Archive for December, 2008

I don’t know how many of us would claim that they saw the Hawks having a 20-10 record after 30 games. But hey, if you did, then you deserve the bragging rights! Formula or no, this team has proven that another fast start was not a fluke. Of course, there are 50 games remaining, but who doubts that we can’t win at least half of those, assuming we maintain a reasonably healthy team? Like it or not, such winning ways inspire loftier expectations among the fan base. So lets explore a couple of ideas on why this team is so much better than in years past. I’ll expound on just a couple of things that come to mind first, then everybody feel free to agree, disagree, and just generally pile in on the subject.

One of the biggest reasons has to be Mike Bibby. And I’m not talking about what he brought to the team last year, when we managed to get into the playoffs. No, I’m talking this year. I don’t know about you, but it looks to me like Bibby is reliving the ATL version of his old …

Continue reading Two Out Of Three »

We saw the first real sign of it in Boston, fleeting though it was. Then again against Golden State, only moreso. It spread further against Detroit, and is readily apparent again tonight against Oklahoma City. What am I talking about? The layup. The dunk. The finger roll. The Inside Score.

For good or for ill, the Hawks had become primarily a jumpshooting team, relying time and again on the 3 ball more often than not. There is an argument in favor of “for good” as the 17-10 record so far would attest. Others maintain that so many jumpshots only bode ill , be it sooner or later. Of course, anybody saying that probably doesn’t like Mike Bibby, or has a split personality, because you just can’t have it both ways. Bibby is definitely the tip of the spear when it comes to our newfound perimeter prowess (as so many of us have lamented the lack thereof last season and in seasons past). But that’s not what gets our attention lately. Oh no.

It’s this team’s sudden ability to finish at …

Continue reading The Finishing Touch »

It was only one game, or so you tell yourself. Just one game in eighty-two. No doubt the Hawks are telling themselves the same thing, and just as likely, they’re not buying it either. Why? Because it was THE game, against THE team. Perhaps in some way, there is a bond created between a team that gets its first taste of the playoffs, and the team that punches that taste out of their mouths (although it sure took seven games to deliver that punch). Either way, there’s little doubt that the Hawks and Celtics feel something for each other, as it is evident in the absolutely electric atmosphere of each matchup. 

Buuuuuut, as Ando says, the season is 82 games long, not 25! He also says that now is definitely not the time to trudge through the mired recent past of a very close defeat, what with the fleet-footed Warriorts coming to town.  Slog around too long and these 48-minute sprint specialists will run right past you, and leave you trying to catch your breath.

Indeed, up next is …

Continue reading Recovery »

From Big Ray and Ando:

Ray:   Welcome, everybody, to the new (hopefully improved) fan forum known as the Hawks Hacks. That’s right, “Hacks”, as in plural. You get TWO for the price of ONE!

What can we say, we’re fans of the game of basketball. Addicts even. More importantly, we’re diehard Hawks fans who are here to talk Hawks basketball till the cows come home….and leave again. All day, all night, we’re going to keep it coming hotter than a Mike Woodson sideline glare and tighter than Flip Murray’s head band. Hey, we’re just a couple of “armchair analysts” (but aren’t we all?), inhabiting a virtual version of a Hawks sports spot. So pardon all the personifications, hyperbole, and other made up stuff. My name is Ray. Homeboy next to me is Ando. If you’re a fan of Sekou Smith’s Beat Blot, you may already know either (or both) of us.  Do we think alike all the time? Absolutely not. Are we like-minded? Absolutely? Sound contradictory? Of course! That’s the whole point, but …

Continue reading Time to start talkin’ Hawks »