Five observations from the Hawks’ 95-92 loss to the Wizards Friday night at Verizon Center.
1. The Hawks fought their shots – and themselves. There were several instances during the course of the game were teammates exchanged words with each other. There was also a heated exchange between coach Mike Budenholzer and Tim Hardaway Jr. in the final minutes. Kent Bazemore substituted for Hardaway with 2:22 remaining and the Hawks trailing by eight points.
Said Hardaway: “It’s the heat of the moment. I just want to win. I want to do whatever we can to win. The game was so close and it was getting taken away, not only for yourself but for the team. It hurts. … I wanted to be out there. Everybody wants to be out there. Coach’s decision. You’ve got to roll with it. At the same time, you have to be on the sideline supporting your teammates.”
Said Budenholzer: “I think it’s good. We are an edgy group. We want to get it right.”
2. The Hawks got off to an atrocious start. It was a sign of things to come. They started the game 0-for-9 (and trailed 9-0) and 1-for-12 from the field. The first field goal came from a reserve, a Thabo Sefolosha 3-pointer after he entered the game at the 7:48 mark. The Hawks actually took an 18-17 lead on a Dwight Howard roll and dunk with 1:17 left in the opening period. They would take a 22-21 lead early in the second quarter but never led again. The Hawks shot 29 percent (7 of 24) in the first quarter, including 1 of 9 from 3-point range.
“It’s a long season, 82 games,” Paul Millsap said. “You will have nights like this. I don’t care what team it is. There are going to be times when the ball feels like soap. There will be times when there is a lid on the basket. I think for us, it will be how we bounce back tomorrow.
3. With all the shooting woes, the Hawks still had a chance at the end. They pulled within two points several times in the fourth quarter. They trailed by the final margin of three points with the ball and 11.7 seconds left. Kyle Korver's 3-point attempt was well defended and fell short.
“With that much time we were going to either try a drive to the basket and a quick two or Kyle on a 3-point look,” Budenholzer said. “They defended it pretty well. Credit to their defense. Didn’t get a great look at it. It’s an area where we need to improve.”
4. The Hawks were just 5 of 25 from 3-point range. Most notably, Korver was 1 of 6 and Kent Bazemore was 0 of 3. The first long-range make from either came with 41.3 seconds left, the Korver shot that pulled the Hawks to within three points. The two were a combined 1 of 16 from the floor overall. The issues weren't just from 3-point range. Overall, the Hawks starters were 20 of 58 from the field.
5. Budenholzer lamented the Hawks' lack of offensive ball movement following the game. He pointed to the non-Hawks basketball as a reason for some of the shooting woes. At one point, Howard got the ball in the post and as he worked to make a move the four other players did not move. The simply watched what turned out to be a missed hook shot and a Wizards rebound.
“We just didn’t shoot the ball very well,” Budenholzer said. “In the first half there were enough examples where we weren’t moving the ball as well as we need to. I think between moving it better and shooting it better that will help us on a night like tonight.”
