Just when you thought it was acceptable to start trusting the Atlanta Hawks, they lose to the Brooklyn Nets in the past two games of this series. The Hawks were supposed roll over the Nets. It was supposed to be their warm-up before eventually facing the Cleveland Cavaliers in the Eastern Conference finals. But some fight from a talented by usually despondent Nets team has turned this warm-up into a real battle.
The Nets protected their home floor by enduring 60 points in the paint, 13 made 3-pointers, and losing the rebounding battle 55-40 in Game 4, but still managed to ride their stars of contracts past to the victory to even up the series. The Nets have put the pressure on the Hawks, who can't afford a Game 5 loss in Atlanta which would put them one bad outing away from a rare 1-8 upset.
Here are the three things to take away from Hawks-Nets Game 4:
1. WHERE HAVE YOU BEEN, DERON WILLIAMS? WE'VE MISSED YOU
Remember the Deron Williams from the Utah Jazz days? Remember the D-Will from his initial season or two with the Nets? Remember the quick crossover, the brute strength, and the feathery touch that left people wondering if he was a better point guard than Chris Paul. That Williams has been gone for a couple of seasons. He's still been a solid point guard in stretches, but ankle injuries kept him from being able to cause havoc for defenses. The pressure of the New York media and the roughly $100 million contract didn't help the perception he was on the decline.
In Game 4, the old D-Will returned. He scored 35 points, the type of 35 we used to see him drop. He was 13 of 25 from the field and 7 of 11 from 3-point range to go along with seven assists, five rebounds, and three steals. He dominated. The Hawks' backcourt didn't have an answer for him. He's been through so much with his ankles that it's unlikely he does this again in this series, but if he gives them even half of this type of play and leadership, the Nets could have a shot at the upset.
2. WHERE WOULD THIS HAWKS TEAM BE WITHOUT DEMARRE CARROLL?
The only consistent player for the Hawks throughout Game 4 was DeMarre Carroll. He nearly helped them snatch this game and go up 3-1. He finished with 20 points and had seven of his nine rebounds come on the offensive glass. He was just quicker to the ball and seemed to want key rebounds more than anybody else out there. He was the fight the Hawks needed to emulate, but instead they just couldn't rally around his energy enough to figure things out.
In this series, the Hawks are plus-8.7 points per 100 possessions when he's on the floor and a devastating minus-31.4 points per 100 possessions with him on the bench. The Hawks can't afford to have Carroll not in the game and he's already playing 36 minutes a night. They may need to push him to 40 minutes the rest of the series and see if he can still have that same fight and energy at the end of games. He was also second on the team in assists tonight with five.
3. CAN AL HORFORD AND PERO ANTIC SLOW DOWN BROOK LOPEZ?
The Hawks are losing when Al Horford (-3.0 per 100) and Pero Antic (-0.8 per 100) are on the floor because they are losing the battle to Brook Lopez seemingly every stretch of the past couple games. Lopez is averaging 21.3 points and 11.0 rebounds in this series and they just can't seem to stop him from getting off that floated uncontested in the middle of the lane. You have to work so hard to keep him off the boards (4.0 offensive boards per game) and then it hurts the Hawks' defense get out of position in the process.
For Atlanta to regain control of this series, they either have to let Lopez feast while stopping everybody else or they'll have to shut Lopez down and dare the inconsistent perimeter players to be the heroes. The current balance (or imbalance) in the last two games just isn't working. Lopez had 26 points, 10 rebounds, four blocks, three assists, and two steals in Game 4 and that doesn't even seem to tell the story of how good he was.
Game 5 is Wednesday in Atlanta. The Hawks are looking to regain control of this series while the Nets are looking to take complete control.
SERIES SCHEDULE, RESULTS
Game 1 – Sun April 19
Atlanta 99, Brooklyn 92
Game 2 – Wed April 22
Atlanta 96, Brooklyn 91
Game 3 – Sat April 25
Brooklyn 91, Atlanta 83
Game 4 – Mon April 27
Brooklyn 120, Atlanta 115 (OT) - Series tied 2-2
Game 5 - Wed April 29
Brooklyn at Atlanta
Game 6 - Fri May 1
Atlanta at Brooklyn
Game 7 * Sun May 3
Brooklyn at Atlanta
