So much for home court advantage!
Are Josh Smith and the Hawks ready to fight Dwyane Wade and the Heat to keep home court advantage? We're going to find out tonight at Philips Arena.
HAWKSVILLE - One by tragic one they fell Saturday.
Boston started it early, with a dazzling assist from Chicago rookie point guard Derrick Rose.
San Antonio kept it going, unable to keep the pace with an equally elderly … er, experienced Dallas team.
And Portland finished off the hat trick late last night, taken apart from start to finish by Houston’s Yao Ming and his crew.
So much for home court advantage, Hawks fans.
Your team has to come and play or all that hard work for home court could be gone in an instant if they allow Miami to steal the edge with win tonight in Game 1 at Philips Arena.
I’m not making any predictions and I’m certainly not trying to scare you (I’d think Saturday’s pillaging of home teams was sufficient), I’m only pointing out that there’s no time to rest for the home team.
Come out sluggish early all you want in the playoffs and see what happens.
Because if you don’t the Heat is thinking “steal Game 1 and turn this thing upside down” is a very real possibility, then you’re crazy. I know that’s all I’d be talking about to my team or teammates this morning.
THE REAL X-FACTOR?
I picked Michael Beasley. Two other writers I know are convinced it’s Flip Murray.
But might the true X-factor in this Hawks-Heat series be veteran Heat center Jermaine O’Neal?
My main man Israel Gutierrez of the Miami Herald made a case for just that with his story on O’Neal out this morning.
Having known JO for a number of years now, it wouldn’t surprise me one bit to see him rewind the clock a bit in this series and give Al Horford and the Hawks fits in the post.
His injury issues have certainly dealt a blow to his game compared to where he was when we were both in Indiana (I was writing and he was playing, of course). Back then he was in the conversation about the best big men in the league, a national team member and in the top three of three of the MVP race one year.
No doubt, times have changed. He’s been shuffled around from Indy to Toronto and then to Miami all in the past couple of years. Now that he’s got a chance to perform on the big stage again, after watching the playoffs the past couple of years, I can’t see him fading into the background in this situation.
COMING UP ROSES
The next time anyone wants to debate you about drafting an elite point guard over an elite big man, just mention the name Derrick Rose over and over and over again.
Like many others, I wrote before last year’s draft that he had to be the Bulls’ pick at No. 1 overall. And he did nothing throughout what is sure to be his Rookie of the Year campaign to change my mind. But watching him destroy the Celtics yesterday in Boston was beyond my wildest imagination for a point guard barely old enough to vote.
Rose did what he wanted to out there and proves my post-CP3 and Deron Williams theory that if there’s a transcendent point guard talent in any draft, you have to take him above any swingman or big man that excites you. The position is just too important in today’s game to ignore, particularly when you have a chance to get a young one that will play at an elite level on a rookie scale contract (as opposed to overpaying for one later, as the Hawks did once, when you consistently ignore point guard talent in the draft).
HAWKS IN SIX
At least one person in South Florida is willing to say it out loud and pick the Hawks to win this series against the Heat.
Greg Stoda of the Palm Beach Post made a strong case as to why Dwyane Wade and the Heat could pull the upset, only to trash that thought at the end by predicting the Hawks in six.
Mr. Stoda comes to the same conclusion my photo-taking colleague and Smyrna neighbor Mark Bradley came to days ago, when he made his own case for the Hawks to take this thing in six.
I haven’t expressed an opinion publicly about where I think this series is headed. But six games sounds like a careful and accurate approximation of where we’re going.
TIMES ARE CHANGING
In a chat with Hawks part owner Michael Gearon Jr. earlier this week, we visited on several topics about this team that have changed as the wins have piled up, relatively speaking, in each of the past two seasons. He said something interesting to me about one of the barometers he uses for the change is that his son’s friends are now wearing Hawks jerseys and not those of stars on other teams.
I can’t think of a more grassroots way of gauging whether or not your team has “arrived” on the local sports scene. The only Falcons game I’ve been to since I’ve lived here was against Pittsburgh a couple years back and I was stunned to see all the Steelers fans (in their jerseys) filing through the doors at the Georgia Dome, only to be told later that “that’s just Atlanta.”
Well, according to one of Gearon’s partners, the Hawks are turning the tables beyond the metro area.
“I’m hundreds of miles from Atlanta in a suburb of Washington called Gaithersburg,” Hawks part owner Bruce Levenson said by phone the same day I spoke with Gearon. “And earlier this year I was leaving this office to go to the airport. And I got about four blocks from here and there was a guy standing at the bus stop in a Josh Smith jersey and it was really shocking to see, but a pleasant shock, if there can be something like that.”
That’s not the only subtle (or not) change Levenson has noticed in the Hawks’ profile the past couple of years.
“I’m usually there an hour or an hour and half early for home game,” he said. “And in past years when we were playing teams like the Celtics or the Lakers there would be hundreds of people watching the visiting team warm up and nobody watching our team warm up. It was interesting to see that start to change the second half of this year. To see the fans coming together, watching our team warm up … it’s just the little baby steps that are encouraging.”
Indeed. I still get questions to this day about the “notoriously” bad home crowds that are supposed to be so common here. I can honestly say it’s gotten a lot better. Philips Arena might not be the Staples Center or TD Banknorth Garden just yet, but it’s no better or worse than a number of other venues around the league.
And I’m expecting the playoff posse to be out in full effect tonight. Hawks-Heat Game 1 at 8 p.m.
But we’ll be here all day.
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280 comments Add your comment
KJ
April 19th, 2009
10:20 pm
scratch that tuesday I think
otrhawksfan
April 19th, 2009
10:23 pm
maybe with these win the hawks will be seen more and more on tnt and espn.
KevinA
April 19th, 2009
10:23 pm
Goodness sake, Gheesh, what happens when he comes into his own. I’m an outsider, started watching the Hawks in the first year of the Josh saga. Without him I might of watched college ball more. Tonight this young man is showing just what he can do. I knew deep down this day was possible.
bigdave
April 19th, 2009
10:24 pm
foul on Za Za… WTF?!?!?!
welikebaseball2
April 19th, 2009
10:24 pm
Not to be negative but…hey SEKOU, remember when you asked whether or not we figured Woody would actually expand the rotation for the playoffs? Looks like he’s not going any further than Pachulia, Murray, & Evans. With a 20-plus point lead, think he can trust West, Jones, or Morris enough to give them just a little action?
bigdave
April 19th, 2009
10:26 pm
that defense is looking stout… Woody’s loving it…
KevinA
April 19th, 2009
10:27 pm
5:51 left, bench Woody?
eman
April 19th, 2009
10:27 pm
the first two big scoring quarters seems to have tired them out but at least, unlike Orlando, they’re holding on to the lead in this final quarter.
bigdave
April 19th, 2009
10:28 pm
has anybody seen the Joe Johnson chess commercial that was advertised on the hawks ajc page?
Big Ray
April 19th, 2009
10:32 pm
JJ’s had a quite game, and we didn’t need for him to have a great one. That’s always nice to see.
Bibby has played the pg position about as well as you could want. 10 points, 9 dimes? Gotta love it.
Nice rotating by Woody, as there is 5 minutes left in the game, and nobody is staring 40 minutes in the face. With Wade and O’Neal sitting down, we may see 3 of our starters cop a squat as well.
Blast
April 19th, 2009
10:32 pm
Hawks taking care of business tonight. TNT can’t talk crap about us no more. Where all the Heat fans tonight, clogging up our blog? Heat not carefull, they get swept in this series.
Astro Joe
April 19th, 2009
10:34 pm
Everyone happy… bench is in.
KJ
April 19th, 2009
10:34 pm
the reserves are in! yay!
Big Ray
April 19th, 2009
10:35 pm
welikebaseball2,
I’d agree with that, but Woody’s been better in this game about HOW LONG he’s had his starters out there. JJ had 37 minutes, Josh 38, and it goes down from there. The three guys off the bench had 22, 23, and about 16 minutes respectively.
And now we’re seeing the rest of the bench. Not bad at all.
Astro Joe
April 19th, 2009
10:37 pm
Hold a team to less than 70 points in the playoffs? KILLA DEFENSE!!!!!!
otrhawksfan
April 19th, 2009
10:37 pm
hey lets name 10 things that the heat can do instead of going out??
they can all huddle in a room and watch old reruns on nick at nite lol
Big Ray
April 19th, 2009
10:38 pm
Well, game 1 is all but in the books, and we are one of just a scant few teams to hold their homecourt advantage. Now THAT’S an accomplishment.
bigdave
April 19th, 2009
10:39 pm
SWEEP…!!! SWEEP…!!! SWEEP…!!! SWEEP…!!!
Blast
April 19th, 2009
10:39 pm
Go out and party, Atlanta Hawks. Hit the night spots while the Heats stew in their Motel room! Hawks on a mission!
otrhawksfan
April 19th, 2009
10:41 pm
streamers fly hawks win!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
KevinA
April 19th, 2009
10:41 pm
Josh MVP of game, great win for the Hawks. Hit Miami in the mouth early and often and they never recovered. Lowest scoreing for Miami in a playoff game EVER.
KevinA
April 19th, 2009
10:44 pm
Only one thing that could beat this win. Another win just like it against in game one in Clev.
Blast
April 19th, 2009
10:49 pm
Hawks one of the few teams to hold on to their home court adavantage.
Lacsho
April 19th, 2009
10:49 pm
Helluva a game. No complaints here!!!
Ariose
April 19th, 2009
10:51 pm
Whooo!!! We tapped dat @$$ Tonight!!!!!! I was a little off on my prediction. I had the game 95-81 hawks LOL!!!
Da Real Real
April 19th, 2009
10:51 pm
Well the experts said the Heat would win this series. Guess they forgot that to do that they would have to win in Atlanta. That’s the way to play Hawks!!!
Blast
April 19th, 2009
10:52 pm
Even with Bibby scoring only 10 points, he can still influence the game with his assists, steals, and game court leadership. Resign Mike Bibby!
Da Real Real
April 19th, 2009
10:52 pm
Expected, Rejected – NOW YOU KNOWWWWW!!!!! HAWKS WIN!
Big Ray
April 19th, 2009
11:01 pm
Gotta love how that game went.
We came out, smacked them in the mouth, and kept a foot on their necks.
Mike Bibby was a true point guard, dishing out 9 assists.
JJ had a quiet game, and was not required to give Herculean efforts on either end of the court. I really like that he didn’t have to do that.
Al Horford gave his usual yeoman’s effort, and hit some nice jumpers.
Woody really had these guys prepared to defend the Heat, and they responded. He also rotated well from the bench, even if he only went 8 deep with the roster for the majority of the game. Can’t blame him, as you do NOT want to get a big lead, then let the opposing team back into it. Good job by Woody.
Marvin Williams looked quite good in his limited minutes, and was aggressive. That was good to see.
Man, how many times are we going to see Zaza play one-man volleyball on the boards against the opposition? 10 rebounds! Yes!
And last, but not least, you have to give it up to Josh Smith. While some may want to act like all he does is dunk and show off God-given athleticism (isn’t that what makes an athlete?), there is no doubt about the impact he has on this team, and he had on this game. Leading the team in scoring and rebounding (tied), while being a serious energizer on both ends, cannot be ignored. I don’t care who you are, or what you say…he did what his team needed him to do.
In fact, so did this entire team. Good win, Hawks!
The Truth
April 19th, 2009
11:06 pm
Talk about maturity, man this Hawk team is a beautiful thing to watch in the playoff. As I mentioned in a previous blog about the Indiana Pacers bearing witness, those Josh Dunks can take the air out of any opponent especially at home. He really needs to talk to a patent attorney about those dunks. I have never seen D Wade look so dejected.
DeadManWalking
April 19th, 2009
11:08 pm
“Josh MVP of game, great win for the Hawks. Hit Miami in the mouth early and often and they never recovered. Lowest scoreing for Miami in a playoff game EVER.”
I agree. the whole team played well but josh was defintely the headliner.
bigdave
April 19th, 2009
11:09 pm
espn has dawned the championship series Lakers V. Cavs…
amazing… why play the games…?
The Truth
April 19th, 2009
11:11 pm
Hey Ray
How do spell a good old fashion A$SS whipping?
Big Ray
April 19th, 2009
11:13 pm
TRUTH,
I spell it 88-64!!!
cp
April 19th, 2009
11:13 pm
Great win. Nothing to complain about at all.. I hope they come out with the same intensity, focus, and energy for the next game.
Big Ray
April 19th, 2009
11:17 pm
TRUTH,
I’m loving those Josh Smith dunks, too! And those steals. Man, he was everywhere. He gave us a 20 and 10 night. How you can not give credit to a guy for that kind of effort, I’ll never know.
I really like that Woody didn’t burn his starters right down to the ground, too. Especially his backcourt. Of course, there was no need, the way the frontcourt guys were playing (been saying THAT all along).
Clyde
April 19th, 2009
11:17 pm
I like the way the Hawks played on defense. Horford was helping Jsmooth contest shots in the lane which kept DWade in check. Zaza is another story. He helps on the boads but his interior defense is horrible. I know Sean Williams would come of the bench and block some shots.
Lets get another win at home and find a way to win 2 on the road.
Da Real Real
April 19th, 2009
11:22 pm
You know…the only thing I’m really ticked about is thinking about what Kenny and co said during halftime. It’s like he was talking about last year’s Hawks team. Aside from all the dunks by Smoove I actually seen the team run a lil offense tonight. Last year’s playoff performance don’t even compare to this one. Oh well…what should I have expected, we rarely get any love from the national media.
The Truth
April 19th, 2009
11:23 pm
Ray
ROGER THAT
Man that Josh Smith need to do a incredible hulk commerical; I’m serious!!!
Macaroni Tony
April 19th, 2009
11:24 pm
I really don’t care about the national media as well. But we did what we needed to do, and that was come out with a win. Let’s Go Hawks….
otrhawksfan
April 19th, 2009
11:28 pm
yea i seen some new set tonight and the focus on the out of bounds plays have been a major factor.
Samuel
April 19th, 2009
11:29 pm
Guys,
I missed all the fun. I was at the State Gymnastics Championships. My Baby Girl, Maulana, took 1st Place in the All Around. Now it’s on to the Nationals this summer to defend her crown.
I’m not surprised at all. The Heat really have no where near the squad the Hawks have.
Woody=COY
intellibird
April 19th, 2009
11:30 pm
If Chicago and Philly beat Boston and Orlando, respectively, I think we would play Philly in the next round. Then its on to the winner of the Chicago-Cleveland series. Lets hope that things continue as they are…
Go Hawks!
Samuel
April 19th, 2009
11:31 pm
Sean Williams is leading the league in Blocked “Computer Monitors”.
Astro Joe
April 19th, 2009
11:36 pm
Samuel, congrats to you and your little one. That’s super cool. Yeah, man. Hawks allow 64 points (including less than 45 in the last 3 quarters) and bloggers want to highlight one player. Amazing! Smith was able to put his skills on mad display tonight with one highlight slam followed by another. But the story of the game was the defensive effort from beginning to end. Smith’s dunks, Bibby’s assists and Speedy’s cameo all take back seats to the TEAM’s suffocating defense that had D. Wade acting like a B during portions of the 2nd half.
Rod from College Park
April 19th, 2009
11:40 pm
Big Ray,
Sam and Rod were at the game. Marvin looked like Marvin. Average. Remember my argument was always based towards the people who stated we should keep Marvin, and get rid of Josh. Josh is a much better player. Good win by the Hawks.
doc
April 19th, 2009
11:45 pm
clyde the problem with your friend sean is he might not be able to get off the floor much less the bench. leave the yeoman zaza alone, flat tired of your rap, as it is done, over. he has let you down and broke your heart. let him go.
j smash sighting tonight. JOSH SMITH = MVP! he flat took the game over tonight.
also reported a COY in the house.
phillips was flat out rocking. i dont know if it came across on the tv screen but it was decibel level loud. four straight games now the BIG A has brought it. now you know this isnt a place for the faint of heart.
good to see jhan, manny t, melton, mark and ando at the game. very impressive game. got to keep it up on tuesday. thee is no reason to not continue to step on their throat.
Astro Joe
April 19th, 2009
11:47 pm
Oh, and props to Mo Evans. Dude was in Wade’s shorts throughou the game. And challenged him like he was a scrub. He had that “Mario West” attitude (without the fouls). I haven’t been overly impressed with Evans this season (espcially his reputed defensive skills), but tonight, he was a freakin’ pit bull on Mr. T. Mobile.
kirkinga
April 19th, 2009
11:48 pm
Great game tonight. I don’t know what the Heat were expecting, but they sure got more than what they were ready for.
The playoffs really emphasize adjustments, in-game, and game-to-game. Game 2 should be very revealing as the burden of adjustment is on the Heat and not the Hawks.
With such a stomping, there really isn’t much to nitpick about or analyze.
Well Done.
Go Hawks!!
Mark
April 19th, 2009
11:52 pm
Ray your boy came. Great game for Josh. If he could do that consistently he would be great. As Charles Barkley says if he just practice his shooting this summer, he could be SCARY.
As for the rest of the team they played great, but it’s only one game and we have to do this next game because if the HEAT win game 2 they will still take the Home Court advantage. We should be alright. We need to continue to run on teams. When we run we are unstoppable, but we have to continue to move the ball in the half court game. We need to continue to be physical as well. We really knocked them around.