Time to dig into the Hawks and Heat
Joe Johnson and the Hawks will have their hands full with Dwyane Wade and the Heat.
HAWKSVILLE - Mike Bibby and Mario Chalmers at point guard.
All-Stars Joe Johnson and Dwyane Wade at shooting guard.
Marvin Williams and Michael Beasley at small forward.
Josh Smith and Udonis Haslem at power forward.
And Al Horford and Jermaine O’Neal at center.
I spent more time than is mentally healthy thinking about those 10 guys (projected starters for the Hawks and Heat in Sunday’s Game 1 at Philips Arena) last night and early this morning. Such is the curse of playoff basketball, when your brain locks in on a specific set of teams and nothing else.
It’s still unclear how Hawks coach Mike Woodson and Heat coach Erik Spoelstra are going to play things. Both starting lineups could see a tweak here or there, though I’m fairly confident that the Hawks’ starting group will look like it does above.
The Heat, however, could go a couple different ways. Beasley could be used off the bench, where he would wreak havoc on a Hawks’ second unit without anyone close to him in size, athleticism and just flat out ability to score and rebound at an exceptional clip.
There’s some healthy debate going on in South Florida about whether or not it’s wise to start Beasley in place of Jamario Moon (another elite athletic talent that could cause matchup issues if brought off the bench). And as an observer of this series, I’m siding with the start-Beasley camp. I want to see the kid out there from the start and watch him match up with Williams, Smith or whoever else the Hawks have guarding him. I want to see both teams go at it with their best on the floor.
Beasley serves as the X-factor in this series for me the same way Smith did last year when the Hawks took on Boston in the first round. Smith played through the roof in those three games the Hawks won at Philips, proving my pre-series premonition correct. I have a sneaking suspicion that Beasley will have a similar showing this time around.
NO STOPPING WADE … NONE!
Since there’s no Ron Artest-like defender in this series or any other except the series Houston plays in, I’m going to put an end to this silly notion that someone should even bother trying to STOP Wade (Jack Bauer’s NBA alter ego, according to Bill Simmons). The fact is, it doesn’t happen. Not in the regular season and certainly not now.
The Hawks did about as well as could be expected on Wade in four regular season meetings, holding him to 25.5 points in those games (five below his league-leading average). I think that had a lot to do with the fact that the Hawks are capable of guarding the rim (with Smith and Horford in particular) better than most teams. But this idea that one person can deal with him in this series seems a bit misguided, and I’ve heard it from several people in the last few days.
“There’s not many guys in this league that can stop a person one-on-one,” Bibby said. “You could probably count it on one hand. It’s going to have to be a team effort. It’s about stopping the ball, getting back in transition, rotating and scrambling around to help each other. There’s going to be a lot of scrambling to do on the defensive end because [Wade's] dribble drive game opens up the floor for everybody else. So it has to be done together, five guys guarding five guys.”
TOUGH DAY IN BOSTON
I realize that the love for the Celtics around here is invisible after all that’s gone on the last year, but you have to admit it was a rough day for our friends (or not) in Boston yesterday.
First they get the news that Kevin Garnett is likely done for the rest of this season with a knee injury. And then Celtics GM Danny Ainge suffers a heart attack.
This has the folks at the Boston Globe putting an end to the Celtics’ dreams of a repeat NBA title before we even get started. But of all the teams in the Eastern Conference playoff field, Paul Pierce and Co. are the group I’d try to avoid at all costs if I were another team.
Last year they had all the pressure on them to make it to the NBA Finals. This time around, there’s no pressure at all. While everyone else will tell you why the Celtics won’t make it, I’m here to tell you that there’s no team more dangerous than the defending champs.
That said, no team (outside of the Lakers if Kobe Bryant went down or the Cavaliers if LeBron James went down) could suffer a greater blow than what the Celtics have in losing Garnett.
Not only is he their best player and emotional leader, he served as the backbone of the stifling defensive team that smothered teams all the way to the Larry O’Brien trophy last year. Without him there to control that defense, I just can’t see any way that the Celtics win a title without owning home court advantage. And they’d have to hit the road against Cleveland and LA if they were to get that far.
NO PARTYING FOR THE HEAT
Sorry Hawks fans, there will be no Buckhead flu (or whatever it’s called these days) for the opposing team in this playoff series.
Wade and Haslem, the Heat captains, have apparently instituted a “no-going-out” rule for the team’s three-night stay here. That means no mysterious energy lapses for select guys. I’ll be curious to see if they find any rule breakers before we finish up the first two legs of this series, because the temptation will be there.
I know for a fact the Celtics didn’t have that rule last year, because my main man Marc Spears and I were leaving bible study the night before Game 6 last year and saw some Celtics coming out of a club across the street one night.
Good luck to the Heat on that one.
HAWKS INJURY UPDATES
– Acie Law IV is looking more and more like a no-go for this series, or at least for the first few games. Woodson said Law couldn’t get through Thursday’s practice because of the lower back pain that kept him out of all but one of Hawks’ final 13 games of the regular season. This is a blow but hardly an unexpected one since Law’s contributions have been non-existent for weeks now.
– Zaza Pachulia said told me after practice that he’s feeling “great.” He took a nasty lick on his hip and side in the win over Indiana last Friday and sat out the Miami game earlier this week. But he did come back and play in Memphis, mostly to make sure his timing was on for this series. He’ll be an important factor off the bench for the Hawks in this series, especially with Jamaal Magloire playing the same role off the Heat bench.
– Marvin Williams indicated that he’s ready not only to play but ready to assume his starting role after a 16-game layoff late in the season due to his lower back injury. That’s huge news, obviously, because for a long time it appeared that Williams might be done for the season. His long layoff might actually end up being a benefit to the Hawks, as his legs should be fresher than anyone’s during this series.
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182 comments Add your comment
Al
April 17th, 2009
3:41 pm
I was planning a trip to Atlanta this weekend for the game, maybe catch that Buckhead flu. But they made the game late Sunday. Doesn’t work out for me. That’s one less Heat fan in your arena. I’ll be at the AAA next Saturday though. Already got my tickets. So who’s going to game 1?
Volman
April 17th, 2009
3:43 pm
I will give you Beasley off of the bench.. I thought Daequan Cook was a starter. I am probably wrong. He is good at the 3 ball, but a terrible defender and a non-entity on the glass. Maglore is just a big body… Not very offensive minded. He’s a pretty solid defender. I would take Zaza’s offensive ability as well as heart/passion (not to mention his popularity with the fans from last season) over your guy.
James Jones is a good shooter, but again, there’s just another shooter. He isn’t really a scorer…nor will he win an award for defense. Please don’t mention Chris Quinn as respectable. He’s borderline D-league material…. Bibby can guard him, and that’s sad.
Anyway, our starting five vs yours should be interesting. When it comes to the bench, Atlanta has the nod.
SouthAfrican09
April 17th, 2009
3:44 pm
THE GAME HAS NOT SOLD OUT. PATHETIC
keepin it real
April 17th, 2009
3:45 pm
we got enough dept and length to matchup with hawk plus series is equally in my eyes u beat,us we beat, u then we mk trade,and u win soon after trade and last gm was for BEASLEY and he show no starter on hawks can stop him so how u defend 2 unguardable players 2 same time u cant double both and even though he rookie i put his jumper up against anybody @ his postion with better jumper plus he uses either handle equally well around basket
keepin it real
April 17th, 2009
3:48 pm
i dunno i think my bench is much better they score like 35-45 pts a game if cook wasnt in slump since winning 3 comp i would damn near say a sweep
keepin it real
April 17th, 2009
3:50 pm
keep thinking cook or jones dont play d or get board or tip pass and magloire is weaker than zaza gabore he will definitely wear down ur post players lets not forget hawks not much more exp.
keepin it real
April 17th, 2009
3:52 pm
AAA gonna be D^ with the all black theme this year jus mean we out to take ours GOON-STYLE i cant wait all black from head to toe
Al
April 17th, 2009
3:53 pm
Volman, in my opinion, Beasley and Magliore are the best and most consistent contributors off the Heat bench. Magliore would start ahead of O’Neal if I had my way. Everyone else is inconsistent. Daequan Cook can heat up at times. And if James Jones is on, you’re in trouble. He just stands in the corner and shoots threes. With Wade and Beasley on the floor, he always gets open looks.
Your assessment about not playing 48 minutes is true. But Wade will come close. With a full week off now and two and a half days off in between the first three games? He’ll push himself to the limit. So you’ll see a lot of minutes with Wade at the 1 and that “little runt” Quinn on the bench.
Buckwheat
April 17th, 2009
3:55 pm
I always amember to read keepin it real’s posts. The guy is wicked smart.
Al
April 17th, 2009
3:56 pm
Ah, I just read your comment underestimating Jamal Volman. He’ll grab offensive boards and he’ll get dunks or free throws. If you don’t think he plays with intensity, you definitely have not watched any Heat games in the last two months.
keepin it real
April 17th, 2009
3:56 pm
AL i see a lot of 06 in this team minus zo but with a more dangerous WADE and a strong 2nd option in BEASLEY
keepin it real
April 17th, 2009
3:58 pm
thanks buckwheat jus tryin to keep hawks fan cool calm and collected
Reality
April 17th, 2009
3:59 pm
Volman, I am not keepin it real, we cleary have different writing styles….hahaha….no offense keepin it real. I’m also very sorry about your Mom.
Anyways, I don’t think you’ve seen too many Heat games by the sound of it.
The Heat’s bench has been very solid all year, mostly because Beasley has been leading the 2nd unit. Daequan Cook, although struggling lately, has been nearly dynamic for us off the bench.
James Jones has finally gotten past his wrist surgery, and is starting to nail 3s with ease. Jamario is on and off, but him and Wade have some great chemistry, specifically when Moon cuts to the basket for alley oops.
Chris Quinn….dude looks like a retarded elf….but he can play. He’s a very good shooter and he takes care of the ball well. He had 26 pts on Wednesday against Detroit.
Jamal Magloire has been very good for us all season. His offense is quite limited, but he provides tough D, good rebounding, and intimidation with hard fouls. He’s a goon (in the basketball sense) but certainly makes his impact on each game he plays.
All in all, the Heat bench mainly relies on Cook and Beasley for scoring. Of course if Beasley starts then the bench becomes weaker. That’s obvious.
Regarding the Heat being a young team, you’re very correct. But I feel that Chalmers (clutch all his life) excels in these kind of moments and Beasley is too naive/confident to really feel the pressure of playoff basketball.
Anyways, Wade and Haslem are the bonafide leaders of this young team and they have set tone the entire year. We hustle and we’re scrappy because of those 2. It’s contagious.
And by the way, while Josh Smith has rejected Wade before, Wade has posterized Josh Smith many times already. This year he totatlly embarrassed him, if you remember the play.
Regardless, the regular season and the playoffs are 2 different animals, as you know well.
Keep downplaying Wade’s impact and this young Heat team. Y’all are in for a big and disappointing surprise.
Al
April 17th, 2009
4:00 pm
keepin it real, remember the last time they had the black theme for the games? ‘04. Young team. Rookie coach. Rookie phenom. I think we went 6-1 at home. I think this Heat team compares more with that team than ‘05 or ‘06.
Al
April 17th, 2009
4:02 pm
…with an obviously more dangerous Wade.
Reality
April 17th, 2009
4:03 pm
Volman, Cook is actually a good defender, one of the best on our team.
And to say Zaza heart/passion > Magloire’s is ludacris (for you ATLIENS).
Magloire plays so damn hard, he hurts others and himself.
Volman
April 17th, 2009
4:04 pm
Al, good response. I agree that Cook and James Jones are great shooters, but I am not worried about them, like I said, past that. That is what they’re known for. There’s more to this game than just shooting threes in the corner.
Maglore is a force in the post, I will give you that as well. He will bang bodies around and give hard fouls, and get the occasional offensive rebound. The playoffs are about a lot more things that are not tangible (heart, desire, intensity) and I think Zaza brings that off the bench. Heck, even Solomon Jones (who was a non-entity this year for the Hawks, due to Mike Woodson) got into a little shoving action with Maglore. He could be used as well off the bench. I’m not underestimating Maglore, but I don’t think he will “go off”. It’s weird, I but Jermaine O’Neal hasn’t even crossed my mind. I don’t know if that is because I am not worried about him, but I think the hawks should be because he can be a force to be reckoned with.
I was not trying to poke fun at Chris Quinn, but just be a little “light hearted” here. The playoffs make us so intense! I always call him “little runt” when I see him out on the court!
It should be a fun game… I can see Wade going the ENTIRE game, but I can also see Woodson putting in Joe Johnson all 48 minutes as well. Whoever makes it out of this series will probably be pretty beat up when facing the Cavs.
keepin it real
April 17th, 2009
4:04 pm
thanks real my reasoning for bad spell is blunted jus waiting on this good sh*t to go down they should be mad nba give so many days to break the star treatment wade getting benefit of doubt already by being able to stay fresh gm in gm out that the real benefit. PS not taken reality
Al
April 17th, 2009
4:05 pm
Reality are you talking about a play where Wade made a fake, and his defender fell backwards. I think that was against Atlanta. Was that J Smith?
keepin it real
April 17th, 2009
4:05 pm
none taken
Daniel
April 17th, 2009
4:08 pm
alright guys- got tickets to the game Sunday night. Cannnot wait for the playoffs to be back at Phillips where we will destroy the Heat. Yes, they have the glamour and love of ESPN, and yes, the Hawks continue to be overlooked, which is fine. The national media is missing the boat here. and “keeping it real” thanks for your input as a Heat fan, but to truly keep it real you have to know that your team is going to get beat like a rented mule. This is Atown and we don’t need your help.
doc
April 17th, 2009
4:08 pm
aj, i have a buddy that saves souls about every day at hooters.
keepin it real
April 17th, 2009
4:10 pm
if joe johnson play wade whole time hes in gm thats very bad for hawks foul-out and too tired to be effective on offense dont do it woody and seriously nobody name on hawks bench strike fear in me they all are 1 to 2 years from being out of league
Al
April 17th, 2009
4:11 pm
Volman, its ok. I’ve called Quinn quite a few names myself at times. The truth is we both see all our guys all year so we probably have more confidence in their effort, heart, etc (Magliore v. Zaza). Jermaine O’Neal can’t rebound for some reason but he still has a nice soft turnaround J, he is definitely still a shot-blocker, and he makes some nice passes from the post. I would really like to see him coming off the bench though. Also, I know there is more to the game than shooting threes, but ask Jordan if he didn’t enjoy having Steve Kerr standing in the corner shooting threes when the defense collapsed on him.
keepin it real
April 17th, 2009
4:13 pm
speedy mo evans flip murray zaza if hawks wasnt stuck with em u would say same thing remember we win 15 gms last year and look @ us now with healthy WADE and some young impact players lose couple with young team and rookie head coach couldve easily been 4 seed how quick u forget u didnt wrap 4 spot up until last week of season
Reality
April 17th, 2009
4:16 pm
keepin it real I hear ya – blunts n mo blunts n mo blunts. Gotta love that Miami fire.
Al
April 17th, 2009
4:18 pm
Keepin it real, in fairness, they’ve been holding that 4 spot all season. They fought hard for homecourt for months n months. Kudos to them. But with that homecourt advantage, comes pressure. It would be a shame to lose months and months of work in 48 minutes on Sunday night, wouldn’t it?
Reality
April 17th, 2009
4:18 pm
Al, there’s actually a few nasty highlights Wade had against the Hawks this year. I don’t know if that was J-smooth in that play you’re refering to. I was talking about one play where Wade split the double (his signature) and dunked it in J-smooth’s face.
keepin it real
April 17th, 2009
4:18 pm
if you tell me and mean it who’s gone stop WADE and BEASLEY i will stop bloggin cuz i dont see with the names u call, i might be a homer but BEASLEY is head and shoulders best player out of his class
keepin it real
April 17th, 2009
4:21 pm
and when beasley shoot that jumper to u it looks ugly as hell but if u see it overhead, it as pure as anybody shot so when he release jus say to ur self KABOOM!!!!
SouthAfrican09
April 17th, 2009
4:22 pm
Marvin will stop Beasley.
We can give Wade his 50 and let scrubs like Joel Anthony beat us, or we can play the Woodson defense, hold him to 20 and win that way too.
Your team’s 2nd best player is Jermaine freaking O’Neal. His knee braces are bigger than Shaq’s arms
keepin it real
April 17th, 2009
4:23 pm
ok i finally concede….hawks will win
was just playin with yall
keepin it real
April 17th, 2009
4:23 pm
be back n hour might heat heads hold it down need blunts and maybe a lil goose to keep up with volman and crew!!! o yea b-easy till i get back
Astro Joe
April 17th, 2009
4:25 pm
doc, those souls at Hooters often require a second touch. Especially when the AC is turned up too high.
Reality
April 17th, 2009
4:26 pm
Al and keepin it real, remember game 1 in the ECF against Detroit in 2006? We stole it, and set the tone for the rest of the series.
Hopefully on Sunday, we do the same.
keepin it real
April 17th, 2009
4:26 pm
man beasley dont need to be play by the handicap(bad back) thats will i keep bloggin b/c of the ludacris in hearing and i like luda but to ludacris
Al
April 17th, 2009
4:31 pm
Our team’s 2nd best player is Michael Beasley.
Al
April 17th, 2009
4:32 pm
Reality, think 04 instead of 06. But that team didn’t win a single road game. This one should be able to.
But yeah I do remember that game. Wade and Shaq were out early with foul trouble. The rest of the team stepped it up.
Al
April 17th, 2009
4:35 pm
Sekou, any word on the Hawks “no nightlife” policy when the series shifts to South Beach? Lol.
Volman
April 17th, 2009
4:47 pm
You Heat fans must be pretty worried if you’re over here on our paper’s blogs writing to us about how good your team is..
I hate to look back at the regular season, but there are definitely flaws in your team if you lost the amount of games that you did. The Hawks had to be without Josh Smith, Al Horford, and even Marvin Williams for EXTENDED amounts of time, and still kept the 4th seed.
Wasn’t Wade healthy all year?
Reality
April 17th, 2009
4:57 pm
You’re mistaking excitement and boredom for worried.
I’m at work all day, I need something to keep me excited about the playoffs. Nothing better, than talking some trash to opposing fans throughout the workday.
Sekou Smith
April 17th, 2009
4:57 pm
Nothing definitive on the active roster for the playoffs yet folks. Woodson said only that Speedy has a “chance” to be in the mix. As for the no-nightlife policy in Miami … I’ve heard nothing about it. I guess it could always become a factor later, but there’s been no talk of such a foolish thing yet.
Glad to have you back Volman and so sorry to hear about your loss. And welcome to all of our visitors, glad to have you in the ‘hood.
Ariose
April 17th, 2009
4:58 pm
I saw this on twitter and on his website. It’s really true Stepen A. Smith is leaving ESPN. First Greg Anthony and now this….
http://thebiglead.com/?p=13341
Reality
April 17th, 2009
5:00 pm
Al, I completely agree, this entire season has been like 04 all over again. We’re young, scrappy, and talented. Can’t wait.
Sautee
April 17th, 2009
5:01 pm
Dan,
You said this: “Acie is just proving to be unreliable. I know injuries happen, but Acie just never seems to be there when we need him. Resigning Bibby will be a must (at least I hope it is).”
Dan, do you realize that over the last two years, Bibby has played a whopping 16 games more than Acie?
I’d also venture a good guess that Acie’s had MANY more than 16 DNP-CD’s in that time. So Acie, if Woody had used him, could have played MORE games than Bibby over the last two years. Why does “injuries happen” not apply to a 31 year old?
And you’d HAVE to say that Acie WAS there plenty of times when Woody left him on the bench. Don’t you KNOW it’s killing him to not be out there for the playoffs?
As much of a Bibby fan as I have been through the years, I’d rather NOT re-sign him unless it’s for MLE kind of money. And I doubt he’d settle for that coming off a $15.25M year.
And I think it’s WAY too early to give up on Acie. Look how it took 5 years before Devon Harris blossomed. Same with Chauncey.
Sautee
April 17th, 2009
5:05 pm
Volman,
So sorry about your mom. Mine died at age 74 and I thought that was way too young. In her 50’s. Wow, man, that’s a big loss. Hang in there.
Nice to see you back. Stick around if you can. And that’s sage advice about hugging the ones you love.
Volman
April 17th, 2009
5:12 pm
Thanks, Mr. Smith. It is nice to be able to come on here and “get lost” in these blogs while trying to clear my mind.
I think the Heat are a good team, but they are very flawed in certain spots. They are not very athletic outside of Wade, Moon, or Beasley. I hope that the length of the Hawks cause HAVOC on Wade all series long.
Samuel
April 17th, 2009
5:17 pm
Cuz,
Great stuff with “The Boss”.
I think you have to play it by ear as far as guarding DWade. Change it up on him. Double him some and play him straight up some. Switch different people on him.
The key to this series is how we handle Chalmers and Beasley. When Beasley is in the game we have to go straight at him and force him to either foul, play defense or allow our man to score. Wear him down. We hold him down and Miami doesn’t have enough other scorers to beat our balanced attack.
There is no way you can turn the team over to Acie after this year. Say what you want about Woody not giving him minutes but fact is, “he’s not available”. Who knows, maybe he’s been getting hurt like this all year in practice. I’m gonna start calling him “Speedy Jr”.
Actually, I think Speedy will give us some help in this series and the rest of the playoffs. He’s rusty but he really will not be asked to score. Basically a quicker more experienced Acie.
Here are my Western Conference 1st Round match up Predictions.
http://bleacherreport.com/articles/157717-2009-nba-western-conference-playoff-first-round-match-ups
Woody=COY
Volman
April 17th, 2009
5:23 pm
Mr Sautee, thank you. It’s pretty rough at the moment (everything is so new to me right now) so I am trying to get by the best I can. My world is upside down, but things like this blog can take me somewhere else for a little while.
I’m hoping that I can stay
gusman354
April 17th, 2009
5:24 pm
wade and beatly are the two best players of this series