Hawks 114, Knicks 101 or Where Al Horford makes me smile.

The Good: Al Horford. The Boss totally lived up to his nickname tonight, particularly in the second half. He finished the game with 25 points, 9 rebounds, 3 assists and 2 blocks. He really ignited the Hawks in the third quarter. Its like he finally decided he was better than the Knicks low post players and he went to work. Honorable mention: Josh Smith. He actually deserves more than an honorable mention because he was every bit as good as Al. He finished with 22 points, 12 rebounds, 4 assists, 1 block and 2 steals.

The Bad: Joe Johnson's first half. Joe literally has the capability to shoot the Hawks into a game or shoot them out of one. Either way, he's shooting. He's been able to overcome his slow starts in a couple of games this season, but Joe would be better served to pass the ball to players who can actually make a damn shot as opposed to shooting over 2 to 4 defenders. Luckily he was able to rebound in the second half. He finished with 19 points.

The Ugly: Letting the Knicks shoot over 60% at one point (second quarter) during the game. That's just unacceptable. I mean, yeah, Larry Hughes was on fire early and of course no one could have foreseen that, but the Knicks were getting wide open shots and uncontested layups at an alarming rate in the first half. To be such a defensive minded coach, Mike Woodson's team sure doesn't defend with any regularity. They defend in spurts, which is a recipe for disaster in the long run.


Up next, the Boston Celtics.

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