The Sticks, Ga,- The weekend was a two-sided coin for Atlanta Hawks fans; how good it can be when things are right, and how ugly it can get when things go wrong.
After warming to the task with 14 points in Wednesday’s win over the Miami Heat, Marvin Williams was on fire against the Houston Rockets Friday evening, dropping a cool 29 points and snatching 9 boards.
The Hawks played scrappy defense, and even though Williams led all scorers, he wasn’t even the hero of the game- that would be Josh Smith, who soared out of nowhere to claim a critical offensive putback with .007 seconds left in the fourth quarter, staking Atlanta to a 105-103 lead. The lead was preserved (and the Rockets hopes dashed) when Houston’s final inbound was intercepted by Williams as time expired.
Williams and Smith were fully supported by Jamal Crawford, who contributed 21 off the bench for the Hawks. But it was a different story in New Orleans…
The Hawks started out ice-cold offensively against the Hornets, and it only got worse when Mike Bibby rolled his ankle a mere 5 minutes into the game. Enter Crawford, and a whole lot of isolation plays.
While Crawford and Joe Johnson were missing jumpshots and not passing the ball, New Orleans rookie Darren Collison was blowing past Crawford and having a career night in the lane, scoring 21 to lead all scorers. The final result was a gruesome 96-88 loss to a team that Atlanta, by all rights, should beat- even on the road.
What’s next? An exciting matchup for certain- the 11-3 Hawks hosting the 11-3 Orlando Magic in Black Hollywood on Thanksgiving. Here’s to hoping Bibby is back, or that Johnson and Crawford can lose the I-am-the-machine mentality, or the talened Magic could dismantle the Hawks with relative ease.
Any thoughts on the weekend? feel free to sound off below in the comments section…
