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Atlanta Hawks: Magic 88, Hawks 82

12:16 am April 20, 2011, by Michael Cunningham

Orlando–The Magic pounded the Hawks on the boards and outscored them 29-11 from the free-throw line. That’s how they won while shooting 34 percent from the field and committing 16 turnovers.

  • The deficit on the boards is can be chalked up to Dwight beasting and Al playing only 26 minutes because of L.D.’s two-foul rule. The disparity in free throws is a Dwight production, too, because it’s become clear that Twin (and to a lesser extent, Zaza) is the only Hawks big with any hope of preventing him from shooting 100 percent in the post.
  • Despite all of that, the Hawks had a chance to win after I thought they looked beat down and done. They suddenly came alive for a 10-0 run: Smoove’s running hook shot, Al’s baseline drive, a J and floater by Joe floater and Al’s block leading to his dunk.
  • But then Turkoglu scored on a tough driving basket over Al and Al missed a challenged iso jumper. J-Rich shook free for a 3 and Al missed a 3-point try. “I think that towards the end we couldn’t get organized a couple times on the offensive end and forced me to take a couple tough shots that I usually don’t take,” Al said.
  • So that was the end of the rally. The Hawks headed back to Philips with the split.
  • “That’s all you can ask for,” Josh said. “If you can’t get two of them try to steal one. We’ve still got the home-court advantage. We’ve just got to be able to come in to a sellout crowd at Philips Arena, the Highlight Factory and try to use our fan advantage to win games.”
  • He looked into the camera when he said that last part about a sellout. It was a plea to fans.
  • The officiating was a mess with bodies banging all over the place, lots of rebounds and hard screens. The Magic cranked up their D but the Hawks thought they came out on the short end of calls.
  • “Some were fouls that wasn’t called,” Smoove said. “It is what it is. I think we handled the physicality well. I think we cranked up our defense as well. We have just got to make sure we box out next time because we played pretty good defense in the half court.”
  • The Magic didn’t wait to double team J.J. this time. An extra man came pretty much any time he got inside the 3-point line. Joe didn’t make good or quick decisions, dribbled headlong into traffic and pretty much stagnated the offense.
  • “He wasn’t a sharp as he was in Game 1,” L.D. said. “Clearly they were going to play him a lot more physical. I don’t think there was anything else about that. He is going to have to look at the film and see how they are playing him, do things quicker. He will bounce back.”
  • The Magic had to give up something while chasing Joe but Marvin missed the open jumpers that were available.
  • It’s not that Orlando’s role players hurt the Hawks: They were 18 of 66 from the field to Dwight’s 9 of 12. It’s just that they made timely shots after missing a bunch and played much better team defense in front of Dwight than in Game 1.
  • “Our guys’ effort tonight was above and beyond,” Stan Van Gundy said. “When you can shoot 34 percent in a playoff game and win it, I’ve got to be very proud of guys and just hope at some point guys will start making some shots.”
  • L.D. had some weird sub patterns tonight.
  • Josh Powell, not Zaza, was the first big off the bench when Al got two early fouls. Didn’t Powell already prove in Game 1 that he’s no match for Dwight? Hilton Armstrong got a turn against Dwight, too, and was ineffective.
  • Twin was solid against Dwight. He helped force three turnovers on Dwight’s first four post-ups but played only three minutes in the second quarter then didn’t play after an 8-minute stint in the third as Zaza got most of the minutes against Dwight.
  • “We got into a rhythm with Zaza out there,” Drew said. “I did not want to disrupt that. I thought Zaza did a really good job. We just couldn’t stop [Dwight].”
  • Al didn’t go back in after those two early fouls. The Magic wrecked the Hawks for 15 of their 16 first-half offensive boards with Al on the bench but somehow trailed just 48-42 at the half.
  • “The guys were playing well,” Al said. “It was just unfortunate that we are giving up offensive rebounds. That was the only thing that was a little frustrating. The defense was great. I think I finished up the game with two fouls. It’s kind of one of those things it is going to be up to [Drew]. I know he doesn’t want to risk it. We were fine today because we played good defense, we were only down six going into the half.”
  • L.D. said he had planned to put Al back in before halftime.
  • “When he came out, I told him to be prepared to go back in the second quarter,” Drew said. “My thought process behind that was if we were struggling, I was going to play him. But we actually played very well in that second quarter and it wasn’t until late in the second quarter when we hit the bump in the road. At that point I didn’t want to put him in and jeopardize him getting his third foul with less than three minutes to go.”
  • Al on sitting for that long: “It is tough. I was out of rhythm by the time I came in the second half. It took me a while to get going. It’s one of those things. The team player well but we missed some shots.”
  • Dwight played all 48 minutes and finished with five fouls.
  • Hinrich was sharp at the start and then just seemed to fade offensively. He’s one of the guys who had his space cut off by Orlando’s more aggressive D. “Maybe they had a little bit more sense of urgency tonight,” Hinrich said. “But it seemed like at times we got a little bogged down tonight offensively. In Game 1 we were just moving that ball.”
  • Al said he banged his right knee with a teammate’s knee in the second half but stayed in the game. He had ice on ot for the swelling after the game.
  • Jamal was the only guard who had it going offensively (though got in on the high-degree-of-difficulty shooting to do it). L.D. stuck with him late until the Hawks needed some D. He went back to Hinrich and later subbed Jamal for Zaza.
  • “Jamal was playing well and making shots,” Drew said. “There came a point where we needed to get some spots so I came back with Hinrich, and then came back with Jamal for [Zaza]. I was getting a feel who is going good and what do we need at that time.”
  • The Hawks left Orlando with a W, a loss in a near-comeback and home-court advantage. It feels a lot different from last year, when they headed back to Atlanta with two listless Ls and no hope of winning the series.
  • “It’s a different team,” Al said. “I’ve been trying to tell you guys. It is not the same team as you saw last year. I know they are different but we are different. We’re confident.”

Michael Cunningham, Hawks beat

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237 comments Add your comment

Najeh Davenpoop

April 20th, 2011
3:40 pm

“ALSO AGREE WITH NAJEH, AL HAS TO BE MORE AGRESSIVE AND PUT THE BALL ON THE FLOOR AND USE HIS QUICKNESS AND SIZE TO GET POINTS CLOSE TO THE RIM……”

The play you are referring to was a thing of beauty. Al put the ball on the floor from 18 feet away, drove strong to the hoop, and dunked, and nobody could stop him. That is literally a play that no other center in the league is capable of making. Unfortunately Al is so tentative with the ball that he has only pulled that out of his bag of tricks about 15 times this entire season, when really it should be one of the go to moves in his arsenal.

Slimjr likes to point out that Al’s low post game with his back to the basket needs a ton of work, and he’s right, as the start of the 3rd quarter shows. But where he’s wrong is in blaming this on Al’s handles, which are probably the best in the league among centers. Scoring with your back to the basket is about footwork and using your body to create space. That’s what Al needs to work on doing better.

Najeh Davenpoop

April 20th, 2011
3:43 pm

“I cant count how many times some of you have screamed for Teague to play and then LD puts him in and hes absolutely garbage”

If you can’t count to zero, you should have paid more attention in kindergarten.

SteveW

April 20th, 2011
3:44 pm

Let’s see, a 31/32 Jamal at SG for 9 mill per year for 3-5 years or a 23 year old SG named JC2 at 1.2 +mill. per year for the next 3 years. Hmmm, let me see….

But I know we had to ditch Bibby and Mo’. LD couldn’t help himself not to play them.

I am not for re-signing Jamal. 31+ year old SG’s who don’t look like they train very hard at fitness, who are starting a multi year contract, doesn’t seem like a good investment to me.

I think we could sign a good one for cheap. Maybe 2 good ones. TMac maybe? I haven’t looked to know who would be available. I know Mo’ is a FA – but I don’t want him back either!

SteveW

April 20th, 2011
3:47 pm

Najeh – I was thinking the same thing. The Houston game earlier in the season, and a Hornets game against Paul are the only 2 games I remember where he looked bad this season. Being doing great, especially if folks look at the Def. end of the floor and the flow of the game. Teague does great at both of those things on a consistent basis.

Teague does fit our athletic guys, and it looks like they love to run with him. LD is just a “vet” coach it seems, and it’s as simple as that.

SteveW

April 20th, 2011
3:48 pm

“Being” should be “been” in the last post – Aplologize

SteveW

April 20th, 2011
3:49 pm

OOps and Aplologize should be apologize! Ha Ha!

jgsbirds

April 20th, 2011
3:49 pm

i know howard made 15 of 19 ft’s last night but i still would have fouled him in the last two minutes instead of jameer nelson and jj freakin reddick. are you kidding me!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! it’s called hack a shack. if he’s in late i’m fouling him–make him make a few more! with that said i can’t believe he made that many–but god knows he doesn’t have to practice them–he shoots around 30 a game.

Bob Long

April 20th, 2011
3:50 pm

What was the cause of the long delay after Nelson’s foul shots in the last 2 minutes? There is nothing in the media about it. I was at the game and we were kept in the dark. People were booing, but the game finally went on with no exclamations about the controvercy.

Najeh Davenpoop

April 20th, 2011
3:53 pm

“IF TEAGUE SHOULD PLAY, TELL ME WHO HE SHOULD GUARD.

TELL ME ONE ROLE HE HAS IN THIS SERIES?”

Teague’s potential to contribute isn’t limited to the defensive end. You are right, the Hawks as a whole and Kirk in particular have done a good enough job with team defense that the need for a defensive specialist off the bench doesn’t exist. But in the 3rd quarter, when nobody was driving to the hoop or taking good shots and everyone was afraid of going anywhere near the paint, how would it have hurt to at least try playing Teague to see if he could get to the rim and create some easy scoring opportunities, or at the very least get some steals and turn them into transition opportunities? The worst thing that could happen is that Teague came in and didn’t score or create transition opportunities, which is what the rest of the team was doing anyway. The Hawks’ vaunted starters scored a grand total of 12 points in tbat quarter. How could Teague have possibly made that any worse? When things are going that bad, it’s worth a shot.

Najeh Davenpoop

April 20th, 2011
3:59 pm

“I’m confused by Collins (our “Dwight stopper”) only playing 19 minutes. I thought that Zaza was giving up too much in the second half to Dwight.”

Same here. Zaza actually wasn’t that bad, but Collins is on a whole different level when it comes to guarding Dwight. Not using him more down the stretch made very little sense, especially after Dwight picked up his 5th foul. If you ask me, Collins should foul out of every game in this series. No reason why he shouldn’t see every minute of floor time he possibly can.

SteveW

April 20th, 2011
4:05 pm

Tremaine – Those C’s frustrate Dwight, don’t let him set up deep in the paint, cause TO’s, and basically just get in Dwight’s head. He then tries to win the game himself, and the Magic are not nearly as good when he’s a one man show as when everybody gets involved.

Somebody posted some stat a few days ago on here that when Dwight attempts less than 13 FG’s a game the Magic are great, and when he attempt’s more than a certain number, they almost always lose.

Najeh Davenpoop

April 20th, 2011
4:06 pm

“Despite Horford’s foul trouble, the Hawks still had a chance to win. You’re right. But we played them even the second half with Al in the game. With Al out of the game, Orlando went on a big run to end the half up by 6. It was an uphill battle for the Hawks the entire second half.”

I’m not going to defend LD sitting Al the entire first half, which was a bad decision. But I will say this: the Hawks also finished the first quarter up by 6 without Al and built a 14 point second quarter lead without Al, so his gamble did pay off for a while. The strategy itself was not as bad as the execution. There were two spots where he could have/should have reinserted Al: a) when the Hawks reached their biggest lead of 14, or b) when Redick stole the ball from Kirk and created the transition opportunity for the Magic, which was a clear momentum shifter for them (I believe the Hawks were up 5 at that point). LD has to get a better sense of when things are starting to go the other team’s way and not be so damn slow to react.

Najeh Davenpoop

April 20th, 2011
4:08 pm

“I hope Sund is typing or dictating an email (since he has no computer)”

Haha… he’s on the telegram as we speak.

Slimjr

April 20th, 2011
4:13 pm

I would never let LD coach my playoff team.He would of been gone already!!!

mykhalc

April 20th, 2011
4:13 pm

@Najeh…totally agree with your last post. but LD has NO FEEL for the game as a HC and i DO NOT expect him to get it after 84 games…

Slimjr

April 20th, 2011
4:21 pm

This is why Teague must play: CREATE HAVOC FOR THE DEFENSE….PUSH THE ROCK!!!

THE HAWKS ARE 29TH IN STEALS???????????????WHAT???????????????
THE HAWKS ARE 29TH IN FOUL SHOT ATTEMPTS?????WHAT????????????
THE HAWKS ARE 29TH IN FORCED TO’S???????????WHAT???????????????
THE HAWKS ARE 28TH IN BLOCKS?????????????????WHAT??????????????
THE HAWKS ARE 29TH OFFENSIVE REBOUNDING????WHAT??????????????
THE HAWKS ARE 25TH IN REBOUNDING PERIOD?????????WHAT??????????
THE STATS DONT LIE.. THIS IS A SORRY FRANCHISE AND A LOTTERY TEAM IN THE WESTERN CONFERENCE……THIS TEAM REALLY DOES SUCK!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

NEW OWNERSHIP IS DESPERATELY NEEDED IN THIS TOWN ASAP!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Slimjr

April 20th, 2011
4:24 pm

GET READY BOYS AND GIRLS FOR UP NEXT TONIGHT AT 8PM ON TNT , SOME AWESOME BASKETBALL WILL BE PLAYED BETWEEN THE THUNDER CATS AND NUGGETS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
ITS GONNA BE AWESOME BABY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! IF THE REFS AT STAY OUT OF THE WAY??

lewis

April 20th, 2011
4:38 pm

marvin needs more pt in this series powell should never see the floor

Slimjr

April 20th, 2011
4:41 pm

ALLSTAR AL WATCH NENE ON TNT OPERATE IN THE PAINT TONIGHT. WATCH HOW HE RECEIVES THE ROCK AND VERY QUICKLY SIZES UP THE SITUATION THEN WITH A LIGHTING 1ST STEP HE MOVES THAT HUGH 6′11″ 280LB BODY AND POSTERIZES OTHER 7 FOOTERS!!!!!!!!!!! NENE MOVES WITH GRACE AND ATHLETICISM…NOTHING MECHANICAL OR STIFF ABOUT HIS GAME. HIS FOOT WORK AND HANDLE FOR A POST PLAYER ARE FANTASTIC.HE DOES NOT HESITATE LIKE YOU DO WHICH ALLOWS THE DEFENSIVE PLAYER TO RESET HIS BALANCE AND FOOT WORK TO NEUTRALIZE YOU NEXT MOVE… MOVE….ALA MOZART……………….

ALLSTAR AL YOU CAN ONLY DREAM OF PLAYING LIKE THAT??? MAYBE SOMEDAY SOON YOU SHALL..BUT IT AINT RIGHT NOW THATS FOR SURE….

lewis

April 20th, 2011
4:42 pm

great writeup on hoopinion

lewis

April 20th, 2011
4:42 pm

The Rockets have contacted coach Mike Woodson, according to My FOX Houston

Slimjr

April 20th, 2011
4:43 pm

marvin need more bench time….

Slimjr

April 20th, 2011
4:44 pm

Woody Sr=13 win season for Houston………….

LuellaPatterson

April 20th, 2011
5:02 pm

Slimjr: you are exactly right. I heard former great hall-of-fame coach Hubie Brown give those same statistics during the Hawks brilliant game 1 telecast. Hubie said that the reason why the Hawks are 29th in foul shot attempts is because THEY TAKE TOO MANY PERMITER SHOTS! This is coming from a HALL OF FAME FORMER HAWKS COACH WHO KNOWS BASKETBALL PROBABLY BETTER THAN ANYBODY ELSE. Yet, the Hawks keep hoisting up the jumpshots and josh smith keeps hoisting up his FAILED 3-point attempts. Another brilliant insight by Hubie Brown was that the Hawks need to play the power game. This means powering the ball inside through the painted area and the great thing about it is that the Hawks have the athletes to orchestrate this to perfection. Al Horford, Josh Smith and Marvin Williams should be feasting with their power games, but they continue to shoot up meaningless, impossible, ill-advised jump shots that cause the team to continually lose. The only two guys who understand the power game and driving to the basket are Jamal Crawford and Joe Johnson. Those two NEVER, EVER have a problem creating offense and getting their shots off. All I can say is the Hawks should be winning the NBA championship this season with the talent that they have. Of course, Larry Drew will mess it up and the Hawks will get eliminated by the Magic in 5 games. It was a great season atlanta hawks but it is time for you to begin your offseason just as soon as you have been eliminated by the Magic.

hbcuclassics

April 20th, 2011
5:09 pm

2011 Falcons Easy Button 3.0

1.27 Jimmy Smith, CB, 6′2, 211, Colorado – “elite” corner fills need; sophomoric behavior non-cancerous, Owens questionable, Williams out. Secondary suspect.

2.59 Bruce Carter, OLB, 6′2, 243, UNC – “elite” linebacker is Top 10 talent but for ACL. Like Moore/Jerry put on IR/rehab for a year; and reap Pro Bowl reward later.

3.91 Greg Little, WR, 6′3, 231, UNC – stud receiver with hands, strength, speed, agility. Makes big plays and acrobatic catches, bench pressed 225/27x; NCAA suspension irrelevant.

4.124 Jordan Cameron, TE, 6′5, 254, USC – long, athletic former WR and hoopster.

5.158 Johnny Culbreath, OT, 6′5, 285, SC State – AP/FCS All-American, 3xMEAC Champ; best lineman in HBCU football – think Larry Little.

6.192 Frank Warren, RB, 5′11, 195, Grambling – AP/FCS All American, “Sweet Feet” broke Walter Payton’s All-time SWAC rushing record w 1,592 yds in 2010; 3rd in NCAA rushing.

7.209 Raymond Webber, WR, 6′2, 215, UAPB – AP/FCS All-American, led NCAA w/ 101 rec. 1,429 yds.; 10TDS, 130 ypg avg. think Jerry Rice. Coach: Monte Coleman.

7.228 Ricardo Lockette, WR/KR, 6′3, 199, FVSU – 2009 DII 200M Champ, 4.39/40

7.229 Matthew Johnson, QB, 5′11, 185 Bethune – 2010 HBCU POY, 2010 MEAC POY

hbcuclassics.com

KevinM

April 20th, 2011
5:14 pm

You know what Woody says is his calling card?

From the interview:
“When you’re dealing with young people you’ve got to be able to relate to them,” Woodson said.
If only the fans could tell their side of the story while he was here….

KevinM

April 20th, 2011
5:16 pm

SteveW, you know what we will be doing this next year IF there is a season?

“Hey, LD, how is Jeff Teague progressing? Are you going to give him any minutes?”

Slimjr

April 20th, 2011
5:17 pm

When you folks watch the Denver/OKC game tonight just picture our Hawks playing these two teams..And write down the first thought that comes to mind……..

GarbageCollector

April 20th, 2011
5:19 pm

I know why people have been bashing Al Horford all day long. Al had probably the worst game of his career last night and it looked to me like AL WAS SCARED TO SHOOT THE ROCK. Every time Al had the ball in his hands when he was within 10 feet of the basket he kept passing the ball to someone else to bail him out so that Al wouldnt have to shoot. AL WAS AFRAID TO SHOULDER HIS RESPONSIBILITY AND AT LEAST SHOOT FOR HIS ALL-STAR SCORING AVERAGE AND GIVE THE HAWKS A CHANCE TO WIN. WE ONLY LOST BY 6 POINTS AND ANY PRODUCTION OUT OF AL WOULD HAVE GIVEN US THE VICTORY. I’M NOT BLAMING AL FOR GETTING INTO FOUL TROUBLE, BUT AL PLAYED SCARED ALL NIGHT AND HE SHOULD GIVEN BACK HIS PAY CHECK FOR HIS AWEFUL PERFORMANCE LAST NIGHT. AL LOOKED ALMOST AS BAD AS MARVIN WILLIAMS LAST NIGHT AND PLAYED PATHETIC BALL ALL NIGHT LONG. OF COURSE AL HAS A TREMENDOUS EXCUSE FOR HIS MEDIOCRITY LAST NIGHT AND THAT IS THAT HE WAS IN FOUL TROUBLE SO HE COULDNT SCORE. AGAIN, I SAW AL GET THE BALL IN HIS HANDS ABOUT 20 TIMES LAST NIGHT IF HE HAD TAKEN THOSE 20 SHOTS INSTEAD OF PASSING THE BALL TO SOMEONE ELSE, AL WOULD HAVE MADE AT LEAST 12 OF THOSE SHOTS AND THE HAWKS WOULD HAVE WON THE GAME BY 20 POINTS. BLAME THE LOSS ON “BIG” AL HORFORD.

KevinM

April 20th, 2011
5:23 pm

Slimjr, sweep 4 games to nil by either the Nuggets or OKC.

PaulRyder

April 20th, 2011
5:30 pm

I realize that the Hawks BLEW a great chance to go up 2-0 in their series with the Magic, but lets wait and see how the Hawks will play this weekend in their two home games against the Magic. Like I said earlier, if the Magic go up 3-1 by winning the next 2 games in alanta, Larry Drew needs to be shown the door BEFORE GETTING KICKED OUT OF IT. Atlanta is capable of winning the title with no disrespect to OKC/Denver/S.A./Dallas/Boston/Chicago Miami or Lakers. The Hawks can beat ANY OF THOSE TEAMS THIS YEAR in a 7 game series and the Hawks should not be denied the chance to win the gold trophy especially when they are better than all of those teams. Go Hawks, beat Magic in 6.

ag

April 20th, 2011
5:57 pm

These are Teague’s regular season stats amoung 17 Hawks

GP 70 6TH
min 13.8 10TH
ppg 5.2 8th
RBS 1.5 16TH
AST 2.0 7TH
STL .64 6TH
BLKS .36 4TH
TO .9 11TH
A/TO 2.2 4TH

If this guy played 30 min per game, he would have some really good stats, improving all those negative stats Slimjr posted

Game 2 Reactions « Howard the Dunk | An Orlando Magic Blog

April 20th, 2011
8:30 pm

[...] Michael Cunningham of the Atlanta Journal Constitution says rebounding was the difference: The Magic pounded the Hawks on the boards and outscored them 29-11 from the free-throw line. That’s how they won while shooting 34 percent from the field and committing 16 turnovers. [...]

Ken Strickland

April 20th, 2011
9:07 pm

As long as LDrew feels we have a chance to win a playoff gm, Teague will sit. Drew is totally committed to playing veterans now matter what, just like Woodson. No matter what JHinrich does or doesn’t do, he’ll get every chance to help or hurt the team, while Teague sits.

It’s stupid and is often detrimental to the team, but that’s just how it is with LDrew.

2 FOR JOHN DREW

April 21st, 2011
10:02 am

drmaryb …..That’s crazy funny !!!!!!!!!!!!!

WaltFrazier

April 21st, 2011
2:12 pm

I have a wonderful career plan for current head coach Larry Drew. There should be two scenarios or options to deterime his future. Either way, Larry Drew SHOULD NOT BE COACHING THE HAWKS NEXT SEASON. First of all, if Drew loses the series to the Magic, DREW SHOULD BE FIRED ON THE SPOT. Secondly, or the better career option for Drew, if the Hawks beat the Magic and advance to the second round to face the Chicago Bulls, Drew should be retained for next season, but bring Drew back as an assistant coach to the great Jerry Sloan. Hire Jerry Sloan next season regardless of whether the Hawks win the NBA championship this year or not. I personally feel the Hawks are going to win the title despite Drew, but if the Hawks get eliminated in the playoffs but beat Orlando to get into the second round, then hire Jerry Sloan as our next head coach and RELEGATE THE ASSISTANT COACHING DUTIES TO LARRY DREW UNTIL MANAGEMENT DECIDES WHEN IT IS BEST TO FIRE HIM. So in wrapping up, the two options for Drew are either a) lose to the Magic and get fired, or b) beat the Magic, then step down from your coaching position and come back next season as an assistant coach under Jerry Sloan, REGARDLESS OF WHETHER YOU WIN THE TITLE OR NOT.

Ken Strickland

April 21st, 2011
2:55 pm

Despite everything else that happened, I think we lost gm 2 because they made 15 more FT’s(32) than we shot(17). In other words, we shot 17 FT’s and missed 6, and Orlando shot 39 and missed only 7. Everyone keeps complaining about LDrew using JPowell off the bench 1st to play Dwight. When you consider how many turnovers he caused Dwight to commit, and how he forced him to work hard to score, it wasn’t a bad move.

He certainly did a much better job of defending Dwight than EThomas, who wasn’t physical, nor did he make him work hard to score. The only problem we have when Powell is playing Dwight is blocking him off the boards.

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