The NBA playoffs, King James version!
Welcome to LeBron's world Hawks!
HAWKSVILLE - If the Hawks felt like there was some cosmic [Dwyane Wade-fueled] wave of energy trying to keep them from reaching the Eastern Conference semifinals, wait until they get on the floor Tuesday night in Cleveland.
That’s where they’ll get their first taste of the NBA playoffs, King James version.
In short, if they thought Wade was an issue – the so-called one-man team that they couldn’t get past in anything but seven games – wait until they face LeBron James and his crew.
Not only have the Cavaliers rolled to the best record in the league, boast the NBA Coach of the Year in Mike Brown and the league’s probably MVP in James, they’ve also had nine days to rest and load up for the Hawks on their way to what all of the basketball-loving world assumes is a table for two in the NBA Finals with Kobe Bryant’s Los Angeles Lakers.
I can’t think of a better time to be the Hawks.
No one thinks you have a chance. No one is expecting you to be anything more than a speed bump on the Cav’s road to the NBA Finals.
“We’re the team that wasn’t even supposed to make the playoffs right?” Hawks forward Josh Smith said. “If you let [the media] tell it, we didn’t even belong here. And we were supposed to lose to Miami. And here we are. We just keep showing up where we’re not supposed to be.”
The Cavs have lost twice on their home floor all season, so Tuesday night’s series opener should be interesting. The Hawks should still be in a groove and the Cavs have been off for so long … it should be interesting.
MIKE BIBBY’S BEST SHOT of the entire first round of the playoffs came before halftime of Sunday in Game 7 and it had nothing to do with his 3-point stroke.
Hawks coach Mike Woodson roasted him for passing the ball to Smith in the corner on in the final seconds. As Smith’s 24-footer bounced off the rim with 10.9 seconds left, Woodson jumped Bibby’s case for making the pass.
The surprise was Bibby’s response. He jumped Woodson right back, much to the delight of those of us sitting close enough to hear the entire exchange.
“If you don’t want me to throw to him put him somewhere else,” Bibby shouted. “He’s wide [@*&$%] open. Wide open. What do you want me to do? If you don’t want him shooting that then put him somewhere else. You tell him.”
After getting it back as good as he gave it, Woodson crossed his arms, did a pirouette and smiled at everyone watching as he strolled back toward the Hawks’ bench.
Woodson said later it was the first time Bibby’s “really lit into” him. And that’s why he was smiling about it. He loved seeing that kind of fire and emotion from his veteran point guard.
"NO! Wait a minute coach, let me tell you something!"
It was by far Bibby’s best shot of the night. And his reaction was right on the money in so many different ways. Because it’s clear that Smith has to curb his own enthusiasm for long distance shots (did you see him working in the paint early? The up and under moves, the ball-fake and step back and then lefty kiss off the glass. It was stick stuff. The Heat didn’t know what to do with him). And since he’s struggling in that department, it’s up to Woodson to find ways to help him curb it.
THE HEAT LEARNED A LESSON MANY TEAMS have this season about the Hawks when they play on their home floor. Forget what you thought about them away from Philips Arena, because for whatever reason, once they got on their own floor they’re a totally different team.
“They’re just terrific at home,” Heat coach Erik Spoelstra Sunday after the Hawks had finished using his team as a dust mop. “They play with a great deal of confidence and energy here at home. We’ve struggled against them here in this building all year long, but it’s not just us. Everybody has struggled here as well. And it’s because they’ve built a pretty tough home court advantage.”
By Sunday night Spoelstra’s rage about the Hawks trying to embarrass his team a couple games ago had morphed into sincere praise.
“They’re a tough team,” he said of the Hawks. “They’ve really gotten a lot better. We’ve seen them mature over the years. They’re a team similar to us two or three years ago. They’ve developed their young guys, and more importantly they’ve kept the same coaching staff to help develop those players and have a consistent system.”
Wade might have summed it up best, though, after the game when he highlighted the difference between his team and the Hawks.
”They got more than one guy,” Wade said. ‘They’ve got four or five different guys they give the ball to and say, `Go make a play, either for yourself or somebody else.’ That makes it tough to guard.”
YOU WON’T SEE JOE JOHNSON BEATING HIS CHEST or poppin’ his jersey after big plays the way some other NBA stars do. It’s just not his style.
He drained two of the most wicked shots of the entire series Sunday, two 3-point bombs in Wade’s face, and didn’t do anything more than ball up his fists at himself. He glanced over at his family and friends that sit along the front row across from the Hawks’ bench, making sure they understood that whatever was ailing him early on in this series was no longer an issue.
Joe Johnson during a rare celebratory moment ... from another time. He barely cracked a smile in Sunday's Game 7 thumping of the Miami Heat.
The first smile he cracked was with five minutes left, when he headed to the bench to a rousing ovation from the crowd after his 27-point, five-steal explosion.
“I had to wait until it was late in the lock when I pretty much knew it was over,” he said of why he didn’t hop on a scorer’s table or call any attention to himself beyond his monster performance. “We’ve blown big leads before, so I had to make sure. If we win a championship you’ll see a whole lot [of emotion from me]. Other than that, it’s just competing, going out and having fun and trying to win ball games.”
And if you wondered if he felt any relief after finally playing like the All-Star folks around here have become accustomed to seeing, don’t.
“The only relief was that we won,” he said. “I’m putting this Miami series behind me and moving forward to Cleveland. And hopefully, we’ll make it an even better series.”
All THE TOP SEEDS IN THE EASTERN CONFERENCE MADE IT TO THE FINAL FOUR. Boston and Orlando are set to scrap on one side of the bracket and the Hawks and Cavs are set to duke it out on the other side of the bracket. That’s actually the way it was supposed to work out.
They basically went wire to wire as the top four teams in the East, with some momentary shifting along the way. Dallas and Houston crashed the Final Four in the Western Conference. Houston won the 4-5 matchup with Portland while Dallas knocked off the depleted Spurs in the 3-6.
There’s something to be said for the Hawks making sure things held form in the East, though. It validates their 47-win season and legitimizes all the talking they’ve done the last six months about being one of the top teams in the Eastern Conference. Knock ‘em all you want, but they said they were headed to this point and here they are.
And they’ve yet to play their best. When you consider the injuries to both Al Horford and Marvin Williams and the fact that neither guy has played up to his own standard this postseason, the Hawks actually have quite a bit of room to improve upon their performance against the Heat.
And both Horford and Williams will return to action in this series. Williams could play a huge role, if healthy enough, defensively. Because the Hawks are going to need an active defender with the size, agility and athleticism to at least keep James occupied for long stretches.
Williams worked well against James during the regular season matchups (the Cavs took the season series 3-1 but the Hawks actually had one of those wins snatched from their grasp on a questionable late foul call) and again, if healthy enough, could potentially do similar work now.
Time will tell.
But admit it, you like talking Hawks this late in the season don’t you?
I know I do.
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
657 comments Add your comment
Westurd
May 4th, 2009
3:59 pm
These are the same Cavs that were knocked out by the Celtics that we took to 7 games last year…….C’mon folks get your a$$ in gear and get behind the home team…..HAWKS in 6!
……….Now you KNOW!
Astro Joe
May 4th, 2009
4:00 pm
KP, I think Acie will be good to have because Cleveland likes to run the full-court press and I frankly don’t trust Flip to be able to handle that. But I just happen to remember that specific game because Acie came in and took over with effective drives to the basket. He just did it against the Cavs’ junior varsity team and not the guys who matter most. But I appreciate the analysis and agree that we will need all of our weapons to make it a competitive series.
mykhalc
May 4th, 2009
4:00 pm
JOE, nice one!!LOL but we all know WOODSON is only in charge of one thing…PT. i can’t even deny that fact. but it does kill me to have to acknowledge even that!!! joe, did i tell you WOODSON flat out sucks as a HC??!!??? LOL
doc
May 4th, 2009
4:00 pm
myk cosmic bro. i like it! where were you last week when someone went on a tear saying it was all about color with woody, geez not quite getting my back there or did i miss you? anyway, no color in cosmic land, just the same, i guess you will continue to be absent because woody will need to be back. grand year bro, just grand.
bigdave, yup a classic line to never be forgotten.
KP
May 4th, 2009
4:02 pm
I loved the Za Za/Rocky bit yesterday! Za Za needs to work on his shadow boxing skills however.
You gotta love the way Za Za has turned himself into being a force for this team off the bench. He literally saved our butts in game 4 vs Miami. He will be a factor in the Cav’s series.
bigdave
May 4th, 2009
4:02 pm
doc…
or “misremembered”…
KP
May 4th, 2009
4:05 pm
I hear you Astro Joe on Acie. Its all love!
Cmon Hawks. I am loving this every minute of this s#*t!!
Volman
May 4th, 2009
4:08 pm
I know this is a ways away but has anyone thought about the players we need to sign in the offseason?
Flip, Marvin, Zaza, Solo, Bibby
Decisions decisions.
I really am not afraid of the Cavs. I hope the Hawks aren’t, either. They have to step up and take their intensity to another level. If I were them, I’m playing that JON BARRY video over and over for motivation.
Does anyone have Barry’s email? I’m going to swarm him (as well as ABC, and ESPN) with calls and emails regarding Barry’s remarks and tell him how much of a lowlife that he is and that he might as well just leave ATLANTA right now because he is NOT WELCOME.
Someone made the remark that “he watches the hawks the most”. My ass. He never watches them. He’s worthless.
What a classless piece of trash. MR. SMITH, can we PLEASE get after this guy? (article bad-mouthing Barry!!!) We need to make sure this team knows it is being disrespected and USE THAT TO HAVE SOME FIRE!
NO MORE PLAYING AFRAID ON THE ROAD. Somebody needs to get pissed!
Dan
May 4th, 2009
4:08 pm
SouthAfrican09,
Fine. I don’t agree. Bibby was worth every penny. Will he have to take a paycut next year? Probably. You seem to imply that he has not lived up to his end of the deal. No way.
Also, I’ve been a season ticket holder for 5 years now. Don’t need your horsesh#t lecture about games you have been to or who you know. I’m willing to bet I hear a lot of the same stuff you do.
Volman
May 4th, 2009
4:11 pm
I’m going to have to agree with Dan on this one. South African, are YOU sure you know what you’re talking about? There are plenty of people who have met the team and been to more games than you have.
Did you play Josh Smith in high school? Didn’t think so. I think I got you on that one
Anyway, it’s all good. No need to keep arguing about it. Let’s all be friends!
KP
May 4th, 2009
4:29 pm
Bibby is one of the best pure point guards that the Hawks have seen since Doc Rivers….and we have not seen many. My Hawks Top 5 Point Guards:
1) Doc Rivers
2) Mike Bibby
3) Mookie Blaylock
4) Eddie Johnson
5) Pete Maravich
Hawks Fan In New Orleans
May 4th, 2009
4:32 pm
As I and others have previously said, if The Hawks can bottle that “focused, aggressive, TEAM-oriented kinetic energy” they exerted in their victories in the first series, they would give The Cavs all they can HANDLE maybe even HAND them an historic 2nd upset. I’M FIRED UP ABOUT THE HAWKS IN A CITY DEPRESSED ABOUT THE HORNET’S!
Diane Wade
May 4th, 2009
4:39 pm
Oh great, now that I got eliminated, they just GIVE LeBrat the MVP Award!!
Thanks a bunch, Hawks!!
Hawks Fan In New Orleans
May 4th, 2009
4:40 pm
I meant 2nd round
double take
May 4th, 2009
4:40 pm
Bibby over Mookie?
Seriously?!
KP
May 4th, 2009
4:40 pm
Volman: I could not find J Barry’s e-mail anywhere online. I bet Sekou could help us with this! BTW…J Barry played with the Hawks for 1 or 2 seasons and he stunk. By far he is the one Barry boy who got more of his momma’s genes than his daddy’s!
runners and gunners
May 4th, 2009
4:41 pm
Oh snap, you mean FAST Eddie Johnson?? Takin’ it back, son!!
Diva Wade
May 4th, 2009
4:44 pm
“I was foulded yesterday, didn’t anyone see it?”
KP
May 4th, 2009
4:45 pm
Double Take: My opinion and really put the post up for healthy debate more than anything. Mookie was not a PURE point guard….with his shoot first pass second mentality. Mookie was one of the best defenders of his time however and I would love for Bibby to have his defensive abilities. Back then you had Steve Smith and Mookie both sharing PG duties as the team relied on them both to log big minutes and score.
Cav's fan since '70
May 4th, 2009
4:45 pm
Everyone needs to calm down about Barry. Before he decided to switch his disdain to the Hawks, he did nothing but dis the Cavs, calling them overrated.
I have no doubt that the Hawks will put up much more of a fight than the washed up Pistons. However, those who are under the belief that the Cavs are the same one man team as the Heat, might be a little surprised when the series starts: Chalmers vs. Williams, (washed up) O’neal/Beasley/Haslem vs Ilgauskus/Varejao/Wallace/Smith, not to mention D. West, you’re kidding right?
double takerunandgun@100gunner.com
May 4th, 2009
4:47 pm
I see your point. Fair enough.
KP
May 4th, 2009
4:48 pm
Runners and Gunners: Showing my age aint I. I used to cut Fast Eddie’s yard back in the day for a $20 spot. He lived right up the street from me back in Colly Park! Drew Hill lived up the street from us back in the day – he was with the LA Rams back then. Those were the good ole days son!
Dan
May 4th, 2009
4:48 pm
I like men
Volman
May 4th, 2009
4:49 pm
I like Dan
Westurd
May 4th, 2009
4:49 pm
…..What I said was HAWKS IN 6………..Now you KNOW!
runners and gunners
May 4th, 2009
4:52 pm
KP: MUCH RESPECT!!!
KP
May 4th, 2009
4:57 pm
R&G: Preciate ya! Loved the 79-80 squad with Drew, Roundfield, Rollins & EJ. Won 50 games and the Central Division. Then Dr J’s sixers bounced us in 5 games in the first round. Caught alot of games with my pops back then in the Omni nosebleeds.
Hawks fan till I die!
WHO DIED...??
May 4th, 2009
4:59 pm
I hope LeBron enjoys this speech before the Cavs lose to the Hawks in 7.
Sincerely,
The newest Hawks fan (former fan of the Miami Lukewarms)
CTrim
May 4th, 2009
5:00 pm
Hawks in 6. Have to steal one of the first 2 games in Cleveland and win all 3 at home to have a chance. Winning 2 in Cleveland or a game 7 isn’t going to happen. To win the Hawks can’t give away every away game like they did a year ago vs the Celtics. We play our best when our back is against the wall and Game 3 might be too late.
Can’t expect JJ/Bibby to match the output of LeBron/Williams. Horford, Smith and Zaza have to out rebound, score and hustle Ilgauskas, Varejao, and Wallace to make up the difference. No easy task. Neither JJ or Bibby can dissapear like they have at times during the year. Josh has to keep driving to the hole. Love your game Josh, but there is a reason why you are so open…
Marvin is the X factor. He can create match up problems with his length and athleticism if he can shoot and play defense like he did before the back injury. LeBron’s just too big for JJ/Evans and Josh isn’t quick enough to hang with the MVP. If healthy Marvin isn’t the duck he used to be.
Funny how most of the media, again, predicts the Hawks won’t win a game against the #1 seed in the NBA. Can’t be content with just winning a first round series. All of us that have watched the Hawks this year know how good they can be. How great would it be to send Lebron fishing with D. Wade…Slam away Hawks, slam away!
"Sink It"
May 4th, 2009
5:02 pm
When I was in the Boy Scouts, I sat under the scoreboard in the nosebleeds. When the buzzer went off, I was the first to know! You guys are really takin’ me back (not that I miss the Omni!!)
St. Vincent
May 4th, 2009
5:06 pm
LeBron and the Cavs are ultra-sentimental today…
Maybe we can stun them in Game 1 while they’re still so starry-eyed..??
Of course, everyone in the world would hate the Hawks for detroning the King… (d’ah well!!)
doc
May 4th, 2009
5:08 pm
big dave not sure now whether it is to be remembered or misremembered.
ok, i just saw a vision. quite a gauntlet but here it is to get through to be champions; labron, howard, and kobe. yeah that is the ticket … no prob, now worries mon.
Al
May 4th, 2009
5:17 pm
Hey kids. Congrats on your well-deserved win over my team. We truly turned out to be a one man team in this series. You guys won the series in the third quarter of Game 4 according to me. Anyway, hope to meet again next year. I still wish we had at least one close game though.
Al
May 4th, 2009
5:21 pm
I’m going for the Hawks as well WHO DIED… just like I did last year vs. the C’s. But unfortunately I don’t see how this series is close. The Hawks best chance to win will be Game 1. I dunno if you all agree. But in any case, it should be over in 5 at the most. Hopefully I’m wrong.
Al
May 4th, 2009
5:22 pm
Wait a minute… that’s not the real WHO DIED… grammar is way too good. Nice try though.
mykhalc
May 4th, 2009
5:27 pm
DOC, you gotta know i missed that one!! always got your back bro!!! and damn doc, how can i get ridda WOODSON??!!! the cat just won’t vanish!!! it sucks!!!LOL
Al
May 4th, 2009
5:29 pm
Everyone talks about LeBron LeBron LeBron. Mo Williams is the guy you need to worry about. Bibby’s been playing against Mario Chalmers for seven straight games. If Woody tries a similar strategy vs. LeBron, Mo will make him pay.
JJ needs to step it up. A lot. I think he can. If he carries over his Game 7 play into the Cavs series.
Al
May 4th, 2009
5:31 pm
Anyway, I just wanted to pass by and offer congrats. I doubt I’ll make it on here again much after today. AstroJoe, can we make that a JJ jersey for my dad? Ha. Peace.
Hawksgirl
May 4th, 2009
5:44 pm
Miek bibby has earned the right to yell at woody. He is a great player and im happy we have him. Jsmoove may be immature but he’s not crazy. He slaps himself on the arm eveytime he misses a jumper, he knows he needs to work on it. I recall a game i witnessed him playing and he shot lights out from all over the floor. He needs the confidence to play meaning starting from the inside out. I got confidence and i like him taking those shots when its convenient.
Against the cavs…….defense plays the biggest role. If our defense is huge our offense is picture perfect. We have a good chance at rattling lebron and the cavs tomorrow. He has no ring and not much nba playoff experience just like us. So, we need to come there with confidence and draw first blood. As for the regular season games against them, they dont matter. Teams play different in the playoffs with a different mentality. Jon barry, i lost lots of respect for him. He is now just like anyother analyst to me(charles barkley for example) they can shove it!
doc
May 4th, 2009
5:45 pm
myk, he isnt going to die, get over it and enjoy what we got.
anyone seen a couple of irrelevant journalists around here named terrence moore and jon barry?
MVP23
May 4th, 2009
5:46 pm
Well….you want to hear from a Cav fan….here’s my take. IF….you think this Cav team is so inferior to last years Celtics team Hawk fans have another thing to learn. FYI, the Cavs took the Celtics to 7 games also….with every game of that series that was played in Boston VERY competative and all the games in Cleveland were blowout wins for the Cavs. Check the scores of that series last year. The Cavs had just traded for Wally, West , Smith and Wallace just like the Hawks added Bibby and the team had not jelled as a team yet. Add Williams this year and this Cavs team will never lose a series aginst the Hawks this season.
You state that you will rough up the L-Train. The Hawks have NOBODY that is nearly the physical specimen that James is. The guy is 6 ‘ 8 , 260 + with amazing speed and jumping ability. By the time James is done with his career…he will go down has the greatest. This Cav team is very close and if the Hawks try and injure LeBron I’m more than sure that Ben Wallace will not take it sitting down.
Keep talking smack and hoping…because I’ll be on here after each and every game too see the comments and I don’t want to see the excuses that the refs made phantom calls. Fouling James is the only way to stop him and usually he’s so strong that he still makes the basket…plus one!!!
bigdave
May 4th, 2009
5:47 pm
KP…
MA…MA…MA…MA…MMOOOKIE #1 all time sir… haha…
Doc…
see now im getting all confused…
mykhalc
May 4th, 2009
5:52 pm
DOC, that would be impossible!!!LOL and he ain’t gotta die man….just get off the HAWKS bench…simple!!!LOL
Westurd
May 4th, 2009
5:56 pm
Welcome to the mix MVP23………..As a Hawks fan it is hard to say this but I agree with everything you said…….everything except for the minor detail that the HAWKS will win the series. You can have your rock N roll hall of fame and your 10 degree summers…..but the series belongs to us. Feel free to let all your other Cav fans in on the truth about the HAWKS!!
…Now you Know….HAWKS IN 6 (Maybe seven if you’re lucky)
MVP23
May 4th, 2009
6:03 pm
I’m just kidding. Josh Smith is much more athletic than LeBron.
LeBron is arrogant, egotistical and has ugly tattoos that define who he really is.
Hawks in 4
Hawksgirl
May 4th, 2009
6:06 pm
my bad i thought my comment didnt post so i sorda rewrote it.
KP
May 4th, 2009
6:13 pm
Big Dave: I loved Mooooooooookie too! Can’t put him over Doc Rivers in the Pure PG dept. Thanks for chiming in on my list though.
Braves vs. Indians, part deux?
May 4th, 2009
6:16 pm
I wonder if Cleveland is bitter about that World Series? Let’s hope the Atlanta team makes us proud, like in 1995!!
40-foot free-throws
May 4th, 2009
6:18 pm
Doc Rivers stays at #1. Leading the franchise in assists has earned him that
Ken Strickland
May 4th, 2009
6:26 pm
Just got back into town. CONGRADULATIONS TO THE TEAM AND THE ENTIRE HAWKS ORGANIZATION FOR A JOB WELL DONE. Considering the difficulty we had in dispatching the Heat, especially on the road, it doesn’t realistically look like we have much of a chance to defeat the CAV’s, especially with them having the homecourt advantage. However, in last yrs playoffs, it didn’t look like we had much of a chance of avoiding a sweep by the mighty Celtics either, but we all know how that turned out.
I’M NOT GOING TO COUNT THE HAWKS OUT, ESPECIALLY IF JJ TAKES CHARGE AND MAKES SHOTS LIKE HE DID IN GM 7. IT LOOKS LIKE WOODSON IS STEPPING UP ALONG WITH HIS PLAYERS.