In all honesty, I would never wish repeat viewing of the Atlanta Hawks’ series-clinching victory over the Orlando Magic on my worst enemy. The on-court product was brutal. Neither team could convert any of their shots, the turnovers were many, and the execution on the whole was fairly awful. Atlanta’s 39.2 percent shooting from the field wasn’t acceptable by any conventional standard, but this wasn’t exactly a conventional game, nor a conventional series. In this bizarro dimension, 39.2 percent is apparently passable, and as the playoff trope often goes: Atlanta’s shooting wasn’t good, but it was good enough.
The Hawks certainly won’t complain with winning Game 6 to close out the series and move on to the second round, regardless of the quality of their competitive display. All of the ugly possessions in the world can’t change the verdict already in the books, and can’t make the Hawks anything lest than Eastern Conference semifinalists.
Orlando’s peripheral players extended their well-memed inability to hit shots, but their shooting problems were exacerbated by a team-wide disinterest in hitting the glass. Dwight Howard did his job -- as has been the case all series -- to grab 15 boards, but the rest of his team totaled just 16 of their own. 16. Meanwhile, the Hawks collected 36.8 percent of their own misses, and Joe Johnson (of all players) grabbed a game-high seven offensive boards. That’s not superior size, strength, or athleticism, but merely an active guard finding the right spots to create extra possessions. Any Magic player could have done the same, but instead they failed to keep Johnson (and Al Horford) boxed out and didn’t seek out loose balls with the same fervor as their opponents. Orlando played hard, they didn’t apply themselves in this one particularly problematic area -- and it cost them.
Still, even with the underwhelming performance on the glass, the Magic had two shots at sending this game into overtime, and failed to convert. The first set produced a wide open three for J.J. Redick, which fittingly found nothing but rim. The second -- a gifted opportunity after Horford landed out of bounds while collecting the rebound off of Redick’s attempt -- was heavily pressured. Hedo Turkoglu had a five-second count breathing down his neck as he attempted to inbound the ball, and his passing angles were already limited due to his location near the right corner along the baseline. Jason Richardson ultimately received the pass, but was pressured to shoot immediately, and then contested by Josh Smith. It wasn’t to be, as the Hawks dodged both bullets and won Game 6 in regulation.
Maybe Atlanta -- a team that had its three leaders in field goal attempts shoot a combined 13-of-55 from the field -- isn’t the most worthy second round club, but they successfully managed to not play worse than Orlando. They forced the Magic to play them on uncomfortable, difficult terms, and gutted out an ugly series with an ugly win. Johnson got his (and got his shot attempts), Crawford dropped 19 points, the defense held strong, and the game was won, however unglamorously.
Such a performance may not bode well for the Hawks’ chances against the Bulls in the second round (anything more than a single Atlanta win in that series will be a huge surprise), but it’s good enough for now. Tonight, the Hawks are victors. Victors who couldn’t make a shot, mind you, but victors nonetheless.