RECAP: Heat 103, Hawks 90

FINAL

(37-14) 103 – 90 (29-23)  

Key Performers:

L. James (MIA): 24 pts, 6 reb, 11 ast, 4 stl
A. Horford (ATL): 27 pts, 9 reb, 2 ast
[FULL BOX SCORE]

Was that Josh Smith’s final game as a Hawk? If so, he left an extremely empty feeling out on the floor. The Heat stormed past the Hawks in the fourth quarter, out-scoring the home team 40-17 in that frame to erase a double-digit deficit.

LeBron was the main reason for Miami’s havoc, causing steals with his athleticism on defense and quickly running up the floor in transition. The Hawks shot 50% from the field, but had 21 total turnovers, easily allowing Miami to stay in the game despite their spotty shooting the first three quarters.

Reaction Grades: [assessed 0-10]

Josh Smith: No, he didn’t shoot well from the field. No, he didn’t make the greatest decisions at every juncture throughout the game. However, he did one thing that we don’t see from every athlete: despite constant trade rumors, he went out and gave his best effort. He held LeBron to his least-good (saying worst seems weird, because it’s still over 50%) shooting night over the past couple of weeks, and was grabbing rebounds vigorously when he was tasked to do so. In the end, it just wasn’t enough, and to some fans, anything Josh could have done tonight never would have been enough. 6/10

Al Horford: Larry Drew put Zaza in the starting lineup in hopes of getting Al a lot of mismatches down low. This plan was successful, as Horford was able to capitalize off of a lot of easy opportunities. Defensively, he was able to keep Bosh and Haslem under lock-and-key, and was even forced to defend LeBron a time or two. 9/10

Zaza Pachulia: Z was definitely instrumental in disrupting Chris Bosh, but I felt like the team could have used more from him. He was wild on a couple of rebounding chances that he should have controlled, and really didn’t contribute as much on the offensive end like he usually does. His best highlight was probably a hard foul on LeBron that was called a flagrant. (which should probably be rescinded by the league in the coming days) 5/10

Jeff Teague: I believe the term to describe Jeff decision making from this one is “bad”. He tried to make too many risky passes, not realizing that LeBron lives off of intercepting risky passes. The six turnovers that he was credited with don’t even accurately tell the story, as he was responsible for a couple of more due to his lack of focus. He also missed a ton of open shots. Tough way to see Jeff’s stretch of great games end. 3/10

DeShawn Stevenson: He made his open shots, but I feel like he should have shot a couple of more times in this one. Like Josh, he was also tasked with guarding LeBron in the halfcourt, which he probably didn’t do as well as Smoove; a few of the defensive breakdowns that LeBron caused late in the game came off when DeShawn was guarding him. 5/10

Ivan Johnson: Ivan had 10 first half points. Let me repeat that: IVAN HAD 10 FIRST HALF POINTS! His eight points in the 2nd quarter came before the Hawks had their huge 16-2 run, meaning that Ivan’s spurt here really kept the Hawks in the game, as he was doing everything from scoring to defending LeBron. He didn’t play much in the 2nd half, but he wasn’t really a factor in those minutes. 6/10

Anthony Tolliver: His lone rebound left a solid impact on the game. Trust me, it did! 1/10

Kyle Korver: He made his shots, but he was switched out on LBJ a couple of times on defense… not exactly an enviable position for the Hawks. I know the Heat can do some work defensively, but Kyle has to take more than six shots in 26 minutes when it appears that he’s got his stroke going. 5.5/10

Devin Harris: Devin did better than Jeff did at limiting mistakes, but he really didn’t make a huge impact either. He had a highlight-worthy and-one layup, but otherwise, he had trouble with his outside shooting like almost everyone else did. He and Jeff were also lackadaisical in getting the offense set, which is how the fourth quarter happened. 5.5/10

John Jenkins: I can only recall one time where he didn’t take the shot when he should have, which is a major improvement over what he’s been doing. He went 1-4, but the biggest thing he still needs to overcome is his willingness to shoot at times. 4/10

Larry Drew: LD told me before the game that you have to limit turnovers to prevent LeBron and co. from getting easy buckets. The team committed a bunch of stupid turnovers, but they were extremely committed in getting back in transition. Despite the turnover disparity (21-11), the Hawks outscored the Heat on the fastbreak 23-13 and in the paint 43-38. However, the team broke down too much defensively in the halfcourt, and were leaving Miami’s shooters wide open. They missed in the first three quarters… they didn’t in the fourth. 7.5/10

The opposition: LeBron was fantastic at leading the Miami offense, but the Heat became extremely stagnant when he wasn’t on the floor. Coach Spoelstra’s decision to start LeBron at the beginning of the fourth was key, as the Heat went on a 13-0 run to begin the period, and were plus-22 for the entire period when James was on the floor. Allen’s and Battier’s combined 24 fourth quarter points allowed Miami to overcome relatively poor nights from Wade and Bosh, meaning exactly what teams don’t want to hear: stopping two of the three Heat stars still won’t be enough on many nights. 8/10

Next: Atlanta vs Sacramento, Friday, February 22nd