Woodson wants more ball movement

By Michael Cunningham

The Atlanta Journal-Constitution

Though the Bucks used a big run to take control, Hawks coach Mike Woodson said defense wasn’t the main problem during his team’s meltdown in Game 5.

Instead, Woodson said the offense stagnated late in the game, when Milwaukee came back from a nine-point deficit in the final four minutes to win. He said there were too many one-pass possessions involving guards Joe Johnson and Jamal Crawford.

“You can’t do that [against] this team," he said. "If I call something, you’ve got to execute it. There were a few times plays were called, and we didn’t get to them because the ball stopped.”

The Bucks continued their strategy of double-teaming the post with their guards. Woodson said Hawks center Al Horford too often bulled his way into defenders instead of passing out to teammates for open shots.

Horford scored a playoff career-high 25 points but forced at least three of his five shot attempts in the fourth quarter as Milwaukee rallied.

“The first two games we sacrificed the ball,” Woodson said. “If the ball goes inside and they don’t double you, go play. If they don’t double, then kick the ball [out]. It’s simple.”

Hawks co-owner Michael Gearon Jr. said ball movement is a key for the Hawks.

“I think we’ve proven that when we move the ball, we are a good team,” Gearon said. “When we don’t, we are not as good. I’ve said it to [media], said it to our players, said it to the coaches, to my GM, to my 5-year old son.”

Do it again

Like they did before losing Games 3 and 4 at Milwaukee, the Hawks were trying to draw confidence from their only victory in their past 11 postseason road games.

The Hawks won at Miami in Game 4 of a first-round series in 2009. That evened the series at 2-2, and the Hawks went on to win in seven games.

Hawks forward Marvin Williams acknowledged that not many outsiders believe the Hawks can win at Milwaukee.

“From the outside looking in, I can definitely see why people would say that,” Williams said. “But we were in this situation last year. We were down and we had to go to Miami and beat a good Miami team in Miami. You can’t worry about what people think.”

Not for sale

Gearon said the team is not looking to sell its first-round draft pick (No. 24 overall) in the June draft. A Yahoo Sports report said the Hawks were willing to part with the pick for $3 million and use the money as part of a free-agent contract for Johnson.

“We haven’t had that discussion with anyone,” Gearon said.