Bienvenido a Miami!
Al Horford and the Hawks will tangle with Heat plenty over the next two weeks!
HAWKSVILLE - Actually, the Hawks have already earned the right to host the Miami Heat in their first round playoff series.
But I’ve been waiting three weeks to use that line from Will Smith’s hit song (courtesy of our friends at YouTube. And I promise, this is the last time I use the words “Will Smith” and “hit song” in that order in this space) about one of my favorite hot spots.
And while others were dreading the thought of facing Philadelphia and frightened by the prospect of dealing with a hard-to-figure Chicago team in the first round, the same team that has been on a collision course with the Hawks for months now will be the foe starting this weekend at Philips Arena.
I love the matchup (my main man Chris Perkins of the Palm Beach Post and I discussed as much the last time these two teams played). Who doesn’t want to see the Hawks face one of the league’s most dynamic talents in Dwyane Wade in a best-of-seven series?
You’re worried about playing the refs too, huh? Get over it. Wade is going to get his share of calls. The superstars always do. But that hasn’t ever stopped the better team from handling its business.
And if the Hawks are indeed the better team, as their record and performance all season suggests, we should be in for a treat with this series.
I love the individual matchups. Joe Johnson and Wade, the two All-Stars and national team colleagues trying to see who can one-up each other on the big stage.
Mike Bibby and Mario Chalmers, the old and the new at the point guard position going head-to-head like Bibby and Rajon Rondo did (well … anyway) did last year.
Josh Smith and Mike Beasley, if they’re allowed to match up against each other, is a lefty air-up-there showcase that we should all enjoy.
And Al Horford and Jermaine O’Neal will get a chance to settle any debates about the best center in the Southeast Division not named Dwight Howard.
The subplots are endless, as always with a playoff series.
The bottom line, any way you slice it, this is going to be must-see-basketball for the fans of both teams. And that’s what makes Tuesday’s sneak preview (the Hawks’ regular season home finale) so intriguing.
My cousin Big Will is down with partying in the city where the Heat is on!
Do both teams rest their big dogs, knowing that they’re going to each other again in a few days in hand-to-hand combat? Or do they go for broke and pull out all the stops to win the game no matter what, making sure to send a message of what’s to come?
I love it.
But there are other things to discuss this …
AWARDS SEASON IS UPON US - In the NBA, that means teams are sending out swag and propaganda that defies these harsh economic times. The Hawks have opted for a much simpler approach, one that caught the attention of good friend and esteemed colleague Steve Aschburner of si.com, and a recent president and of my crew, the Professional Basketball Writers Association. In this age of multi-media and complex techno-gadgetry, the Hawks went with strictly the facts. And that resonated with Steve, as I’m sure it will with many others who are appreciative but tired of the gimmicky stunts teams pull to impress voters.
“Not only shouldn’t voters be influenced by that sort of persuasion, it flies in the face of true journalism ethics — at least for those newspapers that still abide by that stuff,” Asch wrote in an email to the Mad VP. “Besides, I’ve never figured out what sending an iPod or a GPS system to a voter does to make a stronger case for a player or a coach deserving an award. (Think some team sent the conference coaches a GPS system to lobby for an All-Star berth for somebody.) My theory is, if you want to bribe me, come with cash. Lots of it. Or don’t come at all!”
Classic stuff from one of the very best in the business. And I never did get my iRoy so I had to buy my own iPod.
My iRoy never showed up so I had to buy my own iPod!
SPEAKING OF AWARDS - Some of you have weighed in with your own feelings about the Hawks and who on the roster (and coaching staff) should be in the mix. Flips Murray’s a no-brainer for inclusion in the conversation about the Sixth-Man award. And a case could be made for JJ to be included on one of the All-NBA teams as well (per the scouts and league executives si.com’s Ian Thomsen polled for his take on the awards season).
As for our in-house feedback, there was a bigger stir for Hawks coach Mike Woodson than anything or anyone else. I wasn’t surprised that some of you emailed me concerning Woody’s status in the conversation (he’s rarely mentioned by any of the “nation” types despite having a familiar season and profile to one of the recent winners, Sam Mitchell formerly of the Toronto Raptors).
Two items really stuck out for me.
The first was an early morning/late night (how does 3:08 a.m. strike you) message from one of my most trusted voices about all things basketball, you can just call him Pop. “In my opinion,(of course),when you look at all the playoff teams Houston and Atlanta standout as the least likely to have done so well,” he wrote in an email. “Who has gotten more out of their talent? My point, [Houston's Rick] Adelman and Woodson should be at the top of the list of candidates for coach of the year (maybe Chauncey Billups if he had been named player/coach).”
As it stands, few people outside of this space predicted the Hawks would have a winning season, let alone home court advantage. And some of us here weren’t that positive. And to his point, Woody stands fifth on the Hawks’ coaching list for wins, only Richie Guerin (327), Mike Fratello (324), Lenny Wilkens (310) and Hubie Brown (199) have more than Woody’s (152 and counting).
One of our founding members, the one and only Astro Joe, didn’t hesitate to offer up his own fresh take on things Sunday evening. He raised some other interesting points in addition to where Woody stands in this coach of the year discussion (and he wasn’t shy so read his email word for word):
So I was thinking this weekend. One of the cool and refreshing things about Woody is his willingness to state a goal at the beginning of the season and essentially place his career on the line. Last season, he stated that the team needed to make the playoffs. The unstated consequence of failing to meet that goal was likely the end of his run as Hawks coach. After all, he was a lame duck based on his expiring contract. He enters this season, with only the security of a ratty blanket (two year extension) and he declares that the team needs to secure a home court playoff seeding. Again, with a new boss on board, the consequences of failing to meet that goal may have been yet another person visiting the Georgia unemployment office.
Do we see this in other cities and in other sports? It seems we often get generalities … the team needs to take another step toward competing for a title” or “if things break right, we should be able to improve form last year’s performance.” But Woody put it right out there on the line for all the world to see. Last year and again this year. How can a fan of any team in any team sport NOT admire a coach who declares the goal for all the world to hear and then gets it done? Yes, dude has some massive warts, but [expletive], that’s the kind of [gutsy] move that would make other coaches a cult favorite.
Now here’s the but. I hope that this team recognizes the fragility of this achievement, home court advantage. The Hawks are one lethargic first quarter from losing that which they fought 80 games to achieve. One game when they forget to share the ball from seeing this blow-up in their collective faces. They are two first quarter fouls on Horford or Smith from flip-flopping with the fifth seeded team. And because Woody abused his top 7 players with too many minutes, the team is one unfortunate injury from exposing an unprepared bench to maintain the advantage of having Game 7 in front of their sometimes rabid fans.
But all that said, I’m proud of my team and my coach. With five of the top 10 players requiring a new contract (even Marvin needs to agree to some deal or he may be chilling with Chill next season), I’m not taking this for granted and assuming a return to this level of prominence next season. Just like home court can be lost in a few minutes, so can the momentum built in the last two years be gone in a mater of a few weeks this coming summer. Thanks for being the record-keeper of a pleasantly surprising and fulfilling season.
Astro Joe
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359 comments Add your comment
SouthAfrican09
April 15th, 2009
1:08 pm
If Mario doesnt start in the playoffs, he won’t get minutes.
Why not start Mario, and then bring in Mo, Flip, and DUCK off the bench? Maybe it was the headbands last night, but having Duck and Flip in looked amazing to me
terrell barron
April 15th, 2009
1:23 pm
Mr Phill, Shaq was Phoenix’ best player this year. Wtf??? It was’nt his fault they dont know how to play defense. Come on now. The Diesel was the least of the Suns problems. Steve Kerr was the problem, if you ask me.
terrell barron
April 15th, 2009
1:25 pm
I meant Mr Fill. Sekou, why cant we edit our posts?
Lacsho
April 15th, 2009
1:55 pm
Great win!!!
Ray, whatz good my brother? I agree with your comments about Woody. I must admit Woody has done a good job this year. (Can’t believe I said that) The Hawks are all grown up now. I think we’re still the youngest team in the league, and they’re only going to get better. I hope BASG can keep the core intact, while adding a legit center and point guard. Furthermore, I hope they will consider re-signing Chillz.
I was listening to 790 the zone, and they made a great point about Smoove. They stated, the Hawks are one of the most dangerous teams when Smoove is exerting a lot of energy on both sides of the court. Smoove is the X-Factor for our team. I think we go as far as Smoove can take us ( I can feel some heat coming from my brothers on the south side college park area).
If we can make it out the first round, I like our chances against Cleveland. We have really played them tough this year (except for the first game). I rather face them instead of Boston. The first series is going to be tough, and the next serious against the King will be off the chain. The NBA would love to have Wade vs. James series, so I hope the powers that be don’t hate on our Hawks. There’s still a lot of politics in the NBA.
Wassup Doc, I see all is well my brother. Are you ready for the playoffs? I know Phillips will be crazy. This is my favorite time of the year. I think tempers are going to flare during the Miami series. Before the series is over, Jamaal Magloire will be hit with a flagrant foul.
Wassup Banks
Ando holla atcha boy lol
jake
April 15th, 2009
2:26 pm
Miami can’t keep “BOSS” off the glass.
jake
April 15th, 2009
2:55 pm
Philips Arena engineering crew did a good job last night. They did NOT try to make the atmosphere nowhere near the environment that the Heat will face this weekend. There was very little piped-in music, no artificial drums and Ryan “King” screaming DE-FENSE or LET’S GO HAWKS until the last few minutes of the game. The volume will be turned up 100 folds this weekend. This will be a major factor in game one. Miami’s rookies and young ball handlers won’t know what hit them. Atlanta’s pressure, switching, swarming, ballhawking defense has a way unsettling young inexperienced ballhandlers.
niremetal
April 15th, 2009
3:23 pm
Doesn’t really matter if we get 19 or 20 unless Utah trades its pick, since they won’t be drafting a big man or a point guard anyway. They have D-Will and burned a #23 on Kosta Koufos last year and have a couple other young big men in the wings, so they won’t take anyone we could use.
keepin it real
April 15th, 2009
3:33 pm
the only way hawk win vs. heat is if beasley is on the bench him and wade will beat hawk by self!!!! Beasley goes 23 and 13 in 24mins and 12mins where vs starters only thing i saw was hawks 3rd string better that heat’s bad for hawks to even play starters to much wade and beasley mix in everybody else heat in 6 or less.ps wade beat dallas by himself and they where way better than the hawks are miami same team minus ZO!!!!shaq wasnt nuttin for heat in championship year
Melvin
April 15th, 2009
3:45 pm
keepin it real, please explain to us why the Heat loss 3 out of 4 games against the Hawks this season with Beasley and Wade (except for game 4) in the lineup… 1 and done for the Heat. Bring on Lebron… It’s going to be nice to see the superstars during the playoffs in the ATL…
newkid
April 15th, 2009
3:52 pm
Here’s a piece some of you cats may find interesting. It concerns NBA players transporting their cars from the cities in which they’re employed to their home cities after the season.
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/04/16/sports/basketball/16cars.html?_r=1&hpw
RG
April 15th, 2009
3:59 pm
“keepin it real” you sound like a mental patient.
keepin it real
April 15th, 2009
4:01 pm
oh yea since when has speedy claxton been a beast in bball he is wut he is a bencher a role player if u countin on him and the rest of them bums they might jus win one game because truth be told joe johnson really all u got dont get me wrong bibby not bibby from sac, al,josh,and marvin are suspect as far wut they bring eveynite,i know woody has big fear of wade beasley cuz he has no answer for either one of them but hawk do h.ave glimpse of hope because d. cook shot is off at wrong time other than that it would be sweep for HEAT hawks shoot too many jumpers to win anything and has minimal post game. hawk fans be careful what u ask for cuz u gonna get it LIVIN OFF LAST YEARS PLAYOFFS hehehehe!!!!
SouthAfrican09
April 15th, 2009
4:02 pm
We should play Mario at PG. He’s fast and quick enough to guard anyone, and we can let Flip or Joe dribble it up
keepin it real
April 15th, 2009
4:18 pm
if beasley play 32 to 35mins heat will when in 6 or less no answer for him or wade wut u goin double wade leave him one on one with josh or marvin he jus toasted ur starters for 23pts 13rebs 2blk in 24mins like i said 12mins vs. starters u should sat ur starters out Everybody nows playoffs half court game thats y u win 2 out of 3 see u count last night but i see that as ur down fall. hawks lose confidence by lettin gm get that close with ur starters out there that cant be good like i said hawks 3rd string is better than heat’s. hehehehe
Melvin
April 15th, 2009
4:38 pm
keepin it real, you need to do just like your name says. what game was you watching last nite. No hawk starter play in the 4th qtr or beyond the 5 min mark in the 3rd. Hence, Mario and Flip almost playing 40 mins. You can babble all you want, Beasley and Wade doesnt put fear in our hearts. If they were better than the Hawks then they would have a better playoff seed than us. Since they don’t, the Heat first playoff game will be in the ATL. I will be there to be a witness along with the Heat team. Will you????????
keepin it real
April 15th, 2009
4:55 pm
WADE beat DALLAS
+
HAWKS not as good as DALLAS = HEAT
jake
April 15th, 2009
4:59 pm
If you can’t count the win last night how could you count the fact that B-Easy scored 23pts 13rebs 2blk in a pickup game. There were no off or def plays called one time down the court. You could pick any ten players in the league for each side and the score would be close about 90% of the time in that situation. Keep it real shawty.
keepin it real
April 15th, 2009
5:02 pm
mel ur starters play 1st 6min in first qtr and 6min n 3rd qtr and none of them could stop beasley wut were u watch it wasnt the game cuz the only time u take lead back from us was when beasley was on bench(beasley no 2nd or 4th qtr play at all) keep hope alive for hawks i guess havent won anything in nba so i guess u got to hang ur hat on something nto this year maybe when u draft raymond smith in 2025 draft!!!lmao
jake
April 15th, 2009
5:05 pm
Didn’t Wade have Shaq, Walker, Gary Payton, ZO, and Jason Williams on that team? It’s a wonder why Wade didn’t win the regular season MVP that year with such a weak supporting cast.
Melvin
April 15th, 2009
5:12 pm
Keepin it real, obviously you were impress with Beasley performance last nite which came in a losing effort just like the other 2 games he played in. How come you want to discredit the 3 wins by the Hawks this season then reference a Heat team performance from 3yrs ago which had an entirely different cast of players. What sense does that make????
keepin it real
April 15th, 2009
5:17 pm
like i said shaq wasnt important stayed in foul trouble always traveled couldnt score got mad wit wade cuz of his shine now look at him only name u call off that we could use is zo the rest of them we got them j oneal,chalmers,d cook when hot,same team just minus ZO in the middle that it a lot ao wade and a lil bit of everyone else go check. oh yea right now beasley dont see none of them walker,williams,or payton
keepin it real
April 15th, 2009
5:40 pm
lol
keepin it real
April 15th, 2009
5:50 pm
go HEAT
keepin it real
April 15th, 2009
5:53 pm
HAWKS got same team from last year and basically the same record and y’all hype
jake
April 15th, 2009
5:59 pm
Hawks got a better team and better record than the Heat.
Clyde
April 15th, 2009
5:59 pm
Follow me on twitter. Search DJ_Incog.
keepin it real
April 15th, 2009
6:00 pm
y’all must gonna be happy wit makin second round or conf finals nobody said anything bout y’all winning title cause u know it wont happen y is no one sayin title dont u love ur team and they got all the parts to win it all or NOT it a shame y’all worried bout SUPERSTAR treatment that jus mean get a SUPERSTAR its the NBA way….ps BEASLEY coming out party
keepin it real
April 15th, 2009
6:05 pm
jake same team means same players same record means wut 4 or 5 gm improvement WOW calm down hawks if u lose trust me nobody will be surprised but HAWK fans
keepin it real
April 15th, 2009
6:14 pm
o yea i like the head band thing too,wtf its a shame u play all year together and u need headbands to make a statement on we team cuz we got headbands that **** was so lame be ur on MAN.reminds me of that scene in SEMI-PRO when andre 3000 checked into the game for the first time in the movie.lmao
keepin it real
April 15th, 2009
6:16 pm
jus kiddin mk for fun convo but HEAT in 6 or less
KevinA
April 15th, 2009
6:25 pm
It was good to see Speedy play. Hope he gets at least 12 min tonight. In fact it was fun to see all the bench get a chance to play. We’ll get a chance to see a tougher team tonight. If they box out a little better we might have a chance. I hope Flip gives the boys a few more touches on offense. Be fun to see how they respond. You can see Marvin starting to round into shape. He is pretty pickey about his shots anyway. Look to see him drive more tonight. ZaZa sighting? If he’s ok would be nice to get him at least ten munutes.
Last game of the season, couple of days off and then rock and roll. Should be a great series. I predict Hawks in 7.
Najeh Davenpoop
April 15th, 2009
7:07 pm
So I was reading Bill Simmons’ new column today (where he picks the Heat to beat the Hawks, so f*ck him, but anyway)… and he links to this website showing the best five-man units in the league by +/- rating. I don’t really know how much value to give these things, but it’s kinda interesting that according to this list, Bibby-Flip-Joe-Josh-Zaza is the second best five-man unit in the NBA. Don’t know how significant that is, but I think this may be more significant: the Hawks’ best three units all contain Josh Smith (he of the low basketball IQ) and one member of the bench (which supposedly sucks).
Maybe a little more puzzling? The Hawks’ starting lineup is -4 for the season per 48 minutes.
So anyway, don’t know what it means, but something to talk about I guess…
mac12341
April 15th, 2009
7:19 pm
where is Mo Evans?
Clyde
April 15th, 2009
7:33 pm
We get to see Mike Conley tonight. That kid is gonna be the truth.
Macaroni Tony
April 15th, 2009
7:49 pm
clyde I couldn’t find you but you can find me at tigerworld37
doc
April 15th, 2009
7:55 pm
najeh, that is two years in a row zaza has fared well, chills also ranked high usually. jj and josh were the tops last year. marvin usually bleeds red numbers in the negative space. still dont know exactly how to rate the results but it is interesting zaza ranks up there an josh as well as they seem to be the biggest lightening rods besides woody on this blog.
lacsho, still aroung quietly in the background my friend. all well with you bud? still west of town? actually feel retty good about myself, seems like i rank up there with ray boy as there is someone posing me. imitation babeee, flattery all the way. heh heh
guys i can assure you if we win tonight the first post will be from virginia. richie boy brave will be showing up with a broken arm patting himself so hard on the back for the prediction of 48 wins.
i just want at least 6 more wins after tonight, not including tonight.
MAC-TOWN
April 15th, 2009
8:00 pm
Hawks 115
Grizz 98
Thomas Gardener 41 Pts. 11 rebs 10 asst (8/12 three pt FG)
you read it here first.
Melvin
April 15th, 2009
8:27 pm
On a night were 3 out of 4 regulars (Marvin excluded) are chose not to play in a meaningless game. One player decide to take one for the team and play with the bench warmers. Hmmm, that Josh Smith sure is a selfish knucklehead me bigger than the team type of player…
Melvin
April 15th, 2009
8:33 pm
Oh my, Memphis commentators just question why would Josh Smith take a charge in a meaningless game. Maybe b/c he’s a selfish teammate…
bigdave
April 15th, 2009
8:33 pm
mario should keep the mohawk to begin the playoffs and for the rest of his career… his game and the doo fit… hopefully he gets some burn in the playoffs…
Melvin
April 15th, 2009
8:35 pm
LOL…. Mario is never out of a play… You wont get nothing for free in his house….lol
Blast
April 15th, 2009
8:35 pm
Gardner ain’t gonna score no 41 points. He already bricked his first two long balls. He would have to play major minutes and play perfect to even come close to 41. I still like the kid, though.
Blast
April 15th, 2009
8:38 pm
Enter your comments here
Blast
April 15th, 2009
8:44 pm
That was a test. Post weren’t posting.
These last two games would have been perfect for Acie to get some good burn.
Ariose
April 15th, 2009
8:44 pm
I see now how flip can just look like a chucker on a bad team. I hope he gets it together soon, 48-34 BABY!!!!
MAC-TOWN
April 15th, 2009
8:50 pm
blast what are u talkin about…gardner is about to heat up after nailing that free throw
Melvin
April 15th, 2009
8:54 pm
Speedy has played in 2yrs and still look faster than Bibby….
Hawksfan
April 15th, 2009
8:54 pm
I just got my tickets to the 1st game, but does anybody know when they will announce when it is?
Melvin
April 15th, 2009
8:54 pm
I meant “Speedy hasn’t played in 2yrs and still look faster than Bibby”
MAC-TOWN
April 15th, 2009
9:00 pm
Randolph Morris = future Tim Duncan