Better pack some swagger Hawks!
The Hawks have played well in Florida this season, including a season opening win in Orlando. They'll need to dial up another one, or two, in Miami.
HAWKSVILLE - The Hawks’ epic struggles on the road have been well documented this season.
From a fantastic start early in the season with wins over both Orlando and New Orleans to the end of the season, when the Hawks strung together gritty back-to-back wins (in Toronto and Milwaukee) to save their home court advantage fortunes, the Haws big hits on the road were few and extremely far between.
But if they’re serious about taking this first round playoff series over the Miami Heat, the Hawks better make sure they’ve packed some serious swagger for Games 3 and 4 in the house that Dwyane Wade built.
Play like the fragile, shell-shocked crew that got trounced in four games in Boston during last year’s series against the Celtics, and this series might end prematurely.
Show up like the supremely confident bunch that smoked the Magic and Hornets at the start of this season, and the control the Heat feel they have right now will disintegrate before the sun comes up Sunday morning.
I’ve heard nothing of from Hawks captain Joe Johnson or anyone else about a no-nightlife policy in Miami similar to the one the Wade and Udonis Haslem enacted for their teammates while in our fair city for Games 1 and 2 (granted, no one is certain the Heat lived up to that edict. But it sounded like the right thing to do at the time).
But if the Hawks need any reminders of how truly important this business trip is to their postseason fortunes … surely they don’t.
Spirit The Hawk hanging with Hawks Hall of Famer Dominique Wilkins during one of the dirty bird's better days. Spirit's free flying days at Philips Arena are officially over, per a statement from the Hawks.
ENOUGH ABOUT BASKETBALL, for a minute at least. And we are allowed to discuss other things, briefly, when they make us laugh or are ridiculous enough that we just can’t ignore them.
This item qualifies in both categories.
As if things couldn’t get any more ridiculous after the Spirit the Hawk fiasco from Game 2, that blasted bird is back in the news again.
He had his wings clipped by the organization Thursday evening. And this morning I get the news that Spirit is already “Tweetin” or whatever you call it when you spend too much time on Twitter.
In the pantheon of sports mascot disasters, Spirit’s unauthorized in-game flight and the resulting public relations nightmare (seriously, Spirit rivaled the Miss California-Perez Hilton flap for the most ridiculous thing you’ve seen on the air the past few days) could only have happened here.
Honestly, can you see this stuff happening anywhere else but Philips Arena?
It’s as tragic as it is comical.
WHILE WE’RE ON THE SUBJECT of tragic.
Has anyone seen the Hawks’ bench lately?
Flip Murray scored 15 points on 4-for-15 shooting in Game 2 and the Hawks’ reserves were still outscored 37-20 in that loss.
Both teams went four players deep into the bench in Game 2, but with far different results. Murray and his bench mates shot a combined 6-for-20 from the floor and managed just six rebounds between them. The Heat bench, led by Daequan Cook, shot a nasty 14-for-26 from the floor, including an insane 8-for-11 from beyond the 3-point line, and also grabbed 19 rebounds.
While studying the anatomy of the Hawks’ defeat, make sure to include the disparity in bench production up high on the talking points list.
In today’s edition of the SOUTH FLORIDA REPORT we have several items worthy of your time.
According to my man Mike Wallace of the Miami Herald the Heat is stealing a page from the Hawks’ playoff book and trying to stay humble after a big win in the series. We’ll see if they have better luck with that than the Hawks.
Wade apparently has more going on that just basketball, per the Herald. Of all the times to bring this stuff up … is there ever a good time for this stuff? Probably not.
My guy Ira Winderman from the Sun-Sentinel had some interesting statistical minutiae on his blog. In fact, he made several points that make even more sense a couple days after the game than they might have immediately after the game.
Former AJC staff writer Carlos Frias of the Palm Beach Post snapped me back from the silliness with this sobering story about Udonis Haslem and the tough time he and his family have endured and continue to deal with during this series.
THE LAST WORD today goes to blog regular niremetal, via Big Ray, who keeps the party jumping along with HB Ando on the Hawks Hack blog. When it comes to keen observations, no one does it better than you all (and I know it’s time to move on to Game 3 but for a rehash of Game 2, this is it):
Since they were easy to miss, here’s a compilation of my 4 comments about tonight’s game -
1) Where’s Mario?
2) Man. JJ bricks two free throws and Josh throws the ball into the seats on a breakaway. Clearly, clearly, clearly the focus wasn’t there tonight.
3) That being said, if the Heat can only win if they shoot 58% from deep and have JJ on the bench with foul trouble for the entire third quarter (and he had NO rhythm when he came back from that), then the Hawks definitely can bounce back.
4) And finally…Marvin goes on a tear in the 3rd and Woodson decides to bench him for the rest of the game? WTF??
To respond to your bit about JJ…this was the ultimate in Woody asking him to do too much and him breaking down. He actually guarded Wade pretty [dang] well in the first half. Most of Wade’s points when JJ was in the game came when either Flip or Mo was covering him; most of the rest came when Bibby switched onto him off a screen. But JJ eventually got into foul trouble. And Woody is so [darn] terrified of leaving a player with foul trouble in the game that he benched JJ for almost the entire third quarter. What the [HECK] is that about? Like most shooters, JJ needs a rhythm to be at his best. Benching him for a good 25 minutes of real time (even though it was just 9 minutes of game time) just iced him for the rest of the game. And then when JJ finally came back, it looked like Woody put him on Wade again while Flip guarded Cook (?!?).
He never tried putting Mario in to hassle Wade, even after it was clear that Mo and Flip were getting shredded and JJ was toiling and getting into foul trouble from having to chase Wade around screens.
And he benched Zaza right after he made a tough shot on one end and drew a charge on the other.
And here’s the worst one. The one that makes the absolute least amount of sense. He benched Marvin after Marvin scored 7 points in the quarter on 3-4 shooting and didn’t allow his man to score a single point for the entire quarter. Jones scored less than 1 minute after Marvin went to the bench, after Jones/Cook/Beasley had been held scoreless for the entire third period while Marvin was in. And Marvin was never seen for the rest of the game.
It makes no sense. None. NONE.
Pardon my French, but we are royally [screwed] if he can’t show the ability to make in-game adjustments, because the Heat WILL go on at least 1-2 runs every single game.
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278 comments Add your comment
Dan
April 24th, 2009
5:09 pm
WHO DIED…? Keep trying to rationalize that. It might make you feel better. Just like anyone else that watched that series, you know the ‘06 Heat were the biggest Bullsh#t Champions this league has ever seen. You can argue it, but you know I am right…
Al
April 24th, 2009
5:09 pm
Dan, whine whine whine. The refs didn’t drop a 13 point lead with 6 minutes left in Game 3. The Mavs did. The refs didn’t lose Game 4 by 20+ points, the Mavs did. The refs didn’t drop Game 6 on their homecourt. The Mavs did.
WHO DIED ......?
April 24th, 2009
5:09 pm
oh i made comment to baba post bout king of hill
WHO DIED ......?
April 24th, 2009
5:12 pm
they REF’s didn’t plan championship parades the MAV’s did
Al
April 24th, 2009
5:12 pm
Dan, at least we’re in here talking about the 06 Finals. What do you have? The glorious 1994 season when you made it to… gasp!…. the second round?! lol
Dan
April 24th, 2009
5:13 pm
What’s your problem with Flip? Again, trying watching the games before you make these comments. Flip has been great. The guy is instant offense and I loved when he sent Jamal Magloire on his a$$ in game 2. Flip plays with an edge this team has been missing for a long time.
Dan
April 24th, 2009
5:15 pm
Al…I’m not the only one who thinks that. And, as you already know, the refs were very much the reason for that game 3 loss by the Mavs.
Al
April 24th, 2009
5:16 pm
I like Flip actually. I liked the Hawks last year and I kinda still do. Melvin n Dan are dissin my team’s entire history though. Can’t get away with that. Not when your team’s greatest achievement is winning slam dunk contests.
Al
April 24th, 2009
5:21 pm
LOL. I was at that game son. Wade was knocking jump shots down left and right in Game 3 and taking it to the hole. The Mavs fell asleep. Dirk missed free throws. The crowd was insane. The Mavs were completely intimidated. The refs. Please.
Dan
April 24th, 2009
5:28 pm
Al…come on….join me in reality. That game 3 was a complete crime. That title is a fraud. It belongs to the Dallas Mavricks.
Al
April 24th, 2009
5:45 pm
LOL again. Is that all you got Dan? The Dallas Mavericks? Really? Which title “belongs” to the Atlanta Hawks?
But you really got me. Every time I look up at the championship banner tomorrow when I’m at the game, I’ll think of you Dan, and how the banner “belongs” to the Dallas Mavericks. I’ll think about how my whole city partied and celebrated that night, and how that celebration “belonged” to Dallas. I’ll think of the parade we had, and how it “belonged” in Dallas.
Really, I will.
Al
April 24th, 2009
5:49 pm
Anyway. That was fun. I’m gonna go enjoy my weekend now. Good luck to your team. I’ll be back here on Sunday (probably Monday actually) win or lose.
Have a good weekend, Dan and everyone else.
keepin it real
April 24th, 2009
5:57 pm
Enter your comments here
Baba O'Riley
April 24th, 2009
6:21 pm
Now you’re signing in as “keepin it real”?
O'brien
April 24th, 2009
6:36 pm
Can we get back to the game tomorrow night, and stop living in the past?
I think Woody will make adjustments before the game. However, if it doesnt work, Woody will stand there with his arms folded, and not know what to do during the game.
It is important that we get the front court involved early. That usually helps them play better defense. And the Hawks need to run run run.
It bothers me that the Hawks are so inconsistent though.
Melvin
April 24th, 2009
6:51 pm
Here’s a unbias opinion from HoopsWorld regarding the current Hawks/Heat series…… dah….
Anthony in Kent, OH:
Hey Travis, who do you have coming out of the Heat-Hawks series? Of the two, who poses more of a threat to the Cavs in the 2nd round?
Travis Heath (HoopsWorld):
I like the Hawks in seven. It seems like Wade has to play out of his mind for the HEAT to win, which means making his outside shots. Wade missed them in Game 1 and hit them in Game 2. I think if the Hawks can keep forcing Wade to take contested jumpers as they have been that will be to their advantage as the series progresses. I also just feel like Atlanta is more a cohesive unit that will benefit from the experience they gained a season ago.
Clyde
April 24th, 2009
6:57 pm
O’brien “I think Woody will make adjustments before the game.”
I’m sorry to burst your bubble man but Woody doesn’t make adjustments.
Volman
April 24th, 2009
7:07 pm
Mr. Smith..
I understand that we are trying to be nice and all to the Heat fans that are barging in on our blogs, but can we please cut down on the links to the Miami pages? I do not want to read Miami Heat articles. I am an Atlanta Hawks fan. I want to hear what Woodson has to say about how his defensive scheme was terrible in game 2. I want to hear Joe Johnson talk about how he was a nonentity in game 2 and was a ball-hog. I want to hear Bibby talk about how the Hawks still have their swagger and will win in Miami.
What I don’t want is to read MORE about Dwyane Wade. Not here. Not on the AJC. If I wanted to do that, I would go watch ESPN or ANY part of the TNT NBA broadcasts.
I appreciate your work, Mr. Smith… but PLEASE cut down on the Heat-stuff. Thanks
Go Hawks!
Melvin
April 24th, 2009
7:08 pm
One comment from HoopsWorld for good measure..
Shane in :
Why is it that so many folks are still picking the Hawks? If you take your time offensively, you get a good shot against all their switching. The HEAT did shoot well in Gm 2, but they were all WIDE open shots.
Travis Heath(HoopsWorld):
The Hawks are better 1-5 than Miami. If Atlanta can force Wade to take contested jumpers, I like Atlanta’s chances. But as I wrote earlier, I think this series goes seven. It certainly wouldn’t shock me if Miami wins, but I just think the Hawks have the edge when it comes to depth and experience.
Dr. Josh Smith
April 24th, 2009
7:37 pm
I like John Hollinger’s latest:
“ATLANTA — Three hours before game time, there was just one player in the arena. It was Miami’s Dwyane Wade, and he was shooting one jumper after another with assistant coach David Fizdale.
There was a reason for this — he knew the Hawks had kept him out of the paint in Game 1, and he wanted to be ready in case the same thing happened in Game 2. And as it turns out, his hard work was richly rewarded.
“I came in early, shot the ball, got the kinks out,” said Wade. “I got a feel for the rim the last couple of days in practice, so I felt it coming.”
“It,” in this case, was a surprising long-distance deluge. Atlanta’s game plan worked to perfection — Wade had only one basket inside 15 feet, a shockingly low number for perhaps the league’s best penetrator, and attempted just six free throws.
Unfortunately for the Hawks, Wade beat them anyway. He nailed six 3-pointers and four other long twos, including a 30-foot banked dagger at the shot clock buzzer with 2:36 left to put Miami up by 10, as the Heat scored a 108-93 win that evened their best-of-seven series at a game apiece.
“A lot of those were 3s based on us doubling some of their low-post players,” said Hawks coach Mike Woodson. “And some of our rotations were a little sloppy tonight, in terms of how we built out to the shooters.”
If there’s one sequence Woodson could have back, it would probably be the end of the first half when Wade scored 13 straight points — seven at the expense of Flip Murray, who rarely sees duty as a defensive specialist. But with aces Marvin Williams and Mo Evans both on the bench, Murray took a turn — and Wade victimized him for three straight jumpers off the dribble.
Finally, if you think Wade’s shooting performance was a fluke, just humor me and store this thought. Wade hadn’t made more than five triples in a game all season until the season’s final week. In his past three games, however, he’s made six 3s twice — the other time was in his last regular-season game when he scored 55 points against the Knicks.
As a result, the Heat head back to Miami with the series tied. And the Hawks can only wonder if their exquisite game plan will be laid to waste by Wade’s sudden shooting prowess.”
Volman
April 24th, 2009
7:39 pm
This is exactly what I’m talking about.
Reality
April 24th, 2009
7:46 pm
There you are!
Volman, I cannot believe you said Haslem was making jumpers he never makes!
Are you kidding? Have you not seen a Heat game in the last 4 years? That’s his offensive game – 15 foot jumpers. Any scout, coach, player, fan, beat writer would confirm that.
Najeh Davenpoop
April 24th, 2009
8:06 pm
I’m as big a Hawks fan as anyone, and I still think the Hawks will win in 6, but those of you acting like Wade ain’t a legit superstar and a top 3 player in this league — you are insane. Wade isn’t the product of a star system. He is a legit MVP caliber player, and SG is the one position at which the Heat have a real advantage in this series. Joe Johnson is a very nice player and I love having him on our team, but he is a 2nd-tier star in this league. If the game ends up coming down to Wade vs. Johnson, Wade’s probably going to win.
But the Hawks still have a better team from top to bottom, and (I can’t believe I’m saying this) a better coach. The better team tends to win these kinds of series. Hawks in 6.
Y’all Heat fans make some good points, but y’all are full of it acting like the Heat in-game crowd atmosphere is far superior to what we have at Philips. Wearing the same shirt doesn’t make you a better crowd.
WHO DIED......?
April 24th, 2009
8:33 pm
BUT KNOWING WHAT IT TAKE TO WIN IN PLAYOFFS AS A CROWD IS A BIG DIFFERENCE
WHO DIED......?
April 24th, 2009
8:35 pm
NAJEH,they might turn on you for saying that
WHO DIED......?
April 24th, 2009
8:36 pm
i will give hawks better starting 5 but your bench doesnt strike fear in heat
WHO DIED......?
April 24th, 2009
8:52 pm
didnt dallas say wade didnt have a good jump shot, keep thinking wade can shoot with or without solid d on him,and he will just keep posting 30 point games,as for you to think he had bad game in 1st game rewind game b/c in 1st half he had 17pts,3rd period was spent try to get rest of team going,and by the 4th, why is he playing,when the game is out of reach!o yea the only surprise in wade game is the three point shot, everything else is elite, remember he does it all offensively
Volman
April 24th, 2009
9:09 pm
im sick of sekou talking about heat, maybe he knows something we dont know, like we’re gonna lose
Melvin
April 24th, 2009
9:14 pm
Comeon Najeh, nobody is saying that Dwade is not a good player/superstar (really who cares) but for the Heat fans to think just because they have Dwade it makes them superior is ridiculus. Look at the Heat fans argument “we have DWade and he’s a superstar and we are the 2006 Champs”. Please educate me, where in the stats books is the column label Superstar. To argue who and who’s not a superstar is useless. Just like the Heat fans think they will see a repeat performance from Game 2, we the Hawks fans think that we are going to see a repeat performance from Game 1….
GameOn. Let’s Go Hawks…
WHO DIED......?
April 24th, 2009
9:19 pm
how many title suns win running
WHO DIED......?
April 24th, 2009
9:21 pm
besides nba not like other pro sport only superstars win in nba, name last non-superstar team to win title in nba
WHO DIED......?
April 24th, 2009
9:22 pm
o yea forget hawk fan will be happy making it to second round
Najeh Davenpoop
April 24th, 2009
9:35 pm
“besides nba not like other pro sport only superstars win in nba, name last non-superstar team to win title in nba”
The ‘04 Pistons?
Ariose
April 24th, 2009
9:56 pm
The Suns didn’t play defense smart guy. We blew you out by 26 in game 1 and held you to 64 points. Thats defense for you. It doesn’t really matter, we have the better team and we’re not going o let you win. It’s tha simple. We slipped up once, but that was just an abberation………Like I said, Hawks in 5….We aren’t dumb, you gutys had your little moment in game 2….whatever.
You know what’s scary? You haven’t seen Joe Johnson go off yet. You Haven’t Seen Horford or Bibby go Off yet. Flip Hasn’t gone off yet, Mo isn’t hot from downtown yet. Marvin is being held back by Woodson because of his injury…….just wait…..you’re in for a real treat buddy.
GOHAWKS
April 24th, 2009
10:05 pm
whatever who died???? DWADE is an amazing player and we all know that. Chalmers is not ready seeing as he is a rookie, Haslem – old bum, Magloire- waste of space, Cook – nice shooter streaky though, Beasley – hes a nice peice, Jermaine O Neal- HE IS ABSOLUTELY OVER HIS PRIME IF YOU THINK YOU ARE GONNA GET ANOTHER 19 PTS. FROM HIM IN THE NEXT FIVE YEARS YOURE CRAZY CAUSE HE IS HORRID, SO tell me how many HEAT games did you watch this year??? If the heat shot 60% all season they would have been the best team in the NBA. They did not, and noone is scared of Chris Quinn and the rest of MIAMI’s garbage bench anyway. The hawks are a better team and this is very obvious. we beat you 3 of 4 actually 2 of 3 regular season cause that 4th one was garbage time, if the heat were the better team than they would have been one of the top 4 seeds in the east. GOOD LUCK with your superstar whom is surronded by absolute GARBAGE. THE HEAT SUCKS
doc
April 24th, 2009
10:24 pm
blah blah blah, scrolling along the blog, hits sure do help sekou.
myk, yup there for the blow out and there for the slip up. wil be down there for the wednesday game. already set up for next year as well, brah.
Big Ray
April 24th, 2009
10:34 pm
The so-called (and unaptly named) “reparte” between DAN and WHO DIED? has been mildly entertaining…
Melvin,
I hear what you’re saying about making Wade take contested jumpers. Here’s the trick: you START OFF by making it hard on him, which we did not do. Let him hit a couple or a few jumpers without a stiff defensive effort, and it will be too late. From there on out, he will make every freakin’ circus shot he tries, and get the call to boot…which is what happened in game 2.
O’Brien,
I don’t think I could agree more. Woody isn’t much for in-game adjustments. Our players do deserve some of the back-lash from the poor/failed defensive effort. Yet, it’s not like we got blown out.
I agree that Woody is better than Spoelstra. He ought to be. He’s had 5 years at head coach, and this is Spoelstra’s rookie year. Now ask me that question again in about 3 years….
MannyT,
“It was also interesting to see that Ira knows the Heat cannot run with the Hawks (in the blog after the quant one.) Spoelstra knows it too. When will Woody figure it out. I think it has been a major point of conversation for about 300 games. I think it’s been implemented in about 15 of those 300.”
Agreed. And the answer is…you can expect to continue to see this as long as Woody is here, and he has a veteran pg to do his thinking for him on offense (hence is near-desperate need for Bibby to stick around).
Doc,
Omens? Really? Come on, man…you sound like King Willie in “Predator 2.”
Astro Joe,
I’d expect the same. Three of our guys will step up big time. Sooner or later, we should see JJ and Flip have good games. Hopefully sooner. So far, JJ has looked like a sixth man, not an all-star.
I know we’re trying to save Marvin. But wow is he explosive when he’s touched the floor. The Heat would have no answer for him…
WHO DIED....?
April 24th, 2009
10:36 pm
My name should be WHO TAUGHT ME TO TALK AND WRITE….?
Big Ray
April 24th, 2009
10:37 pm
Nice one, Najeh. That was exactly the team I thought of when the question popped up.
Was that a MYKHALC sighting??
KevinA
April 24th, 2009
10:40 pm
Reality I got $100 that Hawks push it to 7. You game?
KevinA
April 24th, 2009
10:43 pm
Let me rephase. Hawks win in 7 or less.
Melvin
April 24th, 2009
11:05 pm
Doc, let me rephrase your statement. I think you miss a key stroke…
myk, yup there for the blow out and there for the slip up. wil be down there for the wednesday CLOSE OUT game.
Bring on Lebron…
doc
April 24th, 2009
11:17 pm
ray, there are omens in this world, intuition, spirits etc. as i saw the whole team sucking wind and all playing poorly as jj, flip and bibby all did their best josh smith imitations by fumbling the ball and dribbling the ball off their feet, i mean, is there a better explanation?
melvin, let me ask delicately, are you drinking tonight or smoking? heh heh
Melvin
April 24th, 2009
11:39 pm
Doc, i will be able to answer your question tomorrow depending on the type of hangover i have in the morning…:)
doc
April 24th, 2009
11:48 pm
thot so … laughing with you my friend.
WHO DIED......?
April 25th, 2009
12:10 am
wow, why no one mention hawks never won a road playoff game in their history, i guess that’s a bad omen for us huh?
Volman
April 25th, 2009
12:26 am
Man I love the “fake” Volman’s on here… So which one are you…Reality…Al..? Which one of you guys?
And to the guy who said I am not a “fan” of the game because I don’t follow Udonis Haslem’s ugly jump shot… then shame on you. His shot is terribly ugly….and I will take Haslem making jumpers anytime. The Heat will not shoot as well as they did in game 2…and if they do, then kudos to them..the Hawks will still have a chance to win.
Big Ray
April 25th, 2009
2:21 am
So, the Sixers are up 2-1 in the series with Orlando.
And the formula for beating Orlando remains the same: Howard gets his, but play solid defense on Turkoglu, Lewis, and Lee. Alston is good, but he won’t kill ya, and they don’t have much to speak of on the bench, aside from Gortat and an underwhelming Pietrus…..and a couple of ex-Hawk pg castoffs…
It’s not rocket science.
I-Win
April 25th, 2009
8:42 am
Heat fan here.
Bitter O’Reily I enjoy your sarcasm
Good luck to your team.
I just hope one of us beats the Cavs in the 2nd round.
WHO DIED ......?
April 25th, 2009
9:17 am
i guess Volman never seen childress shot,didnt he play for hawks. now that’s an ugly jumper