Orlando Blog: Well, That Was Easy

Well, when you’re beating a team by an average of nearly 30 points a “contest”, what is there to say, really? SB Nation’s Orlando Pinstriped Post was predictably unimpressed, to say the least, with Atlanta’s effort and their defensive game plan -- or lack thereof:

[A]s early as their third possession, we got a great indication of how the game would play out. Lewis short-rimmed a three-pointer from the right wing, but the ball caromed directly to him about 18 feet from the rim. Johnson and Josh Smith converged to get the board, but backed off once Lewis snared it. Johnson then turned his attention to finding his man, while Smith took a step back and clapped his hands in frustration. Lewis took a few dribbles to the basket and laid it in. He’s seen more aggressive defense in pregame layup lines, I can assure you. It struck me as odd that Smith would just concede the shot like that, even knowing Smith’s reputation for taking plays off. It was emblematic of a problem that affected most of the Hawks players today, by my estimation: an utter lack of urgency or purpose. I Tweeted that Atlanta approached this game with all the intensity it’d bring for a January game against the Nets, and even that might have been charitable. [...]

To beat the Magic, an opponent has to take away either Howard or their array of three-point shooters, such as Lewis. The Hawks have consistently failed to take away either in this series. Howard’s scoring against single- and double-coverage, or at least getting to the foul line. And the Hawks haven’t done much to discourage the sort of quick, effective ball movement that so often leads to open shots on the perimeter. Commentators often invoke the “pick your poison” axiom when referring to the challenge of stopping Orlando’s offense. It’s as though someone told Hawks coach Mike Woodson he had to drink either battery acid or antifreeze, and he elected to sample both.

Orlando can mercifully end this abomination of a series on Monday, when these two teams meet up for Game 4.