Friday, April 6, 2012

Hawks Defeat The Pistons, 101-96

Jeff Teague driving to the paint against the Pistons
I know I've been out for a while but let's get back to business. Good Friday was actually good for the Atlanta Hawks. A win against Detroit is giving the Hawks more momentum heading into the last two weeks of the regular season. It was a big night for PG Jeff Teague, who put up twenty-four points,  eleven assists, five rebounds, two steals, and one block. Josh Smith also had a good night with twenty-two points and twelve rebounds.

On the Pistons' side, PG Rodney Stuckey had twenty-seven points, three rebounds, & three assists. PG Will Bynum also contributed fifteen points off the bench. Detroit played hard all game long and even took the lead after the Hawks lead by twelve in the second half. This was a different Pistons team than the one that played Atlanta back in January.

The Hawks lead the season series with Detroit, 2-1, with one more game against each other to go. This game will be played in Atlanta on April 18th. The Pistons' playoff hopes have evaporated while the Hawks are playing for playoff position. They are currently the fifth seed.

If the Hawks stay healthy, they can finish out the last two weeks of the regular season strong and could do some big things in the playoffs. Players have stepped up through many injuries this season, even through the major loss of all star center Al Horford.

We have seen players such as twenty-seven year old rookie Ivan Johnson and Hawks veteran Zaza Pachulia step up in the absence of Horford. The contribution from the bench will be a big factor come playoff time and can win us a lot of games. Josh Smith has took his game to another level this season and doesn't appear to be slowing down any time soon. Head coach Larry Drew has his team thinking in the right direction and is looking like he has stressed winning to the team.

Keep on looking out for more Hawks blogs coming up and please post comments if you wish. Hopefully our Hawks can have a good rest of the regular season, post season and make a lot of noise. I know we can put the league on notice. So until then, GO HAWKS!!!- Yuriy

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