Court Vision: 4 things we learned from the Hawks' Game 3 defeat
WASHINGTON, D.C. -- Nobody cares about the so-called problems of coddled sportswriters, who are forced to scrap their original stories after a 21-point spread goes bye-bye in an instant and construct a newly themed piece on the fly.
Just like nobody cares that Atlanta -- the top seed in the Eastern Conference playoffs -- had a golden chance to pull out an overtime victory on Saturday, if Paul Pierce hadn't drained a game-winning bank shot at the buzzer.
Here are four quick takes from the Hawks' devastating defeat to the Wizards on Saturday (103-101), which now has Washington up 2-1 in the Eastern semifinals:
The 2014-15 Hawks may have owned the NBA's second-best record during the regular season (behind Golden State), along with the franchise record for victories (60).
But they're still newbies in the realm of latter-round playoff participation.
In other words, even if the club has a destiny of reaching their first conference final since moving to Atlanta (circa 1968) and then competing for a championship against the West's best team (the NBA Finals) ... they must first clear certain obstacles that all title contenders, young and old, encounter along the way.
Hurdles like ...
**Overcoming the first Philips Arena loss when holding home-court advantage
**Trailing in a series multiple times
**Bouncing back from a last-second defeat
**Imposing their will onto a lower-seeded club that squanders a series lead
**Silencing the critics who question the ultimate value of regular-season success
The above statements have a common thread, as it pertains to the Hawks and Game 4:
Simply win on Monday ... and all the heartache of Saturday evaporates in an instant.
Mack must be some kind of an NBA miracle worker to post an on-court ratio of plus-16 in just seven minutes of action.
When Mack replaced Jeff Teague with 7:03 left in the fourth quarter, all hope seemed lost for the Hawks, trailing 94-76 and looking lost for long stretches of the second half.
How else to explain Kyle Korver (six points) attempting just five shots on the day and enduring a 22-minute span without launching a single field goal?
(Especially with Korver burying his first two shots from behind the arc.)
How else to explain that mountain man/emergency starter Pero Antic (in place of Paul Millsap, who played 23 minutes off the bench, while battling flu-like symptoms) would collect only one point and one rebound in 15 minutes of work?
(Semantical question: If Millsap was healthy enough to play, why wasn't he healthy to start?)
And how to explain that, in a game with 86 missed field-goal attempts (combined), Atlanta would end up with only 30 total rebounds?
Back to Mack: Interestingly, his on-court presence had a deflating effect on the Wizards, who committed four turnovers and connected on only 4 of 10 shots in that final stretch leading up to Pierce's game-winning bank shot.
Perhaps the Washington players viewed Atlanta's early emptying of the bench as a sign to cut loose and enjoy the waning moments of a likely blowout. Or maybe they were dog tired from an emotionally taxing game that rarely seemed in doubt.
Until it was.
Either way, Mack (two points, one assist) served as a supreme good-luck charm for the Hawks and their final 423 seconds of play.
In fact, from an Atlanta perspective, it's too bad Pierce's game-winner didn't go down; for it would have been interesting to see how head coach Mike Budenholzer would have handled the extra session -- in terms of player minutes for overtime.
(Starters vs. reserves)
During the regular season, NBA players and coaches possess that unique computer chip in their respective brains, allowing them to forget about one glorious victory or surprise defeat ... and simply focus on the next game.
It's a weird, but wonderful component to professional sports, which often leaves the principals acting like robots when talking to the media.
Commence blank stare. Activate rehearsed-answer sequence to nebulous question.
But playoff experiences -- both good and bad -- are different animals. These emotional events stick with the principals for long periods of the offseason. And in the short term, a great victory or bad loss can have a carryover, or hangover effect on the next outing.
Especially with only 48 hours between Games 3 and 4.
Which brings us to the not-too-distant future: Monday's game will be the ultimate resiliency test for the Hawks, who should feel good about Saturday's furious rally ... even if it ended in startling defeat.
On the positive side, the Hawks reserves accounted for the club's final 25 points in the fourth quarter; and point guard Dennis Schroder no longer bears the look of a novice pro who's ill-prepared for the prime-time glare of playoff basketball.
Plus, forward Paul Millsap (flu) will likely be feeling better on Monday ... and Korver will undoubtedly hoist more than five shots over the next 48 minutes.
On the down side, the Wizards' latest adrenaline blast -- in the form of Pierce's glass-aided game-winner -- might be the series-long saving grace for a club that hasn't sniffed an NBA title since the late 70s.
The Verizon Center faithful will be sky-high for Monday's game -- especially if the NHL's Washington Capitals can close out the New York Rangers in Sunday's Game 6 (in the same arena).
With John Wall (broken hand/wrist) presumably missing Game 4, the Washington fans still realize they're the underdog ... but a commanding 3-1 lead might be too much to overcome, as well
Bottom line: Don't expect a bang-bang finish to Game 4. One of the teams will come out flat, the victim of tired legs; and only one club will end up treating Monday's outing like a must-win.
How's this for a massive overreaction to a bite-sized concern?
A fellow sportswriter at Verizon Center audibly suggested -- to no one in particular -- that Kyle Korver should come off the bench in Game 4.
But why stop there? Why not penalize DeMarre Carroll for only scoring 14 points on Saturday, thus failing to set the Hawks' franchise record for Consecutive Playoff Games Of 20 Points Or More?
Ain't sarcasm grand?
