Intensity and aggressiveness — not having those two qualities in the sufficient amount were what spelled a dispiriting 101-79 loss for the Hawks in Game 4 of their Eastern Conference first-round series with Boston on Sunday, according to two-time All-Star center Al Horford.
After tearing a pectoral muscle in January, Horford made his return to the court for the first time in four months Sunday. He posted a respectable 12 points on 6-of-10 shooting while coming off the bench along with five rebounds in 20 minutes.
"You have to give them credit, right from the beginning they jumped on us," Horford said of the Celtics. "I think they were more aggressive. They got into us too much, and we could just never recover after that. We need to understand that in the playoffs, you need to bring a certain level of intensity, and we didn't do it."
On Monday the Hawks tried to get to the bottom of what could have gone so wrong in a game in which they trailed by 37 points at one time in the second half.
Atlanta has lost three straight and trails in the series by 3-1. The team faces elimination on Tuesday in Game 5 at Philips Arena.
Coach Larry Drew said the days after a big blowout loss can be "very trying." Rather than have the team practice — with a number of players banged up and the team wanting them to get treatment from the training staff — Drew held a discussion with the players.
"And I know from a physical standpoint, guys are a little tired, a little banged up," he said. "I understand that, but they're more mentally beat up than they are physically. . . . I really wanted to take some time and talk to the group and get a feel for where they are and get a feel for where I am and make sure they understand where we go from here.
"Certainly, there's disappointment in the way we played yesterday, but it's not a situation where it's the end of the world. It's an opportunity for us to show what we're made of, and I have all the faith in the world with this team because we've overcome a lot of adversity over the course of the season."
Some of Drew's thoughts circled back to that lack of intensity that Horford mentioned.
"We didn't play very well. . . . We didn't bring the intensity that I thought we would, and we didn't respond very well particularly early in the game," he said.
The Hawks gave various reasons for such a disappointing showing: easy transition baskets for Boston, bad offensive possessions and defensive breakdowns all going on early. In addition, the Celtics hardly seemed to miss, even on some contested shots. They finished shooting 51.3 percent, but were shooting in the 60s for much of the game.
"It was ugly to be a part of, and it was ugly to watch," said Hawks forward Joe Johnson.
Johnson, the Hawks' leading scorer, said he felt he was not getting enough touches. He made 4-of-8 field goals in 31 minutes for only nine points, fourth on the team. The point total was roughly half his playoff average.
He said the Hawks got away from their game plan on offense and defense, but he didn't think his number of touches had anything to do with how the Celtics played him.
"I don't think they (were) doing nothing defensively on me," he said. "I think it's basically just getting the opportunity to get the ball. That's it."
For his part, Drew assessed blame in a few directions. He said Johnson needs to be more aggressive but also that his teammates need to look for him more.
"I think Boston is defending (Johnson) where at times they're doubling him, at times they're switching," Drew said. "They're doing a number of things. They're crowding him and making it tough for him. We got to get him more shots. . . . He's got to be more aggressive in working to get his shots, but we have to be mindful that when he hasn't had a shot in one or two trips down the floor, we've got to get him the ball."
Drew said that in some instances, he noticed on the game film that an extra pass would have gotten Johnson the ball for an open shot.
There also was some suggestion that the team had a difficult time adjusting to Horford's presence in the lineup, that it changed the rotation and also some of the dynamics on offense. But Drew dismissed that, saying Horford is not a player who demands the ball much or through whom the Hawks run much of their offense.
Horford also rejected the idea that perhaps Johnson did not get as many shots because of his return.
"I mean, Joe is our main guy," Horford said. "We go to him at the end of games. He has to get us going usually offensively. He just needs to go out there and be an enforcer and make his presence felt. I didn't think my shots or Erick Dampier's shots or things like that are affecting him. I think if anything, Joe needs to be aggressive and needs to go out there and score the ball. That's when we're at our best out there."
The Hawks have one more day to figure it out. If they don't, they will have the entire offseason to do so.
