Hawks Game 2 Notebook: Ravaged by injuries

CLEVELAND — Zaza Pachulia knew Thursday morning that he probably was going to be in the Hawks’ starting lineup later that night for Game 2 of the Eastern Conference semifinals.

Al Horford’s right ankle was acting up again, so the Hawks needed their own “Big Z” to pick up the slack.

It was a chance for redemption that Pachulia acknowledged looking forward to after he and the rest of the Hawks’ reserves barely registered a blip on the radar in Game 1.

“We didn’t give the team as much as we should have,” he said. “Guys have to step up to make sure that doesn’t happen again.”

Pachulia said it was hard waking up the past two days in a city where the Hawks were being counted out already. It had a similar feel to what went on in Boston last year after the Hawks lost the first game of that series.

“People counted us out last year against Boston, and that was a mistake,” he said. “It’s funny, I heard the [TV commentators] saying that it was going to be an easy time for Cleveland. Last year they were talking the same way about Boston, and it became the most interesting series of [last year’s] playoffs. Anything can happen in the playoffs.

“This is a long series, a seven-game series. I have a long memory, so I remember what it felt like to be in this position last year. The key was working our way out of the mess and back into it being a competitive series. Once we did that our confidence was high, and we played well. We can do that again.”

Ravaged by injuries

Marvin Williams’ right wrist won’t allow him to work the way he needs to, and Horford’s right ankle is doing the same thing.

Both players went through Thursday morning’s shootaround practice at Quicken Loans Arena, but neither was in a uniform at tipoff.

“You hate to get to this point and have to go out there when you’re not at full strength,” Hawks coach Mike Woodson said. “But this is a part of it, and it’s something we just have to deal with until they get better.”

Horford re-injured his ankle in the Game 1 loss to the Cavaliers on Tuesday night. He wore a sweatsuit and sat on the sideline during practice Wednesday, still bothered by an injury suffered in Game 5 of the Hawks’ first-round series against Miami.

Williams sprained his right wrist in Game 2 of the Miami series and has played sparingly since then, including just 13 minutes in Tuesday’s loss.

“It’s tough right now,” Williams said. “We’re just trying to get through it with all these injuries the best we can. Hopefully, we can find a way to get it done tonight and head back to Atlanta for Game 3 [Saturday] with some momentum.”

Game 3 is also when they might see Williams and Horford back in uniform, Woodson said.

“They are day-to-day right now,” he said. “We’ve just to get everything we can out of the rest of our guys until they get back.”

Smith benched early

Josh Smith joined Williams and Horford on the bench with nearly eight minutes to play before halftime.

He picked up his third foul with 7:42 to play in the second quarter and promptly took a seat on the bench for the remainder of the first half. He went to the bench with four points, on 1-for-6 shooting from the floor, and one rebound.

Early start for Joe

Hawks captain Joe Johnson was on the floor at Quicken Loans Arena some three hours before tipoff Thursday night.

Apparently he needed a little alone time with the rims and the floor after leaving without making much of a mark in Game 1.

His early arrival didn’t help the Hawks get off to any better start than they did in Game 1.

But it was a serious attempt at not only getting himself going but also trying to spark his team.

“I just wanted to get out there and get comfortable on this floor and try to see if it would help me get in a good rhythm,” said Johnson, who had just 11 points in Game 1.

When asked how he thought his strategy worked, Johnson just smiled. “Ask me after the game.”