Atlanta Hawks: Blazers 97, Hawks 77
2:17 am February 19, 2012, by Michael Cunningham
Portland–The Blazers were desperate for a W and played like it. The Hawks were just sort of out there once their shots stopped falling. “I thought we were a step slow on pretty much everything tonight,” Larry Drew said.
The Blazers are not a particularly good offensive rebounding team. Nicolas Batum is not an especially good rebounder. Neither of these things were apparent tonight, when Portland collected 15 offensive rebounds and scored 18 second-chance points.
It seemed as if the Blazers corralled every loose ball or got enough of them that they bounced off Hawks players out of bounds. Portland got a pretty good percentage of their offensive boards that way. “The bounces weren’t going our way but that’s when we have to be a little bit more desperate,” Josh Smith said. “They were making shots early on. Then we played some good defense and we have up long rebounds. That’s when we have to gang rebound.”
Josh and Zaza Pachulia each had 10 rebounds. The rest of the Hawks had seven. That’s seven total. “A lot of it is on the guards,” said Joe Johnson, who had three rebounds in 38 minutes after collecting three total in the previous four games. “We have to come down and help the bigs. There was a lot of long rebounds.”
Batum replaced Wesley Matthews in the starting lineup and went off for 22 points on 15 shots with eight boards in 35 minutes. “He’s been playing terrific this year,” Josh said. “This kid you have to respect especially when he’s making that jumper like tonight. He’s a streaky shooter but when he has it going he’s pretty tough matchup, especially with his length. He’s an outstanding defender, as well.”
LaMarcus Aldridge is a tough matchup, too. Josh was challenging Aldridge’s shots early but Aldridge was shooting over him anyway. Aldridge ended up needed 19 shots for his 19 points. “Aldridge got going earlyt, he made some jump shots, which was not very discouraging,” Drew said. “As long as he’s taking jump shots we are content with that.”
Raymond Felton was struggling until tonight. Jeff Teague missed 10 of 11 shots and Kirk Hinrich was 0 for 4.
I’m thinking Josh was referring to Teague when he said this: “This team is a long basketball team. Long and athletic just like us but a little longer. They have Marcus Camby who can still contest shots at a high rate. LaMarcus Aldridge is 6-11. Gerald Wallace, Batum flies around.When you get into that paint you have to be a distributor and drop some of those passes off, that way they will be reluctant to contest the shots and that’s when you have your easy running floaters or your layups. The first game we moved the basketball around and get easy looks for each other. After that first quarter, that was kind of nonexistent.”
It was late in a game the Hawks weren’t going to win but Josh stayed on the court and tried everything he could to get another assist for a triple-double. He didn’t get it when Ivan Johnson made a move before scoring after a feed under the basket from Smith, who was still lobbying for that assist after the game.
Willie Green was part of Atlanta’s only stretch of sustained offense in the first half. Joe managed 19 points on 17 shots despite missing 6 of 9 3-point tries.
Marvin Williams was making shots but only provided two rebounds in 25 minutes on a night when the Hawks badly needed boards.
The Hawks got in trouble when they tried to pass inside or across Portland’s zone. The Blazers got their hands on lots of those passes, leading to run-outs.
More and more Tracy McGrady goes inside looking for calls that aren’t coming. He ends up stuck and turning the ball over. Still, the Hawks needed some offensive flow and rebounding so they might have benefited from more than four minutes of T-Mac especially with Vladmir Radmanovic going 0 for 3 with one rebound in 23 minutes.
Michael Cunningham, Hawks beat
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319 comments Add your comment
Grandad
February 19th, 2012
2:08 pm
Trade possibility: * POLL * ~{Pick One}~
Which would you prefer:
Josh for Rondo
-or-
Josh for Melo
____________________________________________
I know, I know there are other possibilities / proposals
some or most of you would prefer.
Or, none at all.
But; of these two, which is the Most Pleasing !!!
Alan
February 19th, 2012
2:16 pm
High-Sider, GET A LIFE.
Sautee
February 19th, 2012
2:33 pm
cp,
about this:
“I’m not shocked by T-Macs comments about Drew. He doesn’t seem like the type to sit a guy down and explain to him what he is trying to do. ”
Did you happen to read MCs thread about T-Mac? Here’s what he said:
“Earlier this week Drew, speaking generally about the limited amount of minutes available for his many veteran players, said he thinks it’s important to offer them an explanation when they don’t play much.”
In case you missed it.
Sautee
February 19th, 2012
2:34 pm
Grandad,
I’d rather have Rondo than Melo. He can make his teammates better. I haven’t seen that from Melo.
O'Brien
February 19th, 2012
2:37 pm
Neither Teague or Kirk has been playing well, so it would be nice to see LD give Pargo some minutes to see if he can do better.
And with us struggling on the boards last night, it would be nice to see LD give Ivan and Dampier a few more minutes to see if they can do better.
But nope. LD does what he does. Which is make the wrong substitution. Dude has no feel for the game (imo).
AJ,
I know the schedule got tougher, but since Kirk came back, the chemistry has not been the same. And I put it on LD.
O'Brien
February 19th, 2012
2:42 pm
MC,
Any updates on the Dampier situation? Will he get another 10 day contract?
Dampier’s game logs since being signed.
2 minutes against Orlando
6 minutes against Miami
16 minutes against the Lakers
2 minutes against Phoenix
0 minutes against Portland
Considering the fact he was sitting on the sofa when he got signed, I think he has looked decent. And I think he is deserving of another 10 day contract, and more minutes.
Grandmaster JeJe (GM)
February 19th, 2012
2:43 pm
Grandad, if we did Josh for Melo (which would be an interesting trade because we’d ************FINALLY********** HAVE A LEGIT SCORER NEXT TO JOE), we’d be adding on like 9 million in salary per year…
LOL @ northcyde on other blog saying Hinrich and Pargo should play spot minutes. Hinrich is making like 8M and is an expiring….No.
yodaddybrother
February 19th, 2012
2:57 pm
fire Larry Drew…
this is the second player complaining about rotations and playing time. Larry Drew is clueless out there especially with how he treats players. He’s a terrible coach. Every time we lose a game it’s some garbage about energy instead of about his coaching ineptitude.
Honestly…I didn’t even know the team played a game last night….good thing I didn’t watch it. Got outrebounded but Ivan Johnson and Dampier barely played?? Stupid coaching. Got outscored but T-Mac only 4 minutes???? Stupid coaching. Vladimire Radmanovic played 23 minutes???? Stupid coaching.
cp
February 19th, 2012
2:59 pm
He said he thinks its important to. Didn’t really say he actually did it. LD has said a lot of things but did the opposite.
Poll Answer
February 19th, 2012
3:05 pm
In either case grandmama I keep Josh but a better question is what can we get for Al Horford.
Al or Dwight that is the question. lets fix what broke not what aint,
Al or Dwight ?
Poll Answer
February 19th, 2012
3:06 pm
In either case grandmama I keep Josh but a better question is what can we get for Al Horford.
Al or Dwight that is the question. lets fix what broke not what aint,
Al or Dwight ?
Teague or Rondo?
Rusty
February 19th, 2012
3:14 pm
Road Rage go back on the street & vent your rage.
tyger
February 19th, 2012
3:15 pm
Raymond Felton was struggling until tonight.
Jeff Teague missed 10 of 11 shots and Kirk Hinrich was 0 for 4.
Are the Hawks this bad? Or is it just the backcourt?…
When they play like that, everything looks worse than it is…
Josh reiterates what I’ve been saying the whole time in re. Teague…
He’s running the dive-option w no pitch…
We need a complete PG b4 it’s too late…
The focus has been on BIGs but we’re OK…
ZaZa is sufficient, Horford’s coming back and Dampier/Collins…
Unless you significantly upgrade we can get by down there…
But not out top, that’s killing us…
One of T-Macs assets is his point-forward skills…
What happened to that? I guess Kirk Hinrich, but…
We just have to be patient, TMac too, we’ll need him later…
LD has to balance that out, but we have to start the home stretch…
Everyone’s got to understand, players are being shopped…
Allstar break is next weekend so they’ll be wheeling and dealing…
Other teams want to see your available guys…
As a player, its hard to watch your team lose…
TMac knows he can help and wants to – thats a good thing…
But last thing we need is to lose him b4 playoffs…
That’s the challenge, high risk-high reward…
Sund/LD have to massage this roster…
We know who these guys are by now…
I like Pargo, Ivan, Stackhouse, Radi but….
w/ Hinrich, Dampier, Collins there’s redundancy…
Who’s really going to play/contribute down the stretch?
Ray
February 19th, 2012
3:19 pm
How about we drop off a little dead weight the Atlanta Hawks is like a ship that’s sinking because it just has too much weight.
Marvin Williams, KH, Jason Collins, and Damp are the dead weights.
With Joe, Josh, and Al almost about to be dead weights themselves.
I’m just saying this right now if we exit the playoffs early 1 of the 3 so called core players must GTFO. There is no question about it.
The only thing is I don’t know which one would be first.
hawkfan
February 19th, 2012
3:26 pm
watching the knicks game now i see a blowout coming when we face them, lin is making their offensive way better and at lin finishes at the rim more often than not unlike our pg
ag
February 19th, 2012
3:29 pm
O’Brien, did you see the first half against the Suns? JT had a very strong 1st quarter. he actually lead all Hawks in scoring against LA. Just start Pargo???
Over the last three games, JT is averaging 13 ppg in 29 minutes. He is shooting 39% and 36% 3pt. This month JT took 21 FT hitting 19.. 90%
KH on the road trip, 19,6 ppg 3.1ppg 22% FG 00% 3pts (0-7)!!! so why do you say both men are struggling? I say bench KH,play Pargo!
bamaboy
February 19th, 2012
3:35 pm
How can all of us keep talking about trade when we want to trade our average players for teams elite player,doesn’t make sense but I guess it wishful thinking
yodaddybrother
February 19th, 2012
3:45 pm
The only players that need to stay on this team are Josh Smith, Jeff Teague and Ivan Johnson.
Joe Johnson has to stay by default because of the obvious. But it all starts with the head coach. You get what you pay for. You pay the bargain bin for a coach and this is the type of performances you get from your team that obviously doesn’t respect the coaching “prowess”.
Calling terrible plays, terrible player rotations, horrible in game adjustments, horrible halftime adjustments, pathetic motivator.
I’m tired of this entire organization though.. The worse thing a team can be is mediocre because we will win too many games to get a lottery pick but we’re not good enough to make a deep run. I’d rather be the Nets or the Wizards…at least we’d have the hope of a high draft pick
ag
February 19th, 2012
3:45 pm
Tyger.. I have posted this more than once… who is going to finish when JT drives to the basket? Josh is not in the lane and ZaZa blows at least two layups a game. The LD offense has very few plays that require pick and roll. I see a lot of pick and pop.. most of the time involving JT setting picks for JJ. I don’t think I saw one pick and roll last night.
Grandad
February 19th, 2012
3:48 pm
Grandmaster JeJe (GM)
I did not put in the particulars.
Marvin would have to be added to make the $’s work.
Now – Happy.
Buddy Grizzard
February 19th, 2012
3:54 pm
JR Smith 6-16… the Knicks have found their Jamal Crawford.
Grandad
February 19th, 2012
3:54 pm
bamaboy
`’How can all of us keep talking about trade
when we want to trade our average players
for teams elite player’`
To whom are you referring ?
On most any trade I propose;
I give the motivation for the other team.
Plus;
I usually attempt to trade our most elite players.
*[except those times when I try to trade Marvin]
Old Man Peabody
February 19th, 2012
3:55 pm
Watching Miami play lets me know how much money I waste going to see the Hawks play, these guys put on a show.
Lp
February 19th, 2012
3:59 pm
Whats up with our offense, we have to be the easiest playoff team to shut down. All we do is joe post up, josh post up, and marvin down screen. Not really sny movement other that that. We create no mismatches, or when we do never exploit them. If we had a wide open offense like western teams we would be alot better. I’m also with trading hinrich for a big, zaza is s good bench player, starter not so much
Astro Joe
February 19th, 2012
4:01 pm
Chemistry=Schmistry. From the outside in, we can only tell if chemistry is off based on how the team plays. And how the team plays is based in large part on who they play. When we win, chemistry seems fine, not so fine when we lose. In order for the chemistry to be as off as some want to suggest, Joe or Josh would need to be influenced. Let’s face it, they stir the drink on this team. Do you really think these guys are caught up in the playing time of Teague that it would affect them? Josh can be described as more suspect than sold on Teague (IMO). Joe has shown that he is willing to flow with dang near whatever and whomever. He may be the most accomodating player in the NBA.
Chemisty=Schmistry. Hawks have been bad against winning teams all seaon long and face mor ein February than ever before. They went from playing the Nets and Wizards almost every other day to facing teams like the Heat, Bulls and Suns.
And please, what does chemistry or Hinrich have to do with going from ~48% shooting in January to ~39% in February?
Teague’s fans continue to cast him in the roll of a victim. A victim of Woody. A victim of LD. A victim of Hinrich. A victim of Zaza’s bad hands. A victim of bad referees. Dude is a walking crime scene. If anyone of us had a friend who was constantly victimized like this, we’d likely try and place as much distance between us and that friend as possible.
He stunk up the gym last night. And every other NBA player has those games. But instead of just a simple “Teague wasn’t on his game but…” we get a line of posts that almost suggests Hinrich was secretly blocking all of Teague’s shots at the rim or knocking his 3-attempts off line. Neither was the case. He was bad last night after being better the previous game. The two performances average out to a glass half-full year so far. And that has NOTHING to do with Hinrich. Evaluating Teague’s performance MUST be done in a vacuum and not in the context of his back-up. Much like no one evaluates Joe based on Willie, Josh based on Ivan/Vlad or Marvin based on TMac.
Grandad
February 19th, 2012
4:03 pm
Our Hawks were Out-Rebounded 50 to 27 last evening.
Josh & Zaza with double digits being the only two on the entire team
to even attempt to garner a board last eve.
_____________________________________________
On the negative side for Josh;
NBA stat keepers once again at work.
Listing Josh with * only * three (3) turnovers.
He made three in the 1st qtr. alone.
At least another three before the half.
____________________________________________
Grandad
February 19th, 2012
4:09 pm
Ditch~Weed
I do not dislike Josh.
Quite the contrary.
However, at this time, he has peak trade value.
____________________________________________
I would also trade Teaguer as you will see after a while.
Teaguer will be a part of what can possibly bring us a Legit 7 ft Big Man.
____________________________________________
Astro Joe
February 19th, 2012
4:10 pm
Grandad, I think (maybe hopefully I think), thatthe Hinrich assault is misguided hyper-fandom for Teague and his style of play rather than a “tribal” issue. Some have chosen to be more loyal to the player than the entire team. Hinrich is clearly a better player than Pargo and any team is best served with quality depth. The one and only reason to maintain this “Kirk as Bin Laden” assault is to promote Teague as the one and only LG for the Hawks. I don;t understand that because Josh clearly has been sub-optimized in his development from lack of another option to jeopardize his playing time. NBA head coaches have a single motivational lever when all is said and done, who gets minutes. Josh never had to iron out his wrinkles because his minutes were virtually guaranteed even when he continued to make mental errors. I ALWAYS try and put my kids in the most comepetitive situations because I think that offers them the best chance to “step up”. If they don’t, they have tomorrow. When Kirk is gone next season, I hope we sign slomeone like Earl Watson (who has outplayed Devin Harris) or Dooling or anyone who will push Teague to whatever potential he possesses. Pargo can’t do that. And if Teague fails in that battle with the other PG, then he has tomorrow to try again.
northcyde
February 19th, 2012
4:10 pm
Lol @ High giving Marvin a D and Drew a B+. Just laughable.
Question. How can Marvin do more, if he isn’t being given a chance TO do more?
People’s bias against Marvin and magnifying every little thing that he does ( or doesn’t do ) blinds people from the fact that Drew isn’t giving him the consistent minutes TO do more. Honestly, it’s the same situation that T-Mac is going through.
Marvin is averaging the same amount of minutes now ( 24 ) that he averaged in his rookie year. Forget that his 3 point shooting is off the charts, and his rebounding rate is way up, and his PER is the highest it’s ever been in his career, he’s STILL getting less minutes.
How can Drew get a B+ when he’s giving minutes to two of the most inefficient players on the team? ( Kirk and Vlad )
The bias against Marvin comes from people still mad at him for not even coming close to playing up to that #2 pick. But for the most part, he’s been solid all year. Not great, but solid. Definite more solid than Vlad. Heck, even last night Marvin scored 8 in the 3rd quarter, but couldn’t get extended minutes.
Even in blowouts, Drew should be going with Hinrich/Pargo – Green – T-Mac – Marvin – Ivan, just to see if that group can develop their games a little more.
LOL @ Drew getting a B+. Drew has mismanaged the hell out of this lineup since the return of Hinrich, and still acts like he doesn’t know when to give people who are producing, extended minutes.
northcyde
February 19th, 2012
4:15 pm
Jeje, I could give a damn if Hinrich was making 20 million. If he’s not producing, sit him down. You cry about Marvin all the time, but Kirk is giving us even less than Marvin. He doesn’t even shoot better than Marvin anymore.
Kirk and Vlad are eating up minutes that should be going to other people.
Grandmaster JeJe (GM)
February 19th, 2012
4:21 pm
Northcyde ——- Jeje, I could give a damn if Hinrich was making 20 million. If he’s not producing, sit him down. You cry about Marvin all the time, but Kirk is giving us even less than Marvin. He doesn’t even shoot better than Marvin anymore.
****
well maybe ASG gives a damn and isn’t going to pay a guy to sit. Maybe that’s why Marvin’s pathetic azz continues to INEXPLICABLY START WHEN YOU HAVE MORE QUALIFIED PLAYERS WHO SHOULD BE STARTING.
Batum torched us yesterday.
Grandmaster JeJe (GM)
February 19th, 2012
4:22 pm
The fact Marvin is 6″9 and cannot finish a single damn play at the rim warrants him a G or an H. Forget a D or F.
bamaboy
February 19th, 2012
4:24 pm
Grandad our so called elite players would be other teams role player or would come off the bench ,like I said in a previous blog our so called best player is Joe Johnson ,he was a role player for the suns who Steve Nash made look good because he kicked it out to jj who was a spot up shooter .we bring him here to run the offense threw and that’s not what he is , so if he is our best player what are the other players on this team Average, so we can’t get other teams elite for our average player .right or wrong?
Grandmaster JeJe (GM)
February 19th, 2012
4:25 pm
And if you think Pargo shouldn’t play, you obviously haven’t seen him play. Which would make sense since you don’t live in ATL and probably don’t watch the games, but instead spend 12 hours a day analyzing stats. Speaking of stats, how’s your fantasy team doing? About to lose to mine.
ROTFLMAOLOLKTC
Rusty
February 19th, 2012
4:29 pm
Fire ld,he dont even deserve a d.
ag
February 19th, 2012
4:31 pm
AJ.. I cannot say JT had a great game because watching him last night, yes he played poorly! I will defend him against some of you who question who the Hawks point guard is. JT biggest problem is he is inconsistent. Time will tell what type of player he will develop into but the shots he was missing were not hurting the team. He took shots in the flow of the offense and they did not drop. JJ has had several of those games to, but a shooter has to keep shooting to get his stroke back. JT plays much better when he is not looking over his shoulder. He was the first Hawk to get subbed for.
I guess what makes it worse, KH is doing nothing to justify getting playing time. He gives us nothing. Altough Jeff struggled on the offensive end, he made a couple of great blocks showing he did not give up on the play!
Even a late dunk by Batum, Vlad Rad could have been a comfortable as me in my living room watching the play – rather than trying to challenge it!
Grandad
February 19th, 2012
4:33 pm
Once again ‘`AJ`’ is on Target !
Our Hawks shot 26 % from behind the arc last nite.
-not good-
When we shoot 40 % we win.
-not realistic-
Joe takes the most 3’s.
Joe is a career 36 % 3 pt shooter who shot 29 % last yr.
Joe is shooting 35 % right now.
Joe’s 3 pt % has trended downward since 2005.
As I said Joe shoots the most 3’s.
The way this team is set up – we need to hit 40 % [3's] to win;
or at least to win consistrently.
Conclusion:
This team is built to fail.
Solution:
* Change = JoeJ must Go / I just proved it.
* We Must Have a Post Player, A Legit Center,
We must be able to Score Inside (Josh refuses to do it)
Therefore:
* Josh Must either Go or Change !
And:
* Acquire a Legit 7 ftr Rebounder / Rim Defender
Now:
*Twin Towers = # 1 a Legit Post Scorer
*Twin Towers = # 2 a Legit Rebounder / Rim Defender
Meaning:
* Trades Must occur
* Sooner than later
ag
February 19th, 2012
4:36 pm
I would also trade Teaguer as you will see after a while.
Teaguer will be a part of what can possibly bring us a Legit 7 ft Big Man.
– Grandad
Since I have been on the blog, I really think you have been accurate in most situations. In this one, you are all off. Overall, when KH suites up as a Hawk we lose more than we win. is it his fault? He can only control how well he plays when he hits the court, and so far, he has played really bad.
Grandad
February 19th, 2012
4:43 pm
Post Script
A new Coach with ‘`Gumption`’ to make it work !
My 1st two choices in order:
* Mike Budenholzer – San Antonio Spurs
* Leonard Hamilton – Fla St. Univ.
Dept. Of Unintended Irony
February 19th, 2012
4:43 pm
“Overall, when KH suites up as a Hawk we lose more than we win.”
I thought we paid Kirk to be on the court, not up in the suites.
ag
February 19th, 2012
4:45 pm
KH nimbers are slightly higher than Pargo
Sautee
February 19th, 2012
4:49 pm
While I have an appreciation for what Kirk has done in the past, I’m with Najeh on trading him for a big man. ASAP.
But did it ever occur to those of you crying because you think he’s getting too many minutes, that he may be being “showcased” to prove he’s sound after the injury? Does it always have to be a conspiracy theory?
northcyde
February 19th, 2012
5:02 pm
Lol @ don’t watch the hawks play. SportSouth don’t Eben show the Hawks anymore, due to the rise of the Grizzlies. I get every Grizzly game now.
So you know what I do? I watch just about every Hawk game online. I even watch the Hawks on my PHONE when I don’t have access to a computer. My entire motivation to upgrade to my badazz Samsung Infuse 4G phone, was to be able to watch the Hawks from anywhere. I watch this team enough to know that Kirk and Vlad shouldn’t be playing more than 10 minutes a night. 0 minutes in the case of Vlad.
Marvin isn’t going to get props from you or some of the others for simply being a solid role player. If he couldn’t get credit for how he was playing when his PER was over 19, he Wong get it unless he plays at James Hardin level.
Spyro
February 19th, 2012
5:04 pm
NBA stat keepers once again at work.
Listing Josh with * only * three (3) turnovers.
Stop it. Either get your eyes checked, or stop willfully lying to produce a false agenda of “Josh sucks, trade him.”
northcyde
February 19th, 2012
5:05 pm
Sautee, meanwhile we’re dropping game after game because we’re “showcasing” him.
That’s one dude that shouldn’t be playing unless he or the Hawks are playing well at that particular time.
bamaboy
February 19th, 2012
5:05 pm
There go everybody again , trade ,trade ,trade our player or not good enough to get an elite big man or any player, trade kh look what we had to give up to get him bibby and now since he play with us his stock has rise? We need a player who is the team leader with some fire and we don’t have that , but Kobe on the team for one game and not jj, Kobe dont have to score and watch how good the team will be with a leader on the floor with fire, do u remember when rashad Wallace played one game for us before we trade him that was the best defense we ever played for one game.can yall dig that?
Sautee
February 19th, 2012
5:08 pm
northcyde,
I merely suggested that showcasing may be happening, but I did not offer it as an excuse, OR a reason for his PT.
northcyde
February 19th, 2012
5:13 pm
Grandad, how about this? How about getting JJ the ball in the areas he does the most damage( from the top of the key on in ) and increase the number of open threes for guys who can consistently make that shot ( Marvin and Willie ). Add Teague to that group as well. But that would mean that Drew would have to recognize this and even call plays to get those guys shots. So we know that won’t happen.
Throwing JJ completely out of the mix is not the solution. He simply needs to take better shots while in rhythm.
Joe D,
February 19th, 2012
5:15 pm
Enter your comments here
Buddy Grizzard
February 19th, 2012
5:16 pm
Trade deadline is coming up. Hopefully we flip Kirk’s expiring, package Marvin and bring back something of value. Ivan gives us another player who can play 3 positions and his emergence makes Marvin completely expendable. Josh and Ivan gives you two players that can both start at small or power forward. Why Ivan is in the doghouse I don’t know, but I’m not getting worked up about anything until I see the composition of this team after the trade deadline. After February the Hawks’ schedule gets a lot more favorable. If the team keeps beating weak opposition we can maintain 5th in the East, which is the only way this team sees the second round… a fact that’s not lost on Sund or LD, whose jobs are on the line.