Bring on the King!
The last time the Hawks saw King James (March 1 at Philips Arena) they came up short.
HAWKSVILLE - The last time the Hawks lost a home game it was at the hands of LeBron James.
The last time King James and his crew lost a home game was before the All-Star Break (Feb. 8 to the Lakers and the Cavs’ only home loss of the season).
The Hawks have won seven straight games.
The Cavs have won seven straight as well (and they are an outlandish 31-1 at home).
Something and somebody has to give Saturday at Quicken Loans Arena when the two teams square off in a rematch of a March 1 game at Philips Arena the King won 88-87 with a last second free throw.
It’s too bad the NCAA Tournament will keep most folks from tuning in to see the two hottest teams in the NBA and the Eastern Conference go at it.
Both teams are fighting for playoff position, the Hawks for home court in the first round and the Cavs for home court throughout the entire playoffs.
It’s a perfect storm for hoops lovers, particularly those that love to dive into the NBA’s version of March Madness. The brackets for the NBA’s tournament can’t be filled out just yet. There are too many variables still in play. But it’s clear right now that the Hawks won’t go into the final weeks on the playoff bubble.
If they did nothing else on this recent homestand, they stamped their ticket to the postseason.
In addition, they rebounded from a potentially devastating few days of internal turmoil between Mike Woodson and Josh Smith to show that winning truly does cure all.
Pounding out wins against teams like Detroit, New Orleans, Utah, Portland and Dallas (all likely playoff bound teams) sent a strong message to the rest of the league.
Not getting popped against Indiana and Sacramento, however, sent an even louder message to me. Because it proved that maybe now, I said maybe, the Hawks are free from the mental letdowns against lesser teams that has shadowed them the past two years.
“They’ve got this thing rolling right now man,” an advance scout for an Eastern Conference powerhouse said to me as the Dallas game ended and we were walking away from the court. “If you’ve got to come in here and deal with this team in the playoffs it’s going to be tough. Now I see what Boston had to deal with last year.”
Paul Pierce and the Celtics know just how tough it is to win at Philips Arena.
Since that playoff series with the Celtics, the Hawks are a jaw-dropping 30-7 on their home floor.
So it’s clear the Hawks are going to formidable on their home floor no matter the opponent.
The challenge now is to prove they can get it done away from home.
And that’s why Saturday’s game looms so large.
What team doesn’t want to join the Lakers as the only teams to go into the castle to defeat the King?
But if the Hawks are in the business of staring down their demons the way we think they are, winning a few more games on the road would certainly do the trick.
They’ve already surpassed last season’s road win total of 12 (they are 14-21). Inch closer to .500 on the road, though, and home court advantage and that magical 50-win season both come into clearer focus between now and April 15.
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318 comments Add your comment
Ariose
March 21st, 2009
12:46 pm
Josh is averaging 18&10 simply because he’s not afraid to attack the rim anymore. Which is a direct result of him finding out what was wrong with his free throw shooting. The only thing Woody has effected is Josh’s rebounding, which has gone up over the home stand.
Ariose
March 21st, 2009
12:56 pm
Yes, the only reason we still talk about the woody-smoove relationship is because Woodson needs him more thean Smoove needs Woodson. What happpend when salim was pissed at woodson? He barely played because Woodson didn’t need him and he just watched his career fade into nothingness and he could’ve cared less………fire his arse…….lol
Melvin
March 21st, 2009
1:09 pm
It’s game time…. Let’s go HAWKS…
doc
March 21st, 2009
1:13 pm
jhan, why is it woody effecting it rather than josh getting the point across your behavior is affecting me in a very negative way? different strokes for different folks, yes? that happens whether we want to admit it or not the whether it means it comes from wives, bosses, children, friends, culture, religion, etc., the list is long. see the injuries every day in my office of the negative effects of inappropriate stresses on folks. 85% of illness is related to just that according to the surgeon general.
maybe woody heard him, that for josh he has to let him have some room. said yesterday, dont make a thoroughbred into a mule. negative works with huge deficits, positive works as well with a healthier person in the end. simple stuff, seen in my office or seen in study after study. it was also not a coincidence for a short time we saw some evidence of change in woody towards others rather than a home stretch. bottom line, these guys apply some abrasive to each other that polishes em up for a while until they spot another burr to rub. agree, it is somewhere in between. i doubt woody was smart enough to plan that if he could get josh to explode in the locker room that the team would go on a 7 game winning streak. sounds silly to say woody is that much of a motivator. zen man phil he aint and reserved and in control like pops neither. maybe lucky that when he blew up and josh came back at him it then was followed by a 7 game winning streak. that may be the in between.
Big Ray
March 21st, 2009
1:21 pm
Slow start to this game offensively.
For those not missing Marvin Williams, today’s game will feature another interesting matchup at the 3. Lucky for us Josh Smith split time on a cold-shooting Nowitzki last game, as I recall he hardly had to leave the floor when shooting against the much smaller Mo Williams. Let’s see how Mo holds his own against the bigger and more physical Lebron. At least he hustles hard as he can.
Meanwhile, what will we get out of Mike Bibby….on either end of the floor?
niremetal
March 21st, 2009
1:21 pm
My GOD the Cavs announcers are annoying. Trust me, Nique has nothing on this duo…
niremetal
March 21st, 2009
1:23 pm
Ariose,
I don’t think anyone can say for certain that Smoove’s improved free throw shooting had nothing to do with Woody. My impression is that the blowup and subsequent talk refocused Smoove in all aspects of his game – from free throws to D to rebounding to attacking the hole.
rms
March 21st, 2009
1:26 pm
Dang, bend over Hawks!! Take your whooping like a man.
niremetal
March 21st, 2009
1:27 pm
Horrible focus on offense for the Hawks.
Melvin
March 21st, 2009
1:30 pm
Flip has 3 straight turnovers. I didn’t see Woody get in his face…
Sautee
March 21st, 2009
1:30 pm
Tough for Woody when his prized vets are the ones stinkin’ it up. Where oh where can he turn?
JJ
March 21st, 2009
1:32 pm
So what is gonna be woody’s excuse when they get their ass blown out in this game
JJ
March 21st, 2009
1:35 pm
know it’s becoming obvious that the only reason the hawks won the last 7 games is becuz they were playing at home.
Melvin
March 21st, 2009
1:35 pm
Bad call by the Refs. Joe shot the ball before he committed (the so call) charge. At the least the basket should have counted…
Big Ray
March 21st, 2009
1:35 pm
Oh this is good. We wait too long to get Horford out of the game for a bit of rest and sub Mo Evans in for him. So, a 4-guard/1-center lineup against the Cavs.
Result? Joe Smith with a few good/easy plays, an offensive foul on Joe, no baskets, and Woody screaming at Mo about who he’s supposed to guard (6′10″ Joe Smith or Lebron?).
I’ll be interested in seeing what happens adjustment-wise in the 2nd quarter.
Melvin
March 21st, 2009
1:36 pm
I am so sick of Bibby defensive effort (or lack there of). He puts so much pressure on his teammates to pickup his slack….
WAF
bigdave
March 21st, 2009
1:37 pm
Im sick of Bibby…
bigdave
March 21st, 2009
1:37 pm
my God Melvin, i had didnt even read the post, and we were thinking the same thing…
Melvin
March 21st, 2009
1:39 pm
Woody rather run a 4 guard offense (with Joe at the 4) instead of playing Solo. I guess Solo didn’t have a good pratice or he must have yell or had a disagreement with Woody on the team bus….
bigdave
March 21st, 2009
1:40 pm
Joe is the only player that looks to have his head in his game.. i hope things turn around quickly…
Put Acie in the game now…!!!
niremetal
March 21st, 2009
1:40 pm
This wouldn’t be a good time for Mario, would it? Nah…
And it’s not possible that having Marvin’s D on LeBron would be a boon tonight would it? Nah…
bigdave
March 21st, 2009
1:42 pm
Bibby cant jump…!!!??!?!?!?
wtf… no leadership, i dont wanna hear that… he has no use..
Melvin
March 21st, 2009
1:43 pm
What will Woody do (WWWD) to get his team back in this game..
Eric
March 21st, 2009
1:43 pm
I already turned this game off. If the Hawks aren’t going to at least try then there’s no need for me to watch. This team is amazing at home and a joke on the road vs. respectable +.500 teams.
Big Ray
March 21st, 2009
1:44 pm
I know it’s early in the second quarter, but the old patterns are re-emerging. 7 man rotation as Josh sits the bench with 2 fouls.
Stiff, predictable offense.
I know the Cavs are better than anybody at home, but we are not even competing.
A tight-lipped Woody on the sideline, glaring and refusing to adjust ANYTHING. Prediction: Hawks reserves seeing time in the recent past will not see anything at all until the game is “out of reach.”
Meanwhile Woody defenders will call any production from said reserves “garbage time stats.”
Sautee
March 21st, 2009
1:45 pm
Y’all are right. Bibby is a HUGE liability if he’s not hitting shots. And I love the guy, but he’s hurting us badly.
9 turnovers so far. Let’s see, which of our unused guards has an excellent assist to turnover ratio? You know, the one on the bench so often. What did he do the LAST time we were in Cleveland? Ray, can you remind me?
Melvin
March 21st, 2009
1:45 pm
bigdave, Acie didn’t make the trip to Cleveland. Back problems…
JJ
March 21st, 2009
1:45 pm
This is why woody needs to be fired. We have lost every single big game this year. The coach is supposed to prepare the team for the game which that a$$hole woody doesn’t do. I don’t want to hear about a 7 game win streak at HOME. Do it on the road. FUUCK MIKE WOODSON.
RedTailHawk
March 21st, 2009
1:45 pm
Someone blogged that Al was the “get in your face leader” of this team. If he is then now is definately the time. They all need their sorry azzes kicked.
Josh
March 21st, 2009
1:49 pm
Well, now we have our answer. Mo Evans and Flip Murray are scared of Lebron James and they are taking jump shots when the lane is wide open because they think there is no chance they will get passed him. Oh, and Zaza is shooting.(always a bad sign). 40-23 Cavs as we speak.
niremetal
March 21st, 2009
1:50 pm
Amazing. We go down 20 with our usual 7-man rotation, and Woody decides to shorten the bench. Brilliant.
Najeh Davenpoop
March 21st, 2009
1:51 pm
Woody, you can’t run a small lineup unless you are willing to play up tempo.
At least the Hawks have shown some signs of life in these last few minutes.
bigdave
March 21st, 2009
1:51 pm
wow… they are calling touch fouls against the Hawks…
Najeh Davenpoop
March 21st, 2009
1:52 pm
Looks like Woody’s going to be forced to play a deep bench today regardless of whether or not he wants to do so, thanks to foul trouble.
Melvin
March 21st, 2009
1:52 pm
My goodness, these Cavs announcers are worst than the Lebron lovers… I would put my TV on mute but I can’t stand watching the tube without sound…
KevinA
March 21st, 2009
1:52 pm
ZaZa has shot once.
niremetal
March 21st, 2009
1:53 pm
JJ finally gets a rest, and who replaces him? The useless-so-far Bibby.
No adjustments. NONE.
Melvin
March 21st, 2009
1:54 pm
Amen, niremetal…
KevinA
March 21st, 2009
1:54 pm
Go Mario
JJ
March 21st, 2009
1:56 pm
WHERE ARE ALL THE WOODSON A$$ KISSERS RIGHT NOW HUH?
KevinA
March 21st, 2009
1:57 pm
Hawks just want a bigger come back. More exciting this way.
RedTailHawk
March 21st, 2009
1:57 pm
One reason the Hawks are catching the fouls is they are playing lazy.. not moving their feet on D…just slapping at the ball…and not making crisp passes or coming to the ball….heads not in the game.
Gilley
March 21st, 2009
1:58 pm
My gosh Woody. About time you put Mario West in. Too late, we in the penalty already!!!
Melvin
March 21st, 2009
1:59 pm
When will we see WOODY take one for the team? His team is getting touch fouls call on them and all he does is stand or sit there with his mouth wide open. We will we see him complain to the REFS for fair treatment and get two techs (and ejected). Then we can see what his assistant can do at the helm…. Know that I think about it. Woody has never got ejected from a game but he will not hestiate to send Josh to the lockerroom early…. my gosh he just got a tech as i was typing this..
Reggie
March 21st, 2009
2:01 pm
I kinda figured when we played the Lebrons we would get the worst ref crew possible.
Melvin
March 21st, 2009
2:01 pm
Wild shot by Bibby but that’s ok, he’s a vet…
JJ
March 21st, 2009
2:01 pm
RedTailHawk I agree. The Hawks are just playin awful on defense. Don’t blame the refs
niremetal
March 21st, 2009
2:02 pm
Haha…yeah, Mel. I was just about to say, he’s halfway there
.
And I really don’t know what’s worse. The Hawks’ lack of focus, or the Cavs announcers’ lack of b-ball knowledge and announcing skills…
KevinA
March 21st, 2009
2:02 pm
Be nice to see Marvin driving to hole. Why won’t we feed Al? As usual when we lose it’s way to many jumpers.
Reggie
March 21st, 2009
2:03 pm
Anybody think we could have used Marvin today. Wait nobody thinks we could use a versatile 6 foot 9 forward who can create his own shot on the perimeter and inside.