AUBURN HILLS, Mich. --Hawks coach Larry Drew said he's still not ready to commit to using his "big" lineup all the time.
Still, it's notable that Drew sent out 7-foot center Jason Collins with the starters at Detroit on Monday night. It marked one of the few times Drew has had all of his players available and opted to start Collins against an opponent with no real offensive threat at center.
Pistons veteran Ben Wallace is known for his defense and rebounding but he's always been low on the list of scoring options.
"With both Wallace and [forward Greg] Monroe, I just felt it might be best for us to go big against those guys," Drew said. "They are a physical team and they really do a good job rebounding, so we have got to make sure we have enough beef in there to combat that."
Drew is contemplating a permanent change to his regular starting lineup of guards Mike Bibby and Joe Johnson, forwards Marvin Williams and Josh Smith and center Al Horford. So far he's strayed from that alignment only because of injuries or for what he considers favorable match-ups.
The Hawks go from a smallish group to a big one with Horford (6-10) moving to power forward and Smith (6-9) at small forward. Drew said the disadvantages include Smith taking on the unfamiliar role of chasing opponents through screens and Collins being forced to guard quicker centers.
"I like the pros of it more than I [dislike] the cons," Drew said. "It has been good to us so far. ... [I'm] thinking about doing it all the time; it just puts [Collins] out there against anybody that we would play."
Feeling good
Williams said he's feeling better physically than he has in a while after struggling through nagging injuries.
Williams played in his seventh game on Monday since missing 11 with a back bruise. He also missed four games in November because of a knee bruise.
"When I messed up my back, [Drew] pulled me aside and said he didn't want me to try to come back early," Williams said. "He wanted to make sure I was 100 percent. Just having that comfort from your coach to be able to take your time to heal up, that's always good."
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