The Vent

Maybe Next Year, but Probably Not.

2012-02-09T22:34:00.000-08:00

The All Star reserves have been announced, and Josh Smith is again not among them. At this point, I'm not sure Josh will ever make an All Star game. That's not even hyperbole. He's been the the straw that stirs the drink on this Al Horfordless Hawks team, and even that wasn't enough. Truth be told, he was that straw even when Al was available, but I digress. There will always be snubs and it looks like Josh will always be among them. He still has a chance to make it if someone gets injured, but we'd all hate for that to happen.
It really sucks that guys like Josh Smith, Monta Ellis and Brandon Jennings haven't had the opportunity to play in a defenseless game. Maybe the coaches should eliminate the two or three lifetime achievement players who make the rosters every year. Will the fans be worse off watching Monta Ellis as opposed to Steve Nash? Lord knows Josh Smith brings more entertainment than old ass Paul Pierce. Not to mention, you know the coaches are going to let the older players rest, so why even bother to put them on the team? Anyway, I'm not going to go on and on about this. I'm sure the snubs will enjoy the days off, especially in this shortened season.

For more thorough Hawks analysis visit Peachtreehoops, Hoopinion,

Thankless Job

2012-02-05T22:29:00.000-08:00

Do you know the worst thing about watching a team and its fan base celebrate winning a championship? Being a Hawks fan and feeling like you're never, ever, ever, ever going to have that opportunity. Why can't the Hawks ever play out of their minds when it matters most? Why do they gladly play the role that everyone expects them to play? The Atlanta Spirit are not creative enough, nor are they committed enough to genuinely make a run at a championship. They just aren't. Year after year we fans hope for a miracle, but deep down we know it's not going to happen. Joe Johnson isn't going to suddenly turn into Kobe Bryant. Al Horford isn't going to magically transform into Tim Duncan. And Larry Drew probably isn't going to turn into Larry Brown. So what are we poor, suffering Hawks fans to do? Well, we're going to continue the thankless job of rooting for this bunch of loveable losers.
We all know there will be no parade on Peachtree Street, because this organization doesn't have what it takes to bring us one. We've made peace with it, I guess.

For more thorough Hawks analysis visit Peachtreehoops, and Hoopinion,

Just One Quick Thought

2012-01-01T10:32:00.000-08:00

So Jeff Teague isn't having a great game and Larry Drew thinks Janero Pargo is the answer. Please let the record reflect that I vehemently disagree with that assessment. Always.

For more thorough Hawks analysis visit Peachtreehoops, Hoopinion,

Atlanta Hawks: 2011-2012 Season Preview

2011-12-26T22:48:00.000-08:00

I'm going to keep this short and sweet. The Hawks will make the playoffs. That's a pretty bold statement if you believe some of the better known national writers. They seem to think there are at least 8 teams in the East who are better than the Hawks.
Unless some things go horribly wrong, and I'm talking 3 of the 5 starters missing most of the season, random players legs falling off, ~~or signing Jerry Stackhouse and expecting him to contribute~~, they'll make it.
They'd have to try HARD to miss the playoffs. I think it'd be harder for them to miss the playoffs than it'll be for them to make the playoffs. I'm kidding. Maybe. Either way, I've looked at the East and I just don't see the Hawks being on the outside looking in.
They have an issue or two, obviously. They don't have a lot of depth on the bench, but I defy you to name a season in recent memory where they've actually had any. Sure, they'll miss Jamal's 18 ppg, but when you consider he gave up just as many points if not more, it might balance out. (I have no idea how many points Jamal's opponents actually averaged, I just know he's as bad a defender as he is a good scorer).

Sidebar: I'm going to miss Jamal. I've always enjoyed watching him play, and he's genuinely the nicest athlete I've ever met.

Anyway, I don't know specifically where the Hawks will finish this season, and I dare not guess. I just know they'll make the playoffs. This season is going to be hard on everyone, so I hope all of the players can stay healthy. Well, everyone except the guys who play for the Celtics, Knicks, and Heat. I'd be okay if they missed the latter half of the season due to paper cuts or something like that.
Go Hawks!

For more thorough Hawks analysis visit Peachtreehoops, or Hoopinion

Series Preview: Hawks/Bulls

2011-05-02T12:21:00.001-07:00

Hmmmmmm......

Am I just going to pick against the Hawks in the hopes that they'll prove me wrong again? Maybe.

I've been seeing a lot of "Bulls sweep" predictions. I'm not sure what this is based on. Everyone seems to be willing to discount the Bulls struggles with Indiana, yet they're not willing to acknowledge that the Hawks played relatively well against the team that beat them by something like 7,958 combined points last year. That's cool. All signs point to a Bulls victory, but there aren't very many signs that point to a Bulls cake walk. Outside of one and a half positions, the Bulls do not have superior talent to the Hawks. The half is Carlos Boozer. He's not more talented than Josh Smith, however he does harness his talents better, so there's that. Otherwise, the teams are pretty evenly matched. The best chance the Hawks have to win this series is to speed up the tempo. The Bulls are too good defensively and the Hawks are too inconsistent offensively to play a half court game with them. The Hawks have wasted several years of being one of the most athletic teams in the league, but not fully using it to their advantage due to being coached by two men who want to run an offense that they don't have the personnel to justly execute. It's asking a lot, but they need to let Teague push the ball. Otherwise, they'll be playing right into the Bulls hands.

Anyway, the Bulls are a good team, but people are acting like they're comprised of a "been there, done that group" This group hasn't been deep into the playoffs together. They're young and they're vulnerable. Just because no one is willing to acknowledge it, doesn't mean it's not true.

Having said all that, the Bulls will probably win this series. But, I'm going to let the rose colored glasses wearing fan in me have this preview.

Hawks in 6.

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

Hawks/Magic Preview

2011-04-15T05:54:00.000-07:00

I haven't had much to say about this Atlanta Hawks team on this (my) particular blog. I'm sorry, but I was uninspired. The team was stale and quite frankly they didn't give effort on a consistent enough basis to deserve me giving effort on a consistent basis. Our relationship is at an impasse right now.

Do I think the Hawks can win this series? Yup. The fan in me that wears the rose colored glasses absolutely thinks they can win this series. They played the Magic four times in the regular season and they won three of those games. That's enough evidence to suggest that they have the upper hand, right? Then, when you take into account that the Magic aren't as good this season as they were last season, you've gotta like the Hawks chances.
But, if you've watched this Hawks team play more than those four games this season then you know they are not to be trusted.
It should also be noted that they went 2-1 against the Milwaukee Bucks prior to being pushed to 7 games by them. (without their best player) They also won the season series against Miami 3-1 prior to being pushed to 7 games by them in arguably the worst 7 game series ever.

While Atlanta did win both of those series, they also had home court advantage which they do not have in this series versus the Magic. They have had a hard time winning series they were favored to win, so there's absolutely no reason to believe they can win a series as an underdog. Time after time this season they got punched in the mouth and didn't do a damn thing about it. There's no evidence to suggest their mentality will magically change, and you know Orlando is going to come out swinging. I've tried to come up with some legitimate reasons as to why I think they'll win this series, but I really can't. If we're just getting down to the x's and o's, it still doesn't bode well for them. There's one truth about this team that is backed up with statistics, (no, I'm not going to present any) and just regular old perception; they're a one trick pony. The Hawks are a jump shooting team, even down to the starting Center. Basically if their jump shots are falling, they have a great chance to win, if they aren't, they don't. As Charles Barkley likes to say, "you don't live by jumpers, you die by jumpers." I fear the Hawks are going to die a slow, painful death. They have an opportunity to prove me wrong, and there's a big part of me that wants them to do so. I could get into the many other reasons I don't think this team can beat Orlando when it matters, but that would make this post extremely long.
Sidebar: If you have a moment, please go back to some of last year's Hawks blogs and read all the things we wrote about Jason Collins during the second round series against the Magic, then read a few of this year's Hawks/Magic series previews. You'll laugh at the irony. I promise.

Now, the fan in me that doesn't wear the rose colored glasses knows it would be absolutely devastating to this organization if this team wins this series. They have been selling this continuity bullshit to us for the past 3 or 4 seasons and I'm over it. What is so appealing about continuing down this path of mediocrity? This group as currently constructed is as good as they'll ever be. The only player who has a chance in hell of still improving is Jeff Teague and that's because he has youth on his side. Unfortunately for him he's had two coaches who won't consistently play him, but whatever. The rest of these guys, while not ancient, are veteran players. They are who they are.
Getting their asses whipped in historical fashion last season by the Magic wasn't enough to convince the organization to overhaul the whole roster. I have to believe that if it happens again they won't be able to deny that significant changes need to occur. Everyone else in the East is making moves, but the Hawks are standing still. Everyone said they had to re-sign Joe or they'd take a step back. Well, they did re-sign Joe and they still took a step back. Now what?
I really hate to wish for another historic ass whipping, but I feel like that's what it's going to take to move this team forward.
When the ball goes up, I'm sure the rose colored glasses wearing fan in me will be front and center. I'll be rooting hard for the Hawks, but deep down, I don't think they'll win.

Magic in 6

Go Hawks!

For more thorough Hawks analysis visit Peachtreehoops, Hoopinion or Hawstr8talk

Happy Birthday Nique! (Wish I Could Go Back)

2011-01-12T14:33:00.000-08:00

In honor of Dominique Wilkins b-day, I've decided to share something I wrote around this time last year for Score (who I no longer write for) Happy Birthday!

Dominique Wilkins, better known as The Human Highlight Film turned 50 years old this week! Doesn’t it feel like 50 crept up on him rather quickly? Dominique turning 50 made me wonder what I really knew about him when he was in his prime. He was without a doubt my favorite player to watch growing up and that’s probably because I didn’t care about his strengths or weaknesses. I didn’t know if he could defend a pick and roll. I didn’t know if he could go left. I didn’t know if he had a great mid-range jumper. I didn’t know if he was a great passer or if he was turnover prone. I didn’t know anything other than he appeared to be able to fly, and he was entertaining. I honestly didn’t know anything, but more importantly, I didn’t care. These days there is a lot of focus on being more informed, but being informed and being a fan don’t necessarily go together. Having limitless information has taken something away from the game for me. I don’t pay attention to +/-, or PER, but I certainly watch players with a more critical eye. I long to go back to the time when I could watch a player like LeBron James and just marvel at his athleticism as opposed to wondering why his jump shot doesn’t look the same from one quarter to the next. I’d rather focus on the beauty of Allen Iverson’s ability to dominate guys who are nearly a foot taller than he is as opposed to wondering why he needs 30 shots to get 30 points. There are legitimate questions about players that should be asked and answered, but not by fans. Scouts and general managers should worry about a player’s efficiency, while fans worry about being entertained. At the end of the day that’s what sports are supposed to be about. They’re supposed to be the thing we indulge in that takes us away from our worries. Instead, they’ve given us a new list of things to worry about and that is unfortunate.

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

Atlanta Hawks 2010-2011 Season Preview

2010-10-25T18:20:00.000-07:00

A few weeks ago, probably around the time training camp started I declared my blogging hiatus over. I lied. I haven't blogged since. I honestly decided not to blog about the Hawks, but knowing me I'll change my mind. Just in case I do, I wanted to have some definitive prediction to look back on at the end of the season.

I don't know what this team will do. Best case scenario they'll finish with around 50 wins and a fourth or fifth seed in the playoffs, where they'll likely still advance no further than the second round. I can't overlook the fact that a lot went right for them last season. No one missed any real time due to injuries, so they were basically at full strength every time they took the court. A few players are already banged up and the season hasn't even started.

Aside from that, they have to contend with, a new coach, a new offense, the likelihood that the reigning Sixth Man of the Year won't be here after the All-Star break, the fact that Teague can't finish and won't shoot, perimeter defense or lack thereof, the Orlando Magic, the Miami Heat, the Chicago Bulls, Jason Collins and etc......

I'm not going to act as if I have no expectations for this team because I do. The goal is to show progress. They need to finish better than they did last season. And I'm not talking about losing second round games by only 20 points. They need to literally be on the verge of the ECF. Management assessed this team over the summer and decided they wanted to hold serve with these guys. I take that to mean they think they can win with this group. Do I genuinely believe that? No, but I can only judge them based on the moves they did or did not make. Go Hawks.

Season prediction 50-32

For more thorough Hawks analysis visit Peachtreehoops, Hoopinion, and Hawstr8talk

Training Camp

2010-09-26T13:44:00.000-07:00

Training camp starts tomorrow, consider my blogging hiatus officially over.

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

Season Preview Review.

2010-05-10T07:55:00.000-07:00

The Hawks still have at least one game left, but let's not kid ourselves, this season is over. Let's take a look at my Atlanta Hawks season preview from 6 moths ago. It was limited to Joe Johnson and Mike Woodson. I was right in spots about Joe. He's still basically the same player he was last season and while he did display selfish tendencies a lot this season, I can't say he did it at a higher rate than before. Mike Woodson is still Mike Woodson and my assessment of him was spot on in my opinion.

I honestly don't know what to expect from this team.

Everyone is so sure that Joe Johnson playing for a contract can only mean good things for the Hawks. I don't really see it that way. Quite frankly, I'm worried.
Joe already tries to do way too much. This season Joe will try to do even more. He's got to prove that he's worth more than $60 million over 4 years, which is debatable.
The one player in recent history who did not defer to Joe Johnson is no longer here. Flip, (yes I'm talking about Flip Murray) signed with the Bobcats since the Hawks let him go in favor of Jamal Crawford. He was streaky and on any given night he scared the hell out of me, but he was at least proactive about getting his shot. This team needed that because the rest of the guys are far too content with just standing around watching Joe dribble 17 seconds off the shot clock only to end up with a contested jumper. Not that all of Joe's shots are of that nature, but as I pointed out last season, Joe takes bad shots often enough that its noticeable. There was a time when a Joe Johnson contested fade away jumper was a better option than a wide open jumper by anyone else. That is no longer the case because Joe's teammates are better, he just needs to trust them. Will he sacrifice his stats for the good of the team this season? Not in a contract year.......
Joe has never been described as a "selfish player", but I'm willing to bet he will display a lot of "selfish player" tendencies this season. I guess we'll have to wait and see what position that leaves the team in when it's all said and done.

This is also a make or break season for Mike Woodson. He's gotta prove that he's capable of producing more than one winning season. Is this a championship contending team? I'm leaning towards no, hoping for yes, but leaning towards no. Having acknowledged the fact that playing in June is an -unrealistic- lofty goal, Mike Woodson will not be excused if this team gets swept in the second round again. At least I hope he won't. I admire the Spirit for honoring his contract and etc., but honestly, they already know what kind of coach Woody is. If Rick Sund can acknowledge the ceiling for all of the players, then he should also acknowledge the ceiling for Woody. He's reached it and he is not going to get any better, mainly because he's not going to do anything differently.
Every off-season he makes declarations about getting this player more minutes, or that player more touches and once the season begins he makes no noticeable effort to do any of the things he tells Sekou he's going to do. At some point they just have to accept who he is and make a decision as to whether or not that's good enough for them.
This preview is limited to Joe and Mike because they are the two most important people involved with this team this season. Joe is the Hawks best player and Woody is the man pulling the strings. Their effectiveness is directly related to the team's success.
It's not that Mike, Josh, Al, Za Za, Jamal, Jeff and Marvin aren't important, but they aren't as important as the guy who dominates the ball or the man whose offense allows him to do so.

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

"I'm not here to coach effort"-Mike Woodson

2010-05-09T19:16:00.000-07:00

That statement tells you a lot about the Atlanta Hawks head coach, and why they are where they are as a team.
I already assumed he didn't feel like that was part of his job, but it's glad to finally hear him say it.
I can understand why a coach would feel like being in the second round of the playoffs should be motivation enough for any player. I feel that way too, unfortunately it does not work like that. Some players need to be motivated, especially if they feel like there are certain teammates who aren't trying very hard. That can lead to, "well if he's not trying, then I'm not going to try either". It's petty, but it happens on every level of sports. It's definitely a problem one needs to address themselves, but sometimes they need a little push. This is where coaching comes in. No one is asking you to plead and beg with them to try to get them to play harder. That probably wouldn't work anyway. However there are some things you could do to try get maximum effort out of them. If you see a guy visibly dogging it on the court, bench his ass! There should be a list of things that the players know will not be tolerated. The list should include, but not be limited to: not boxing out due to laziness, being careless with the ball, taking ill advised shots, endlessly complaining to the refs, not getting back on defense and etc. It would not be going out on a limb to assume that if playing time were directly connected to effort, guys might try harder.
Even if they didn't, it would at least send the message to the guys who are actually trying, that you aren't going to let their teammates who are half assing it, contribute to the loss of a game. The problem with this Hawks team is that they know there are no repercussions for bad play. It could be because the head coach doesn't have the balls to discipline them, or because the options to replace them during a game are not very good. Either way, they know their playing time is all but written in indelible ink. When you have an offensive and defensive game plan that is as flawed as the one the Hawks employ, you can ill afford to add laziness to the equation when playing a great team. There's no shame in losing to a better team, however there is shame in losing to any team due to not trying. We would be okay with these losses if you all went down swinging like the Spurs, Jazz, Thunder, Mavericks, Bulls and Bobcats. But, there has been no fight in this team and that is unforgivable.

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

Hawks 71, Magic 114 or Where I Wasn't Really Expecting An Ass Whipping Of That Magnitude

2010-05-04T20:26:00.001-07:00

I'm not going to waste a lot of time on a recap. Nope. The team gave a half assed effort,(except for Josh) so I'm going to do my best to imitate them and give a half assed recap. There's really not a whole lot to say. The Hawks got their asses whipped. There's no other way to describe it.
Luckily, Mike Woodson was there in the post game press conference to remind us that they just missed shots they'd normally make. Obviously, since no one hit their average, it's safe to say they didn't play well offensively, but sorry coach it's a bit deeper than just missing shots. And, all those missed shots don't explain the giving up of 114 points. Either take the press conference seriously, or skip it.
Mike Woodson has missed yet another opportunity for a teaching moment. What he should have said in the press conference was something along the lines of "all of you players suck, I'm embarrassed to be your coach, and take your suit off because we have practice in 15 minutes". Tonight was the night he needed to make an example out of someone, and he had at least 4 players he could have chosen from, starting with the franchise player, who had a hand in helping the Magic break the game open, but I digress.
Aside from getting their asses kicked by 40+ points, they also failed to show up and face the media. They sent Za Za. Really????? Joe Johnson makes four times as much money as Za Za and plays about four times as many minutes, yet he couldn't come face the media. There's no accountability by anyone on the team which is one of the many reasons they can lose to the Magic by 40 points in a conference semifinal game. Neither Joe, Josh, Al, Mike, or Jamal had the balls to stand up and account for this ass whipping. If they aren't mentally tough enough to take a handful of questions that they can easily bullshit their way through, they probably aren't mentally tough enough to win this series.
Go Hawks.

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

Hawks/Magic Preview: Courtesy Of A Conversation With My Mother

2010-05-04T11:16:00.000-07:00

Mom: What are you doing later?
Me: Watching the Hawks game.
Mom: Who do they play?
Me: Orlando.
Mom: Oh, did the Hawks beat them this year?
Me: Well, they lost 3 of 4, but......
Mom: (hysterical laughter) Oh wow 3 of 4?? So they can't beat them?
Me: Actually Mom, you have to put those losses into perspective. Two of the losses came on back to back games right after they played Boston and one of them was on Thanksgiving night.
Mom: What does that have to do with anything?
Me: Well back to back's are hard and they didn't get to Orlando until very late that night before.
Mom: Well what about the Thanksgiving game?
Me: They were probably full off Thanksgiving dinner.
Mom: Oh wow (hysterical laughter) that's no excuse. Oh my gosh, you're so silly.
Me: (hysterical laughter) But Moooooom, turkey makes you tired! It doesn't matter, the regular season doesn't mean anything anyway.
Mom:(hysterical laughter) Well good, lucky Hawks. They could probably win a couple of games if they had a different coach.
Me: (sigh) Well............

That's a conversation my Mom and I had today at lunch. I wish I was joking about that Thanksgiving game, but I kinda wasn't. This match-up feels more like a 1 vs an 8 than it does a 2 vs a 3, but whatever.

If you read this blog then you know I don't give a damn about facts. "I will not be swayed by facts" is a part of my profile description. I know the odds are against the Hawks and for good reasons. I don't care about any of that. I'm riding with my boys. I think they can win this series. Charlotte had a great game plan, they just didn't have the horses to execute it. They got Howard in foul trouble, but they didn't have enough offense to capitalize off of it. The Hawks aren't the Golden State Warriors, but they do have people who are capable of scoring the basketball. If they can manage to get Howard in foul trouble, they can steal a game or four.
Obviously the Magic have some other really good players including Vince Carter whose mission in life as I understand it, is to make Hawks fans sad. But, the only place they're overwhelmingly better besides at Center is probably the PG position. The Hawks best bet at winning this series is to take Dwight out of the equation. The guards ( who are not all that fond of contact) have to attack him. If Charlotte could get him in foul trouble for 4 straight games, the Hawks should be able to do so too.
Other than that, the Hawks just have to play team basketball, something they've been known to stray away from for large stretches of the ga......all the time. It would also help if one of the guards had a good game. Joe has been a non factor in this series for the most part. Even in the games that he scored a respectable amount of points, it took him a disrespectful amount of fg attempts. He needs to be really good (like, I want someone to pay me $90 million this summer good) but not at the expense of the rest of the team. No iso-Joe! As a matter of fact, no iso anyone. Move the damn ball! Make the Magic defense work.

That's how the Hawks will win this series in 6 games.

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

We've Been Humbled

2010-04-29T05:29:00.000-07:00

Isn't this what we asked for?

We all wanted the Milwaukee Bucks in the first round. No one wanted to play Charlotte because historically they play the Hawks really well and they're coached by one of the best to ever do it.
We didn't want to play Miami, because they were on fire at the end of the season and honestly, last year's series was painful to watch, even for Hawks fans. No one wanted to see that again.
We all wanted the Andrew Bogutless Bucks. Well we got them, and now the Hawks are on the verge of elimination.
One could point to any number of reasons that the Hawks are one game away from going fishing. Coaching, effort, bad shots, defense..... all of these are valid reasons, but the real reason they're one game away from elimination is arrogance.
Let's have an honest moment real quick.
The Hawks won 53 games during the regular season and finished third in the eastern conference. The Bucks won 47 games and finished sixth in the conference after losing their best player. This series was set up for the Hawks to win. They were a better team than Milwaukee even when Andrew Bogut was healthy. You knew it, I knew it, the team knew it. The problem is we all strutted into this series thinking that would be enough. The Bucks are without their best player (or players depending on your view of Michael Redd's impact on the team for the few games he was healthy) Meanwhile, no team was more fortunate on the injury front than the Atlanta Hawks. They didn't have to deal with anything other than the usual wear and tear of an 82 game season.
Okay this is taking too long. To hell with all this setting the scene crap. The Hawks took the Bucks lightly. They said otherwise before the series started, but deep down inside they did. They wanted to play Milwaukee for the same reason we wanted them to play Milwaukee. We saw them as a wounded team. Hell, I didn't think this series would take more than 5 games, and that was before the Hawks jumped out to a 2-0 lead. After they did that, I didn't see any reason why this series should have gone more than 4 games. That's the level of arrogance I had, and whether or not the Hawks win or lose this series has nothing to do with me. If I was that confident, you know where their confidence level had to be. After Game 3 Brandon Jennings said "I felt like they were a little bit cocky," Jennings said Sunday. "They came in like, 'OK, it's Milwaukee, we're up 2-0.' I mean, that's just how I felt. I felt like they thought they were just going to come in and just blow us out. I think with the crowd, and the way we came out, it just changed everything."
He was right. You know it and I know it. Even after the Bucks thoroughly whipped their asses, we/they were still arrogant. As usual, the main reason given for the defeat was effort. This team as a whole thinks effort is the only reason they ever lose games. If they don't acknowledge the adjustments that Scott Skiles made against them, how can they adjust to those adjustments? They can't and you see it playing out. That's arrogance on the part of the head coach.
The bottom line is we were all arrogant, and in reality we had no right to be. We've seen the fourth quarter collapses on too many occasions this season as detailed by hoopinion. We knew this wasn't a good road team. We knew the playoffs were all about adjustments and the head coach of this team is either incapable of, or unwilling to make them. We knew this team had issues with committing to the things they do well. Knowing all of these things, we still thought the Hawks would win this series easily. Arrogance was their undoing. It led to the bad coaching, the bad defense, the bad shot selection and the lack of effort. They thought they could just show up and the series would play out how it was supposed to. Well, they're one game away from elimination, so perhaps we should all replace our arrogance with a little humility.

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

Hawks 104, Bucks 111 or Where It's Okay To Lose On The Road When Your Head Coach Doesn't Really Expect You To Win Anyway

2010-04-26T22:32:00.000-07:00

I'm not even sure where to start. I could start with the defense, but that would take analysis that I'm not even qualified to present. You'll have to go check out Hoopinionblog.com for that. All I know is, the Bucks ran maybe 3 plays, and the Hawks had no idea how to stop any of them. I'm pretty sure their strategy turned into "let's just hope they miss". Bibby "guarding" Delfino and Za Za "guarding" Jennings was the manifestation of said strategy. Needless to say, it was a flawed strategy, but you have to at least admire the fact that the Hawks were committed to something tonight.
This brings us to the head coach. , I couldn't get everything he said in the post game press conference, but let me sum it up for you as best as I can. He doesn't really expect them to win on the road. Did he flat out say that? No, but he kept reiterating that they played all season for home court advantage for this reason. I had a feeling they were using that as a crutch, I just hoped that feeling was wrong because they're the #3 seed, and the Bucks are without their best player, and the Hawks have 2 All Stars, and the Hawks won 7 more games than the Bucks, and the Hawks have more recent playoff experience, and the Hawks head coach is coaching for a job, and so forth and so on. Either way, I was right.
There was a stretch in the 4th qtr when the Hawks had cut the Bucks lead to 6 and then decided to let Mo Evans take over on offense. He took 4 of the Hawks 6 shots from the 7:12 mark to the 3:54 mark. He missed all 4 shots. I'm not even sure who to blame for that, but the head coach viewed this sequence positively. The only problem he had was that Mo missed the shots. One would think he should have a problem that Mo was taking the shots at all, but whatever.
Coach Woodson ended his presser with this gem: We've been in this position before. We were able to push Miami to 7 and win it in 7. It's not like this team isn't ready to accept the challenge. I feel good about the position we're in, we've just gotta go home and handle our business like we have all year.

Okay. A) They were the favorites in that series. They weren't doing the pushing, They were being pushed, that is not a position he should point to as a reason for hope. B-Z) No one gives a shit about last year's series!
He also said he needs to watch the tapes so he can see the defensive miscues. Really? He couldn't see where his strategy of switching on everything defensively was a huge mistake from his courtside seat? I saw it from my couch, as did most every other person in America. The only difference between him and us is that he had the ability to do something about it and he did not. Seriously, if from where he was sitting he couldn't determine that Za Za should not be asked to guard Brandon Jennings, then he should not be the head coach an NBA team.
In the interest of preserving time, let me skip ahead to why Mike Woodson was not extended last summer. Hawks 104, Bucks 111 If you want to know why Rick Sund is asking him to show and prove, just go watch this game in it's entirety. (that link will not take you to the game in its entirety, it's just a recap) You'll notice I haven't really said much about the players. Obviously, they have to play the game and they have to make the plays. However, everything about this game was an indictment on the head coach and his offensive and defensive strategy. On offense there is no strategy. "It will take care of itself" as the head coach likes to say. On defense the strategy is so flawed a rookie is exploiting it with ease. I'm not letting the players off the hook, just pointing out that they're doing what is expected of them. If they plan on winning this series then they're going to have to take it upon themselves to stray from the game plan when it's clearly not working. This game wasn't lost because of adjustments that the Bucks made, it was lost because of adjustments that Mike Woodson didn't make.

Go Hawks.

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

Hawks 107, Bucks 89 or Where Atlanta Had A Literal Fear Of Deer

2010-04-24T22:16:00.000-07:00

The Bucks gave the Hawks a good old fashioned ass whipping. I was really hoping the Hawks would go in there and smash them, but deep down I knew this team is not made like that. They don't really have a "go for the jugular" mentality. I didn't expect them to lose by so many, but I guess that was just my naivety showing because they absolutely suck on the road in the playoffs. I expect them to bounce back and win Game 4 and I'll be genuinely surprised if they don't. The Bucks are still the same Andrew Bogutless bunch. The only difference was they were on fire early and they played like a team who was really excited to be hosting a playoff game at home. They looked an awful lot like the Hawks of a couple of years ago.
The Bucks played really well and they absolutely deserved to win this game. Their coaches made the necessary adjustments to disrupt all of the things that worked for Atlanta in the first two games and they deserve a lot of credit. Your move Woody.

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

Hawks 96, Bucks 86 or Where Josh Smith Makes Amazing Happen In An Effortless Way

2010-04-20T17:59:00.000-07:00

The Hawks are better than the Bucks. They just are. I know they are without their best player in Andrew Bogut, but that's a Milwaukee problem.

The Good: Josh Smith. He finished the game with 21 points, 14 rebounds, 9 assists, 2 blocks and 2 steals. He made it look so easy. I'm pretty sure he didn't break a sweat for most of the game. He was also really funny in the post game press conference. He was at the podium with Joe, but no one was asking Joe anything, so Josh says "Y'all gone ask Joe any questions? He's over here too." Just continuing his unselfish behavior. Honorable Mention: Al Horford had a double double (yawn), and Joe John$on had 27 point$, 4 rebound$, 6 a$$i$t$ and 2 blocked $hot$.

The Bad: Jamal Crawford. He was really off tonight. He missed layups, pull up jumpers and everything in between. Luckily for the Hawks they didn't really need him to be great, or even good. Honorable Mention: Mike Bibby, for no other reason than he didn't go 8-9 from the field. He actually wasn't bad at all. 10 points, 7 assists.

The Ugly: Brandon Jennings. He was the complete opposite of what he was in Game 1, so in other words, he was awful. 9 points on 3-15 shooting and he got his shot blocked roughly 653 times. He looked like a rookie tonight.

The series now shifts to Milwaukee where the Bucks will presumably play better. There's still no reason this should go more than 5 games. I actually don't see any real reason why the Bucks should be making a team trip back to Atlanta this season unless they'd planned a day at the Georgia Aquarium and just didn't get around to it. Is this Hawks team mentally tough enough to go in there and smash them? I don't know. All I really know is the Hawks have won 2 games against the Bucks while barely exerting any energy. Okay, maybe they just made it look easy. One thing is for certain, this series is Atlanta's to lose.

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

Hawks 102, Bucks 92 or Where Running Over A Deer Caught In The Headlights Doesn't Always Mean Damage To Your Car.

2010-04-04T20:12:00.000-07:00

The Hawks disposed of the Bucks 102-92. Sure there are some things I could vent about, but it's the playoffs so you have to take the wins however you can get them.
The young Bucks looked like deer in headlights, particularly in the first half. Actually, only in the first half. The second half they left their jitters in the locker room and gave the Hawks a little scare.

The Hawks played well enough to win, which is pretty much all I expect at this point. They only exert enough energy to get the win and not an ounce more. That's fine sometimes, but it's a recipe for disaster in the long run. The Hawks team that showed up in the first half is a team that could very well sweep the Bucks. The Hawks team that showed up in the second half is the team that will need 6 games to beat the Bucks. I'm inclined to think the second half Hawks team is the team we'll be seeing for most of this series. I'd love to be wrong about this, but deep down I don't think I am. Actually at the end of the day, the second half Hawks team is probably good enough to sweep the Bucks.

I'd be remiss if I didn't mention how Jamal Crawford performed in his playoff debut. He finished with 17 points on 4-11 shooting. His first playoff hoop was a floater after a filthy crossover that consisted of about 10 unnecessary dribbles. He wouldn't have it any other way, neither would I. He was also 3-5 from behind the arc. Basically, he did what he's been doing all season.

Brandon Jennings was really good in his first playoff appearance. There was nothing the Hawks could do with him for much of the game. Joe Johnson was the only defender who was able to somewhat contain him. (well he contained him twice, or maybe three times) He finished with 34 points on 14-25 shooting. Not bad for a rookie.

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

Lakers + Kobe+ Inflated Ticket Prices = Lots of Lakers Fans

2010-03-31T06:40:00.000-07:00

Michael Cunningham, Hawks beat writer for the AJC wants to know if there will be more Hawks fans or Lakers fans at Philips Arena tonight.
I say it's going to be a push. Mike Woodson and Hawks players are irked (rightfully so) that so many Lakers fans come out every year, but they shouldn't let themselves get too worked up about it for 3 reasons:

1) It's the Lakers. They are the standard for what a great franchise is in the NBA. Blame it on the 80's. There's no need to spend a whole lot of time on this reason. It really needs no explanation.

2) It's Kobe Bryant. Outside of Cleveland because they have their own once in a lifetime talent, Kobe gets cheers everywhere. This is a man who literally had fans in the Boston Garden chanting MVP for him a few seasons ago. If there are that many Lakers fans in Boston, then you know there's nowhere you can go and not be among them.

3) It costs more to get into Philips Arena when the Lakers are in town. You can go see teams like the Pistons or Raptors for as little as $10, but the cheapest ticket to get inside when the Lakers are in town is about $35. If you're a Hawks fan, you are probably thinking you shouldn't have to pay more to see your favorite team just because Kobe is in town? I don't blame you if you pass on the opportunity. That means there are more tickets for the people who aren't really Hawks fans and the organization knows they are willing to pay more. Hell, they may not even know they're paying more since they only come out when the Lakers are town. If the Hawks are your favorite team, you come to Philips Arena even when they're playing the worst teams in the NBA, so you don't really care about missing the Lakers game. You can watch it on tv and save yourself some money in the process.

Basically, the Lakers are already a popular franchise, add to that the fact that they have the most popular basketball player on the planet, and it costs you more money to walk through the same doors you walk through when they're/he's not in town, and you have all of the necessary ingredients to ensure there will be several Lakers fans in Philips Arena.

I wouldn't worry too much about it though. If the Hawks are winning late, the fans will convert. I've witnessed it time and time again.

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

Hawks 119, Spurs 114 or Where Al Horford went Toe to Toe with Tim Duncan and came out on top

2010-03-21T20:53:00.000-07:00

This game absolutely deserves a recap and if it weren't already midnight, I'd totally give it one that does it justice. So I'll just spit out some random thoughts about the game

Al Horford lived up to his nickname "Boss" for real tonight. He had 22 points, and 18 rebounds against arguably the greatest PF ever, who had 29 points and 13 rebounds.
That one handed dunk on Tim Duncan by Al Horford.......just youtube it.
They need to find more shots for Marvin.
Marvin needs to be more selfish.
Joe The Basketball Player showed up, he was more of a facilitator though.
Jamal Crawford is worth every penny they're paying him. They may actually owe him a little money.
Manu Ginobili is irritatingly good.
Every time Matt Bonner shoots a wide open three, I think it's going in. That's a me problem.
Greg Popovich gets to say things to officials that Mike Woodson can only dream about saying.
Hawks clinched a playoff berth.
If Jeff Teague wants to start a support group, I'll join.

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

Hawks 103, Mavericks 111 or Where I'm not going to recap this game, I just have a question

2010-02-26T22:31:00.000-08:00

I was not supposed to watch this game. I had no intentions of watching this game, until I found myself in the Hard Rock Casino not gambling while others were, so I decided to watch this game. Not the whole game, but from midway through the second quarter I was fixated on it. Anyway, let's fast forward to the part where Jason Kidd shoved Mike Woodson. Woody, was on the court, but saw Kidd coming his way and immediately jumped back. From the replays I've seen it looked to me like he got back in time, therefore Kidd extending his arm to make contact with him should have resulted in an out of bounds call at least, a technical at worst. Unfortunately it did not happen that way. They T'd Woody up. Okay fine, what's done is done. My question is simply this, WHY IN THE HELL WOULD MIKE WOODSON AGREE WITH THEM?
He should not be on record saying Kidd made a "heck of a play" and all the other nonsense he spewed after the game. He should be screaming at the top of his lungs that he made it off the court before Kidd came over and shoved him. Why is he going the opposite way? Whose side is he on? I've seen the replay, and it's not like there was overwhelming evidence against that theory. I'm blown away that he is going along with this Jason Kidd is a genius bullshit. Seriously, even if it turns out that there's indisputable evidence that you didn't make it off in time, you don't go into the post game press conference tipping your hat to him. You bitch and moan and act like Kidd just assaulted you like you were his wife. (yes, that was a cheap shot, but I'm mad)
I would love to tell you, I'll recap this game later, but you all know that's not going to happen. I'm not even supposed to be watching basketball this weekend. All I can say is I'm extremely disappointed in how our head coach is handling this whole situation. If you're arrogant enough to think you can be a head coach of a professional team at least be arrogant enough to think you did nothing wrong even though evidence might prove otherwise later.

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

Hawks 76, Heat 94 or Where Jamal and his agent should be drawing up those contract extension papers right now.

2010-02-10T19:44:00.001-08:00

I don't ask for much from my favorite team. Do I hope for much? Sure, but I don't ask for unreasonable things from them. One of the only things I consistently ask of them is that they don't lose to teams that they should not lose to. Well, they did exactly that tonight against the Miami Heat.
Myself and a handful of other Hawks bloggers were given the opportunity to chat with Rick Sund prior to tonight's game. I won't get into too much about the chat because there was only one revelation he made that was relevant to this game. He said Jamal Crawford would not play because of a shoulder injury.
When he said that, two things went through my mind. The first thing was a feeling of "aw shucks" because I knew there would likely be no four point plays. The second thing that went through my mind was that the Hawks would probably not pull away from the Heat until the fourth quarter. The thought that they might actually lose the game never crossed my mind, because I assumed the Hawks knew they were better than the Heat. I assumed incorrectly.

Now we've come to the portion of the recap where I read way too much into one loss.

This loss tells me one thing for certain about the Hawks franchise player, he's not really a franchise player. When a team is faced with injuries to role players, their superstar has to do something extra. That's the position Joe was in tonight, but he didn't do anything extra. He started the game 4-4, then proceeded to go 3-17 the rest of the way. That is unacceptable on every level. I have always been of the thinking that Joe Johnson does not deserve a max contract. This game just reinforced my beliefs. First of all, he can't get to the free throw line. Did he have a couple of drives where there was contact? Sure, but he also shot eight 3 pointers. He didn't exactly force the refs to make a call in his favor. What it boils down to is if Joe's jump shot isn't falling he can't score. We already knew that, but this game highlighted it.
There is no second of all.
LeBron James lost damn near every guard on his team to injuries, yet the Cleveland Cavaliers are in the midst of a 12 game win streak. He is doing something extra. I do not need to be reminded that Joe is not as good of a player as LeBron. However I do need to remind you that Joe wants to be paid like LeBron. If you want franchise player money, then you need to have franchise player performances when your team needs you most. You need to not lose to the stinking Miami Heat! You bitch and moan about the crowd not showing up for the games, then 17,000 people come out and you lose to a team who had lost something like seven of their last ten games. I wouldn't blame the fans if they never came back. Here's a fun fact: Three of the Heat starters combined to go 5-22 and the Hawks lost by 18......
Josh put up good numbers. Al got his usual double double with his usual limited touches. Hell, Bibby even scored 12 points. It all comes back to the franchise player. He didn't do that something extra to make up for Jamal being out. Is it fair that the bulk of the responsibility for the outcome of this game falls on Joe? Well, as the highest paid player on the team, hell yes. His contract implies he is the best player, so he needed to do something extra to make up for the absence of Jamal. He didn't, so the Hawks go into the All Star break on a low note.
Go Hawks.

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

Hawks 91, Bulls 81 Where Josh Smith's awesomeness was awesomer than I can even explain.

2010-02-05T19:27:00.000-08:00

Josh Smith was fanfreakingtastic! He came to play tonight. I can't even find the words right now so I'll just leave you with his stat line.

18 points, 14 rebounds, 10 assists, 2 steals and 1 huge middle finger to the Eastern Conference coaches.

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

Hawks 103, Clippers 97 or Where the Hawks knew they were better than the Clippers, but they didn't want to show their hand until the 4th qtr

2010-02-03T20:14:00.000-08:00

The Hawks won a game they were supposed to win. Yawn... I'm probably the worst of bloggers because I rarely recap games the Hawks win when I deem the opponent inferior. However if the Hawks lose a game to an inferior opponent, I'll give you a thousand words easy. I need to work on that, because at the end of the day these are all NBA teams and I should treat all wins and losses equally. Sounds good, but I probably won't change.

The Good: Joe Johnson and Jamal Crawford. Again, I couldn't choose between the two. Joe had the quietest 34 points you'll ever see. I honestly did not know he'd scored that many until I checked the box score. I just assumed he was somewhere around his average. He forced the action and actually got to the free throw line like a superstar tonight. We need to see more of this. Jamal was just Jamal. He came off the bench and did what they pay him to do. He scored 22 points and also tied Reggie Miller with most 4 point plays in league history. That record will belong solely to him by the end of this month. I'm willing to bet on that. Honorable Mention: Hawks starters not named Mike Bibby. Josh, Al, and Marvin each had a double double. Can't ask for much more than that.

The Bad: The Hawks defense for 3 and 1/3 quarters. The Hawks are better than the Clippers. They know they are better than the Clippers and they took the floor expecting to win without exerting a ton of energy. Their nonchalant attitude allowed the Clippers to build two separate double digit leads. Obviously the Hawks were able to overcome those, but there's no reason to get into a dogfight with the Clippers when a good old fashioned ass whipping will do.

The Ugly: The realization that Mike Bibby is a shell of his former self. I'm not even going to elaborate on this. It's just painful to watch.

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

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

2010-01-29T19:23:00.000-08:00

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.

2010-01-27T18:22:00.000-08:00

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

2010-01-08T20:55:00.000-08:00

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.

2010-01-01T21:33:00.000-08:00

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

Hawks 84, Cavs 95 or Where when the jump shots don't fall, the Hawks have no Plan B.

2009-12-29T19:02:00.000-08:00

The Hawks lost real, real ugly to the Cavs. I mean, they only lost by 11, but they literally did not score one point in the 4th quarter until there were under four minutes left. Not one damn point. I'm not going to do a Good Bad and Ugly. I'm not even all that upset about this game, but for my article in Score this week I made the case (as much of a case as you can make in 350 words) that the offense should run through Al. I'm going to post it below and everything you see in bold is directly related to what happened in the 4th quarter tonight. Oh yeah, Marvin defended LeBron better than any of us could have reasonably expected. Kudos to him.

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.

Al had a rough night tonight, but my feelings are the same. He is their best shot at getting an easy bucket and they consistently fail to use him. If the guards are going to dribble until they're open or semi open, then at least dribble towards the damn basket. You cannot dribble for 18 seconds and still be 27 feet away from the goal when you decide to shoot. You just can't.

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

Hawks 104, Nuggets 124 or Where JR Smith was insanely hot and the Hawks didn't bother to try to cool him off.

2009-12-23T20:52:00.000-08:00

Over the course of an 82 game season, your favorite team is going to lose some games. We all acknowledge and accept that, however some losses are just worse than others. The loss to the Nuggets tonight was a bad loss. I know the Hawks were playing a back to back and I know they were still without Joe Smith and I know the air is thin or nonexistent in Denver and I know they probably wanted a little payback for that ass whippin they took in Atlanta, but this was still a bad loss and here's why......

The Good: JR Smith He was insane tonight. Were he not playing against the Hawks I most certainly would have marveled at the wide open threes he drained one after the other. I also would have marveled at the slightly contested threes he drained one after the other, but since he was doing it to the Hawks the only thing I could focus on was their attempts at defending him. (I'll get to that later) JR was 15-25 from the floor including 10 made 3 pointers. He ended the night with 41 points. Honorable Mention: Al Horford. He finished with 18 points on 7-9 shots and he had 11 rebounds.

The Bad: The Hawks continued insistence on ignoring Al Horford on offense. Look, Al is not perfect in the post, but he is the best post option the Hawks have, yet they're reluctant if not down right unwilling to use him. Yes, he's undersized, but he makes up for it with quickness and determination. I can't think of too many games where Al just got used and abused without trying as hard as he could to defend whomever he was defending. The boy works hard, yet they treat him like he's a dirty work player. They act like he's there to do nothing more than rebound their misses and the misses of the opposition. Al is better than that and someone on the team is going to have to eventually figure that out. In the last two losses Al established himself in the 3rd quarter only to have the 4th qtr come along and then his guards revert back to ignoring him. Something's got to change. Jump-shots will always be there, especially when you've got guards who dribble for 17 seconds to create jump-shots for themselves.

The Ugly: The lack of defensive adjustments on JR Smith. JR is streaky and when he's hot he's hot, but that does not excuse our coach's unwillingness to do something to make it hard on him. They didn't do anything to take the ball out of his hands. NOTHING. It was obvious very early on that one person was not going to be able to stop JR, so one would reasonably assume the coach and or one of his minions might suggest getting the ball out of his hands. One would be wrong. Just look at what the Nuggets did to Joe. They smothered him to a point that he couldn't dribble his way out of it to get off a jump shot. He had 9 assists for no other reason than the Nuggets gave him no choice but to pass the ball. We all know Joe usually has no problem shooting over 1-4 people, but the Nuggets took that option away tonight. They had a game plan and they executed it. The Hawks had a game plan too I assume, but JR screwed it up and they didn't do anything to adjust. Over the past few weeks I've read a handful of articles from people wondering why Coach Woodson hasn't been extended. As a Hawks fan who watches pretty much all of the games (most of the home games in person) I know why he hasn't been extended. Unfortunately most of the people writing the columns questioning his lack of a contract don't really watch Hawks games so they don't know why. Well in a nutshell, he still needs to prove he can coach em up in close games and he hasn't done that consistently. The blowout wins are great, but they don't tell you shit about a coach. You need to see what he does when the pressure is on. Coach Woodson continues to fail in some areas that quite frankly he shouldn't be failing in at this point in his life. Chances are if you read this blog you already know what those areas are. If this is your first time reading it, you'll have to come back for a post dedicated exclusively to the shortcomings of our great coach. This post isn't about that, and it's gotten way too long as it is.

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

A Quick Conversation with Jamal Crawford (as seen in Score)

2009-12-21T17:35:00.000-08:00

Since coming to the Hawks this summer Jamal Crawford has wasted no time ingratiating himself to the city of Atlanta. His bags are barely unpacked yet he's already had two charity events. Tis the season for giving and he is giving a lot to this city on and off the court. I caught up with him for a few minutes at his annual Giving Tree event. You can check out the interview HERE

To find out how you can help via Jamal Crawford, check out jamalcrawford.org

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

2009-12-05T21:15:00.001-08:00

Coming to you from my mobile phone! Great win for the Hawks. Joe The Basketball Player showed up tonight. Thanks. Also, I'm glad the NBA has old ass refs. They clearly missed the whole Al Horford back court thing. Whatever, we'll take it. This win doesn't excuse the loss to the Knicks. I'm still pissed about that. Go Hawks!

2009-12-04T22:19:00.001-08:00

Might as well try this mobile blogging thing. Just wanted say that I don't know who this Hawks team is. Are they the team who went to the Garden and beat Boston or are they the team who lost to the Knicks at Philips Arena. Its not fair for them to try to be both. Pick one! Either suck badly all the time, or play like contenders all the time!

Grow A Pair

2009-11-29T14:50:00.001-08:00

Prior to the season starting, I was the only person I know who wasn't convinced that "contract year Joe Johnson" was a good thing for the Atlanta Hawks. In my season preview I wrote the following:

Everyone is so sure that Joe Johnson playing for a contract can only mean good things for the Hawks. I don't really see it that way. Quite frankly, I'm worried.
Joe already tries to do way too much. This season Joe will try to do even more. He's got to prove that he's worth more than $60 million over 4 years, which is debatable.
The one player in recent history who did not defer to Joe Johnson is no longer here. Flip, (yes I'm talking about Flip Murray) signed with the Bobcats since the Hawks let him go in favor of Jamal Crawford. He was streaky and on any given night he scared the hell out of me, but he was at least proactive about getting his shot. This team needed that because the rest of the guys are far too content with just standing around watching Joe dribble 17 seconds off the shot clock only to end up with a contested jumper. Not that all of Joe's shots are of that nature, but as I pointed out last season, Joe takes bad shots often enough that its noticeable. There was a time when a Joe Johnson contested fade away jumper was a better option than a wide open jumper by anyone else. That is no longer the case because Joe's teammates are better, he just needs to trust them. Will he sacrifice his stats for the good of the team this season? Not in a contract year.....Joe has never been described as a "selfish player", but I'm willing to bet he will display a lot of "selfish player" tendencies this season. I guess we'll have to wait and see what position that leaves the team in when it's all said and done.

I felt like this was worth revisiting because well, Joe is struggling. According to Hoopinionblog "Johnson has taken 66 shots in the last four games. He's made 23 of those shots overall, and just 5 of 19 three-pointers. That's an eFG% of 38.6. He's also turned the ball over nine times while earning just 10 assists in 157 minutes while getting to the line for a grand total of five free throw attempts."

Look, I have not the time nor the desire to go game by game to point out the shortcomings of one Joe Johnson. Just know that even in some of their impressive wins, he's shooting a lot. In their losses, he's shooting a lot. Is he shooting 30 times per game? No, but he's shooting around 18 times per which isn't that bad, but he's only making like 5 shots. That's where the problem arises. Joe has the ability to shoot the team out of the game and everyone seems just fine with it. It's like they've all decided hey, if Joe isn't playing well, then we don't deserve to win anyway. Okay maybe it's not that extreme, but it seems to me that outside of the Philly game, they are content to let Joe shoot, and shoot and shoot even when he's not making shots. No one has the balls to tell him to stop, or at least take the damn ball out of his hands. Early in the season I thought it was odd that Jamal was sort of playing keep away from Joe, now I totally understand why he didn't pass him the ball. Joe has always tried to do too much, and there was a time where that was cool, that time has passed. There have been several games where Joe didn't have it going, but his teammates did and yet they all seemed to be content having to win the game in spite of his bad shot attempts. It's one thing to have to win games in spite of bad coaching, but it's going to be very hard to win games in spite of poor decision making by your "best player".

Someone on this team has to reign Joe in. We all know its not going to be Mike Woodson. He's the same guy who draws up plays for the struggling Johnson out of timeouts, and he wonders why he wasn't extended in the off-season. It's not going to be Joe, because while he's great at pointing out flaws, he rarely acknowledges where he contributes to the struggles of the team. Shooting and shooting and shooting when you aren't hitting shots won't help your team win games. I haven't heard him mention this in any post game quotes. Maybe we should get the ball in the hands of the guy who's actually making shots. He's not said anything like that either.

My point is that it is not okay for Joe to shoot the Hawks out of games. Someone has to stop him, yet no one seems to know how. The logical answer would be for the coach to bench his ass, but since that's not going to happen, the other 4 starters damn well better figure out a way.

Will he play well again? Of course, but in the meantime he needs to find ways to help the team win without shooting.

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

Magic 93, Hawks 76 or Where you know your guards suck defensively when Anthony Johnson scores 15 fourth quarter points.

2009-11-27T10:04:00.000-08:00

Well that was a bad way to end Thanksgiving. The Hawks played well in the first half. They had a little pep in their step and they actually looked like a team that wanted to show the basketball world that they could hang with the big boys. They decided otherwise in the second half. The ball stopped moving as well as the 4 other players without the ball. Jeff Teague got traded, at least I assume he did because he didn't get play in the second half even though the other guards couldn't make a shot. It's like Orlando went on their second half run and the Hawks just conceded the game.

The Good: Anthony Johnson. He was out there running around like a 20 year old offensively and defensively. He had 15 fourth quarter points! I mean if someone had said to you "Johnson will have 15 fourth quarter points" you would have assumed they meant Joe Johnson. You would have been wrong. Honorable Mention: Dwight Howard. 22 points and 17 rebounds is more than just good, but he's Dwight Howard so you kind of expect that.

The Bad: Atlanta Hawks perimeter defense. Look, I can deal with a loss to the Magic because of Dwight dominating and Vince actually trying, but to let Anthony Johnson blow by you for 3 uncontested layups is almost unforgivable. Nothing against Anthony Johnson, but seriously. Honorable Mention: Jeff Teague playing under 5 minutes when he really couldn't have sucked any worse than the other Hawks guards.

The Ugly: The Hawks second half. It was brutal. They only scored 25 points. Nuff said.

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

Hawks 105, Rockets 103 or Where 44 fourth quarter seconds of Josh Smith is all you need to win a game.

2009-11-20T22:05:00.000-08:00

I don't really want to do a Good, Bad and Ugly, I just want to say Josh Smith was in an absolutely pissy mood tonight. Yes Dick Bavetta and the crew have had better days, but his displeasure with the officiating landed him a warm seat beside Mike Woodson and the gang. He was on the verge of losing it, so much so that Mike Woodson sat him for all but 44 seconds of the fourth quarter. He really didn't have a choice. It was either sit him, or let him get a technical and a possible ejection. Somehow Josh found himself on the court in a tie game with 5 seconds to go and he immediately righted all of his wrongs with one put-back dunk. Josh Smith alone was Good, Bad and Ugly, just not in that order.

Next up, New Orleans Hornets.

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

Hawks 105, Heat 90 or Where the Hawks are 10-2!

2009-11-18T18:54:00.000-08:00

The Hawks are 10-2, and its a legit 10-2, not like a 10-2 against the cellar dwellers of the NBA. Yeah the Knicks are one of those 10 wins, but its still legit.

The Good: Josh Smith. Joe had 30 points, but this team goes as Josh goes, especially in the Highlight Factory. He finished 16 points, 14 rebounds, 7 assists, 2 steals and 2 blocks. When he's soaring all over the arena it gets the crowd into it and there's pretty much nothing the opponent can do. Aside from LeBron I defy you to name a Forward in the East playing better than Josh. He's doing it all. If I played fantasy basketball I'd want him on my team. Honorable Mention: Team defense on Dwyane Wade aka Nature Boy. I don't think he got a clean look at the basket all night. The Hawks strategy to build a wall around him and disregard his teammates will not work versus the other superstars in the league because their teammates do not suck quite as bad as Dwyane's. Oh well, that's a Miami problem.

The Bad: The Hawks third quarter. They came out flat and the Heat managed to turn a 17 point deficit into a 5 point deficit seemingly in the blink of an eye. Obviously the Hawks were able to overcome the new found energy of the Heat, but they need to find a way to start the third quarter strong. Bad third quarters remind me of yesteryear.

The Ugly: Heat players not named Michael Beasley. He finished with 21 points, 9 rebounds and he was pretty much the lone bright spot for the Heat. He's drawing comparisons to a young Josh Smith which is very accurate. He's extremely athletic, but very raw. He should be a hell of a player when he matures, but that won't likely happen this season.

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

Hawks 99, Blazers 95 or Where the Hawks had no business winning that game, but did so anyway

2009-11-16T19:51:00.001-08:00

First of all (there will be no second of all, I just wanted to start this post with first of all) the Hawks had NO BUSINESS winning this game. None, Zip, Zero, Nada! However you choose to describe it, they should not have won. They played horribly for three and a half quarters. In reality Portland didn't play that great either, but someone was going to have to win the game.

The Good: Joe Johnson and Josh Smith. I really couldn't choose between the two. Joe The Basketball Player was a man in the fourth quarter and overtime. He had that "THERE'S NO WAY IN HELL WE'RE LOSING THIS GAME" look in his eyes when it mattered most. He finished the game with 35 points, 3 rebounds, 9 assists. Josh Smith was crashing the boards like a man possessed. He had 20 points and 16 rebonds. Joe The Baksetball Player does not get to have his night if Josh doesn't rebound and defend like he did. Honorable Mention: Al Horford. He finished the game with 15 points, and 10 rebounds.

The Bad: The Hawks through 3.5 quarters. They were just bad. They couldn't hit a shot, and they couldn't or wouldn't stop Portland from hitting a shot. It was just bad. There was no energy or enthusiasm within miles of Philips arena.

The Ugly: The late arriving/non existent Atlanta crowd. Look, I know Atlanta Hawks games are just a place to be seen for a lot of you, but would it be asking too much for you to get there before the third quarter begins, or at all? Going into this game the Hawks were sitting atop the East and the Blazers hadn't lost a game since the Hawks beat them about 6 games ago. I know it's Monday and all, but there's no reason for that arena to be that empty. There are $10 tickets, buy one and get your ass downtown. The players need your energy and it's not a home court advantage if you can hear a pin drop in the arena. Josh Smith feeds off the crowd, y'all know this! They are one of the best teams in the league and you all damn well need to acknowledge that and come to the games.

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

Hawks 97, Celtics 86 or Where the Hawks just flat out wanted it more

2009-11-13T20:35:00.000-08:00

The Hawks won in the Garden (the one in Boston) for the first time in forever and a day. They used their youth and athleticism to out-hustle, out-rebound and hell out-everything the Celtics. The Hawks were just better tonight. Are they the better team? Well, that remains to be seen.

The Good: Atlanta Hawks rebounding: When you out-rebound the Celtics by 18 on their floor that's better than good. That's damn near great. To put things into perspective, Joe Johnson had one less rebound than Kevin Garnett and Rasheed Wallace combined and two less than Kendrick Perkins. All of the 50/50 balls went to the Hawks. To say they wanted this game more is an understatement. Honorable mention: Al Horford and Jamal Crawford.

The Bad: Paul Pierce and his "sprained knee". If you live in Boston or root for the Celtics, chances are you love Paul Pierce. However if you live outside of Boston and don't root for the Celtics you probably hate Paul Pierce. I don't live in Boston, nor do I root for the Celtics. Honorable mention: Kendrick Perkin's scowl. It's not scary and he should just stop it.

The Ugly: Celtics 3 point shooting. They went 1-15 beyond the arc. Rasheed hit a 3 early in the game and that was it. They were more than willing to keep shooting them and that worked out great for the Hawks. In fairness to the Celtics, the Hawks weren't great beyond the arc either. Honorable mention: Atlanta Hawks 10 first half turnovers.

Up next, Chris Paulless Hornets.

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

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

2009-11-11T19:04:00.000-08:00

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.

For more thorough analysis, visit Peachtreehoops, Hoopinion, Hawkstr8talk and Humanhighlightblog.

Hawks 97, Blazers 91 or Where Jamal Crawford was so good I didn't even notice Jeff Teague's DNP (Coach's Decision)

2009-11-04T06:50:00.000-08:00

Hawks fans, your girl is down and almost out. I either have a really bad chest and head cold, the flu, Pneumonia or something else that drains all of your energy, takes your voice and prevents you from sleeping because you can't breathe or stop coughing. I am sick.

I did however muster up enough energy to watch the Hawks/Blazers game last night and I was pleasantly surprised that they didn't fold after the Blazers gut punched them. I'm getting dizzy, so on with the G B U (there will be no links in this post)

The Good: Jamal Crawford: When Joe Johnson was threatening to shoot them out of the first half, he was shooting them into it. 27 points, 7 assists and no turnovers. When Jamal is good, he's great. Honorable mention: Second half Joe Johnson.

The Bad: The First Quarter. The Blazers came out swinging and the Hawks were back pedalling.

The Ugly: Joe Johnson's First Half. He was 1-8 with 2 points. Honorable mention: Jeff Teague DNP

For more thorough analysis visit: Peachtreehoops, Hoopinion, Hawkstr8talk and Humanhighlightblog.

Hawks 110, Lakers 118 or Where Mike Woodson cares not about the flow of the game

2009-11-02T07:40:00.000-08:00

I'm not going to recap this game because it would be disingenuous of me considering I was flipping back and forth between it and the World Series. (The Yankees are my favorite team) I did watch the first quarter and most of the second quarter and it reaffirmed one fatal flaw of Mr. Woodson, he does not make substitutions based on the flow of the game. He only makes substitutions for 2 reasons, foul trouble and the predetermined substitution patterns he had planned prior to the tip-off. There was absolutely no reason I can think of for him to sit Joe Johnson after the way he opened up the game. He had 18 points in the first quarter, so forgive me if I'm a little salty that he finished with 27 for the game. As Drew points out, he was on pace for 90 before Woody inexplicably sat him.

I'd love an explanation for why he felt the need to cool off his own player, but I know we'll never get one, because no one ever asks the questions that people want answered. Obviously that is not the only reason the Hawks lost. It's probably not even one of the top ten reasons, but when you sit your most productive player when he's playing at an insanely high level it certainly doesn't help matters. I just wanted to Vent about that.

For more thorough Hawks analysis visit Peachtreehoops, Hoopinion, Hawkstr8talk and Humanhiglightblog

Hawks 100, Wizards 89 or Where if Arenas turns the ball over 7 times, opponents win easily

2009-10-30T19:09:00.000-07:00

Shout out to the NBA schedule makers for giving the Hawks two very winnable games before sending them out West to play the Lakers, Blazers, and Kings.
Thank goodness the Hawks held up their end of the bargain and took care of business. The Wizards are not at full strength, but no one outside of D.C. is going to shed any tears for them. Let's take a look at the G,B and U from tonight's game.

The Good: Josh Smith. He was all over the Highlight Factory tonight despite picking up 3 fouls early on. The fact that he was allowed to pick up #3 in the first half shows some growth by Mike Woodson. Kudos. Back to Josh, he had 20 points, 8 rebounds, 2 assists and his 900th and 901st career blocks tonight. He's the youngest player in NBA history to reach 900 blocks. Honorable mention: Jamal Crawford (16 points) Al Horford (10 points, 12 rebounds, 5 blocks)

The Bad: Caron Butler's knee: He left the game in the second quarter with a bruised left knee and he didn't return. Sucks for the Wizards, but Hawks fans will take it. Honorable mention: Deshawn Stephenson's face.

The Ugly: Gilbert Arenas' 7 turnovers. I wouldn't say he was careless so much as he was clumsy. The Wizards will not win games when their best player is struggling with the little things like taking care of the ball. Although he accounted for half of the team's 14 turnovers, he did end up with 23 points and he was on fire a little bit in the 4th quarter. Honorable mention: Mike Miller's ponytail. I mean, it's just a pony tail, but it's two toned and besides that, he's not the most masculine looking dude you're ever going to see so the kids are probably confused. It's just a bad look at this point and it's not going to get any better. Either cut it, dye it all one color, or join the Mystics.

Up next, the Los Angeles Lakers.

Visit these other sites for more thorough Hawks analysis: Peachtreehoops, Hoopinion, Hawkstr8talk, Human Highlight Blog

Hawks 120, Pacers 109 or Where defense is acceptable, but not mandatory.

2009-10-28T19:36:00.000-07:00

Tonight was the first game for the Atlanta Hawks as well as the first official blog date night for myself and Larry from Hawkstr8talk. Larry was good company and I learned that he is a pretty popular dude around Philips Arena. I actually kinda already knew that, but whatever. It was good to watch the game with a fellow die hard Hawks fan/fellow blogger. He was not around for the Kiss Cam due to long lines at the bar so we missed our chance for 5 seconds of fame. Oh well, maybe we'll get em next time.
When we took our halftime stroll we ran into Hoopinion's very own Bret. He was on press row sitting beside the only man who understands PER, John Hollinger.

As for the game, the Hawks won a hard fought game against the Pacers who at one point were literally shooting over 70%. In the Hawks defense, (which is the only defense offered tonight that's worth mentioning)they did contest some of those shots. The Pacers were just on fire early. Were it not for the turnovers they could have won this game.

Pretty much every other Hawks blogger has some sort of format they follow for their game recaps. I suppose I should have one too. I'm going to keep it simple and go with, The Good, The Bad and The Ugly.

The Good: Al Horford. The Boss had 24 points, 16 rebounds, 4 assists, 3 blocks and 1 steal. This is the Al Horford I fantasize about. Give him the damn ball and let him realize my dream for him to become the next Tim Duncan. That's right, I aim high. Honorable mention, Joe Johnson, Josh Smith and Jeff Teague. (His first NBA points came on a dunk)

The Bad: TJ Ford. He was 1-9 from the field and he only had 3 points. There were other players who struggled, but he was the worst of the bunch considering he played over 23 minutes. Honorable mention, Solomon Jones who tried to use every foul he had in the first half.

The Ugly: The Hawks Defense. Indiana shot 63% from the field in the first half. That's unacceptable especially since Mike Woodson is supposed to be a defensive minded coach. Again, some of the shots were contested, but a large majority of them were good clean looks. Get it together.

Up next, Gilbert Arenas and the Washington Wizards.

Hawks 2009-2010 Season Preview

2009-10-27T05:59:00.000-07:00

So, the season is upon us and I've literally been on a blogging hiatus for over a month. I would offer you some excuses about how I've been busy or blah, blah, blah, but the reality of the situation is I need a damn off-season too! And, I'm slightly lazy. It's cool though because the other Hawks bloggers held it down, especially Drew over at Peachtreehoops. He was up on all of the Hawks news, very impressive.

Peachtreehoops, Hoopinion, Hawkstr8talk and The Human Highlight Blog have all done wonderful season previews. They've covered every aspect of the team from the starters to the bench to the coach. If you follow my blog you know there's just no way in hell I'm going to do any of that.

I honestly don't know what to expect from this team.

Everyone is so sure that Joe Johnson playing for a contract can only mean good things for the Hawks. I don't really see it that way. Quite frankly, I'm worried.
Joe already tries to do way too much. This season Joe will try to do even more. He's got to prove that he's worth more than $60 million over 4 years, which is debatable.
The one player in recent history who did not defer to Joe Johnson is no longer here. Flip, (yes I'm talking about Flip Murray) signed with the Bobcats since the Hawks let him go in favor of Jamal Crawford. He was streaky and on any given night he scared the hell out of me, but he was at least proactive about getting his shot. This team needed that because the rest of the guys are far too content with just standing around watching Joe dribble 17 seconds off the shot clock only to end up with a contested jumper. Not that all of Joe's shots are of that nature, but as I pointed out last season, Joe takes bad shots often enough that its noticeable. There was a time when a Joe Johnson contested fade away jumper was a better option than a wide open jumper by anyone else. That is no longer the case because Joe's teammates are better, he just needs to trust them. Will he sacrifice his stats for the good of the team this season? Not in a contract year.......
Joe has never been described as a "selfish player", but I'm willing to bet he will display a lot of "selfish player" tendencies this season. I guess we'll have to wait and see what position that leaves the team in when it's all said and done.

This is also a make or break season for Mike Woodson. He's gotta prove that he's capable of producing more than one winning season. Is this a championship contending team? I'm leaning towards no, hoping for yes, but leaning towards no. Having acknowledged the fact that playing in June is an -unrealistic- lofty goal, Mike Woodson will not be excused if this team gets swept in the second round again. At least I hope he won't. I admire the Spirit for honoring his contract and etc., but honestly, they already know what kind of coach Woody is. If Rick Sund can acknowledge the ceiling for all of the players, then he should also acknowledge the ceiling for Woody. He's reached it and he is not going to get any better, mainly because he's not going to do anything differently.
Every off-season he makes declarations about getting this player more minutes, or that player more touches and once the season begins he makes no noticeable effort to do any of the things he tells Sekou he's going to do. At some point they just have to accept who he is and make a decision as to whether or not that's good enough for them.
This preview is limited to Joe and Mike because they are the two most important people involved with this team this season. Joe is the Hawks best player and Woody is the man pulling the strings. Their effectiveness is directly related to the team's success.
It's not that Mike, Josh, Al, Za Za, Jamal, Jeff and Marvin aren't important, but they aren't as important as the guy who dominates the ball or the man whose offense allows him to do so.
I normally don't predict a win total and I'm not going to start now.

* Bonus*
I will routinely be having Blog dates with Larry from hawkstr8talk.com this season. He has accused me of being unreliable with my blog, but rest assured I will post about any Blog date games!

Say It Ain't So Joe

2009-08-27T05:36:00.001-07:00

So last night Joe Johnson decided to try his luck with ustream. This horrified me in ways I can't even describe. We've all witnessed first hand the kind of things you can learn about a basketball player when he sits in front of a camera all day and some of it ain't pretty.
At first its all fun and games, but before you know it he's sitting there yelling at the haters on the computer; then the next thing you know he's eating Vaseline.
Let me intervene before Joe has some sort of life changing episode.

Joe The Basketball Player, you are not that interesting and that is the most interesting thing about you.
Yeah we Bloggers may make fun of you from time to time for being overall emotionless, but that's who you are. Don't try to change now.
So what if we can count the number of times you've smiled during the game without using all of our fingers and toes. Its what we've come to expect. Don't change now.
I don't know who peer pressured you into doing the live stream, but don't let this turn into a really bad episode of The After School Program.
I'm begging you, please quit while you're ahead.
I honestly don't want to know what you do off the court. I rather enjoy the completely professional business relationship we've had over the last 4 years. I know we're in the information age and there's unlimited access, but there doesn't have to be, really. One of the most endearing things about you is that all of the stories surrounding you are basketball related. We don't know what you do with your free time and for the most part we don't really care. Trying to make us care is the worst thing you could do.
You know how the game is played. If you let them (media, fans) in once then all of a sudden they feel like it's their God given right to know everything about you. Do you really want the paparazzi rifling through your trash?
Okay, so you're not Brittany Spears and they probably wouldn't bother, but you get my point.
Joe The Basketball Player does not need to act like an attention starved whore. Leave that to Stephon Marbury.

The Answer To A Boring Off-Season

2009-07-29T19:35:00.001-07:00

I will keep this relatively short and sweet.

I want the Atlanta Hawks to sign Allen Iverson.

He needs a team. He has a home in Atlanta. An Iverson Hawks jersey would be bananas!! He'd help with ticket sales. And last but not least.... He's still better than every other guard on the Hawks roster. He just is.

People would have you believe that last year was a sign of him slowing down and not having "it" anymore. I couldn't disagree more. That Pistons team never even gave it a chance to work out with AI. Rip, Tae and Rasheed were so devastated when Chauncey got traded they didn't even bother to try afterwards. There was a whole lot of standing around and pouting and it was never going to work because the remaining Pistons were just as vigilant as Chauncey in their efforts to show Dumars he shouldn't have traded him. They never embraced AI so it was doomed from the beginning.
AI is not completely blameless. He didn't respond well to coming off the bench. Yes he could have handled it better, but I certainly understand why he felt the way he felt. Well I understand it as best as someone who hasn't talked to him can understand it.
Anyway, if the Hawks can sign AI for around the MLE then they should do it. Why not? We all know there's no way in hell Woody is going to play Teague so they can bring AI in and since he has this thing about coming off the bench, they can let him start and bring Bibby off the bench.
They need to do this. Allen Iverson has overcome throughout his entire career and now he's in a situation where much like when he was a rookie everyone is doubting him. He can be very dangerous and at the very least it would be interesting to watch. Pretty much everything involving the Atlanta Hawks this off-season has been less than exciting. I'm actually bored with the fact that we are bringing back the same team. The same team to be coached by a man who doesn't have a guaranteed contract after this season.
It's just disheartening that other teams are genuinely making moves that they think will make them better, meanwhile the Hawks are making lateral moves. I have nothing against Mike or Za Za or Marvin, but we needed to do more and we didn't. They've now proven to me beyond a shadow of doubt that they are not trying to win a championship or even compete for one. They want to be just good enough. That should not be good enough for fans. It's not good enough for me.
Do I think Allen Iverson is The Answer? No I don't. As a fan I'd have every hope that he would be, but as a realist I know he probably isn't. I want Iverson here because of all the reasons I listed way back in the beginning of this relatively short post. If those reasons aren't good enough, the last thing I can offer you is, he's Allen f*cking Iverson. That's reason enough for me.
Tell me why you're for or against it.

What am I supposed to wipe my feet on now?

2009-07-22T15:19:00.000-07:00

Every single time I walk up to my condo door I become reinfuriated. (don't know or care if that's a real word)
About a week and a half ago someone had the audacity to steal my Atlanta Hawks welcome mat. When I came home that night I immediately noticed it was missing because it's always the first thing I notice when I walk through the breeze way.
Any other person would probably have gotten over this egregious act of wrong doing, but as you all know I am not normal.
The very next day I posted a sign near the mailboxes that read:

TO WHOM THIS MAY CONCERN:

SOMEONE STOLE MY ATLANTA HAWKS WELCOME MAT AND I WANT IT BACK!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I DON’T KNOW WHAT KIND OF RIFF RAFF SOMEONE HAS BEEN LETTING INTO THIS COMPLEX, BUT I WOULD APPRECIATE IT IF YOU OR SOMEONE YOU KNOW WOULD RETURN MY MAT EXACTLY WHERE YOU FOUND IT!
SINCERELY,
APT. 214

Needless to say I have not gotten any responses, although I did hear a young lady telling one of her friends about it as she walked through the breezeway. Whatever.

Back to why I just can't let it go. I bought that mat over 2 years ago at the Team Gear store in Philips Arena. It didn't cost an obscene amount of money, probably around $20. I'm not even sure if they still have it and it shouldn't matter if they do because I already bought one. I can't stress that enough. I already bought one!!!! I say that because a couple of people told me "just buy another one". My response was and will continue to be that I shouldn't have to buy another one because I bought that one. It was mine. No matter what you think about the Hawks or some silly little insignificant object such as a welcome mat, the fact remains that it was mine, I bought it and some asshole stole it.
That welcome mat (yes that one specifically) pretty much represented a lot of my personality. When people would come visit all I would say is "it's the first breeze way and you'll know which one is mine". That may not seem like a big deal to you, but this isn't about you so whatever. No one ever knocked on the wrong door or was even slightly confused about which condo was mine. Those who know me (which is pretty much a prerequisite if you're coming to my house) knew exactly how to find me. Now, I have to start giving specific directions and or a door number. So not the kind of life I'm trying to lead.
Is that welcome mat the only piece of Hawks paraphernalia I own? Of course not. I have game worn jersey's and a Hawks throw and several autographed items, but that's beside the point. That welcome mat was just so me. I'm not the type of girl to have some boring ass straw welcome mat with a plant on it or something as equally blah as that. It's just not who I am. I'm the girl whose friends know when the Hawks are playing on a Friday night she's not leaving the house until the game is over. I'm the girl who is actually genuinely concerned about the fact that Mike Woodson will be coaching next season without a contract. I'm the girl who flew to Miami and watched the Hawks get a good old fashioned ass whipping in Game 3 of the playoffs last year on my own dime at the spur of the moment. I'm the girl who has an autographed basketball from the 13 win team and I treat it like it's autographed by the 92 Chicago Bulls. I'm the girl who had an Atlanta Hawks welcome mat. The fact that I have to say had as opposed to have still doesn't sit well with me. Oh well, I guess........

Awful Post Season Officiating: As Seen In Score Atlanta

2009-05-26T10:29:00.000-07:00

The officiating in the NBA Playoffs has been dreadful. It’s actually been worse than dreadful. Dreadful would be offended to know that NBA officiating was compared to it. Seriously, it’s one of the main topics of conversation among both hard core and casual basketball fans alike. We can literally tell how good or bad of a night it’s going to be once they announce who is officiating the game. Here’s a small list of names you DON’T want to see officiating your favorite team’s playoff contest (especially if your team is playing Lebron James). Joey Crawford, Mark Wunderlich, Danny Crawford, Tony Brothers, Steve Javie, Dick Bavetta , and Violet Palmer just to name a few. Stan Van Gundy wants people who have columns to write about the officiating because we won’t be fined $25,000. I’m only too happy to oblige. There’s always been favoritism towards the superstars in the league, but they’ve taken it to a whole new level of ridiculousness this postseason. The coaches and players can’t say too much because they’ll be fined which is absolutely insane. Someone should be able to say the officials were particularly terrible without being disciplined. The league has made it so the officials are free from criticism. They never have to stand up and be held accountable for their awful performances. They get to make one egregious call after another with no repercussions. It must be nice to have a job that you can blatantly suck at and not be fired for it. We should all be so lucky. You would think at this point in the playoffs only the best of the best would be allowed to work, but apparently they’re just going with the usual suspects. I don’t know what kind of grading scale they use to assess the officials performances, but it needs to be reevaluated because if these guys they’ve been trotting out are the best of the best then the league is in serious trouble. The officials have become bigger than the game and no league can survive that, not even the NBA

Hawks Need A Line Leader

2009-05-07T12:30:00.000-07:00

We all remember Elementary school. Anytime we left the classroom for anything we had to line up. Whether we were going to lunch, or outside for P.E. or some sort of program in the auditorium or whatever. We had to form a line. Most of my teachers liked to line us up either alphabetically or according to which row we were seated in. No matter the reasoning the teacher always picked a Line Leader. That person got to be the first one in the line and he/she got to lead the other 20 + students wherever they were headed at the time.
The Line Leader was something everyone wanted to be. No one ever said "nah Mrs. Patterson, I think I'd rather be in the middle or the back of the line". Nope, everyone wanted to be first. Everyone. From the smartest kid, to the loudest kid, to the dumbest kid, everyone wanted to be the Line Leader. It was privilege and an honor. I don't know why, but it was. Not just anyone was qualified to be the Line Leader. The teacher was very unlikely to pick a child who consistently misbehaved, or blatantly underachieved in the classroom. She was more likely going to choose one of the smarter children or one of the better behaved children. On occasion she'd throw the class clown a bone if he'd managed to be somewhat tolerable that day, but generally speaking you had to be cut from a certain cloth to be the Line Leader.

This Hawks team is lacking a Line Leader.

Yeah it would probably be cool to walk down the hall with Josh leading the way, but he's easily distracted at times and he may very well lead us out to P.E. when it's clearly lunch time.
Bibby would be okay, but sometimes he walks too slow and classes who are behind us would be able to catch up and pass us.
It all comes back to Joe. It has to be Joe. If ever there were a child who might have preferred being in the middle of the line as opposed to the front, it would be Joe. It's not that I think he doesn't want to be in the front, its just I think he doesn't care either way. Joe has to understand that you can't lead from the middle. You have to lead from the front.
As far as this Hawks team is concerned Joe is the quietest and smartest player on the team. Its his responsibility to make sure they get to the damn lunchroom.

I know this post probably doesn't make a whole lot of sense, but whatever, it was the first thing that popped in my mind when I thought about the goings on with this team.

Hawks Advance Thanks To Joe The Basketball Player

2009-05-04T05:21:00.000-07:00

Finally!!!!!

This series with the Miami Heat was painful to watch 3 out of 7 times for Hawks fans, 4 out of 7 times for Heat fans and 7 out of 7 times for people without a rooting interest. Whomever was leading after the first quarter won every game. Other than the fact that I knew the Hawks would win Game 7 because they are better than the Heat, that little fact was the nail in the coffin in Game 7. The Hawks trailed 14-18 in the waning minutes of the quarter so I text my brother (who happened to be at the game) and I told him we have to be leading after 1 in order to win this game. There's no way around it. The Hawks then scored the next 6 points to end the quarter and the rest is history.
Leading up to Game 7 all we heard/read about was how "anything can happen in a Game 7 and you should always bet on the team who has the best player" or something to that affect. No one even bothered to consider that Joe Johnson might be able to be the best player on the floor in that game. Joe had not had a great series heading into Game 7 so I guess it was easy for people to assume that he'd be nothing more than a footnote in the Dwyane Wade Game 7 highlight reel. Those people were mistaken. On May 3rd as far as that Game 7 was concerned, the team who had the best player was the Atlanta Hawks.
Joe The Basketball Player put in work yesterday afternoon after getting off to a slow start. There are at least two "Where Amazing Happens" commercial moments that include Joe draining a 40 foot 3 pointer in Dwyane Wade's grill. One of which he CLEARLY got fouled by Wade. (vent) How is it that James Jones can get numerous foul calls while attempting 3 pointers and Joe Johnson can't get one call on one of the two glaringly obvious times he was fouled while shooting a 3??? I mean seriously!
It all goes back to the lack of respect Joe gets. It's all good though. He didn't need the extra points.
Joe The Basketball Player absolutely had his way with Dwyane Wade. Regardless of what you've read or heard, Wade was NOT guarding Joe Johnson this entire series. It irritated the hell out of me to hear people say "and Wade guards the other team's best player" Well if Mo Evans is the Hawks best player then yes, Wade did accomplish that. Yesterday was legitimately the only game where Wade consistently went one on one with Joe and his ass got worked! I was literally yelling "take him Joe, he can't guard you". Guess what, I was right. He couldn't guard him. Joe was efficient and just downright rude to Dwyane Wade yesterday. When he pulled up from right in front of the Hawks emblem I knew his confidence was at an all time high. I knew Joe the Basketball Player was among us. Kudos to you Joe.
We now move on to face the Cleveland Cavaliers. They are a very good team and no one expects the Hawks to be competitive. No one except me. There are various Hawks fans who will tell you they are happy with making it here and they won't mind being swept by the Cavs and blah blah blah. Don't throw me in with that bunch. I am not that fan.
I am not just happy to be here, nor am I among those who is expecting the worst. I fully expect MY team to go out and win this series. That's the type of fan I am. I've already envisioned the Hawks winning this series in 6 games. Honestly, I have it all worked out in my mind. How is this supposed to happen? I'm glad you asked. (I know you asked)
We'll win one of these two games in Cleveland, come back to Philips and win both of our games, go back to Cleveland and lose, then come back to Philips and end the series. See how simple that is???
That's my approach to this series. I am not happy with a second round berth. Call me greedy or delusional or both, but that's the type of fan I am.
I make no apologies for it.

Game 6 Recap/Game 7 Preview

2009-05-02T14:50:00.000-07:00

Game 6 was all Heat all night. The Hawks were awful. There are many reasons as Drew and Bret and Jason outline factually and concisely.

Game 7 should be a Hawks win. I don't care if the Heat have the best player on the floor. The Hawks are a better team than the Miami Heat. They were better than Miami all season and that hasn't changed in 6 short games. They damn well better win tomorrow.

Game 5 Recap: Bittersweet Victory

2009-04-30T05:11:00.000-07:00

Three Things:

1. Hawks won an ugly 3 hour free throw contest. Look I understand the need for the refs to keep the game under control in order to make sure no one gets injured. There were a few hard fouls in the early stages and they needed to reign everyone in, but my goodness there needs to be some balance. It seems the officiating in these playoffs is an either everything or nothing concept. They either call everything or they let the players murder each other. There's no in between. After a couple of stare downs that ultimately led to nothing, they decided to call everything. If I never see another game officiated by Tony Brothers, Dick Bavetta and Violet Palmer again it will be too soon.

2. Al being hurt is a problem. My heart broke when I saw him writhing around on the floor in pain. See unlike The Nature Boy, if Al lies on the floor for extended minutes it isn't an attempt to gain attention. After the initial replay I thought it was his knee. Clearly that would have been unfortunate. It turns out it was his ankle, which is still bad, but not as bad as a knee. They started treatment on it immediately after he entered the locker room so basically we have to play a game of wait and see. Za Za has been fantastic off the bench and that's where he needs to stay. I hope you're sitting down for this next part. If Al can't go, we need to start Solo. Before you ask, yes I'm serious and no I haven't had anything to drink this morning. We need Za Za's energy off the bench. Sometimes he comes in and his efforts immediately change the tone of the game. It's the same reason we need Flip off the bench. He's a spark as is Za Za. Hopefully Solo can provide a few good minutes here and there and Za Za can come in and do the dirty work like he always does. This is how it has to be. P.S. When Josh helped Al to the free throw line from the bench my heart melted.

3. Josh Smith's dunk attempt......... Let me start out by saying I almost died laughing when he tried it. Seriously I almost fell out of my seat. It was unbelievable. The only thing I said to the guy sitting beside me was "Josh is a damn fool" while laughing hysterically. We were both amazed and I got several text messages from people sharing my disbelief. It was pure comedy that he would even attempt to do something like that in the middle of a game. The fact that it was a playoff game only made it that much more hilarious. Of course the Heat players are all offended. They think he tried to embarrass them. They are clearly a self absorbed group of people. Josh's dunk attempt was not about trying to show up the Heat. It was purely about trying to incite the crowd at The Highlight Factory. Those who regularly watch or attend Hawks games understand his relationship with the crowd. Yes the team needs him to rebound, score and block shots, but more than anything they need him to do something amazing to get the crowd amped up. That's where the motivation for that dunk attempt came from. I twittered Woody needed to bench him, not because he shouldn't have done it, but because I didn't want him to get hurt considering I knew the Heat's feelings would be hurt.

* Bonus thing: Dwyane Wade is the biggest drama queen in the world!!!!!!!!!!!!! Seriously, he should be in movies, not just commercials. That's why he is referred to as Nature Boy. His acting is very much on par with that of Ric flair. Ridiculous. And the media needs to stop feeding into that bull****. I don't want to hear about back spasms anymore. He didn't wince one time last night about his back. And, if we're being honest, the only time it seemed to bother him in Game 4 was when he missed a shot or he was looking for a foul call and the refs didn't oblige. I'm so over Dwyane Wade and the theatrics. Quit with the B*tcha**ness!

Game 4 Preview: Joe The Basketball Player, Step Up

2009-04-27T12:32:00.000-07:00

I really hate to do this, but here's a quote from Joe Johnson prior to the playoffs starting.

"You get that type of respect for how you perform during the postseason," Joe Johnson said. "During the regular season, you get your name out there, you get known. But the postseason is where legends are made."

Well Joe, it's time for you to have THAT game. You know the one I repeatedly beg you to have in many a posts on this very blog?
That, "there's no way in HELL we are losing this game on my watch tonight".
I know you are going up against one of the players who has perfected that type of game, but still.
If it's in you, you have to bring it out tonight.
This is the season.
Be Joe The Basketball Player tonight.

Game 3 aka A Disaster

2009-04-27T05:10:00.001-07:00

Sigh.
I have a million thoughts running through my head about my experience in Miami. This is going to be a good old fashioned vent. If you're looking for a well thought out cohesive post you should go ahead and move on now.
Let's start with American Airlines Arena. It's really really nice upon entry. The bathrooms are big and clean and there's just a lot of walking space it seems. Unfortunately they only have an up escalator so you have to take regular stairs to get back down which isn't a big deal, but it is slightly confusing.
I don't know if it was just the side I came in on, but no one and I mean absolutely no one checked to see if I had a ticket before they let me in the arena. They frisked me and checked my purse, but didn't bother to make sure I had a ticket to attend the event. Strange.
I finally decided to go to my seat about 30 minutes prior to the tip. The usher was nice enough to ask me what section I was in and then promptly directed me left when I should have gone right. I would not find this out until after they played the National Anthem. Whatever. While I was sitting there the announcer was going through the crowd urging the fans to put on the "Black is Back" t-shirt that they gave them at the door. The cameras panned the crowd and when they'd land on someone who wasn't in black he'd ask them nicely to put the shirt on.
Eventually the camera worked it's was around to me in section 113 (shoulda been in section 112) and he said Miss can you please put on the black shirt. I had on a white t shirt with a little Hawks emblem on it that wasn't apparent upon first glance, but once the fans noticed it and saw my big blue Hawks flag they booed me. Ha! That was the highlight of the game for me and the Hawks, but I wouldn't find that out until later.
A couple of people I know from Atlanta and from Miami came to my section to say hello. Again, no one bothered to make sure they should even be there. I honestly think I could have made my way courtside unimpeded. I mean, I knew they were laid back in Miami, but damn.
Anyway, the season ticket holder whose seat I was occupying showed up and informed me that I in fact was in the wrong section. Whatever.
I made my way to my seat and luckily for me I was in between two rather nice middle aged men. They didn't even give me a hard time for being a Hawks fan. The game started and you all know it was a complete ass whipping so I really need not get too much into that at this point. I will say that Heat fans feel just as strongly as D Wade does that he get a foul call everytime someone breathes on him. That was slightly annoying.
I've always wanted to see what it feels like to be in an arena surrounded by fans who have a legitimate superstar. I felt it Saturday. The arena was insane. D Wade could have murdered a man (the dunk on Horford doesn't count) and they would rally behind him anyway. It was loud and louder and I know our guys were shook. I could see it in their eyes, and their play coincidentally.
Their overall game operations were really really good. They had lots of energy and they seem to appreciate all of their fans, not just the ones who can afford the $100 tickets. The cameras were consistently panning the upper levels. I don't even think the cameras in Philips Arena go past the 100's.
The Miami Heat dancers are provocative. Provocative may not be a strong enough word to describe them. Hawkstr8talk, would have given them major kudos. The A-Town dancers need to step it up.
Their mascot sucks, but the fans loved him. I can only assume that's because he's all they know. Trust me, Harry is better than him by a country mile.
I guess I should share a few thoughts about the game. It was awful
When Al started the game with an airball I knew it was going to be a long night.
When they stuck to the game plan of not doubling Wade I knew it was going to be a longer night.
When Joe got his shot blocked 13 times in the early stages of the game I knew it was going to be an even longer night.
When Mike Bibby threw a lob to Za Za Pachulia I wanted to put on the black is back shirt.
The most disturbing thing about the game was that I had to watch it sober, but I'll be damned if I pay $17 for a cocktail.
The fact that Mike Woodson is being out coached by a rookie head coach tells you everything you need to know about how good of a coach he may or may not be.
Everytime Joe touched the ball he had the man who was guarding him and then the man closest to the man that was guarding Joe would leave whomever he was initially guarding to double Joe. If Erick Spoelstra bothers to double Joe why won't Mike Woodson bother to double Dwyane Damn Wade??? Seriously get the ball out of his hands. I can take getting beat by the Heat role players if the Hawks keep Wade in check, but I can't stomach getting beat by both.
I can't tell you how many texts I got stating Woody needs to make an adjustment or he needs to rethink this "defensive strategy". I could only respond with that's not something he does.
When it's time to renegotiate Woody's contract Rick Sund need only pull out the tape of Game 3 and make him watch it in it's entirety. Then he should make Woody look him in the eyes and explain why he deserves to be a head coach of an NBA team. Then Rick Sund should immediately stop listening.
Next time I'm in Miami I am not going to Dwyane Wade's house. He doesn't know how to treat company.

The Writing Was On The Scoreboard (figuratively and literally)

2009-04-23T05:54:00.000-07:00

I knew very early on last night would not end well for Atlanta. Spirit the Hawk is not really an indicator as to how well the game will go, but if my memory serves me correctly when Spirit refuses to take his normal route the Hawks lose. There have been a couple of games where he just decided to not fly down at all. Coincidentally one of those games was the season before last against Miami. The Hawks went on to lose that game.

Spirit came down last night but he decided to take a few laps around the arena before eventually landing on the scoreboard stopping play of the game because Jermaine O'neal was afraid of him. What a wuss.
There were a lot of things that frustrated me last night, but none more so than the wide open 3 point attempts the Miami Heat players kept getting. At some point I assumed someone would recognize that it's not a good idea to leave the reigning 3 point shootout champion open. I assumed incorrectly.
Wade was on fiah at different points in the game. Not a whole lot you can do about that.
Even with all those things going on the Hawks managed to cut the lead to 5 points in the fourth quarter before completely collapsing and only scoring two more points thereafter.
Joe has not been good in this series. At some point I assume that will change.
Oh well, I actually think losing Game 2 makes us better suited to win Game 3. I certainly hope that's the case since I will be in Miami watching that game. If the Hawks win it will certainly make me feel a lot better about all the money I'm spending just to watch a basketball game.
Go Hawks!

A Good Old Fashioned Ass Whippin

2009-04-20T06:05:00.000-07:00

Two things from that Ass Whippin the Hawks put on the Heat last night:

1) Josh Smith is AWESOME. It's as if he wanted to remind everyone that Philips Arena is referred to as The Highlight Factory simply because of him. I'm not sure he made a shot other than a dunk. I honestly don't know. It seems like every time I looked up he was soaring above the rim. AWESOME. If Josh so chooses to, he could make this an absolutely humiliating series for young Michael Beasley. I'm hoping Josh so chooses too, but he'll need help. Keep lobbing the ball towards the rim Mike and Joe. Thanks in advance.

2) Defense wins games. Honestly the second qtr almost brought a tear to my eye. It was a clinic. I thought I was watching summer camp drills as opposed to an NBA playoff game. They harassed Wade all night long! He was visibly frustrated, but they didn't relent. Joe did a better job on him than we could have reasonably hoped for. AWESOME. Fun Fact (stolen from Micah via Twitter, but obvious if you can add or subtract) the Hawks could have only scored 6 points after half time and still won the game. AWESOME.

* I forgot how important Marvin Williams is to the team until he came in and set the tone last night in the first quarter. His jumper was falling and he had a monstrous dunk. AWESOME.

Hawks/Heat Preview

2009-04-17T13:14:00.000-07:00

Hawks Win. (I LOOOOVE THIS PICTURE)

I don't really have it in me to give you stats (something I don't like to rely on anyway) or bullet points ( I'll leave those to Drew) I don't do graphs ( Bret has that covered) Quick wit (Jason handles that) Riffing on the Hawks (Larry is king) Insanely funny sometimes profanity laced tirades (Look no further than Joe) Facts and insight into the team (Micah is the best) Basically all I have to offer is my opinion that the Hawks will win this series in about 6 games.

REST THE STARTERS, AND ZA ZA

2009-04-13T07:26:00.001-07:00

I want Joe, Josh, Al, Mike and Za Za sitting comfortably on the bench in something like this for the next two games. Thanks in advance Coach Woodson.

Josh Smith's Value: The Great Unknown

2009-04-01T04:39:00.000-07:00

The other day I wrote: "I would rather play the Sixers because I honestly think the prospect of a LeBron vs Wade second round would be too enticing for the league to pass up."

I've changed my mind. The Hawks don't match up well against the Sixers at all. I'm kind of vexed by the fact that the Hawks can't or won't keep up with the Sixers. It's not like the Hawks are the Phoenix Suns and are full of geriatric players who are slightly past their prime. Atlanta's legs can't be that much older than Philly's yet the Hawks always look a step slow when they play them.

I'm going to put out a little challenge to Hoopinion (I'm too lazy to do it myself and honestly I wouldn't know where to start)
We need to figure out exactly what kind of numbers Josh Smith needs to have in order for the team to be successful. He had 33 points last night and the Hawks lost by 13. He's is one of the players on the team whose production is rarely an indicator of whether or not the Hawks won or lost. I just can't figure out exactly what his value to the team is. Do we need him in that 15-20 point range? Does it matter? When the Hawks lose it certainly seems like his point production is important, but not on a night like last night. Although in his defense, he was the only thing resembling offense in the first half. I guess the only conclusion we can realistically come to is if Josh Smith is the best player on the team, they won't win many games........ I don't know. I'll wait for stats.

Speaking of stats, how is it that Josh was a -17 last night???????? Seriously if someone doesn't explain +/- to me soon my head will explode and I will no longer accept it as a measuring stick for a player's performance. Not that I accept it now.........
But, when Josh has 33 points and he only misses 2 shots, he's 3-3 from behind the arc, and he hits all of his free throws, blocks two shots, steals the ball twice and he's -17 it makes me scratch head.
I really need someone to explain it to me.

Sixers or Heat

2009-03-30T07:10:00.001-07:00

Who do you think the Hawks match-up better against?

My thoughts on this don't even concern the match ups. I'm more concerned with how the NBA thrives.
I would rather play the Sixers because I honestly think the prospect of a LeBron vs Wade second round would be too enticing for the league to pass up. I'm not saying they "fix" games. I'm just saying we all know the kind of preferential treatment superstars tend to get and Wade is one of the more preferred in the league. I remember watching him skip to the free throw line 20 something times in the Finals against the Mavs. If they'll officiate him like that when the whole world is watching, then you know they'll give him a bogus call or two when only one coast is watching.
Having said all of that, I honestly think the Hawks are the 4th best team in the East and they should beat whomever they play in the first round (with home court advantage)
What are your thoughts?

The NBA: Where Tony Parker is Unimpressed by the Hawks Home Court Win Streak

2009-03-26T04:13:00.000-07:00

Random thoughts about last nights loss:

1. You could look at Tony Parker's 42 point 10 assist night and easily come to the conclusion that Mike Bibby did a horrible job defending him, but you shouldn't look at it that way. Let's be honest, no one expected Bibby to contain Parker (if you did then you clearly don't watch Hawks games) we only hoped he'd do an admirable job. He didn't, but that's fine because like I said no one expected him to do so anyway. It's not all Bibby fault. The Hawks front line did little to hinder Parker's layup drills.
2. We/Everyone raves about Chris Paul, Deron Williams and Steve Nash as great point guards and they are very good, but Tony Parker's name should be mentioned among if not before them. Parker is really good when he has Duncan and Ginobili alongside him. Parker is borderline great when he's missing one of them. He may not average double digit assists (although 7 assists is nothing to hang your head about) but I defy you to name a point guard who can get to the rim and finish as well as Parker. The thing that sets him apart the most from his peers is he has several championship rings and a Finals MVP. I'm sure he'd rather win another championship than win the adulation of the media, so people can go ahead and continue ignoring him.
3. Joe needs a killer instinct. He sorta has one sometimes, but not really. He has to realize when certain players just can't guard him. Each "offensive set" took him about 9 seconds too long to come to the conclusion that he could take Ime Udoke off the dribble pretty much at will. He needs to recognize these things sooner. That being said, he missed a ton of shots that he probably wouldn't miss any other night. He still finished with 30 points on 13-23 shooting. Somehow he had a +/- of -10. See why I don't pay attention to +/-? I don't understand it.
4. When I thought about this match up as Al Horford's chance to go up against the player I hope he turns into one day, I wasn't talking about Drew Gooden........ Al's 2-9 shooting does nothing to help my case that the offense should run through him. But, much like Joe he missed shots he'd normally make so I won't fret.
5. One of the security ladies noticed Tim Duncan wasn't playing so she wondered why the Spurs were winning. I explained to her that it's because their coach is far superior to our/most coaches. He actually had what we'll just call a "game plan" and he went about getting his team to execute it.

Hawks/Wolves Recap

2009-03-24T05:46:00.000-07:00

FLIP WAS ON FIRE!
Hawks won.

Hawks/Wolves Preview: Courtesy of my Mom

2009-03-23T07:29:00.000-07:00

This is a real conversation I had with my Mom this morning.

C.C.:What are you doing?

Mom: Just working. What about you?

C.C.: Just working.

Mom: Do y'all have a game this evening?

C.C.: Yeah we play the Timberwolves.

Mom: Oh, it's a Thrashers game.

C.C.: No, it's a Hawks game.

Mom: Well where do they play? I've never heard of them.

C.C.: They play in Minnesota.

Mom: They can afford an NBA team?

C.C.: Apparently.

Mom: Should the Hawks win?

C.C.: They darn well better. They have to play the Spurs, Celtics and Lakers this week. They can't lose this one.

Mom: Yeah they shouldn't lose to a team I've never heard of. Who plays for them?

C.C.: Kevin Garnett used to play for them.

Mom: Oh I know who that is. They must have only mentioned him and never the team he played for. Who else played for them?

C.C.: No one worth mentioning obviously.

Mom: Yeah well I guess the Hawks shouldn't lose to a bunch of nobodies.

C.C. : Let's hope.

Hawks/Mavericks Recap Twitter Style

2009-03-20T06:44:00.000-07:00

Screen names totally made up, except for mine....

Cocoqt81@CoachRCarlisle you cannot clap your hands violently at the officials.

CoachRCarlisle@DofficialStafford you'll be hearing from our team owner, also the view from the locker room isn't as bad as it sounds.

CoachRCarlisle@Cocoqt81 at least I didn't have to watch our 3 point shooting live....

Joethebasketballplaya@MBibbyKing4lyfe I start off slow and finish strong, u should try it.

BossAl@Lbrowndisciplewoody in case you haven't noticed, the offense should kinda run through me. I'm legit.

Lbrowndisciplewoody@BossAl just rebound and play defense, the offense will take care of itself.

JSmoove@TheotherJET If I see u in the streets..........

TheotherJET@JSmoove chill out man, I wasn't tryna hurt u..now ur just whining like that pansy Matt Harpring....... and our owner.

Cocoqt81@TheotherJET you're now dead to me, not that I ever cared for you all that much anyway

MBibbyKing4lyfe@JKidd4tripdub wanna go get our summer color together? Oh and thanx for being one of the few point guards who don't make me look so bad defensively...you know, since you can't shoot.

InstantoffenseMurray@Cocoqt81 did you happen to notice I was +24 tonight?? Are u still scared of me?

InstantoffenseMurray@MBibbyKing4lyfe keep playin the way u been playin and I'll be startin in the playoffs

Mwesthustles@Acielawless LOL I played more minutes than u......

Acielawless@Mwesthustles :(

Mwesthustles@Lbrowndisciplewoody I was +6, see I told you good things happen when I'm on the floor.. Did you notice JSmoove was -1?

JSmoove@BossAl Our stat line is almost the same. How am I -1 but ur +9? This doesn't make sense.

Joethebasketballplaya@JSmoove when you take jumpers and miss them it brings your +/- down.....just something to keep in mind.

Joethebasketballplaya@BossAl I'll be damned if the offense runs through u, just keep rebounding my misses...

I could literally do this all day, but I will not.

The NBA: Where Joe Johnson continues to be unimpresssed by All-Star guards not named Joe Johnson

2009-03-16T04:55:00.001-07:00

Joe The Basketball Player has been awesome lately. Yesterday he was so good I found myself yelling "Take him Joe, he can't guard you" at everyone on Portland's team who attempted to guard him. In fairness to Portland, the game was played at 10:00 their time so they were probably a teeny bit tired. Oh well, them's the breaks.

Back to Joe..

He's got that Bruce Leroy, Last Dragon kinda Glow.

I just had to re-post this picture. It's just an awesome shot that I found on Yahoo after the Utah game. It's fitting because Joe has been glowing over the past week. He's done it all. Drives to the basket, killer crossovers followed by step back 15 footers, 3 pointers (yesterday not so much) and he still has the time to rack up a handful of assists. So unselfish. When going over the list of players I thought needed to step up in Marvin's absence Joe was like 4th on that list which doesn't really make sense considering he's the best player on the team. I guess I should kinda expect the best player on the team to do best player on the team things when their team needs it. For weeks I've been waiting on Joe to have one of those "there's no way in hell we're losing THIS game tonight" games. He's had four of them in a row. Thanks for your cooperation Joe.

Hawks Unimpressed By Opponents Win Streaks

2009-03-12T05:35:00.000-07:00

Five Quick thoughts about the Hawks taking down the Jazz:

1. Joe The Basketball Player is back. Joe is the most appreciated slightly unappreciated Hawks player. He scores 31 points and I'm like eh...... One of the most charming things about Joe's game is how effortless he makes it look. It's also one of the things that makes us pay more attention to the other haves and have nots on the team. It's not like we don't notice when Joe is struggling. We need only look at win/loss totals over the past 2 months or so to really appreciate how much this team's success is directly connected to him.

2. Someone may want to tap Mike Bibby on the shoulder and remind him he is playing for a contract. Not necessarily a contract with the Hawks, but a contract nonetheless. He's struggling. Like for real struggling. We all want Acie Law to get more playing time, but not because we are getting next to nothing from Bibby. We'd just like him to be a part of the rotation because most successful teams have a backup point guard as part of the rotation.....

3. Marvin's injury is a blessing in disguise. Don't get it twisted, I never want to see a player injured (unless it's a Celtic) but this injury (like a few others in the past four years) forces Woody to use other players. Most coaches know they need to not only play 6 guys, but sometimes this fact eludes Woody. When I saw Mario West in the game in the first half you could have knocked me over with a feather. I'm not saying he deserves to play 20 minutes, but games when the Hawks have little to no energy he should definitely be an option because he plays hard. How about the dunk last night? So adorable.

4. The Hawks really are about entertaining the fans, that's why they don't blow anybody out. The Jazz are a good team, but the Hawks came out in the second half and played nothing like they did in the first half. I mean what actually goes on in the locker room to make them come out so lethargic? I'm convinced they just want to make sure the fans are interested in the waning minutes of the 4th qtr.

5. The Hawks absolutely must secure that 4th seed. They NEED home court advantage in the first round. It's a must. Dwyane Wade is doing everything in his power to get the Heat there. I actually think it's a good thing that Miami is right behind them. They know they have to play hard. There's no room for error anymore. I'm extremely confident they will get the fourth seed. I'm extremely terrified of the concept of them playing Wade in the first round. We all know the officials love him. ;) If/when he has a 20 free throw game against the Hawks in the playoffs, my head might explode. I'm already in the process of padding the walls in my condo..... That's weeks away though.

Slacker....

2009-03-11T05:30:00.000-07:00

I know I've been inconsistent this season, but I honestly have a good reason.... Comcast and I have some fundamental disagreements about how much I should be paying for Internet service.
The only thing we can agree on is that they will not service me and I will not pay them. I'm glad we were able to find some common ground. That's where we are right now.
I'm sure it will work itself out in no time.
Until then, check with the Usual Suspects (in no particular order)
Drew
Bret
Larry
Joe
Jason
Micah
Jack

Don't forget about me though. Heck, I might post something tomorrow. ;)

It's Not All Of Josh's Fault.

2009-03-04T05:43:00.000-08:00

This post is specifically for Drew, Brett, Larry and Jason (the four people who read my blog). So I know at least two of you were actually at the Cleveland game and you didn't get to see all of the fun videos ESPN decided to run in between Doris Burke giggling about how great it was to be a "witness". Anyway, for whatever reason they decided to let Mike Bibby be the voice of the team and there was one video where they asked him what makes Josh Smith so special or something like that. He gushed about Josh maybe being the most athletic player in the league and he also said and he can hit the three. I couldn't find (didn't look for) the video, but it just proves what I've been telling y'all for months..... His teammates share his delusion that he can shoot jump shots.
Perhaps that explains why they give him the ball on the wing. I told y'all we needed to put some of that blame on them.

It's time for a change.

2009-02-24T05:18:00.000-08:00

Look, times are hard for everyone. From CEO's to custodians, everyone is feeling the effects of this weak economy. I certainly don't want to be one of those fans who is always calling for the coach to be fired, but I think it's time for this coach to be fired.

The team has quit on him and he's quit on the team. How can you just give up in the 3rd qtr? Why even bother to show up at all? Every time they put the camera on him he's standing or sitting on the bench with that same disinterested look on his face. You know the look I'm talking about.

Maybe it's not a look of disinterest so much as it's a look of cluelessness. This isn't even about last night's game. This has been an issue for years. The team has checked out on him. There's nothing anyone can say to convince me otherwise.

I really don't understand how or why people don't think he's been given an adequate chance. He is 138-246. 108 games under .500 and he's the guy who gets the benefit of doubt. Are you kidding me?

Rick Sund is adamant that this season is a barometer. I don't know how much more he needs to see. There has to be a change somewhere and since they missed the trade deadline, they need to look at a coaching change. Teams who have had far greater success than the Hawks have let coaches who consistently produced 50 win seasons go without batting an eyelash. It's time for the Spirit to man up and make a change.

Update: It's really unfair for me to say a man deserves to be fired and not give several reasons.

1. His offense is offensive. To appreciate how truly ineffective the offense really is, you need only watch our opponents run their offense. Trust me it will make you jealous.

2. His inability to develop players. We are almost two years in and we still have no idea if Acie Law is a legitimate NBA player. It's very easy to say when a player gets a chance he has to produce, but let's be realistic for one moment. I don't know of any player who can play 3 or 4 minutes in one game then not play the next 3 or 4 games at all and still produce. It doesn't work like that.

3. He's taken about 3 or 4 years off of Joe Johnson's career. Okay that's probably not true. But at this point he has to be able to find minutes for Joe to rest. There was no reason at all for Joe to have been in that game last night in the 4th quarter when the team was down 20 something points. No reason at all!

4. The players do not respond to him. They just don't. If you've watched a game you know this.

5. His substitutions and rotations suck.

6. He clearly doesn't watch the game as it unfolds which is directly related to #5.

7. He's 108 games under .500. I mentioned this earlier, but it needs to be repeated.

Hawks/Blazers

2009-02-21T11:58:00.000-08:00

The Hawks lost to the Blazers. If you simply must know why, you should go see

Drew

Larry or

Bret.

This Should Be Common Knowledge

2009-02-19T05:49:00.000-08:00

Al Horford needs more touches.

That is all.

Random Thoughts Typed Into My Palm Treo About Last Night's First Half

2009-02-18T05:10:00.000-08:00

Random thoughts about this Hawks/Lakers game.
Why does the two fouls and you're out rule only apply to starters?
Moe, Acie, Solo Za Za and Marvin. Really?
Sometimes I don't think Woody even watches the game as it unfolds.
the lakers are not only getting second chance opportunities they are getting 4th and 5th chance opportunities.
yay Joe, Acie and Mike at the same time, as if rebounding weren't already a problem its probably going to be an extremely exaggerated problem now.
Sasha is willing to shoot and we are apparently willing to let him.
If Josh finishes this game with more than 4 fouls I will write Paul Pierce a love letter.
Larry Drew's son Landon is adorable!
my little brother who doesn't normally get to watch Hawks games noticed tonight the Hawks have no identity. I've known this for going on 5 years.
things started off so well and then Phil took a timely 20 second timeout with the Hawks leading by 9 in the first and its been all Lakers ever since.
Joe is off and on a night when Mr instant offense Flip Murray isn't available they can't afford to have Joe off.
Why in the hell is Dick Bavetta still so animated at his age?
Kobe is not nice to Joe.
well we had a one point lead at the end of the first qtr, we turned that into a 9 point deficit going into the half.
I'm going to sleep.

Who Would You Rather Lose?

2009-02-12T08:25:00.000-08:00

Okay, not that the Hawks are players in the Amare trade, but if they were they'd more than likely have to give up either Josh, Marvin or Al. My question to my 3 loyal readers...

Which player can you live with us moving?

You all know I have a very strange attachment to Josh. I really can't explain it so I'm not even going to bother to try.

When they drafted Marvin, I was disappointed because they needed a point guard and there were two quality guards available in the draft. You already know who they are and if you don't then I apologize for making such an assumption. Having said that, I'm still not naming them. Good thing I don't get paid to write.

Anyway, Marvin is a good player. He may never be an All Star or a household name, but he brings a lot to the table and he'd be an asset to almost any team in the NBA.

Al is dripping potential and at some point he's going to have a coach who knows how to utilize him. (fingers crossed).

In my mind Al is the untouchable one of the three, and while my heart says keep Josh and move Marvin, my brain honestly feels like Marvin would be the more useful player if the team were able to swing a trade for Amare. Marvin knows his role and he straight up accepts it, no questions asked.

Josh is tremendously talented, but he doesn't always make the right basketball play. I'd hate to lose Josh, but Marvin is a player more capable of adapting to his surroundings. He's good for 14 per game right now and he's the 4th or 5th option (depending on if Flip is in the game) on offense.

He's the perfect role player and every team needs that guy who you don't really have to run plays for and he'll still be effective.

So there, I've put aside my affection. If we had to lose one I'd say Josh is the more expendable one, but only for a legitimate low post player.

Mike Bibby Gets To Shoot Threes In Phoenix

2009-02-04T10:26:00.001-08:00

Not the All Star appearance I had hoped for, but I'll take it.

Hopefully he'll shoot like he did in December as opposed to January.

Joe Johnson Is OUT!

2009-02-04T07:04:00.000-08:00

So let me get this straight, we get Al back tonight, but we lose Joe.......
Great way to start February.

Free Throw Shooting Clinic

2009-01-29T04:07:00.001-08:00

You can't miss 15 free throws.

I'm so happy I was in my car listening to miss after miss on the radio as opposed to being at home watching it on television. At one point I thought Steve Holman was going to leave in disgust. Could we really blame him if he had just said to hell with this?

Come on guys. Just, come on.

Again.

Practice makes perfect, or in this case hopefully practice makes at least average.

Free throws aren't the only problem, they aren't even the biggest problem. The biggest problem is that our starting back court has lost it's ability to make shots. Flip Murray has been the best guard on the team for the past 3 games. With all due respect to Flip, this is not a recipe for success. I'm not just saying that because Flip terrifies me on any given night. They've lost the last 3 games. I can't make this stuff up.

Normally teams lose when the guys who make the big bucks don't play well for several games at a time. In this case those two guys are Joe Johnson and Mike Bibby. They've played so poorly I openly plead for Flip when he's not on the floor.

Josh is making big bucks, but he's played relatively well of late.

If things keep going the way they are going the team is going to have to adjust it's goals from winning 50 games and making the playoffs with home court advantage to something more feasible like winning at least 41 games and making the playoffs period. (which is what Rick Sund had in mind, not necessarily only 41 games, but at least having a winning record)

They really need to finish off January on a positive note because February's schedule is not going to be kind to them. They only have 3 home games.

I mean I know it's the shortest month and all, but damn. Of course they get it all back in March where they have 11 out of 12 at home, but they could be out of contention by then. Do I actually think they'll fall out of the playoff race in the East? No, but stranger things have happened.

I'd love to think that when Al comes back we'll right all of our wrongs, but Al can't do anything about the fact that Bibby and Joe can't seem to score anymore. All players go through shooting slumps so I can deal with that reality, but they (Mike in particular) have to find other ways to contribute when their shots are not falling and they (Mike in particular, Joe, not so much) haven't been able to do that. Mike is the point guard so he is still responsible for making sure the offense (whatever it is) runs smoothly. He's not been doing that. He's become one of those one dimensional players who when they aren't scoring they might as well be in the locker room. That is unacceptable. Maybe he just needs to be reminded that he's in a contract year.

While they are still on pace to end the month at 4-3 like I'd hoped, I don't feel good about the upcoming New Jersey game. They had them down by 20 at the half the last time they played and they lost. Mike Bibby isn't going to all of a sudden be quick enough to keep Devin Harris in front of him. Heaven help us if Vince Carter decides he wants to channel his inner Vince Carter circa 2000. It could get ugly. I have to assume Mike and or Joe will come to life sooner rather than later.

I'm going to go ahead and assume it will happen Friday.

A Good Old Fashioned Vent!

2009-01-27T12:53:00.000-08:00

Last night's game against the Heat disappointed me.
I don't fault their effort, but damn they made the Heat look like the Celtics defensively. That's unacceptable.
Mike has struggled mightily the last two games.
Joe for the most part has struggled mightily since December.
Al is still out.
If you're keeping score this all adds up to the Hawks losing games.
Josh is playing well, but he needs one of the guards to play well as well.
Flip Murray has been the best guard on the team the last two games. Make of that what you will.
Mike Bibby is really making it hard for me to convince people he's deserving of his first All Star appearance. Of course two games does not undo everything else he's done, but these last two games are the most recent things coaches will remember. He may have played himself out of the All Star game last night (if they were considering him in the first place).
I said a few days ago that health was going to be the biggest issue going forward. Now I have to amend that to scoring is going to be the biggest issue going forward. How do you go almost 14 minutes without a field goal? That's dreadful.
I'd like to never ever ever see Acie, Mike and Joe on the floor at the same time again. Thanks in advance.
If Joe and Mike don't have it, find a guard who does. That just so happens to be Flip lately, but what's the harm in putting West and or Gardner out there when you're losing by 20? Aren't they up 20, down 20 guys anyway?
Next up the SSOL Knicks. Hopefully we can get our Twenty Four Seconds Or Less offense back on track.

About Last Night's Game.

2009-01-26T08:53:00.000-08:00

The Hawks lost. They were dreadful the last 6 plus minutes of the game.
Phoenix was desperate so I kinda expected this one.

Start of the 4th qtr

2009-01-25T17:06:00.000-08:00

Alright this is it. I hope this game doesn't come down to free throws.

FLIP is in for Bibby and I'm actually okay with it. Our first possession did not go well. Phoenix leads by 5

Where is Za Za?
FLIP MURRAY for 3.
Flip is actually the person I'm most comfortable with right now since Marv isn't on the floor.
A Score and one more for Solo and yes.

Hawks foul Mo Evans.
Offensive foul Shaq. Ryan is disgusted with it btw.
Josh Smith with the jam. My boy is playing tonight. He's playing Amare to a draw right now. He has 17 and 10 Amare has 16 and 4. Actually Josh is playing better and he has 2 monster highlights in this game. If he doesn't make Sportscenter I'm going to be unhappy. Well actually I might not know one way or the other, but I'm just saying.
88-85 with 9:27 to go in the game.
Back in for the Hawks Za Za for Solo. Solo did a fine job tonight.
ZA ZA PACHULIA!

Joe works so hard and the refs don't respect him at all! I'd be fuming if I were at home. I'd be cussing and acting a fool.
Solo is back in.
Shaq at the line, Phoenix leads by 1, free throw is no good.
Oh no Barbosa for 3 and Bibby is coming back in the game.
94-90 Phoenix.
I'm going to have to wrap this thing up a little before the game ends. Hopefully we'll be winning. 7:04 to go in the fourth.
heaven help us if we come out here with 4 guards. Um Mike for Flip was not a good move at this point. Mike has nothing tonight. Hopefully he'll make me eat these words.
And just like that he hits a 3 at the top of the key.
Okay I'm about to wrap this up and just watch the rest of the game. I'll let you know if the Hawks won in the morning.
Peace!
Joe just missed a wide open layup. I'm gone. Score is 95-94 Hawks.

Middle of the third QTR

2009-01-25T16:20:00.000-08:00

Okay while I was eating. The Hawks started the third qtr much like they started the first qtr.

Suns lead by 2 70-68
72-68
Mike Bibby's shot is waaaay off today, just so you know. He won't fret over it if i know him like I think I do. He never does. It's just basketball. I don't actually know him, but I mean reading his quotes after he has a poor game I know he won't care.
Joe is at the line, no and yes.
I love Mike Bibby, but my goodness his defense is like that of Steve Nash. Awful. They couldn't keep posters in front of them.
I wonder how far 20,000 sky miles would take you.
Back in for your Hawks FLIP MURRAY.

Our 3 point shooting has not been good tonight. I don't know the stats so I'm just guessing.
FLIP MURRAY!

Hawks trail by 1

Moe at the line courtesy of Munson. Yes and yes, Hawks take the lead, then give it right back.

Marvin hit a three so some lucky fan just won 20,000 sky miles and he said Marv would do it. Good for him.
Tech on Terry Porter. Marv at the line and he missed it. We suck at free throws and its unacceptable.
Hawks lead by 1 with 2:54 left in the quarter.

Solo just picked up his fourth out of the timeout. Jason Richardson at the line, yes and yes.
Hawks foul Mike Bibby. I think it was a moving screen.

FLIP MURRAY!

ryan wants defense as does the crowd. We oblige.

Mike Bibby is unbelievably off tonight. He won't quit shooting though.
We are ending this third qtr sloppily.
Okay I officially want Mike to stop shooting. I thought he had at least this game to leave a lasting impression on the coaches so maybe they'd vote him in the All Star game, but he is not so they may not. Guess I won't be watching. 83-80 Suns after 3.

Live Blog Second QTR

2009-01-25T15:42:00.001-08:00

The Sky Squad is not at their best tonight. I'm a little disappointed. Actually I'm a lot disappointed.
Ciara's in the house and she's dancing in her seat. Cute green jacket.

Start of the second, Shaq's back in the game as is Bibby.
Bibby picks up his second, see ya in the 3rd qtr sweetie!

JJ checks back in.
Air ball by J Rich.

Suns lead by 3
Flip Murray to the line courtesy of Shaq. Yes and yes.

Flip Murray and your Hawks take the lead! Then give it right back. Timeout hawks.

Time for Hawkapella Karaoke. I love this. One of the players sings a song and the fan has to guess the song.

Marvin Williams sings Shaquille Oneals What's Up Doc which came out in 1993. She had to guess the year.
Hawks lead by 3 Ive missed a couple of possessions cuz I was mixing an energy drink. Yikes

Suns foul, Grant Hill his first team third.
Foul on Matt Barnes that was actually on Shaq, but whatever. Marvin to the line.
Yes and yes.

Ryan wants defense, Hawks don't oblige. Amare for two.

Foul on grant Hill, Joe to the line. Yes and yeeees. (it rattled in)

Tie game while I was texting my buddy Walt.

Joe Johnson for 2, he's found his shot.
Shaq to the line, yes and no
Josh is putting in work against Amare.

Too Many Steps. Hawks Ball!
Our first dance by the A-Town Dancers. So what, they're still a rock star.

42-39 Hawks with 5:48 to go in the half.

Randolph Morris has picked up two quick fouls.

Barbosa with a 3. Suns lead by 2

FLIP MURRAY!
Randolph Morris has picked up his 3rd foul, but Woody leaves him in. this makes no sense. He takes out the really good players for the half but lets the not so really good players stay in. Oh Mike. I can't figure you out at all.

Josh Smith just hit another long jumpr and immediately comes down and puts his private parts in Steve Nash's grill, but he missed the free throw but so what!
Steve Nash has 3 fouls and Terry Porter looks slightly confused.

Hawks are looking good closing out the half. 52-47

Kiss Cam time. It's really early for this. They put it on Brook Lopez and um I think his name is Munson. He's willing but Lopez is not.

I have a major headache.
Amare for two.
A score and one more for Marvin! yes on the ft
Ryan wants defense. We give him a defensive 3 second violation. Hill makes the free throw.
Josh defends Amare well.
Hawks turnover.
Foul on Randolph Morris, Othello Hunter comes in to relieve him!
Randolph Morris has like 4 fouls in 6 minutes. You can't coach that stuff.
For some reason Bob Delaney t's up Woody. Maybe Woody doesn't know we're winning.
FLIP MURRAY to the line, yes and no.
Hawks lead 57-55 at the end of the first half. I'm headed to the club level to rub arms with the groupies for a few.

Opening Tip, First Qtr

2009-01-25T14:56:00.000-08:00

Rick showed up a few minutes ago. He was awesome very candid. I'll have some quotes from him at a later date. Just know that he doesn't share my concerns about Flip.
We're about 3 minutes away from tip off. This game worries me because Phoenix really really really needs a win. Their east coast trip has not been kind to them.
Out on the court there is a large group of children all wearing Al Horford jerseys. I presume they are about to grace us with a beautiful rendition of the Star Spangled banner.
Okay Spirit just made his descent from the rafters. The Atlanta Hawks drumline is now on the floor.
I'm sitting beside Drew from Za Za's Playground and Peachtree Hoops. Apparently he's taken over from Brett who is now uber famous and blogging for ESPN's Truehoop Network.

The Highlight Factory is now open for business.

Bob Delaney is here. This game could so go either way.

Starting lineup for the Suns: Shaq, Amare, Grant Hill, Nash, and Jason Richardson

Hawks starters: Josh Smith, Joe Johnson, Za Za, Mike Bibby and Marvin Williams.

Hawks win the opening tip. By default.
Mike Bibby for two

Jason Richardson for 3. I hear he's incredible in NBA Live.
Okay I'm not going to opine on every possession.
5-2 Suns
Josh Smith with the layup.

Jason Richardson got blocked, Marv came down and hit a j.

Its awfully quiet in here, but there are a lot of people in the arena.

The crowd wants defense, Josh Smith obliges and makes Amare dribble it off his foot.

6-7 Suns lead
Joe misses a layup.

Marv fouls Hill. 2 shots. yes and yes

Turnover Hawks, turnover Suns.

Hawks ball.
For everyhing Steve Nash and Mike Bibby bring you on offense, they are horrible on defense.
timeout Hawks. Suns lead 11-6

The game is sloppy early on, there's no energy in the building right now. Hopefully that will end soon.
Beyonce says if you like it then you should have put a ring on it. I concur. I'm also wearing tight Dereon jeans just so ya know.
The Hawks are working way too hard for their shots.
Josh just hit a long jumper. Drew is now very afraid.
And one for Shaq.
Suns have opened up a 10 point lead.
The refs refuse to call fouls on Suns players. Told yall this game could go either way with Bob Delaney. He's always the closest official to the Hawks player getting mugged, but he never sees it.
Timeout Hawks, Suns have a 12 point lead.
I told you this game worried me because the Suns need a win like badly.

I'm stillc onfident about our chances because we've gotten off to slow starts before, but um still. I'd like them to score on this next possession. That'd be great.

Finally! a foul on a Suns player!
JJ at the line, yes and in for your Hawks Solo for Za Za. Joe missed the second free throw of course.

Offensive foul Amare Stoudemire.
All of Joe's sots are short tonight.
Hawks are settling for jumpers. Score is 22-11 Phoenix.
Josh Smith for 2.
Ryan Cameron wants defense, so do I. Hawks oblige! 24 second violation.

Moe Evans in for Marvin, Matt Barnes in for Hill.
Moe Evans for 3.
6 point game.
8 point game.

Solo to the line, timeout Phoenix.
Time for Inside the Hawks.
Mario West says people say he looks like Denzel. hahahahahahhahahahahaah! I mean Mario is cute, but stop it.
Moe Evans is slightly boring on the jumbotron.
Randolph Morris has a lot of personality on the jumbotron. Unexpected.
Mike Bibby wants to have dinner with Michael Jordan and Tupac.
Joe wants to have dinner with Magic Johnson. And that was Inside The Hawks presented by UPS.
In for your Hawks out of the timeout FLIP MURRAY!
Solo missed one of two.
Leandro Barbosa is in the game. Oh no.

17-24 Suns lead.

17-26 Suns.
Joe is off tonight, but he's still willing to shoot. Gotta love that.

Ryan wants defense. Solo obliges.
Timeout Phoenix, Hawks have cut it to 5.
Foul on Solo out of the timeout, Barbosa makes 1 of 2 free throws.

Lets Go Hawks! Let's Go Hawks

Joe Johnson.

Joe Johnson for 3.
1 point game. Ryan want defense! Hawks oblige.
End of the first qtr 26-27 Phoenix. Hawks defense towards the end of the quarter was awesome!

Live Blog from The Highlight Factory ,Pre-Game

2009-01-25T14:11:00.000-08:00

Hello all. I'm coming to you live from Philips arena. Yay. Tonight the Hawks will be taking on the Suns.
First things first, this will not be spell checked or proofread.
Second things second. Most of the people who read my blog are here live blogging right beside me. Shout out to all of you!
We are sitting in a suite waiting on Rick Sund. He's a lil late, but we understand. I only have one question to ask him anyway. Will we re-sign Mike Bibby? I don't really care about anything else at this point.
Marvin Williams is down there working on his free throws as we speak. Thank goodness. You know how they used to run the free throw drills in highschool where the players would line up like they would if there were a game while one person shoots and you clap once if they miss and twice if they make it. Yeah okay maybe they only did that in Alabama, but whatever. The Hawks should totally try that. Just so I'd know for sure that they actually practice free throws and they just suck at them. Right now I'm just convinced they don't practice. I'd love to be proven wrong.
there are a lot of Suns fans here. Yuck. I hope we send them home mildly depressed in a couple of hours.
I'm so glad we have great seating tonight. Last year we had to sit in the rafters. That's about all I have for pre-game activities. I'll be back hopefully before the tip off.

Mike Bibby=All Star

2009-01-22T05:32:00.000-08:00

Tonight on TNT the All Star starters will be announced. I'm not sure when the reserves will be announced, but if Mike Bibby is not among them

WILL

NOT

WATCH

THE

ALL

STAR

GAME.

That is all.

Season Series Sweep.

2009-01-21T05:35:00.000-08:00

Statistically it doesn't make sense, but the Hawks beat the Bulls last night.

The Bulls rebounded more. 48

The Bulls ran more. 19 fast break points

The Bulls shared the ball more. 25 assists

The Bulls scored in the paint more. 40 points

The Bulls even hit baskets more. (okay that doesn't make sense, but I really wanted to end that sentence with the word more). They made more shots, whatever. 40-83 (.482)

They lost despite all of those things.

The Hawks had more steals. <9> Mike Bibby had 5 of them.

The Hawks attempted and made more three pointers. <9-25> Mike Bibby had 5 of them.

The Hawks had more points, which is the only thing that matters. <105>

Let the cliches be our comfort.

2009-01-19T16:37:00.000-08:00

Okay, so the new year has not been great for our Atlanta Hawks, but I will not fret.

It's a long season.

It's a marathon, not a sprint.

You have to crawl before you walk.

Don't put the cart in front of the horse.

They just have to take it one game at a time.

Okay enough with the cliches. You get my point. It's only January and the regular season doesn't end until April. They have been playing poorly of late, but luckily for them they started off so wonderfully that they can afford to have a few bad nights.

Their biggest obstacle going forward is going to be health. Al has missed several games due to a bone bruise and there is no telling how long Marvin is going to be out after that nasty fall he suffered during the Warriors game. It's not like Marvin was completely healthy before that concussion anyway.

Acie got hurt during the second quarter of today's game against the Raptors. He hasn't historically been a regular part of the Hawks rotation, but in the last few games he has gotten some positive minutes. Let's hope he bounces back quickly.

They have 7 games left in the month of January and all things considered they shouldn't finish any worse than 4-3 (IMO).

Oh, Coach Woodson has been going with a 4 guard lineup waaay to much. I'd like to see some size on the floor especially towards the end of the game when they need rebounds. Josh Smith cannot be the tallest person on the floor. He just can't.

Congratulations to the team for being selected as the game of the night (chosen by the fans) on NBA TV this Tuesday.

They've come a long way.

Happy Thoughts.

2009-01-14T04:57:00.001-08:00

Yes, you're mired in a four game losing streak, but continue to think happy thoughts.

Look at the puppies.......

Note To Atlanta Hawks Players: How to shoot a free throw.

2009-01-08T05:17:00.000-08:00

Repeat.

Bibby, you know I heart you and I know you mean a lot to the team. Get in a few extra layups in practice.

New Year's Resolutions For The Atlanta Hawks

2009-01-07T04:51:00.000-08:00

There's no excuse for my lack of blogging. I've just been lazy. Don't blame me, blame Peachtree Hoops. Brett's just so darn thorough I end up venting on his articles. Then I just troll through other Hawks blogs i.e. Za Za's Playground, Human Highlight and etc. and before I know it there's nothing left to be said. One of my New Year's resolutions was to write more. We aren't even a week into 2009 and I'm failing miserably. I did take time to write a few resolutions for the Atlanta Hawks. In the interest of full disclosure, I wrote this before the New Year.

HAPPY NEW YEAR!

2008-12-31T05:59:00.001-08:00

Well, the 2008 portion of the 2008-2009 season is over for the Atlanta Hawks and I don't think we could have asked for a better start than 21-10. I mean, we could have, but that would have just been greedy.

These are happy times for Hawks fans so I'm not even going to nitpick today. I hope everyone has a splendid New Year and hopefully we'll pick up in 2009 right where we left off in 2008.

Although I hope sometime between now and the New Year Coach Woodson finds some minutes for Acie Law (without Flip alongside him). WE just want to know if he's capable.

JOE THE BASKETBALL PLAYER

2008-12-27T20:33:00.000-08:00

Joe The Basketball Player (as Steve Holman calls him and as I shall now refer to him) was fantastic tonight. He had 41 points against the Baby Bulls. J-Smoove had a very very good night adding 24 points. My boy came to play tonight.

Next up is Denver.

Let's Kiss And Make Up.

2008-12-23T05:59:00.000-08:00

Alright Josh (Childress) this has gone on long enough. Come on back for this playoff push we're about to make. I know you probably hoped the team would play horribly and have to come crawling back to you, but obviously that's not the case. It's okay, swallow your pride, say you were wrong and we'll all pretend you were just out with an injury. You know, like Craig Claxton.

If it will make you feel better you can just say you're returning because of all of the recent rioting in Greece. Yeah, just tell everyone you feared for your own safety and you thought it would be in your best interests to just come back. (wink)

Where will your minutes come from? Who knows? But let's be honest, the bench has been up and down since early in the season anyway. I'm sure Woody can go from a 7 man rotation to an 8 man rotation seamlessly.

There, we've addressed all of the things that may give you pause about returning. I'll see you next year.

Say It Ain't So Joe.

2008-12-18T04:18:00.000-08:00

I felt sick when Joe missed that possible game tying free throw, so I can only imagine how he felt.

The officials were just ridiculous in the third quarter, but of course no one will mention it...... except Drew.

I have never seen a player fall down (Paul Pierce) and an official call an official timeout instead of a travel. Ever. Ever. Ever.

I have never seen someone dribble and then dribble again (Garnett). and then get a foul call against the Hawks.

Something Rajon Rondo said that couldn't be more true... "If they played everyone else the way they play us they'd be a top five team."

I have to mention a few things about Josh Smith and the fans view of him. It's no secret that I'm a Josh Smith fan. Not the delusional type, but I do want him on this team. That being said, sometimes I'm sure I can come off as sort of a Josh Smith apologist. That's not what I'm going for at all, but I think he takes an unfair amount of blame for a lot of the things that are wrong with the team.

Do we want Josh out there jacking up shots outside of 12-15 feet? No, but it's going to happen from time to time. The problem I see is that fans seem to only have a problem when Josh takes a bad shot. No one says anything when Flip is out there shooting at will. Everyone just accepts that this is what Flip does. What's that about? I could go on, but the point I want to make is that Josh is not the only player on the team who takes bad shots. He has plenty of company in any given game.

Every shot Joe takes is not a good shot. I know that may be a hard pill for some folks to swallow, but when he has two guys on him and he has to spin and fade away just to get the shot off, not a good shot.

And, if the Hawks ran some semblance of a fluid offense Josh wouldn't even be in a position to take some of the bad shots he takes. They dribble too much, way too much and the play doesn't even develop until there's only a few seconds left on the shot clock. That alone leads to a lot of the bad shots that numerous players on the team take.

I'm not making excuses for Josh, but it does irritate me that people look at him as one of the biggest problems on the team.

It's like the inconsistent rotations, poor clock management, bad play calling and other countless offenses have nothing to do with what plagues the team.

That short, sweet O.J. Mayo Interview I promised... Also featured in Score.

2008-12-11T10:25:00.000-08:00

I’m the opposite of moderate, immaculately polished with the spirit of a hustler and the swagger of a college kid.”

That’s a line from Atlanta’s home-grown rapper T.I. off of the song “Live Your Life,” and that sentence pretty much sums up what rookie phenom O.J. Mayo is right now. He just has IT. He was in town recently to play the Atlanta Hawks as well as to help introduce the marketing agency Eighty81, which is opening up a new office in Atlanta. I caught up with him for a few minutes to get his thoughts on life in the league.

Calandra Coone: What’s life like in the NBA? How is it different from college?
O.J. Mayo: I think it’s all the travel, you know, the climate changes. The travel is really rough going from city to city. You go from a cold city to a warm city and you’ve really just got to make sure you get enough rest.
C.C.: You’re averaging over 20 points per game, so you seem to be adjusting pretty well. Is Rookie of the Year something you’re shooting for?
O.J.: Nah, not really. I’m not really a person who looks for individual goals. I’m more of a team-goals type of person. I’m just looking to help better our team.
C.C.: What was it like for you on draft night being traded from the Timberwolves to the Grizzlies? Did you take that personally?
O.J.: Well, it just let me know that the NBA is definitely a business. I didn’t know I got traded until I saw it on TV. So it just let me know that it’s a business and I have to maintain, be a professional and stay strong.
C.C.: Are you going to be extra-motivated when you face the Timberwolves for the first time?
O.J.: Yeah probably so, haha, probably so.

6-0 seems so long ago.

2008-12-10T04:08:00.001-08:00

The game could not have started any worse. Seriously, had the Hawks decided to not send any players on the court and just let Houston get the game going alone, they couldn't have gotten off to a worse start. They didn't score their first points until the 6:52 mark of the first period. Dreadful. Even still somewhere between spotting Houston a 13 point lead and losing 84-92 the Hawks had an 8 point lead late in the game. What happened you say? Missed shots, no free throws and untimely turnovers. Not that there's ever a good time for a turnover, but you know what I mean.
One thing that stuck out to me was Josh Smith's turnover (bad pass) with 5:36 left to play. Turnovers are bad, they really are, but turnovers should also be quantified because some are worse than others.
For instance, if Josh is dribbling out of control when there's a more capable guy to his left or right and he turns the ball over, that's a bad turnover. Unforgivable.
However, if Josh just got a steal and he sees a teammate ahead and he tries to throw the ball to him but it sails out of bounds that's a turnover I can live with. Why? Because of the intent. I see what he was trying to do and it was a good idea, it just didn't work out.
I guess coach Woodson doesn't quite look at turnovers the same way I do and hey I don't blame him, he's obviously a bottom line kind of guy.
He yanked Josh at that point (while they were clinging to a two point lead and had completely lost the ability to score) and he didn't put him back in until there was only 1:53 left and that two point lead had turned into a 10 point deficit.
Josh is not the best defender in the league.
Josh is not the best defender in the East.
Josh is probably not the best defender in the Southeastern division.
Josh is the best defender on the Atlanta Hawks.
Josh was bad on offense.
Josh was not bad on defense.
Since Woody is a bottom line sorta guy he should have thought to himself since we can't score maybe I'd better try to stop Houston from scoring.
Woody could have genuinely thought Za Za was a better defensive option at that point. We'll never know because no one asked him. Maybe he was trying to teach Josh a lesson. Hey, I'm all for getting your point across, but there's a time and a place for it. That was not the time. Berate him during the time out, question his heart, question his manhood, then put him back on the floor because as bad as you need a bucket, you need a stop.
Yes he was dreadful leading up to the turnover. He missed three or four shots in a row to help Houston get back into the game. Dreadful.
But, for everything he was lacking on offense he was still pretty effective on defense. The bottom line is even though he was having a bad night, he was still the best option at the time.
I have no idea what to make of this team right now. All I know is if they are going to be bad, I want them to be all the way bad. Don't be middle of the lottery bad. Be number one pick bad. I know its waaaaay too early for this talk, but I'm seeing some of the same things this season that I've seen in the previous four seasons. That's not good.

For a thorough analysis of the game go see Brett.

O.J. Mayo

2008-12-07T17:09:00.000-08:00

I will be posting my 23 second interview with O.J. Mayo later this week. I'll leave you with this picture of him playing NBA2k9 against rapper Killa Mike. He looks so intense.

As seen in Score.... sorta.

2008-12-04T07:55:00.000-08:00

I wrote the paragraphs following this paragraph for Score this week. The editor left out a very important thought (highlighted in orange) so the end of my rant does not make sense in the paper. I've decided to include it. In fairness to the editor he did tell me it was kind of mean spirited. I did not intend for it to be mean spirited because hey, tis the season.....Truth hurts sometime and I'm not making this stuff up. When I wrote this they were only a -27 together, now they've jumped to -39.

I am not a stat geek, not by any stretch of the imagination. I don’t feel like stats always tell the whole truth. Besides that, stats sometimes get in the way of the opinion I want to have about certain players. Sometimes they work against the point I’m trying to make so I just don’t deal with them.
Every time I watch the Hawks play I get this nagging feeling that when Acie Law and Flip Murray are on the floor at the same time nothing good happens. Now of course I had nothing concrete to back this up, but this feeling just kept intensifying so I finally decided to look it up Friday night after the Hawks lost to the Raptors. I went to 82games.com and I was not surprised to learn that I in fact was correct. The Law Murray combo this season is absolutely awful. In defense of Murray, he’s equally as awful when he’s on the floor at the same time as Marvin Williams and Maurice Evans. In defense of Law, when he’s on the floor with Maurice Evans it’s also dreadful. It's not just the two of them together. See, this is exactly why I don’t bother with stats. The only point I wanted to make is that Coach Woodson should stop playing Law and Murray together unless there is absolutely no one else available. I don’t just limit that to point guards and shooting guards. I mean they shouldn’t be on the floor together unless there is no one else available in uniform. It feels that bad when they are on the court at the same time. What I discovered is that Woodson needs to not play Acie, Flip or Maurice much at all. Now that doesn’t make any sense. I told you stats don’t tell the whole truth.

The Washington Wizards fired Eddie Jordan last week after they started the season 1-10. My only feelings on this are if they were ready to fire him after only 11 games they might as well have fired him last season. They obviously weren’t convinced he was the right person for the job anyway.

COME ON HAWKS FANS

2008-12-04T07:11:00.000-08:00

Let's get Mike Bibby on the All Star team for the first time people.

VOTE HERE

And while you're there you should go ahead and vote for the rest of the Atlanta Hawks starting five.