Playoff time(s)!
Time for the Hawks and Heat to get it on!
HAWKSVILLE - It’s after 2 a.m. and the NBA still has us waiting on playoff dates and times for the Hawks-Heat first-round series.
I know it’s only fair that we wait for all the regular-season action around the league to finish up before we find out the particulars, but who cares about fair?
Not me. I’m ready to get this thing started.
Tuesday’s dress rehearsal didn’t satisfy me.
No offense to Speedy Claxton, Randolph Morris and Othello Hunter and friends, but it’s time for the real games to begin.
I don’t know about you but I know I need the real thing and if our friends at the league office (or TNT, ESPN or wherever) would just hurry up we could all get on with things.
After all, we’ve known since the weekend that the Hawks and Heat were going to square off in the first round. Just give us the details already so we can …
BREAKING NEWS!!!! The dates and times are in and they are as follows (the 2-2-1-1-1 format and out friends at FSN and SportSouth will be broadcasting the first round games, too):
Game 1 Miami at Atlanta, Sunday April 19 at 8 p.m. TNT
Game 2 Miami at Atlanta, Wednesday April 22 8 p.m. TNT
Game 3 Atlanta at Miami, Saturday April 25 6:30 p.m. TNT
Game 4 Atlanta at Miami, Monday April 27 (time and network to be determined)
Game 5 Miami at Atlanta, Wednesday April 29 (TBD)
Game 6 Atlanta at Miami, Friday May 1 (TBD)
Game 7 Miami at Atlanta, Sunday May 3 (TBD)
Those dates and times for the first four games work for me.
So does this series as one of best and most evenly matched first-round fights. Before the opening tip we’ll have breakdowns of all the individual matchups, interviews with players and coaches and others on the Hawks’ second straight playoff run and a playoff preview on Hawks’ captain and All-Star Joe Johnson’s tough task of matching Heat MVP candidate, All-Star and Olympic gold medalist Dwyane Wade.
Check here for daily blogs, breaking news updates, links and all the comprehensive coverage you’ll need to keep up with the series.
Speaking of links …
here are a few that I’ve come across this morning that are worth a read;
– He didn’t get Most Improved or anything like that, but Mario West has turned some heads from the folks at si.com for one of their other postseason awards.
– The Heat finished off the regular season like the Hawks, except their reserves and youngsters defeated the Pistons in overtime in last night’s regular-season finale. Two players that will be crucial to the Heat’s cause in this series were on display last night, as my main man Michael Wallace of the Miami Herald wrote about after last night’s game.
– Dig into Ira Winderman’s blog for some interesting tidbits on where the Heat might go matchups-wise in the series with the Hawks. They have a few options where Joe Johnson is concerned as well as what to do with the small forward position, depending on how much they trust Mike Beasley on this big stage.
– Can’t forget about my main man Chris Perkins at the Palm Beach Post. He also had some interesting stuff on his blog after the Heat finished off the Pistons. And this is the beauty of this series for all of us. There’s plenty of Heat stuff that will be floating around to keep us up to speed on that camp.
Tell us what you think about the site
Customer Care »
Vacation stops, manage subscriptions and more
AJC Services
Sections
Other Editions
Visitor Agreement | Privacy Statement
© 2013 The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
137 comments Add your comment
Sekou Smith
April 16th, 2009
3:15 pm
Playoff rosters no longer exist in the way there was years ago. The active roster for each game will be 12 players and Hawks coach Mike Woodson said that has not been determined yet.
Acie Law IV tried to go through practice today, Woodson said, but couldn’t get through the whole thing.
keepin it real
April 16th, 2009
3:16 pm
al u smart man too much WADE plus he’s better than 06 plus hawks are living off last ur playoffs boston played every team bad on the road last year not jus the hawks yea heat lose gms on road but trust me that want be happening like u think in this series hawk are fast pace team not half-court team so bibby,smith,al all have suspect jumpers and the bench come on now is str8 garbage who speedy never starter,flip wow,zaza please all em str8 garbage so stop tryin to hype them cats like they BONAFIDE
doc
April 16th, 2009
3:22 pm
hawks in six.
keepin it real
April 16th, 2009
3:24 pm
ps who is mo evans and solo hehehe
keepin it real
April 16th, 2009
3:27 pm
and marlins swpt braves
Ariose
April 16th, 2009
3:41 pm
keepin it real, Were you there at Philips arena for the playoffs last year? Weather it happehn in four games or Seven the heat lose. They won’t get a game in Atlanta. 31-10 at home with average attendance. When the real fans show up at phillips the Heat won’t even be able to think at that decible level.
jake
April 16th, 2009
3:54 pm
Hawks win in 5. Only win Miami may get is game four to avoid the sweep.
Ariose
April 16th, 2009
3:56 pm
KG probably out for the entire playoffs……WOW….I kinda wish we played them again theis year lol.
keepin it real
April 16th, 2009
4:10 pm
keep banking on all the stuff that has noting to do with the players playing the gm and see wut happen! all i hear is if bibby if smith if joe if al and if the bench man y’all got so many if’s how can u win o yea if the ref call the game fair! FAIR ain’t nothing but rides cotton candy, and gms there is no such thing as fair no two people get treated the same and now u wishin u played boston hawk fans fun stick to something u know bout perms and hair-do’s
keepin it real
April 16th, 2009
4:15 pm
y’all should be wondering y NBA give WADE so much time off between games to much rest for him ur bad
Melvin
April 16th, 2009
4:18 pm
keepin it real, i see that you hung around for another day. Well, by our calculations you should be gone from our blog by the end of next week. catch me a bass when you go fishing, while we are handling our biz against the Cavs….
keepin it real
April 16th, 2009
4:24 pm
ill catch u a bass if we lose which wont happen but when hawks lose u can share hair tips with my ol lady bet
Stirg d'Nahsif
April 16th, 2009
4:25 pm
I think playing Speedy was not intended to give him reps to mesh with the team, Ken. I think it was an attempt to market his value. I think it was a marketing tactic to show other teams his status, so they’ll have a visual of his capabilities. Lets face it, he hasn’t played since 2007. As a salesman, what’s easier to market, his potential or his performance?
Melvin
April 16th, 2009
4:25 pm
keepin it real, you remind me of those Pistons Fans that MannyT, Doc and I was harass by. they were talking major smack walking out of Philips after their team lost the game. all they could say was they won a ring in 2004. just like you keep referring to the Heat after we stomp they 3 out 4 games this year… DWade this and Dwade that. Well we are going to give DWade some more time to make commericals with Barkley. I guess no Hawks players are in his Fav 5….
Ryder
April 16th, 2009
4:27 pm
Ariose, even if the Hawks did play the Celtics without Garnett, they would still lose because they can’t win the mental battle against Boston. Sad but true
That said, I wish Sekou would declare a moratorium on people talking about the offseason until we actually get there. Who cares about who gets signed, traded, or whatever right now? IT’S THE FREAKING PLAYOFFS PEOPLE!!!!! Get a grip, and let’s focus on Sunday and go from there.
I think last year’s experience will pay off for the Hawks in that they now know the intensity needed to win, and get one on the road. Miami’s young rookies will do ok, but not to the point they will give Atlanta’s wing players much difficulty. The key, as always, will be Atlanta’s backcourt and the play of Flip Murray off the bench.
Also, who’d ever think that the Hawks would go into the playoffs with a team in which Mike Woodson has the coaching advantage and experience? Weird.
One more thing, I was listening to Colin Cowherd on ESPN this morning and he made an interesting point about fans complaining about the refs, and if history is any indication Wade will get all the calls while JJ gets shafted.
That said, I still predict the Hawks will win in 7, much to the chagrin of the media.
keepin it real
April 16th, 2009
4:33 pm
see u missing point playoff half-court hawks more fast break team no killers on ur team and thats the big difference wade is a BONAFIDE superstar and will beat hawk in 5 im man enough to say y’all better team if u win but will u or will u complain bout joe,bibby,al,or smith not doing this or that and for y’all to be hypin up the likes of speedy,zaza gabore,flip 100 team murray,mo evans,and who ever solo is the series already over yea u when 2 out 0f 3 last game i do see it but reg season and playoffs different
Melvin
April 16th, 2009
4:35 pm
Stirg,
base on his performance over the past 2 games. His potential showed that he can/should have been a contributer this season. He look okay for a guy who hadn’t played in 2yrs to me. Now if I’m right about Speedy, then who does that blame falls on…
Melvin
April 16th, 2009
4:40 pm
keepin it real, re-read any of my post. you wont find my complaining about the superstar treatment that DWade may or may not get. I don’t care about that b/c the Heat wont beat the Hawks in a playoff series…
cp
April 16th, 2009
4:40 pm
I’m ready for the games. It looks like Law might not be ready and that is a shame We could use him. Law at the point makes Flip more effective because Flip does not have to worry about handling the ball or setting anybody up. He can just focus on scoring. I don’t like Flip at the point and I know Speedy is not in shape but I think we should be fine.
MannyT
April 16th, 2009
5:35 pm
As much as I give Woody a hard time, he is definitely not at the bottom of the playoff coaches. Here is an ESPN poll where y’all can voice your opinions.
http://sports.espn.go.com/chat/sportsnation/rank?versionId=1&listId=272
Melvin, I’ll be ready for the Heat fans by Sunday. The extra days in the schedule give me more time to recover from all the hollerin’ that I’ll do during this series.
Maybe I’ll even find a sign…No water to WADE in here. Lose and go home.
Hawks in 5.5
BWAF
SouthAfrican09
April 16th, 2009
5:44 pm
Marketing Speedy? WTF? Showing teams that in the 15 minutes he played all season that he is good enough to play for them?
No.
Hawks Over Heat In Five
April 16th, 2009
5:50 pm
HAWKS IN 5! Keepin it real all on our blog cause in truth he’s the one worried. Our reserves beat the heat on Tuesday. So why the heck should we be worried. Out of a 4 game series our team won 3 and his team only won 1. This pattern will continue so again I say them ATL HAWKS GONNA WIN IN 5. NOW THAT’S KEEPING IT REAL! Get off our blog you scrub.
doc
April 16th, 2009
5:57 pm
manny t did you realize the hawks could win 60 games a year the next three years and woody would still be sub-500. that said he is probably middle of the pack.
keepin it real
April 16th, 2009
6:01 pm
damn ainge had heart attack today
Blast
April 16th, 2009
6:03 pm
I see petrified Heat fans invading our blog. They must be really worried, is why they talking all that trash. That Real dude doesn’t seem very intellegent, either. He certainly can’t spell. Hope they hang around long enough for Hawks to knock out Miami in 5 games.
10 win improvement over last year! 12 games over .500. 4th spot in the East. Possibility of advancing to the 2nd Round. Who would have thunk it?!!!!
Hawks Playoff Basketball. Here We GO!!!
jake
April 16th, 2009
6:30 pm
I feel terrible for Ainge. Already enough stress this time of year for him, then his coach tells the MEDIA his All-World forward will may the whole playoffs after a shoot around or something.
jake
April 16th, 2009
6:33 pm
I meant to say may miss the whole playoffs.
Ariose
April 16th, 2009
7:01 pm
Ryder, I hate to admit it, but it’s true. We seem to have a mental block when it comes to Boston……but it’s nothing that adding Chris Kaman and Shawn Marion to the roster as currently constructed can’t cure lol.
Dang, KG’s bum knee was too much for Ainge to take…..guess thats what happens when basketball becomes your life……you’re one bum knee away from a heart attack.
In all seriousness though, I hope he’s ok and recovers nicely.
keepin it real
April 16th, 2009
7:52 pm
hawk in five over heat ur 3rd string beat our 3rd string did u see BEASLEY f*ck the starters 23pts 13rebs 2blks in 24min vs hawks friday and 12 of them min vs. ur starters look at box score or watch gm, but somebody say no plar were ran or no d so why risk playin starter to injury or get showed up by a rookie minus wade haslem moon j oneal do u really feel good bout ur team chances
Reality
April 16th, 2009
7:55 pm
Quick question: What’s emptier? Philips Arena or the Hawk’s Trophy case?
The Heat are going to F up Atlanta, just like the Marlins did.
mississippi
April 16th, 2009
7:58 pm
Talking about the match-up: I would like to see if Marvin can guard Wade some of the time. I’m not sure if he’s quick enough but it would be better than having JJ guard him all night. Hopefully West will also be allowed to drop the hammer on Wade for some stretches.
keepin it real
April 16th, 2009
8:10 pm
blast hawks playoffs jus like braves playoff go enough to get there but seriuosly no one expecting u to win and i spell good enough for u to understand me that all that matter
keepin it real
April 16th, 2009
8:15 pm
it funny how one heat fan can send y’all in a frenzy like some ppl in here are crying bout calls already,some wanna play boston now instead of heat,im mean get real stick to the stuff y’all know bout perms and hair-do,s and the rest of that g@y**** u on
Hawks Over Heat in Five
April 16th, 2009
8:35 pm
Keepin it real, you really are an idiot. Beasley’s double double and supposedly 2 blocks didn’t mean squat cause the Hawks still came out with the win. That’s why I believe Wade scoring 55 pts isn’t gonna stop the ATL Hawks from winning this series. At least our starters wasn’t afraid to suit up. MV3 and the other Heat starters was scared to even step foot on the court because they knew what time it was before they even stepped up in the Philips Arena. The playoffs this year starts and ends in our house aka the Highlight Factory. Not in D Wade’s house. Remember that! Remember who got the 4th seed and homecourt advantage. Why are you even on this blog? We Hawks fans are not gonna let you keep on disrespecting our team like that. Don’t you guys have a blog. And another thing Wade keep on talking about people doubting him, the Hawks have been dealing with that for a long time now. That’s alright though cause the Hawks gonna win this series in five anyway.
By the way, I was a witness in the arena when the reserves won the game with good D on your reserves in the very end. So again I say the reserves won that game. Stats don’t tell the whole picture and don’t mean a darn thang if you didn’t get the win. And that’s real talk!
keepin it real
April 16th, 2009
8:38 pm
damn u came close to writing a book
keepin it real
April 16th, 2009
8:39 pm
i love this sh*t
Ariose
April 16th, 2009
8:40 pm
And Mo Evans and Zaza didn’t even play lol……what a joke.
keepin it real
April 16th, 2009
8:44 pm
OOOOyyyyyyeeeeeeaaaaaa yea MV3 gonna have a whole lotta highlights in the highlight factory or wuteva u call it
keepin it real
April 16th, 2009
8:49 pm
man y’all keep talkin bout mo evans like he god or something da man bench guy lifer,and who is zaza str8 garbage i no they play for y’all and sh*t but if they were on oanother team u say same thing str8 pooh pooh stop call them name like the good damn that why u neva won sh*t cuz u think they are it them guys play for 3 teams or more
Ariose
April 16th, 2009
9:07 pm
It’s funny how wade droped 50 against the Magic one night, and then the next night he gets held under his season average against tha ATL huh? Teams like NYK and Orlando make great players look extrodinary with their weak defenses. Orlando doesent care as long as they are outscoring you…..likewise for the Knicks.
The Heat love to put wade in a pick n’ roll. Well stuff like that doesn’t effect the hawks b/c we have long and athleic bigs/wings that can keep up with wade….and If they get beat…..guess whose waiting on on ya boi at the rim…..J-Smoove/Solomon Jones/Marvin/Horford…..pick your poison.
With that being said, the Hawks will probably just opt to Double off the pick in order to get the ball out of his hands. I was a little worried about this but with guys like Luther Head out with a broken hand…..not so much anymore. James Jones isn’t a strong defender so I doubt spolestra will keep him on the court long enough for his shoting to become a factor. He’ll more than likely be a liability first. Cook and Chalmers are decent when givin space….but space is hard to find in the playoffs homie…..especially against the Hawks who are exellent at closing out on open shooters.
Wade is 6′4. When we double him, he will likely be unable to see over our taller wings/centers thes creating potential turnover situations for the Haeat. Unfortunately for the Heat, tunovers are the Hawks specialty…..and I’m sure you know what the Hawks do with tunovers on the Break right?
The Hawks Achilles’ heel are Ultra Fast point guards and Really long Big men on the inside. The Heat have neither of these, thus making them the Ideal matchup as opposed to the Bulls(Rose,Gordon/Miller,Thomas and Noah) or the Sixers(Dalembert/Miller, Williams and Igoudala)
This is the matchup we wanted. And leave it to the National media to add fuel to the Hawks fire by coutnig them out in 6 or 7 games. YOU KNOW the Hawks are hearing this and YOU KNOW they will want to make everyone eat thier words(and predictions lol).
To add insult to injury(pun intended) O’Neal has a Bum Shoulder, No telling how Haslem’s hand will react after getting those stitches taken out today, Moon has a gimpy ankle and Luther Head(who probably would have caused a lot of trouble for the Hawks) is out for Indefenetly with that broken hand.
My take?…..
Hawks in 4= 20%
Hawks in 5= 50%
Hawks in 6= 30%
Chances of 1st round victory= 100%
Sorry but i’m just keepin’ it real…
Hawks Over Heat In Five
April 16th, 2009
9:09 pm
I love the fact that you have said nothing that supports your belief that the heat. Are gonna beat my ATL Hawks. You ain’t saying nothing. I also love the fact that the Hawks won the season series. Hahaha
Ariose
April 16th, 2009
9:09 pm
BTW, The Hawks have held wade to an average of six points under his season average compared to the rest of the leauge in four games anainst the Heat this season.
Just keepin’ it real…..
keepin it real
April 16th, 2009
9:32 pm
yada yada yada if ur bench is as good as u say u would have 50 + win same team from last they can play together for the next 3yrs and wont make for the simple fact nice guys finish last no one on ur team is killer if bibby played like when he was with kings then of course but joe can disappear jus as easy plus who gonna stop BEASLEY with everything being equal minus WADE cuz if he play 32-35mins he will drop 20-10. holla @ boi
keepin it real
April 16th, 2009
9:46 pm
see when we went WHITE HOT in 06 that was to show u how laid back we were but this year its BLACK IS BACK so when u see that sh*t on ur tv next sat and mon dont fret we jus went GOON the whole arena gone be BLACK.black mv3 shirt,black shorts,black kicks its crazy
Ariose
April 16th, 2009
10:22 pm
I don’t even hink I touched upon the fact that O’neal is a mere shell of his former self. He used to be a 20/10 threat every time he stepped on th court. Now he’s nowhere close to that. It’s quite sad. At least Chris Webber still managed to average between 19-21ppg after having his knees sewn up. He may block a shot or two but in the grand scheme of things he poses no threat to the Hawks ultra Athletic front line.
The Celtics had KG and we STILL took them to seven games. O’neal and KG may have similar salaries but from a production standpoint O’neal just doesn’t measure up………Well, they DO both have that BUM knee thing in common heh!
Ariose
April 16th, 2009
10:27 pm
Thats cool, but the Hawks prefer their opponets a couple shades of Black and Blue…..
Ariose
April 16th, 2009
10:30 pm
Joe Dissapear? I’m sure your opinion is the byproduct of bad national media coverage for our Hawks, but it’s OK you’ll see for yourself in a few days.
Hawks Over Heat in Five
April 16th, 2009
10:31 pm
keepin it real how dumb are you? your record was was worst than ours. and anyway it didn’t take 50 wins to get that homecourt/4th spot so it’s all good that we didn’t make that 50. and stop talking about 06, are you blind? that’s not even the same team from 06. you guys can wear what ever you want it won’t stop the fact that we gone win the series in five. goon, nicca please, the ATL is the hood, so what’s your point? as a matter of fact the A Town Hawks could step up in that thang in pink and still get the win. you might as well be tickle me elmo cause you starting to make me laugh.
Ariose
April 16th, 2009
10:33 pm
Ding!
Hawks Over Heat in Five
April 16th, 2009
10:36 pm
That’s right Ariose, that fool keep talking about Beasley 20 pts and probably his first or second double double of the season. He must not know that Joe dropped 20 of them thangs on the Boston Celtics in one quarter. As a matter of fact keepin it real, google it, or even go to youtube. check out JJ where will amazing happen video so that you can get used to the fact that amazing is going down in the A Town.