Atlanta Hawks at Milwaukee Bucks: Win And They Are In (Again)
Well, it turns out the Hawks haven’t clinched a spot in the playoffs after all. Elias Sports Bureau called the league to tell them that the Hawks would lose a tiebreaker if they lost all of their remaining games and finished in four-way tie for the final playoffs spot. Well, OK, then. The Hawks will clinch tonight if they win or Chicago loses to Houston. Really.
Anyway, at the moment the playoffs bracket looks like this. Assuming the Celtics are going to win the Atlantic, which is a safe assumption, they would win a tiebreaker with the Hawks. From NBA.com:
TIEBREAKER BASIS:
(-) Tie breaker not needed (better overall winning percentage)
(1) Division leader wins tie from team not leading a division
(2) Head-to-head won-lost percentage
(3) Division won-lost percentage
(4) Conference won-lost percentage
(5) W-L Percentage vs. Playoff teams, own conference
(6) W-L Percentage vs. Playoff teams, other conference
(7) Net Points, all games
Suddenly solid vet John Salmons, not super rook Brandon Jennings, is the story for the Bucks.
The Bucks loom as a potential playoff opponent. Normally the Hawks might not have too much concern about a team that hasn’t been anywhere near them in the standings and can’t match their talent. But these are not normal circumstances. The Bucks are just 38-30 but they are 14-3 since the All-Star break. More to the point, they are 14-2 since adding John Salmons in a trade.
You might remember how Salmons lit up the Hawks for 32 points during Milwaukee’s overtime loss at Philips Arena and did a respectable job checking J.J. until he got Iso-Joed at the end. What you may not remember is how Salmons joined the Bulls in a trade last season along with Brad Miller and helped catapult them to the playoffs. Now my man Charlie G at the Journal Sentinel notes Salmons is having a similar effect on the Bucks since the Bulls unloaded him to clear space for the summer free agent bonanza.
“When we were talking about making a move, we looked at him, and still do, as just a good, all-around pro guard,” Bucks coach Scott Skiles said. “He can post up a little bit. He shoots the ball well enough. He can put it on the floor and get to the rim. He can dish it if necessary. He’s a solid defender. He’s a professional and has a real calm demeanor out there, and that has helped our guys.”
Since the Bucks and Hawks strangely didn’t meet for the first time until the late date of Feb. 28, the Hawks can measure themselves against the new-look Bucks and not the team that was sputtering along at 24-28 before Salmons arrived. Looking at the game-by-game efficiency numbers, the Bucks seem to be a better team offensively with Salmons –they’ve topped 100 points in offensive efficiency in 13 of 16 of games with him after doing so in just 31 of 68 previously. Their rugged defense also hasn’t appeared to skip a beat on defense–they’ve held 11 of 16 opponents below 100 points in defensive efficiency with Salmons after doing so in 21 of 68 games before his arrival.
It should be noted that the Salmons Bucks didn’t go a good job stopping the Hawks in their first meeting and have had similar problems with the better offensive teams. But the Bucks also have more offensive punch with Salmons. This is all along way of saying the Bucks would be a dangerous opponent for the Hawks to face in the playoffs.
That’s assuming the Hawks really, truly clinch a postseason berth at some point.
MC
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
371 comments Add your comment
Blast
March 22nd, 2010
9:36 pm
Jamal is da TRUTH!
VenomSpitter
March 22nd, 2010
9:38 pm
Come on Joe pass the damn ball
Sleepy
March 22nd, 2010
9:40 pm
I dont understand why we are helping on Bogut he hasnt done anything at least make him make a successful low post move before we start sending someone at him . The threes are whats keeping them in the game not Bogut
HawksFan11
March 22nd, 2010
9:40 pm
The Hawks finally catch a fair officiating crew.
Blast
March 22nd, 2010
9:40 pm
You so right, Najeh, especially now Bucks have cut the lead to 7. We could see some drama at the end, though I think/hope Hawks should be able to close it out with no last minute issues.
Freshmaker
March 22nd, 2010
9:41 pm
iREP, thanks much for the link earlier! The feed works great man. Appreciate it.
Hawk n the Ham
March 22nd, 2010
9:42 pm
Did you hear they are making a new NBA Jam game? This might be the best 3 man team on the entire game…..
1. Joe Johnson
2. Jamal Crawford
3. Josh Smith
Sautee
March 22nd, 2010
9:44 pm
GREAT substitution by Woody to get Josh in the game to block the last shot of the quarter.
Najeh Davenpoop
March 22nd, 2010
9:45 pm
So, uh, is Teague injured or something, or should we just give up on seeing any minutes for him whatsoever? 0 minutes so far. Woody just emptied his bench and Teague’s still plastered to the bench.
Najeh Davenpoop
March 22nd, 2010
9:46 pm
The Hawks have been playing well recently, but damn, Orlando has been on fire. They have beaten the good teams and destroyed the bad ones recently. Hope the Hawks can be the buzzsaw to their win streak, but I’ll be satisfied with just a close game on Wednesday after the way the first meetings have gone.
VenomSpitter
March 22nd, 2010
9:48 pm
Did Mo evans slap Kurt Thomas’ azz lol
Jody
March 22nd, 2010
9:48 pm
Mo really has a hard time finishing around the rim.
Ree Roe
March 22nd, 2010
9:48 pm
I’m surprised so many of yall are acting like this game is over considering our track record in close games. I expect this to come down to the wire
-REE Roe!
Blast
March 22nd, 2010
9:48 pm
5 point game!
Here comes the drama!
bigdave
March 22nd, 2010
9:49 pm
it sounds like a futbol match in there…
Taylor
March 22nd, 2010
9:49 pm
here we go again…
VenomSpitter
March 22nd, 2010
9:49 pm
OMG we can’t stop the REIGN LOL
VenomSpitter
March 22nd, 2010
9:49 pm
Choke time
Rod from College Park
March 22nd, 2010
9:50 pm
Great game by Marvin. LOL Can we please stay on the shooters?
Wabe
March 22nd, 2010
9:50 pm
The Hawks gotta withstand this run.
Sautee
March 22nd, 2010
9:51 pm
So do we think we can just outshoot these guys?
We need some D.
Blast
March 22nd, 2010
9:53 pm
Here we go with the ‘choke time’, ‘pathetic’ comments again. Game ain’t over yet!
O'Brien
March 22nd, 2010
9:53 pm
Blast,
Is this the drama you were looking for? 4 point game.
Where is Marvin tonight?
J.J.M.
March 22nd, 2010
9:53 pm
smh no D
Taylor
March 22nd, 2010
9:53 pm
Hawk n the Ham
March 22nd, 2010
9:42 pm
Did you hear they are making a new NBA Jam game? This might be the best 3 man team on the entire game…..
1. Joe Johnson
2. Jamal Crawford
3. Josh Smith
That’s amazing to hear wow!
Najeh Davenpoop
March 22nd, 2010
9:54 pm
Yeah, looks like Duck celebrated April Fools Day early and now he’s back to normal…
Rod from College Park
March 22nd, 2010
9:54 pm
O’Brien,
Where is Marvin tonight?
He’s back….
J.J.M.
March 22nd, 2010
9:54 pm
choke
Taylor
March 22nd, 2010
9:55 pm
come on, not another blown road win!
Rod from College Park
March 22nd, 2010
9:55 pm
Can we stay on Salmon’s please.
VenomSpitter
March 22nd, 2010
9:55 pm
OMG Josh has sucked this game
Najeh Davenpoop
March 22nd, 2010
9:55 pm
Salmons is a good player, but what the hell is it about him that makes the Hawks turn him into a superstar? I would think on a team with the swingmen the Hawks have it shouldn’t be that hard to check him.
VenomSpitter
March 22nd, 2010
9:55 pm
Like I said Josh has been horrible lately
Blast
March 22nd, 2010
9:55 pm
Real big time drama now.
J.J.M.
March 22nd, 2010
9:55 pm
ok he clearly push josh out the way
HawksFan11
March 22nd, 2010
9:56 pm
JJ keeping us in it
J.J.M.
March 22nd, 2010
9:56 pm
jumpshots
Big Ray
March 22nd, 2010
9:57 pm
This is something I have to say for Woody, that probably doesn’t get the attention it deserves:
When a player is developing and improving in a significant fashion, such that as can benefit this team….Woody is not holding that player back.
We’ve accused Woody of holding Marvin back from being a better player. Has he really? We’ve watched Marvin do great things at times (but not that often). He stepped up against the Spurs, but has he always done that when given the opportunity? Has he always done what needed doing when we needed him to do it?
I’d have to say “no.”
Now take Al Horford. All of the sudden, Horford has shown that he can be a presence in the paint on the offensive end, and a guy we can run our offense through as needed. Not in every single case or in every single game, but quite steadily enough that it’s become a staple of our offense.
Woody hasn’t gotten in the way of this, and Al is blossoming…
Wabe
March 22nd, 2010
9:57 pm
Switching is killing us.
Taylor
March 22nd, 2010
9:57 pm
wish we could keep a lead
Melvin
March 22nd, 2010
9:57 pm
Last night Manu, tonight Salmons. Take keep running pick and roll plays so the Hawks switch the bigs on their guards….
HawksFan11
March 22nd, 2010
9:57 pm
Josh has taken the month off
terrell
March 22nd, 2010
9:58 pm
Just as I thought. Marvin disappears again with 2 pts.
J.J.M.
March 22nd, 2010
9:58 pm
welp back to tna
Jody
March 22nd, 2010
9:59 pm
Great point Big Ray.
Taylor
March 22nd, 2010
9:59 pm
J.J.M.
March 22nd, 2010
9:58 pm
welp back to tna
idk how you can watch that man, its pretty bad
Blast
March 22nd, 2010
10:00 pm
Hawks need to move the ball and grind down on defence! Celtics beating Jazz. Chicago beating beating Rockets. Do Hawks care about securing a playoff spot with a win tonight?
Big Ray
March 22nd, 2010
10:00 pm
On a related note, I think we are seeing some physical evidence, lately, of why Josh Smith didn’t make the ASG, and Al Horford did.
I know it seems like Smith had done more for the team at the time. Maybe he did. But can anybody deny what we’re seeing NOW?
Speaking of Josh Smith, he’s playing like poo poo lately. Last night was enough to get by. Tonight is another story.
Meanwhile, we need to withstand this early 4th quarter run, and go on one of our own.
VenomSpitter
March 22nd, 2010
10:00 pm
Another choke. I’m sick of this sh*t
Taylor
March 22nd, 2010
10:01 pm
lol bibby shot that like a girl