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
doc
March 23rd, 2009
12:45 pm
i dont doubt it either as to whether woody is a good guy, aj. that doesnt mean he doesnt get carried away and ride folks too hard and not listen to his assistants when he should, things you omitted along with the other list you made. someone has to tell him so it happened to be josh this time instead of bibby. personally, i know he is a good guy as a father; have often taken his side to say there might be more to him than what meets the eye. still he is a rookie and growing up maybe proving himself this year and will succeed further is my guess.
aj as an addendum to that story about my baseball coach. i pitched well the last game of the season, lost and went to the coach and shook his hand and said i was sorry that i hadnt broken the streak for him. meant it strongly. that night i went home and fell asleep and missed a very hot date and didnt wake up until 1 the next day. after sleeping essentially over 18 hours straight i knew something was wrong along with a missed opportunity and had been fighting fatigue the whole season. i had mono and didnt get out of bed for another three weeks. this is to say also that josh is doing it and not pouting nor holding grudges. give him credit for that as there is a list as long as ando is tall of players that havent acted like a man in that respect.
JOSH = MVP!
woody = coy
.
doc
March 23rd, 2009
1:31 pm
got a ticket to tonight’s game.
Rod from College Park
March 23rd, 2009
1:50 pm
Astro Joe,
I personally think that one of them will have to go. I think Marvin’s agent will ask for no less than what Childress wanted last year, and in order to get that big man that we want we will either have to trade Josh or let Marvin walk. Especially due to the fact that we will have Joe and Horford coming up the year after that. Just my opinion. Although I like Bibby and have come to the conclusion that he will not be here next, year, and I don’t think that Acie is ready. We will have to spend more money to get another point guard in here as well.
Astro Joe
March 23rd, 2009
2:21 pm
doc, I giuve credit to Smith for playing with heart and effort since Charlotte. He is the energizer bunny for this team. Horford needs someone to get him excited to be at his best. In college, I suspect it was the off-beat Joakim Noah who kept things light and fun. I thought it was hilarious when Horford received his technical during the last homestand. I think it was against Utah, Smith dunked over two players and Horfrod pointed to the two guys like “you all have been posterized”. He instantaneously turned from a player to a fan and I think Smith uniquely provides Al with that outlet. My guess is that Marvin, Chill and others are too cerebral, too cautious, too “broing”. Al probably lives vicariously through teammates like Noah or Josh.
doc, have you mentioned Skiles in your COY posts? Dude should get plenty of votes, IMO.
Ill, I think you are being too hard on forecasted the Hawks fortunes. You almost make it sound like the Hawks are the sole NBA team that is facing financial hardship. Just look at what happen this winter with baseball. A few teams spent money but most waited until the 11th hour to go discount shopping for proven vets. I expect to see the same thing this summer in basketball. And I don’t expect much in the way of coaching turnover. Other than those interim coaches that will be replaced (like Toronto, Sacramento & DC), I think several teams will keep their interim coach (Philly, OK City & Phoenix) and teams that have not previously made a change will keep the incumbent. If I’m NJ (as an example), why pay Frank to sit at home and pay a Flip Saunders/Avery Johnson type (who may do no better than Frank)? I’m sure that owners across the league have already gotten a sense about which corporations will purchase luxury suites and/or be sponsors next season. And the results can’t look promising. I won’t blame any owner in any business for trying to cut expenses in this economy.
Daniel
March 23rd, 2009
2:33 pm
Got to go to the Dallas game and had a great time. I looked up and right there to my right was Warrick Dunn. I briefly spoke with him. A really nice guy and one of my favorite Falcons of all time. Anyway, let’s go get Minnesota tonight to get rolling for the next big three.
kgbsfinst
March 23rd, 2009
2:51 pm
Whether we keep both Marvin and Josh depends on if Sund thinks we can win a championship with this group. I think we could afford both of them considering Bibby wont be getting paid $14 million next year(at least not by us…I think), and Speedys contract is up. The problem is, we wont be able to afford a big man, at least not a high priced one(aka starter material). So, if Sund thinks we need a solid big to win a championship, someone wont be back, but if he thinks we can win with Al at C, and Josh at PF, then we should have enough money to make it work.
Personally, I think we should keep this team, get a new coach, and win a championship with these core group of players.
doc
March 23rd, 2009
3:15 pm
great observation aj, as always. that is as good as it is going o gt from oone contrarian to another. heh heh
no, skiles team has come on a bit too slowly but none the less he has something happening there. do you think chicago have second thoughts about sending him packing? one of the reasons you dont hear me calling for the door to be shown woody. i think the guy has merit and is growing but he aint phil or pops yet so the best i can still give him is the non cap version of coy without the exclamation point.
JOSH = MVP!
Astro Joe
March 23rd, 2009
3:17 pm
kgb, that “championship” stuff is the right thing to say. But when you look at how many franchises have won the NBA title in the past 20-30 years, it kind of suggests that a title is not likely. While he can never say it, I’d be satisfied if Sund worked to get us a run like what Indiana enjoyed during the Reggie Miller days or even Sacramento with C-Web/Bibby/Divac/Peja, etc. Give me 5 years of second round/conference final appearances and I’d be thrilled. Think about how few franchises have walked away with a golden trophy since the Magic/Bird era… Spurs, Lakers, Rockets, Celtics, Heat (once), Pistons, 76ers (once) and Bulls. Did I miss anyone? I’d hate to see this team re-build every 3 years trying to win a title. Again, give me 5-6 years of 2nd round (or better) playoff appearances and I’d be satisfied.
MJ3
March 23rd, 2009
3:25 pm
Rod AKA Sam,
We KNOW your opinion on Marvin. We KNOW you pop a boner every time someone mentions his name. For CHRIST’S sake, SHUT UP AND TALK ABOUT SOMETHING ELSE.
Ken Strickland
March 23rd, 2009
3:32 pm
KGBSFINST-we’d better be able TO afford a solid big since both Zaza and Solo will be FA’s after this season. We know Zaza wants a chance at starting again, so he won’t be back. I eeriously doubt Solo will want to continue sitting on Woodson’s bench waiting for an injury so he can get limited, inconsistent mins. That leaves us with only one big, RMorris, THE FORGOTTEN ONE, returning off the bench.
kgbsfinst
March 23rd, 2009
4:08 pm
AJ,
I think that’s part of the reason you keep this team together. These guys are still young and have a lot of years left. If we can keep the 4 or 5 players together, we have a chance to win it for years to come (I said chance, not guaranteeing anything). As a fans perspective, its fine if you are happy with 2nd and 3rd round results, but as a GM, you cant be, and that’s how you have to base your decisions.
Ken, what I mean by a solid big is a starter probably making about $10 million a year. Can we afford that, as well as a solid back up big, Marvin, Josh, and the other contracts coming up? It seems like a lot of people on this blog doesn’t think we can win without that $10 million dollar big man. I think we can win without that $10 mil big, and would rather fill those two holes (I agree they will both leave).
Rod from College Park
March 23rd, 2009
4:21 pm
MJ3,
SCROLL. “If you don’t like what I say FLY AWAY!” Goodie Mob. I did not pledge AKA either. If I did not respond to you the first time, it’s because you did not deserve a response. CLOWN.
Rod from College Park
March 23rd, 2009
4:27 pm
MJ3,
Stop talking about my private parts too. Why does that concern you? Go to Lenox on Saturday if that is what you are interested in.
Astro Joe
March 23rd, 2009
5:06 pm
KGB, I agree. I think we can do some good things with a $6M man. I still believe that if we had someone like Pryzbilla ($6.3M), Gadzuric ($6.2M) or even Kwame ($5M) to come off the bench and defend the post that there would be very little talk about the need to add a Kaman, Camby, Dalembert or Chandler. I am convinced that the Hawks need a 20-minute-a game low-post defender and you don’t trade Smith or Marvin (and certainly not) Al for essentially a “part-time” player.
BTW, Camby really would be the ideal center for the Hawks IF he had more than one year on his contract. I watched him last week and was reminded of all of his skills. Excellent passer, nice face-up game, high game IQ, runs the floor well, constantly hustles and a recent DPOY with his ability to both defend the pick and roll and elite shot-blocking skills. But he’s injury prone and has one year left on his deal. Trade a core player for him and then you end up kicking yourself when he plays only 50 games with the club. But he is “plug and play” ready for what we do here.
kgbsfinst
March 23rd, 2009
5:32 pm
Pryzbilla would be a great fit for this team. He is someone who knows his role. Rebound, block shots, provide toughness, and he is OK with coming off the bench, or spot starting. I also think hes way overpaid, so next contract(don’t know when) we could sign him a lot cheaper.
Big Ump
March 23rd, 2009
10:57 pm
Doc you all had some pretty teams at Druid Hills.
Ken Strickland
March 23rd, 2009
11:33 pm
KGBSFINST-I brought that idea up last yr, and was promptly reminded of Pryzbilla’s disdane for the Hawks. He was one of those vets BK acquired during his purging days and quickly sent packing.
Besides, acquiring a BIG as a starter would mean either Smoove or Horford would have to go or sit. At this point, Smoove just isn’t equipped to be an effective SF. And Portland wouldn’t want Smoove in a trade for Pryzbilla when they already have a stud in Aldridge at PF?
GumbyWilliams
April 15th, 2009
5:00 pm
I know the Hawks want to win it all, but I dont think their team is good enough to do so. They are certainly capable but I dont think there will be a sustained effort from them in order to pull it off. Still, a wonderful season and a much improved team, considering the team being besieged by injuries. If you would have told me that this Hawks team would win 47-48 games, despite missing Joe Johnson, Al Horford, Josh Smith and Marvin Williams for long stretches of multiple games I would have told you you were crazy. With all the injuries that the Hawks have fought through, winning 30 games would have been great. But to come so close to 50 games won despite a plethera of injuries is a testament to the resilience of the team, the improvement and the steady guidance by Mike Woodsen. I couldnt believe the Hawks could come so close to 50 wins with virtually the same talent from last year. The only thing I can hope for for now on is for the team to play up to its potential for the remaining games, and should the Hawks do that, the NBA should crown its champions here in Atlanta. Thank you Billy Knight for assembling such a brilliant, athletic and exciting team. I know you didnt get any credit and were run out of town on a rail, but nice job nonetheless.