Hawks 100, Celtics 91 or Where they'll never admit it, but the C's do not want to see the Hawks in the playoffs

The Atlanta Hawks swept the season series against the Boston Celtics for the first time since the 90's. I could look up exactly which year, but I'll leave that to Hoopion or Humanhighlight blog. Ya'll know I don't do that here.
I dislike the Celtics for many reasons. They could sign my favorite player ever and I'd be conditioned to dislike him too for no other reason than the fact that he'd be a Celtic. If you play for them, you are the enemy. Period. I don't have time to only hate half the team. It's just easier if I include all of them which is what I choose to do. I hated them when I was younger because I loved Zeke and Dumars. I didn't know much, but I knew you couldn't like the Pistons and the Celtics. I was also a huge Human Highlight Film fan and I knew there was no love lost between the Hawks and the Celtics either. No matter which players I rooted for growing up, I had to hate the Celtics. It was necessary. Fast forward to today and I still hate the Celtics. If we're being honest, I hate all Boston teams, but that's another subject for another day. This particular group of Celtics is so easy to dislike. Seriously, there are any number of irritating things to choose from concerning their key guys. KG barking and cussing, Paul Pierce flopping and flailing, Kendrick Perkins scowling and scowling. They're insufferable and oh so easy to root against. The Hawks got the best of them this regular season and although they won't admit it, they don't want to see the Hawks in the playoffs.

The Good: Jamal Crawford a.k.a. Easy Bake Oven and Joe The Basketball Player. I really couldn't choose just one. (although if you put a gun to my head, I'd go with Jamal) Jamal was awesome in the first half. I can't confirm this, but I'm pretty sure he broke Paul Pierce's ankles. He dropped him off a couple of times tonight on his way to a highlight worthy layup. (unfortunately none of the layups made the highlight reels) Joe The Basketball Player showed up in the 4th qtr. I was not happy about the fact that he stopped all ball movement, but he hit his shots so I really can't wild out about it tonight. I still don't think that's they route we need to take offensively, but it worked tonight so I'll shut up. Honorable Mention: Za Za Pachullia. He came in along with Crawford and ignited the Hawks second quarter run. Gotta love Za Za!

The Bad: Boston Celtics not named Paul Pierce. Pierce was great tonight. I'm not going to wax poetic about him because quite frankly it would make me queasy. Just know that he was efficient and effective. He did all those Pierce like things that make people who don't root for Boston hate him. You know, elbow jumpers, getting to the foul line and etc.....

The Ugly: Third Quarter Officiating. Look, I know the officials need to control the game, but they went from controlling the game in the first half to micromanaging it in the third quarter. Were it not for free throws, the Celtics easily lose this game by at least fifteen. They shot twenty free throws in the 3rd quarter! twenty free throws is a lot for an entire game let alone one damn quarter. I'm not even going to talk much about the flagrant foul that Josh Smith picked up because he wrapped his arms around Kendrick Perkins, I'll just say I expect the league to rescind it and send Josh a detailed apology written in calligraphy on the finest stationery.

Up next is the Orlando Magic. An interesting thing is at stake in this game. If the Hawks win Mike Woodson gets to coach the All Star game. We need this to happen in the worst way so I hope the Hawks get way up for this game and finally beat Dwight and the gang.



For more thorough Hawks analysis visit Peachtreehoops, Hoopinion, Hawstr8talk or
Humanhighlightblog

Hawks 90, Spurs 105 or Where the Hawks were gracious enough to help the Spurs end their losing streak.

As I type the Hawks are getting absolutely slaughtered by the San Antonio Spurs. They've given up 52 points halfway through the 2nd quarter. Aren't the Hawks supposed to be a defensive team? They suck at it tonight! The guards deserve a paragraph or three about their awful defensive efforts, and they might get one or three later. Joe is only playing one end of the floor and you don't have to think too hard to figure out which end that is. The forwards are all bound to be in foul trouble through no fault of their own. They have to defend the likes of Tony Parker and Manu Ginobili after they blow past the likes of Joe Johnson, Jamal Crawford and Mike Bibby. Joe did manage to pick up a frustration foul after feeling he'd been denied a foul on the other end, so there's that. The Spurs are shooting 54.5% with just under 3 minutes to go. You could say they're on fire, but the truth is, most of their shots are barely contested and right at the rim, and the jump shots are uncontested as well. They should be able to make wide open jump shots, they are professionals after all. Joe is going to have great numbers at the end of this night, but the Hawks will probably lose by 20, so you can make of that what you will. It's halftime and the Spurs already have 66 points. I'll finish this at the end of this game.

Update:

Well, the second half went a little better, but that's not saying much because the Hawks still lost by 15. At one point they'd pulled to within 9, but then proceeded to have some of the most awful possessions and turnovers one might witness in a game. The only reason they were able to get that close was because Tony Parker stepped on Al Horford's foot. He might be out for a while unfortunately, but oh well, that's a San Antonio problem.

Throughout all of the sucking (and there was plenty of it) Josh Smith played hard and he should be commended for doing so. Joe and Jamal scored a lot of points, but their defense in the first half, and hell the second half too, pretty much insured those points weren't going to matter. Timmy had 21 points and 27 rebounds. He didn't even have to jump for half of them. He literally seems that much taller than even the tallest Atlanta Hawk. Oh well.

I guess I should be happy that the Hawks won two of the three games in Texas, but I'm extremely disappointed in the way they started the game. I understand the Spurs had lost 3 in a row at home and desperately needed a win, but still..... I thought the Hawks were a better team than San Antonio coming into this game, so that shouldn't have mattered. I was positive they would come out and kick them while they were down, but instead they came out willing to help the Spurs get back to their winning ways.

Boston and Orlando are on the menu for Friday and Saturday. Obviously I'd like the Hawks to win both of these games, but suppose they can only win one, I would prefer they win the Orlando game. They've already won the season series against the Celtics, sweeping them would just be icing on the cake. I can live without icing if they can find a way to beat Orlando. January was a tough month for the Hawks, but they will come out of it okay no matter what the outcomes of these next two games are. That being said, win them anyway.







For more thorough Hawks analysis visit Peachtreehoops, Hoopinion, Hawstr8talk or Humanhighlightblog

Hawks 93, Celtics 85 or Where Jamal Crawford Has Earned A New Nickname

The Hawks are 2-0 against the Celtics this season. It makes me feel all warm and fuzzy to know that the Hawks can do no worse than split the season series. Good times! Jamal Crawford was awful good tonight. I do mean that literally. He took some bad shots, but that's okay because he made some of them. He was so good I had to think of a nickname for him when he has nights like this. I use Joe The Basketball Player when appropriate, and I shall now refer to Jamal Crawford as The Easy Bake Oven. As a matter of fact, that nickname can describe Jamal whether he's playing well or not just because of the inconsistency of the Easy Bake Oven. You'd have to be a girl or have had sisters who owned one to understand, but it just feels right. The Easy Bake Oven was awesome!!!!!!!!! Sometimes.......... Once you understood that the heat distribution was going to be uneven, meaning the middle of your brownie would likely not be as done as the outside, you loved it! It didn't always work well, but you still wanted a new one for Christmas every year. The Easy Bake Oven was the gift of gifts for little girls. You had the ability to bake brownies at the age of 8 with little adult supervision. That's pure awesomeness!
Jamal Crawford reminds me of my Easy Bake Oven. He's not going to be great every night, but I can live with that because I know there will be some great nights. Just like the distribution of heat in the oven, Jamal's hot streaks are unpredictable, but when he's on, he's on. He's the best sixth man in the league and he's on my favorite team which makes him awesome. The Easy Bake Oven only had a limited number of uses so you had to get the most out of it while you could. Jamal is no different. We don't know how long he'll be in Atlanta, but I know we're going to get the most out of him while we can.

Jamal Crawford or EBO.



For more thorough Hawks analysis visit Peachtreehoops, Hoopinion, Hawstr8talk or Humanhighlightblog

Hawks 108, Knicks 112 or Where I didn't watch the game, and that's a good thing.

I did not watch any of the Hawks vs Knicks game tonight. Not one minute. I was having dinner at a friend's house and I checked my phone a couple of times to see the score. The last time I checked the Hawks had a double digit lead. I assumed all was right in the world and they'd go on to win the game. I got into my car and switched to 790 sometime before 10 and I listened to the last couple of plays of regulation shocked that the game was tied, then I listened to overtime all the way up until the Knicks took a 6 point lead courtesy of Nate Robinson.

Since I didn't watch the game, I assume Nate was dropping the majority of his points over double teams and he was just amazing and NOTHING would have saved the Hawks. I assume this because I know there's just no way in hell a coach who is coaching for a contract extension would let a man who's barely 5ft 7in tall destroy his team without trying to get the ball out of his hand or without throwing multiple defenders at him. I assume this because it's the only thing that makes sense.

I'm not even going to talk about the stats of the players. I'm not. I'm not. I'm not. I also assume that the Hawks lost their cushy double digit lead because sometime in the fourth quarter they felt it would be better to let the guards shoot rather than let Al Horford continue to dominate in the post. Maybe I need to re-post what I posted the other day. See below. (pay special attention to the bold areas)


Al Horford is being horribly underused in the Hawks offense. Is he “undersized”? Sure, but whatever he lacks in size he more than makes up for with athleticism, quickness and determination. He is not a perfect post player, but he is the Hawks most efficient post player. He’s shooting almost 60% from the field and that’s mostly due to his hard work on the offensive glass. In other words, a lot of his points come from rebounding his teammate’s misses. One can’t help but wonder what might happen if the Hawks consistently ran plays for him. Horford is being treated like a dirty work player and he deserves better than that. Quite frankly, the offense should run through him. Jump shots will not always fall, however they will always be available. The one thing the Hawks have is a group of guards who know how to get their shots off whether they’re being defended by one player or three players. They could get easier shots if they establish a consistent post game. Horford works extremely hard in the post and there are many nights when the guys who are guarding him have no chance of stopping him. The only people who stop Horford from being dominant are his teammates. Having a legitimate post threat would make the game so much easier for the shooters. Imagine Horford being double teamed and passing the ball to a wide open Joe Johnson or Jamal Crawford or Mike Bibby or Marvin Williams or Mo Evans. If the Hawks want to be a serious contender they’ve got to figure out a way to score points when the jump shots aren’t falling. It’s early in the season, but we’ve seen this team go through some awful shooting slumps. The second half of the Orlando game and the second quarter of the Dallas game were the worst. Their only defense against that is to throw the ball down low and get high percentage shots. Make things a little easier on yourselves in the New Year, and let the “Boss” lead the team.

I welcome all of the "Same old Hawks" articles, because I am thisclose to writing one too.



For more thorough Hawks analysis visit Peachtreehoops, Hoopinion, Hawstr8talk or Humanhighlightblog