Reasons We Won Game 5

I wont go into the crazy stats that Mike can pull up, but it was very clear the difference between this game and the first four, aside from our shots going down, was on the offensive side.  The pick and rolls destroyed the Hawks time and time again.  They simply didn't know how to defend it and since we didn't have to go to dwight inside play after play, our turnovers were very limited. 

Heres a crazy equation...less turnovers + made shots= more points.

Now aside, from us drilling 3's and running the pick and rolls, last night we played with a solid 9 man rotation.  It actually reminded me slightly of the Denver nuggets but with a little less skill.  SVG did a good job of bringing in Q-Rich and JJ in the right times to score/defend and bring energy to this team.  We can't keep leaving Turk-J-Rich out there when they aren't playing well.  Q-rich gives us a much better defensive match up and we all saw the difference between JJ and J-Rich on offense.  JJ can actually somewhat create his own shot of the pick and rolls rather than taking spot up jumpers.  He puts the ball on the ground and then gets some separation, and he also doesn't just chuck 3's, but rather solid mid range jumpers which I think should taken much more often.  This is a big reason why I hope he starts next year, he is a smarter player, plays hard, and has a great mid range jumper along with the ability to hit the three.

But having that solid 9 man rotation and playing them pretty equally in the first half really dictated the pace as we were able to play with a lot of energy on both sides of the court.  Our defense was swarming, and like it was the others games as well, but this time the Hawks didn't shoot lights out from the field.

I honestly think, regardless if we play in Atl, Orl, or London, if we come out with that game plan rather than pound dwight down low time and time again, we should have no problem winning the next 2.  I will admit, we should have a little more balance as Chris Webber was saying at half time, as this will get Atlanta in more foul trouble and put them over the limit earlier, but I certainly don't miss the turnovers and unfortunately, thats a big part of dwights game at this point of his career.  In the playoffs, we lost Game 3 and 4 by such close of margins that had we had lets say 3 less turnovers, the outcome could've been different. 

Its crazy how one day I feel that this magic team doesn't have enough talent, and the next they light it up like they did yesterday.  Just hope SVG uses his bench again like he did yesterday to provide an even balance of energy throughout our rotation.

Here's to backing Dwight's comments and saying if we win game 5, the series is ours!!!

P.S. I still hope we find a way to get rid of Hedo this offseason