially important when facing good point guards. How do we defend the high pick and roll? I'd say poorly. How about our non-JSmoove help defense? Absent. Do you believe that our coach develops a good defensive scheme? I don't. Our defense has gone way downhill since Bibby got here, but he can't be completely blamed for, say, giving up 109 to the Knicks.

If we end up facing Boston in the first round (somehow we're closer to 5th place than 9th place now), this won't be that big a deal. Rajon Rondo is pretty solid, but that's not who I will be fearing in that series. Quick, penetrating guards abuse the slow-footed Bibby the most, so just be glad we probably won't bet seeing Tony Parker, Chris Paul (sigh), or TJ Ford.

Joe Johnson 40.9 mpg

Joe is second in the NBA in mpg this year, behind AI (41.9). Last year's spring "injury" notwithstanding, Joe is basically superman. I keep waiting for him to show major signs of fatigue, but he doesn't. After months of this, he plays his best in March, winning the much-deserved POM award. Still, I'm terrified. I can't see how he'll have anything left in the tank come playoffs. The heavy minutes are obviously not limited to Joe. Our top 6 are logging ridiculous minutes right now. I know our spot has never been secure, so I'm not suggesting we bench our starters. But come on, Woody, is this the best player management you can do? Aside from the occasional Zaza good game (more frequent lately) and 3 minute bursts of good Acie play, nobody beyond sixth man JChill has contributed squat recently. I think Acie and Zaza are good players who can contribute consistently. They have a lot more to offer, but I think Woody wastes their skills.

And why does he refuse to feed us a steady diet of Salami? Yes, Woody, you hate Salim. "He shoots too much. He's short. He's not Joe Johnson." Give him consistent playing time (10 mpg ain't much!) and he can provide consistent shooting. He has not been especially consistent, but what do you expect when his playing time is sporadic at best? I'm still amazed at how the "mini microwave" can come in every 25 games or so and still provide instant offense. He can put up more points than minutes!

That's just one rant for one player. We could go on. Don't even get me started on big Al. Woodson is terrified of missing the playoffs. If we don't go, he gets fired (well, he should). He also has no trust in his players, probably because he can't develop poop from the digested food in his colon, let alone a productive bench player from a somewhat talented cast (what?). His consistent benching of Horford is ridiculous. His refusal to use all his assets is running Joe and Bibby into the ground, consequently endangering the slim, slim chance we have of succeeding in the postseason.

Even though our collapses have been going on all year, I'm confident that fatigue plays a big role in our frequent come-from-ahead losses. How many times have we built a large lead early and blown it like Chloë Sevigny? More than once, I say! That didn't really happen tonight, but we did go from being up 10, to being up 4 at the end of the 1st, to being down 17 in the third! Then, to my amazement, we battled back and won in OT. Hats off to the guys for scraping the win out. I'm amazed they had it in them. Our last possession in regulation was decidedly anti-Hawk. In countless games this year, we've given up offensive rebound after offensive rebound on that last crucial possession. It was nice to have see that reversal. Three 3pt attempts in 15 seconds, with the worst shot of them all going in. I'll take it. We also had something else working in our favor...

Talking 'bout Protest

Anybody who saw the game knows the Raptors should've won. There was the 17 point lead. Their offensive rebound with 17 seconds left, which Delfino stupidly dribbled instead of holding onto. The multiple shot attempts they gave us during our last possession. And, of course, the layup TJ Ford made that didn't count. With the game tied 107-107 and 0.5 seconds left, an inbounds lob to a cutting TJ Ford resulted in the game-winning layup...until the refs revoked it.

First of all, that was pathetic defense. How can that happen with 0.5 seconds left? I can understand a little room because we weren't expecting a lob to the shortest player on the floor. But, come on! That much space? Really? If you didn't see it, he was WIDE open. It was ridiculous. You get the point. Ridiculous


The officials ruled the basket good, but took away the points after they reviewed it. They were correct in saying the ball was still in his hand when time expired. However, the time clearly started before TJ touched the ball, and the clock would not have struck zero if the timer was started correctly. Word is the Raptors are seriously considering protesting the game. Fortunately, nobody involved with the Hawks made the error. One of the referees was actually responsible for starting the clock with a remote (Eric Davis?), so it was the officials' fault. Since it was essentially a bad call by a ref, I doubt Fuhrer Stern will overturn the victory. I understand the non-Shaq Shaq replay, since our scorekeeper unintentionally cheated. Granting a protest for a referee mistake is a whole 'nother story, and I doubt the NBA wants to open up that road. If they do, there will be a lot of angry people in Atlanta. Since this loss moved the Raptors into a three way tie for 5th/6th/7th, there are probably a lot of angry people in Toronto, but that's in Canada, so who cares?

There were a few more things I was going to talk about, but I'll already gone longer than I wanted, so I'll save it for another day. Coming soon -- a few Braves predictions.