| Hawks Lose, Not Rattled Authored by Brian Reynolds - January 26, 2009 - 6:29 pm
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"Any loss is tough," said coach Mike Woodson, "But I mean it's not something where we are going to go and hide. We're playing good basketball and we are still in the position we need to be in terms of trying to secure that fourth spot. We just need to go and get this one back."
The Hawks struggled from the field most of the night. Mike Bibby and Joe Johnson converted just seven field goals on 33 attempts. They only hit two three pointers on 13 tries and Johnson missed all seven of his field goal attempts in the final quarter including a wide-open lay-up. Despite the struggles, however, the Hawks were in the game until the final seconds.
Atlanta continues to play without second-year big man Al Horford who has been sidelined since January 9th with a bone bruise in his right knee. Coach Woodson said Horford will not make the trip with the team to Miami or to New York and it is not yet clear when he will return. Although, it is no secret that Horford has been significantly missed.
"We're shorthanded not having Al in there to help rebound and bang around," said Coach Woodson, "He's a big part of our interior defense." Horford, the third pick of the 2007 draft has been a beast in his time with the Hawks. This year he is averaging 10.8 ppg, 8.7 rpg, and 1.6 bpg.
Suns' small forward Grant Hill praised the Hawks after the game. "They have Horford out right now and he's somebody they need," said Hill, "But, I don't think any of the top three teams in the East want to see the Hawks in the first or the second round [of the playoffs]. They are a dangerous team. It was a big win for us, a really big win."
Two time MVP Steve Nash echoed Hill's comments. "They're a very very good team, said Nash, "They should cause a lot of problems in the playoffs."
With a 26-17 record, the Hawks have a two-game lead over the Detroit Pistons for the fourth spot in the Eastern Conference. They head to Miami on Monday night to face the Heat in the second game of the back-to-back. The Heat currently hold down the 6th spot in the East.
"We just didn't get it done tonight, said Coach Woodson, "We got to go rebound tomorrow [Monday] night, and try and get it done in Miami. It should be a good game, we played well last time we were there and got out of there with a win."
- Brian Reynolds is a contributing writer from Emory University and can be reached at Brian.matthew.reynolds@gmail.com |
