Atlanta Hawks at Raptors: Game thead

Toronto-–Same starting lineup for the Hawks: Jason Collins at center in place of Zaza Pachulia. Linas Kleiza (knee) will not dress for the Raptors.

• Larry Drew said Hawks players were miffed about last night’s debacle: “It wasn’t a good mood at all. I am sure they were very disappointed in themselves. I certainly was not a happy camper last night. After a game like that, it’s emotional. I had a chance to watch a bit of the game flying in last night, got a good night’s rest, got up this morning and I felt like a new person. I felt like that game and that day was so far behind us right now. As I told the guys, it’s a matter of looking at that game and saying, ‘Hey, we let that one get away from us.’ Now it’s a matter of lacing them back up and going out there and playing the way we know we are capable.”
• The Hawks get an immediate chance at redemption and clinching a playoff berth all in one shot. “It’s just one loss but looking back at it we could have played a lot more competitively,” Josh Smith said. “Now we are able to get that sour taste out of our mouth and play the same team.”
• Drew: “We’ve got to play better. From an energy standpoint and going back and looking back at the game, we didn’t have the energy for some reason. You have got to Toronto give credit they came out and sustained for an entire game but I know we are much, much better and more capable of playing better. We didn’t play good basketball last night on either end.”
• Drew said Toronto’s assault on the rim had more to do with poor perimeter D than a lack of inside presence: “We didn’t defend off the dribble very well. We did a good enough job defensively at defending sets but, at the tail end of a few sets, we just got beat off the dribble. It wasn’t anything they did, they just put the ball down and went by us. You have to play better defensively. When it comes down to mano y mano you just have to sit down and you have got to guard.”
• Drew on Toronto’s zone D: “Zone is zone. When you are not making shots against a zone, the zone is pretty good. When you are making shots, the zone is not worth a heck. They seem to have confidence in their zone. But it wasn’t anything to surprise us. In all of our meetings we had with them they have zoned us. We have been able to make the adjustments. I wouldn’t say that was the determining factor.”

Michael Cunningham, Hawks beat