Kirk Hinrich is unlikely to have the chance to face his former team in Round 2 of the playoffs. The Hawks’ starting point guard strained his hamstring in Game 6 against the Magic, and it was announced on Friday that Hinrich was “doubtful” for the conference semifinals against the Bulls. Hinrich injured the hamstring in the fourth quarter when he drove around Gilbert Arenas to make a floater in the lane over Dwight Howard. The basket put the Hawks up 78-74 with three minutes left in the game, but the loss of Hinrich may prove to be much more than the basket was worth. Atlanta will now rely even more heavily on Joe Johnson, Jamal Crawford and Jeff Teague to defend Derrick Rose.

He had four turnovers and only eight points in last night’s win against the Magic, but two of those eight points came on a killer dunk that made ESPN’s top Dunks of the Night:

LeBron’s not the only one that can quote Jay-Z to finish off a series. The Hawks sent the Magic packing with a 84-81 victory in Game 6 and will move “on to the next one” and face the Chicago Bulls in the conference semifinals.

This series epitomizes what I love about the playoffs– you see what teams are really made of and what can be accomplished when there’s more at stake. Everyone, myself sheepishly but realistically included, picked the Magic over the Hawks. And yet Atlanta manged to come out on top and upset Orlando for the series win.

They didn’t make it look pretty– all four wins were nail biters, and the Hawks never managed more than a 10-point margin of victory, but where there’s a will there’s a way, and the Hawks willed themselves through this one. Despite criticisms of the team’s inconsistent and lackadaisical efforts during the regular season, the playoffs gave the Hawks a chance to demonstrate what they are capable of when they push the tempo and keep the energy up through all four quarters. And to see for themselves that outstanding defense can make up for poor shooting, even for a “jump-shooting team.”

Emotions were high, and there was yet another altercation between Zaza Pachulia and a Magic player, this time Hedo Turkoglu. While this one didn’t result in ejections like in Game 3, two technicals and two flagrant fouls were called on the Hawks and Magic tonight (Howard, Turkoglu and Anderson for the Magic, Pachulia for the Hawks).

Joe Johnson led the Hawks with 23 points and 10 rebounds. Al Horford also had a double-double with 10 points and 12 boards, but the Hawks as a team struggled from the field for the second night in a row. Atlanta shot only 35% from the field in the first half compared to the Magic’s 44%, but threw up 14 more shots and managed to go into halftime with a 6-point lead. The key for Atlanta was staying aggressive on the boards; the Hawks out-rebounded the Magic 26 to 13, and more importantly, 10 to 1 in offensive rebounds in the first half. Jamal Crawford and Marvin Williams also made big contributions off the bench with 19 and 10 points, respectively.

The Magic never gave up and went on a 15-5 run in the fourth to pull within one, and Dwight Howard made up for his 8-point, 8-rebound night in Game 5 with a solid 25-point, 15-rebound effort. But it was too little too late, and the Hawks went on to take the game and the series.

The Hawks will face Derrick Rose and the Bulls in Round 2 which will no doubt be a tall order. But let’s focus on the present. I’m going to ride out the victory and just enjoy this one for now.

The Heat had their second chance to knock the Sixers out, and they didn’t miss it this time. Back in front of a hometown crowd, Miami beat Philadelphia 97-91 in Game 5 to advance to Round 2 of the playoffs.

Philadelphia didn’t make it easy for them and stayed in the game refusing to back down. The younger and less experienced Sixers team fought hard to keep their postseason hopes alive. They kept the game close throughout and managed to came within one with 30 seconds left, but Dwayne Wade pretty much put this one to rest with a free throw that put the Heat ahead with nine seconds left.

Prior to the game, LeBron James was asked for his thoughts on the Heat and trying to move on. He responded by saying the team was “just finishing our breakfast” to quote Jay-Z.

Well, it looked like James choked a little on his breakfast with only 16 points– and only 3 in the first half– and 10 rebounds. Luckily for him, his teammates made up for it. Wade and Bosh had 26 and 22 points, respectively, and Chalmers made a huge contribution with 20 points off the bench. Miami didn’t shoot well from the field as a whole (40%) but managed to protect their lead by knocking down free throws (21-for-25, 84%) and getting a lot of second-chance points (18).

For the Sixers, Elton Brand and Andre Iguodala led with 22 points each, and Thaddeus Young’s hustle and 13 points off the bench helped keep the Sixers in the game. But the team struggled behind the arc going 2-for-10 from 3-point range.

The Heat will now shift their focus to the Celtics who knocked off the Knicks in four straight. This budding rivalry in the East should make for a great match-up in Round 2. The Heat have struggled against the Celtics, losing 3 of the 4 games in the regular season, but the one win was a 100-77 blowout at the end of the season. Game 1 will take place this Sunday at 3:30 PM EST.

The Hawks find themselves in a near must-win situation for Game 6 after being crushed by Orlando 101-76 in Game 5. Atlanta will need to step up its game tomorrow night at Philips Arena if it wants to avoid a Game 7 in Orlando. I am itching for a Hawks-Bulls Round 2 match-up. What will the Hawks need to do in order to close out this series and move on?

1. Remember the other four players not named Dwight on the court: As much as everyone knows how Dwight being Dwight can completely dominate and influence a game’s outcome– and no one knows it more than Howard himself– containing the Magic’s big man won’t necessarily make or break the Hawks’ success in Game 6. Howard averaged 32 points and17 rebounds in Magic losses, and only 20.5 points and 13.5 rebounds in Magic wins. Bottom line: the Magic can still win when Dwight has an off night, and lose when Dwight plays like Superman. What will be even more important for the Hawks is defending perimeter shots from JJ and staying aggressive on the boards to keep Richardson, Nelson and Turkoglu at bay.

2. Consistency at the line: It’s just fundamental basketball. Make your free throws. The Hawks went 22-for-32 (69%) at the line in Game 5, unacceptable for a team trying to make a run in the playoffs. Drive inside and draw the fouls. Get to the line, and make your free throws.

3. Jamal Crawford: The Hawks’ 6th man played a huge role in their first three wins. Crawford averaged 24 points of the bench in the first four games, but managed only eight in last night’s blowout. When he’s on, you can sense that every time he throws up a shot, he knows it’s going to go in. And the Hawks will need him to be on in Game 6.

Jamal Crawford

4. Follow the leader: Point guard Kirk Hinrich appears to be the only player that maintains a consistently high energy level on the court. He brings everyone’s defensive game up a notch– when the rest of the team follows his lead. In Game 5, the Hawks were out-rebounded, out-blocked and just out-hustled by the Magic. They lacked the kind of drive and effort on the defensive end of the court necessary to win in the playoffs, and don’t think the Orlando won’t take ready to take advantage of it if Atlanta gets lazy again.

It’s time for home court advantage. Game 6 Thursday night at 7:30 EST. Let’s close this thing out. Go Hawks!

Everything went wrong for the Hawks tonight. They looked like an entirely different team than the one in the previous games this postseason. How can a team go from taking a 3-1 in the series and then turn around and lose by nearly 30 points just two days later? This is precisely the dilemma of a jump-shooting teaming. When they’re on, they’re on. But when they’re off, they’re off. Tonight, this jump-shooting team was far off and fell to the Magic 101-76.

Atlanta should have considered itself lucky to be down by only 13 after the first quarter. The team committed five turnovers and shot an appalling 3-for-19 (16%) which made Magic’s 9-for-24 (38%) look great.

Still, despite the early hole, the Hawks had chances to get right back into things, take the crowd out and even take the lead. But the shots just didn’t fall, and the momentum quickly did. The Hawks never regained their confidence, and the Magic ran away with this one.

Jason Richardson

Everything seemed to be working for Orlando. For the first time, Stan Van Gundy got a well-rounded effort from his team and it wasn’t just The Dwight Howard Show. In fact, Howard struggled, managing only 8 points and 8 rebounds. But his teammates picked up the slack– Jason Richardson, back from his suspension, led the team with 17 points, and Reddick went 6-for-8 off the bench to add 14. The Magic shot 41% from the field, an improvement from the 35% mark they put up in Game 4, and it was the first game in the series in which the Magic managed to break 100 points. But the Hawks didn’t exactly make them work hard for their shots: it’s easy to shoot well when no one’s defending you or boxing you out…

All of the Hawks seemed anxious to get this one over with and head back home to Atlanta. No one was in double digits other than Josh Smith (22 points) and Marvin Williams (12 points), and LD emptied the bench with seven minutes left in the game.

Game 6 on Thursday should be considered a must-win for the Hawks, who do not want to have to bring things back to Orlando in a final Game 7. Come on, guys! Game. Time.

From Peachtree Hoops:

“What can really be said about this Hawks team? Name another team that can look so good one minute and then terrible again the next. Each game is a roller coaster ride of sorts, with the Hawks doing enough good things to build a lead only to stump their own toe while allowing the opposition back into the game.”

Well, I’m glad I’m not the only one that’s felt like it’s taken a bumpy and tumultuous route to get to this 3-1 advantage against the Magic. But regardless of the the way they’re winning (and my poor blood pressure that is being dragged along in the process), the Hawks players and coach, Larry Drew, are rightfully holding their heads high.

According to Jamal Crawford:

The Hawks are “the hottest team in the playoffs that no one’s really talking about.”

Josh Smith would tell you:

“We’re not anxious or pressured to make anybody believe in this team. We know what we have in this locker room. It’s some pretty good talent.”

And Coach LD:

“These Hawks are proudly bipolar and capable of flipping on the proverbial switch when necessary to get the job done.”

“Proudly bipolar.” What an entirely accurate assessment. As much as I have tried to mentally will this team to to stop taking jump shots and drive to the basket more in order to take more control over a game rather than rely on sharp shooting, Joe Johnson reminds me:

“But you look at a jump-shooting team–we are a jump-shooting team. If shots are falling then, great, we are rolling. But one through five, we all are jump shooters. That’s pretty much what it is. Like I said, if we are making shots then we are probably unstoppable. But when we are not making shots those are the games we have to grind out.”

And so, I’m throwing in the towel. Fine. Shoot your lazy jump shots. Avoid the paint as if it’s an infectious disease. Take half the number of free throws as your opponents. In the end, a win’s a win, however you get there. And so I’ll shut up and be content with it. (For now…!)

The Hawks didn’t trail once against the Magic tonight, but Atlanta fans were kept on the edge of their seats throughout the entire game. Despite committing 16 turnovers and problems in the paint and at the line, things came to together when it counted, and the Hawks managed to take Game 4 and head back to Orlando with a 3-1 lead in the series.

The Hawks were up by as many as 16 early in the game, but Orlando came back to tie things up late in the fourth quarter. And all of the Hawks’ leads never exactly felt “safe” as the team yet again, relied on easy jump shots to stay ahead. Luckily for the Hawks, the Magic struggled from the field and shot only 39% on the night– 25% in the first half.

Orlando had 29 free throw attempts compared to Atlanta’s 20, but four of Atlanta’s came within the last two minutes of the game when Orlando was forced to commit intentional fouls. First half free throws were even more lopsided (17-4) which can’t even be attributed to biased refereeing this time around. I sometimes wondered if there was a “Do Not Enter” sign in the paint at the Hawks’ end of the court…

It didn’t help that Atlanta was playing without backup center, Zaza Pachulia, who was involved in an altercation with Magic guard Jason Richardson in Game 3. Both players were suspended and did not play in tonight’s game. But their teammates managed to step up in their absences. Orlando had 26 points off the bench, including 20 by Gilbert Arenas in what appeared to be his first attempt at doing something that makes him worth a $17 million contract. It was the first time all postseason that an Orlando player managed double digits off the bench.

Jamal Crawford

But Atlanta was saved once more by Jamal Crawford who had 25 points off the bench, becoming the first bench player to score at least 20 points in each of the first four postseason games since 1991. Joe Johnson and Al Horford also came up big in the clutch. Johnson, playing through a hand injury, knocked down all four of his free throws late in the game, and Horford came up with the defensive play of the game, knocking the ball away from Hedo Turkoglu in the Magic’s final possession.

It wasn’t pretty, and this one ended in a huge sigh of relief rather than with triumphant confidence, but a win is a win, and Atlanta now has the edge over Orlando going into Game 5.

There was a lot of talk around whether or not Knicks forward Amar’e Stoudemire would be in for Game 4 against the Celtics. Stoudemire has been suffering through back pain after pulling a muscle during practice prior to Game 2 and was questionable for Games 3 and 4 of the series. Stoudemire ended up playing in Game 3 but had an off night going 2-for-9 from the field.

I can’t help but note the contrast as I Alt+Tab between articles on how Stoudemire “plays through pain” versus recaps about how “Even on an off night, Rose awes” and wonder about which players are more or less prone to talk about their aches and pains over the course of a season.

The thing that I love about D-Rose (that I am begrudgingly admitting as the Hawks may face the Bulls in a hypothetical Round 2 match-up) is that he drives to the basket every time. He gets in there, isn’t afraid to challenge guys and forces the defense to come inside. He gets double- and triple-teamed, with arms, elbows, and butts in his way, traps and hard fouls against him, and still just fearlessly attacks the basket with blinders on. He’s got to be going through his own bumps and bruises with the way he plays. But his reaction to a less-than-stellar performance in Game 3? Something along the lines of “I had an off night, but luckily other guys pulled through;” not “My back hurt, guys were throwing ‘bows in my face, I played almost 40 minutes in each of the previous two games.”

Derrick Rose

Now don’t get me wrong– I think Amar’e is great and a tough guy for coming out and playing through the pain. It’s a long season, and the playoffs entail a much higher level of intensity. Besides, I don’t even know if Rose had been suffering through anything. But that’s kind of the point, isn’t it? (Read: this is a diplomatic way of saying “I don’t know because he doesn’t b*tch about it.”)

But it’s just interesting to see the differences in what is focused on. Case in point: I started writing this before learning of Rose’s ankle sprain during Game 4 on Saturday afternoon. Apparently this happened during the first quarter of the game, but Sunday evening was the first I had heard of it. The response?

“‘The general feeling amongst Bulls coaches and players was that Rose would find a way to be on the floor Tuesday night for Game 5.’

‘He’s fine,’ Thibodeau said. ‘He’s going to have his ankle checked. Hopefully, he’ll be ready.’

Rose did not complain about any discomfort, although Thibodeau admitted that his 22-year-old point guard probably wouldn’t admit to pain anyway.

‘We asked him, he says he fine,’ Thibodeau said. ‘[Athletic trainer] Fred [Tedeschi] says [Rose] has a little soreness, but he says he’s fine.’”

It kind of brings the concept of “taking one for the team” to a whole new level.

Respect. That’s all I’ve gotta say.

Now that tempers have cooled a little since Zaza Pachulia and Jason Richardson’s heated confrontation at the end of last night’s Hawks-Magic game, it’s time to deal with the consequences. Both players will be suspended for Game 4, a huge blow to the Hawks especially who are dependent on their backup center to guard Dwight Howard.

Howard himself received a technical on the play, his second of the postseason. League rules state that a player is suspended for one game after his seventh technical in the playoffs. With Howard’s track record as the league leader in T’s during the regular season, this possibility isn’t as far-fetched as it seems. Still, Howard doesn’t think the call on him was merited:

“I didn’t see a tech or I didn’t see a need for a technical foul. I was in the act of shooting when I got fouled. I just went up. I don’t know. I don’t think it shouldn’t been called a technical foul. I can’t do nothing about it now.”

Take a look at the play and judge for yourself:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=qU2QnCGrJy8