Atlanta Hawks: Send-Da-Bucks (UPDATE: Playoff Schedule)

FIRE WOODY

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Woodson playing Teague 48 min tonight was basically Woody telling Teague: “Look, I don’t use the bench in games that matter. You won’t play in the playoffs more than 4 mpg unless Bibby fouls out in the 1st, so enjoy tonight”

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With the seasons stats in the book, us Hawks fans cannot really complain about a 53 win season, a sixth man of the year, a new all star center, a new starting all-star, sweeping Boston, beating Cleveland, Orlando, LA, Utah, Dallas, Denver, San Antonio, Phoenix, Miami and others. All in all those that understand the Hawks will always have a complaint, but lets for one night give it up to the Hawks who gave us some of the most memorial games I can ever remember in one season. 145 points against Toronto, buzzer beaters against Chicago, Phoenix and Orlando, Zaza’s monster games, J_Smooves huge numbers (and even small numbers when it came to 3’s this year)

Go get you playoff tickets and get ready to start giving the Hawks the home court advantage they have earned. If tickets are too steep just eat some ramen noodles for a week or so and get your butt into Phillips to wave those rally towels and show some love in the Highlight Factory!!
Honestly, who knows what the Hawks will bring in the post season, but “You gotta believe” Hawks Fans…………….LETS GO HAWKS, LETS GO HAWKS

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“The numbers say the Bucks are a much better defensive team than the Hawks, and that the Hawks are much better than the Bucks on offense. ”

With Bogut out of the picture, I would throw those stats out the window. My instinct tells me both teams are about even defensively right now, and in my opinion Luke Ridnour is a perennial candidate for the Bizarro All-Defense team.

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shame on woody for not giving teague more minutes. our record would have been better &teague
would have developed more. this kid plays great defense,can pass & penetrates well opening easy
shots foe everybody,also plays uptempo which this team should & does not

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Guys, we upped our regular season win total by 6, and moved up a seed in the East!

WHERE IS MY NEW CONTRACT, RICK? FORGET THE PLAYOFFS –> WE HAVE FINALLY ARRIVED!

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Lets go after Jazz assistant Tyrone Corbin when Woody is finished.

FIRE WOODY

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I also think we should play Randolph Morris a little more. He is productive in the little to no chances that he gets to play.

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ALL TIMES EASTERN (ET)

EASTERN CONFERENCE ROUND 1 SCHEDULE

Cleveland Cavaliers vs. Chicago Bulls

Game 1 – Sat April 17 Chicago at Cleveland 3:00PM ABC
Game 2 – Mon April 19 Chicago at Cleveland 8:00PM TNT
Game 3 – Thu April 22 Cleveland at Chicago 7:00PM TNT
Game 4 – Sun April 25 Cleveland at Chicago 3:30PM ABC/R
Game 5 * Tue April 27 Chicago at Cleveland TBD TBD TBD
Game 6 * Thu April 29 Cleveland at Chicago TBD TBD TBD
Game 7 * Sat May 1 Chicago at Cleveland TBD TBD TNT

Orlando Magic vs. Charlotte Bobcats

Game 1 – Sun April 18 Charlotte at Orlando 5:30PM TNT
Game 2 – Wed April 21 Charlotte at Orlando 7:00PM TNT
Game 3 – Sat April 24 Orlando at Charlotte 2:00PM TNT
Game 4 – Mon April 26 Orlando at Charlotte TBD TBD TBD
Game 5 * Wed April 28 Charlotte at Orlando TBD TBD TBD
Game 6 * Fri April 30 Orlando at Charlotte TBD TBD TBD
Game 7 * Sun May 2 Charlotte at Orlando TBD TBD TBD

Atlanta Hawks vs. Milwaukee Bucks

Game 1 – Sat April 17 Milwaukee at Atlanta 5:30PM ESPN
Game 2 – Tue April 20 Milwaukee at Atlanta 7:00PM NBATV
Game 3 – Sat April 24 Atlanta at Milwaukee 7:00PM ESPN
Game 4 – Mon April 26 Atlanta at Milwaukee TBD TBD TBD
Game 5 * Wed April 28 Milwaukee at Atlanta TBD TBD TBD
Game 6 * Fri April 30 Atlanta at Milwaukee TBD TBD TBD
Game 7 * Sun May 2 Milwaukee at Atlanta TBD TBD TBD

Boston Celtics vs. Miami Heat

Game 1 – Sat April 17 Miami at Boston 8:00PM ESPN/R
Game 2 – Tue April 20 Miami at Boston 8:00PM TNT
Game 3 – Fri April 23 Boston at Miami 7:00PM ESPN
Game 4 – Sun April 25 Boston at Miami 1:00PM ABC
Game 5 * Tue April 27 Miami at Boston TBD TBD TBD
Game 6 * Thu April 29 Boston at Miami TBD TBD TBD
Game 7 * Sat May 1 Miami at Boston TBD TBD TNT

ALL TIMES EASTERN (ET)

WESTERN CONFERENCE ROUND 1 SCHEDULE

Los Angeles Lakers vs. Oklahoma City Thunder

Game 1 – Sun April 18 OKC at L.A. Lakers 3:00PM ABC/R
Game 2 – Tue April 20 OKC at L.A. Lakers 10:30PM TNT
Game 3 – Thu April 22 L.A. Lakers at OKC 9:30PM TNT
Game 4 – Sat April 24 L.A. Lakers at OKC 9:30PM ESPN/R
Game 5 * Tue April 27 OKC at L.A. Lakers TBD TBD TBD
Game 6 * Fri April 30 L.A. Lakers at OKC TBD TBD TBD
Game 7 * Sun May 2 OKC at L.A. Lakers TBD TBD TBD

Dallas Mavericks vs. San Antonio Spurs

Game 1 – Sun April 18 San Antonio at Dallas 8:00PM TNT
Game 2 – Wed April 21 San Antonio at Dallas 9:30PM TNT
Game 3 – Fri April 23 Dallas at San Antonio 9:30PM ESPN
Game 4 – Sun April 25 Dallas at San Antonio 7:00PM TNT
Game 5 * Tue April 27 San Antonio at Dallas TBD TBD TBD
Game 6 * Thu April 29 Dallas at San Antonio TBD TBD TBD
Game 7 * Sat May 1 San Antonio at Dallas TBD TBD TNT

Phoenix Suns vs. Portland Trail Blazers

Game 1 – Sat April 17 Portland at Phoenix 10:30PM ESPN
Game 2 – Mon April 19 Portland at Phoenix 10:30PM TNT
Game 3 – Thu April 22 Phoenix at Portland 10:00PM NBATV
Game 4 – Sat April 24 Phoenix at Portland 4:30PM TNT
Game 5 * Mon April 26 Portland at Phoenix TBD TBD TBD
Game 6 * Thu April 29 Phoenix at Portland TBD TBD TBD
Game 7 * Sat May 1 Portland at Phoenix TBD TBD TNT

Denver Nuggets vs. Utah Jazz

Game 1 – Sun April 18 Utah at Denver 10:30PM TNT
Game 2 – Tue April 20 Utah at Denver 10:00PM NBATV
Game 3 – Fri April 23 Denver at Utah 10:30PM ESPN2
Game 4 – Sun April 25 Denver at Utah 9:30PM TNT
Game 5 * Wed April 28 Utah at Denver TBD TBD TBD
Game 6 * Fri April 30 Denver at Utah TBD TBD TBD
Game 7 * Sun May 2 Utah at Denver TBD TBD TBD

Read more: http://www.insidehoops.com/playoffs-schedule.shtml#ixzz0l90P6DXj

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lol if they want everyone to wear white………………why not just giveout white shirts

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I wasn’t really paying attention, but I think I heard them say they will be giving out white towels. Can anyone corroborate?

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Wdsn just said it:
I was never gonna play Teague to begin with.
Thats what Red Holzman did so it must be right.
Ken Strickland & others have said all year,
it would have been the same had we drafted
C. Paul or S. Curry, it didn’t matter, the man
don’t play rookies.
Sit & learn, young man.
His mindset is not going to change.
He is rigid, stubborn, headstrong, single-minded,
callous and unabating, just as he is with his
switching defense, playing Bibby v quick guards,
Failing to adapt offensively [zones] or continuously
puzzled by 4th qtr. collapses.

I apologize to all.
This should be a happy evening.
Congrats to Mr. Wdsn for 50+ wins & the # 3 seed.
Teaguer’s evening & Wdsn’s remarks just brought
out my frustration for the young man. [Teague]
I sincerely wish the best for the Hawks & for
Mr. Wdsn. Right now, what’s good for him is good
for all us Hawk fans. Evening, Yawl.

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Grandad,

co-sign! Woody would gave benched Jordan, Lebron, ‘Nique, Bird if he had coached them as rookies!!!

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Yeah, just like he “benched” Smoove, Al, Marvin.

Jeeze, give me a break.

Such crap.

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gwite – he cannot develop rookie point guards, he kills their confidence. He did start Smoove, he had no choice – lets not forget that Woody and Smoove frequently bumped heads early. He started Marvin, he had no choice in that either, Harrington was traded and they needed a small forward. Acie Law and Salim Stoudemire were two guards that he ruined IMO – they were not garbage but when Woody was done with them – they sure felt like it….I digress, CONGRATS on the 3rd seed Hawks, I hope this is a short series going our way with the Bucks so we can rest up for the Magic/Bobcats.

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Sorry we won’t be seeing you in SoFla, cunningham (not with lebron in our bracket now).

heat fans were a tad upset that miami ended up winning against Nets (and that spoelstra used two starters in double OT), getting path with celtics/cavs. but celtics look like a team that can be had now.

Best comment about last night’s events come from a commenter named Tony on Ira’s S-S Heat blog:

“Some perspective is in order: NJ couldn’t beat a team trying to tank a game. Wow. That’s some Grade A suckitude right there.”

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We had a great season and a surprisingly healthy one. I am savoring the 53 wins, the effort put in by the 2nd unit and major props to Jeff Teague who showed why we drafted him. I have seen the potential in him from the start and he demonstrated why faith in his development is justified in this game. Acie Law couldn’t have had that kind of game if the Caveliers only played 3 players.

We should beat the Bucks in 5 games. After that, who knows. I just hope we remain healthy throughout the playoffs because it will be physical and any team at any time that has a laspe will be exploited. There is a reason why teams made the playoffs. They are good.

We had a great year with the addition of Jamaal, both JJ and Al making the All-Star team with JJ starting, Mo Evans showing that he can actually take the place of Josh Childress and an amazing demonstration by the Rook on why we were correct in drafting him in the first place.

Let’s root for our team and give them the respect and support they deserve. Despite our sometimes gripe about how Woody does things, Je Je and Clyde not withstanding, there is support for what he has accomplished over the last 5 years. This is the kind of progression that has been attributed to people like Larry Brown, Don Nelson and Pat Riley. I am not saying that Woody is in their league yet, but if you look at the progression of wins in the amount of time he has been the coach, it puts him on the same kind of track that those coachs have taken. Like him or not, he has, despite the friction between him and BK been the rudder for the team to continually improve over the last 5 years.

Go Hawks!!! I am proud of you and have remained a loyal fan since you move to ATL.

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Went to the Hawks game last night, and the NBA should be ashamed of itself for putting stuff like that on the floor. I’d rather watch the old dudes in my gym play on a nightly basis than watch what I saw last night.

College basketball rules whereas I hope pro basketball dies.

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34,

Well, I thought that it was a highly entertaining game and a good opportunity to watch the reserves have a go.

Maybe you feel cheated because you bought the tickets beforehand and did not get to see the starters… well, buying tickets for the last game of the regular season is a hit or miss exercise:

It can be a seminal game or it can be a completely unimportant one… you got the latter, tough luck.

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Clyde and JeJe – you sound like morons talking about FIRE WOODY at this time – don’t you have something to offer besides the same old B.S.?

Clyde – if/when they do fire Woody, you might as well retire from the blogs.

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“Acie Law and Salim Stoudemire were two guards that he ruined”

What a bunch of crap! They apparently sucked anyway – why can’t they catch on with another team?

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Acie Law has game just has to get in the right situation with the right team Woody just didn’t like him.

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“WOODY DOES NOT USE THE BENCH IN CLOSE GAMES IN THE 2ND HALF. HOW MANY MORE TIMES DO I HAVE TO SAY THIS?”

Jeje,

You can say it a million times, but it isn’t true . . . Jamal, ZaZa, and Mo Evans have been in several close games in the 2nd half – are you actually watching the games or what?

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Anyway, back to Hawks-Cavs. Teague had 24 points, 15 assists and five turnovers. “The young Rook’, I can’t praise him enough,” Woody said. “It’s been tough on him not playing many minutes.”

– Before the game, Woody offered some personal perspective on his handling of Teague: “I know it’s tough on him because I know how it was when I came in to the league after playing a lot of minutes in college. I played for a coach who didn’t believe in playing rookies, (former Knicks coach) Red Holzman. He thought rookies should sit and learn. And I learned a lot in that first year.”

– So that how it’s gone for Teague. “I think I showed that I can play in this league,” he said. “I think (Woody) believes in me. He’s told me it was going to be a learning year like he told you guys. So I just soaked everything up and tried to learn as much as possible, and tried to learn from Bibby and Jamal as much as I could.”

I rest my case.

Now that some of you have gotten it verbatim from the man himself, perhaps you will believe it. Or, you will continue the most preposterous practice of supporting the man unequivocally, while ignoring and denying anything he says that doesn’t fit into your personal agenda driven arguments.

And all I’m going to do is laugh at you….

Having said that, this does NOT support the idea that Woody never plays his rookies. That’s a whole different argument, and it is predicated on what position the rookie plays, as well as which veterans are ahead of him. Of course, you have to be able to recognize certain details to understand what that even means, and some simply need not apply to the discussion.

I would not look for Teague to play much in the playoffs, especially when things are tight. Woody did not prepare him for this, so why would he put him in that kind of situation unless he was absolutely forced to? Doesn’t make sense. So the idea that he wouldn’t play him because he’s a rookie has nothing to do with it really. Woody won’t ask the kid to do anything that he didn’t try to prepare him to do, simple and plain. The job will fall to JJ, Bibby, and Jamal.

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“Jeje,

You can say it a million times, but it isn’t true . . . Jamal, ZaZa, and Mo Evans have been in several close games in the 2nd half – are you actually watching the games or what?”

If this team is fully healthy, there’s no way ZaZa and Mo play down the stretch over Marvin and Horford. Marvin has seemed to have gotten more minutes down the stretch.

WOODSON WILL NOT USE TEAGUE OR ENOUGH IN 2ND HALF

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Horford is a weak defender, eh?

How about this quote from Mike Woodson:

Three years removed from his last season at Florida, Horford is still drawing attention. For the first time in his young NBA career, he is an All-Star, selected by coaches man as an Eastern Conference reserve. More importantly to Horford, his team is one of the best in the East. They face the Magic at Amway Arena on Saturday at 7 p.m.

“He rebounds, he defends bigger guys, he switches a lot, switches on perimeter guys and is able to keep guys in front of him,” Atlanta coach Mike Woodson said. “He plays backside defense for us great. [If] guys are beat, he comes over and blocks shots. Leads our break.

“I mean, there’s a lot of things Al Horford does for this team. Without it we wouldn’t be where we are today I don’t think.”

Huh. Sounds like Woody disagrees with the concept of Horford being a bad/weak defender.

Oh well, I encourage anybody to check this link out and read it for themselves, in case they think I’m making it up.

http://articles.orlandosentinel.com/2010-01-29/sports/os-orlando-magic-atlanta-hawks-al-horford20100129_1_gator-al-horford-green-and-brewer-atlanta-coach-mike-woodson

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“We are basically playing 3 on 5, since whatever points (10) Bibby scores, he’ll surrender to Jameer. ”

Whatever pts Bibby scores, Jameer will score 2x

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“Je Je, at least Grand Daddy speaks his mind elegantly. What is your beef? Coach Wooden has the Hawks peaking at the right time.”

Against who?
WE LOST TO THE BOBCATS AND THE PISTONS (MINUS 5 PLAYERS) LAST WEEK.

Wake up

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Big Ray- What is your case? That Teague hasn’t played major minutes this season? Since when do you substitute stating the obvious for being a position? I, mean, I could say… See I told you guys Crawford would get more minutes and score more points than Joe Smith.

Those statements do not however prove an argument that Woody doesn’t play rookies or young players, it does not prove that he isn’t an effective coach. It just means that Woodson did not play a 19 year old rookie that much on a team that has two All-Star calibre guards, a veteran guard and a bench with a defensive minded SF/SG with expierence. I don’t know about you but that sounds like good coaching to me. We ALL knew that when Teague was drafted and Bibby got his extension that the time table for Teague to move into major minutes/starter role was 2 1/2 to 3 years (barring injury), so what’s the point?

Do you really think that having more of Teague (which of course means less of Crawford [Not Bibby}) would have this team in a better position now and for the future? That position is at best supposition if not flat out wrong-headed.

Dude, you know I love ‘ya, and I know you know your hoops, but I have to disagree with you on this one. Maybe, I missed your point.

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woody would sit jordan lebron or bird as a rook?? are you guys telling me Salim and Acie were even near that type of player?? Teague got the minutes he needed considering who he is playing with. Crawford does not need a backup guard to facilitate him the ball. And Crawford is a better option in a close game then Teague. It is easy to see that Teague has twice the talent of Salim and Acie.
If they had true talent they would be displaying that for another team right now. If Woody could take their confidence then they never had it.
@ can’t Hyde- no GM in the league would trade Horford for, Dalembert, Kaman,McGee, Perkins or Lopez. AND YOU KNOW THIS.

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Before we crown Teague an allstar, let just remember that this was the last game of the season, nothing at stake, both teams had starters in suits and etc….. In a real game with real starters that never would have happened. Not saying that Teague has no talent, he has plenty but he’s not quite ready for prime time. I know it, you know and woodson know it. But i tell you what, lets use him as another reason to hate on the coach. The coach that lead us to the number three seed in the east with 53 wins, sweep of the celtics, two allstarrs, sixth man of the year, five year continous postive growth of the team, should I go on? Before the start of this season no one believed in thier hearts that we would be here. A little positivity please.

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GOOD JOB SECTION 303.

I MEANT TO SAY “MO.” GOD FORBID I DON’T HAVE TIME TO PROOFREAD MY !@#DAMN POSTS ON HERE

FIRE MIKE KNAPP

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“My counter-argument to this was that Woody had said before the season started, that he didn’t intend to play Teague that much. He said that due to the presence of Mike Bibby and Jamal Crawford, he had the luxury of bringing Teague along slowly.”‘

HE IS NOT GOING TO BRING TEAGUE ALONG SLOWLY.

Damnit — there is NO plan to make Teague this team’s PG. Woodson ONLY likes old PG’s who are midgets, shoot 3’s, and play no defense. How exactly is Teague going to be developed if J-Craw and Bibby are getting minutes? THERE’S NO CHANCE OR OPPORTUNITY FOR TEAGUE HERE IF BIBBY HAS 2 MORE YRS AND WILL START

WOODY WILL NEVER EVER EVER CHANGE THE STARTING LINEUP BASED ON PERFORMANCE. THOSE STRETCHES WHERE MARVIN AVERAGED 8 PPG FOR 3 WEEKS MEAN NOTHING TO WOODY

SACRED COW @!#!#%

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Truth Serum ,

Did you understand one single thing I said? Either you didn’t, or you are purposely twisting my words.

I did not say Lopez shouldn’t go to better teams. Funny that you mention that though….the New Jersey Nets are built around him. So, uh….why doesn’t he make them a better team?

Secondly, I didn’t suggest a trade of Horford for Lopez. I said it wasn’t going to happen, because if a team believes they have a franchise center, they will not trade him for a power forward. New Jersey believes Lopez is a franchise center they can build around.

Third, who is comparing Josh Smith to Al Horford as power forwards? I’m not.

Compare their number if you want. Horford gets more rebounds, Josh gets more points. Horford shoots a higher percentage, Josh gets more blocks. Josh gets more assists. Since Horford has played center all this time, how would you even know what kind of power foward he is? And since you don’t know that, how can you say whether he or Josh is the better power forward. The man has been playing out of position, which is your main gripe in the first place! You are essentially arguing with yourself on that one. Have fun…

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Idiot Watch : Why is my name being dragged into a conversation about Horford? I didn’t offer any opinions on the topic. If you would like me to I will but….

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Truth – that would be be the same point guard who lost us 10 points from his 5 turnovers but created 54 points from his shots and assists.
That’s +44 points, in real game points,
nuff said!

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And I don’t take offense to your assertion. I know you are every bit as fired up and passionate as I can get, particularly when you think you have come across something that sounds absolutely absurd. Hard not to get after it like a linebacker.

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Heh…. Daniel ….didn’t you just poke me with that thing about fools? LOL

See? It IS hard to resist…

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Idiot Watch: Of course Teague lacks in some areas. He is an inexperienced rookie. But show me an NBA player who never made mistakes in a game and I will show you Oscar Robertson.
Nobosdy is born with a high basketball IQ. It is developed. Where would he have gotten this from. Wake Forest?.

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Will you guys please stop calling Jeff Teague “Rook”?

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retrofit- both, neither, you?

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vava- great question. my answer— boredom

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LMAO at Truth-Serum and Dezz Nuttz. Those guys (or guy) are out of control.

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I am very happy with the Hawks overall season, but the playoffs are a different animal. The Hawks will only go as far as Woody will let them. The lack of overall bench development will be their downfall. It’s quite evident that they have some capable bodies off the bench, if nothing more than to spell your starters and give the team the best chance to win.

I am not putting a tremendous amount of stock in Teague’s performance last night, but I must admit he was impressive (even playing with/against second teamer’s). You can clearly see that he gives the Hawks a great change of pace off the bench with his quickness, his desire to run up and down the court, and his ability to find the open man (as a true point guard). It’s a shame that Woody hasn’t given him the opportunity to play without training wheels with the first unit. He would certainly give the Hawks a huge lift off the bench and wear down opponents…oh well, Woody will be Woody and the Hawks will waist yet another player’s abilities.

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Woody never called Horford, or Acie “Rook” did he? I bet it gets on Teague’s nerves.

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Obrien, Joe doesn’t play pg. Well he does, but…. You know what I mean. lol!

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Did you guys see my slamma-jamma over Jamario Moon?!

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LETS GO HAWKS ITS PLAYOFF TIME WE TAKE NO PRISONER AND ITS TIME 2 GET PHYSICAL.
GO HAWKS!!!!!!!!

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I must be a fool because I don’t know why I just read everyone of these stupid comments.

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I will go out on a limb and predict a Hawks vs Bobcats second round. Bobcats match up really well against the Magic. Magic won twice in November with a different Bobcats team. Recently, Magic won an overtime game on the road and lost at home to the Bobcats – both with significant Bobcats players out with injury. Bobcats big guys depth- Chandler/Diop/Ratcliff/Nazr/Thomas/Diaw allows them to put Howard on the line whenever they want. Bobcats are superior in the 3 small positions. However, they are not a good team on the road. Lets hope Brown and Jordan can inspire them to a series win.

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Good blogs all around. Teague did a great job last night. Im satisfied with the Hawks season. Its true we could have won more games but to finish 24 games over .500 at 53-29 is a great accomplishment, provided that Woodys first season with Billy Knight as GM was 13-69. In addition, by winning last nights game we tied Denver and Utah’s records at 53-29. That means in the ENTIRE NBA, which most people may not realize, there were only five teams who had better records than the hawks. Lakers, Phoenix, Mavericks, Orlando and Cleveland. Thats it. Our record ties us for the sixth best record overall in the nba. What that means is we have a great chance this year of either a) making the eastern conference finals, based on our elitist status or b) making it to the NBA Finals. The Hawks have their BEST chance this season to win a title. Whether Cleveland and Orlando get eliminated before the Hawks play them is irrelevant, I still think the Hawks have a great chance to make it to the finals. Let the games begin. Hawks, roll over milwaukee!

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We are one good center from a championship.

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http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=occogLZ2TLo

He goes hard.

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Next season: Kyrolo Fesenko, Gani Lawal, Travis Outlaw, & Linas Klezia

Oh, and swap Bibby for Ridnour.

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WOODSON WILL NEVER CHANGE THE STARTING 5. IT’LL ALWAYS BE THE SAME DAMN STARTING 5, EVEN IF BIBBY IS 65

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The problem with Woodson is not that he has 52 or 53 wins this year. The problem is that he could have easily had 60 had adjustments been made in a timely fashion.

Salim had at least one talent. He was a great 3-point shooter. He could have won games for us on that basis alone.

But it’s just a game. Now, on beyond Zebra….

I peronally do not feel that the playoffs are set up for the Hawks to avoid Cleveland, Boston and Orlando so we can face the Heat. I like the Bobcats’ chances to at least slow Orlando down. Orlando is scary sometimes. The Cats would have to play 48 minutes at full steam every game, I won’t count them out. I think they will be prepared with a viable game plan and will go down fighting.

Cleveland obviously is a good team. But the main reason the Cavaliers will be in the conferrence finals is they’re not playing for just a championship…..they are playing to keep LeBron in town and for the future of the franchise and for NBA league economic stability, and every player on the team knows it, the coach knows it, the management and the league office know it, and even the most unbiased referee on the court is going to cringe when he has to call the charge on the King with 15 seconds left in game 6. Even if there are no memos and no tricks.

MIami was hot….someone says they weren’t playing contenders in their streak…but I don’t know. I’d say they’re a slight favorite to beat Boston. Spoelstra is crazy-smart and he’s always looking for a weak spot. Actually he’s exactly what I would like to see as an assistant for Woody. Hear what he said last night when he benched Wade, something about offending the basketball Gods if he tried to tank. Miami and Boston both tried to throw their games. Miami would have lost to the Hawks in hard-fought games but maybe would have left a couple of our people injured.. Correct me if that didn’t happen last year. I could be wrong. I don’t have videotapes but I seem to remember lots of hard fouls .and playing Cleveland without a full healthy squad. Try to undercut Kevin Garnett in Boston….Miami might not be so lucky. (You probably won’t see Rashid Wallace taking a rebound and putting it in the wrong basket either ) . .

So we may not see Boston, but probably both Orlando and Cleveland…maybe not LA cause Kobe is playing hurt. (I like to use all my fingers). If Parker is really back, San Antonio becomes a dark-horse with [all the rest of those teams] who are a lot younger, but no team in the league is smarter than San Antonio, every player on the team. . .

This said, do I think the Hawks have a chance to go all the way?

Hell yes!

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Some of you sound like Boston Celtic fans 2 years ago, when we were matched up against them. The Hawks are still not a good enough road team to NOT expect this series to be somewhat of a battle.

I believe that we can win this series in 5 games. Matter of fact . . . we better.

Because if we have to go back to Milwaukee for a Game 6 to end the series, Milwaukee will fight like hell to keep the series alive and will probably win that game . . forcing a Game 7 ( that we should win ).

I’d be shocked if Milwaukee will just lay down and die for us.

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Seattle Hawks Fan: I’ll tell you why there is all this hate for Woody. Every hawk fan knows that this years Hawks edition was a 60-win team that underachieved because Woody was too inept to make the adjustments in time and the Hawks gave away victories that they could have had. Why should Hawk fans be happy about a 50-win series in woodys seventh year, when the Oklahoma Thunder have experienced a 50-win season in their first year as an expansion team with Kevin Durant leading the charge. The Hawks could have enjoyed a 50-win season by woodys second season, but the Hawks made terrible draft choices, (picking Marvin Williams over Chris Paul) and their growth went at a snails pace. Secondarily, the general manager made a GREAT MOVE by acquiring Jamal Crawford, but could have done better and got more pieces to give a chance for the Hawks to win a title. The Hawks still have a chance to go all the way, but in order for it to happen, Boston, Orlando and Cleveland must ALL be eliminated for the Hawks to avoid them to give the Hawks a fighting chance. Then if the Hawks make the finals, the Lakers have to have been eliminated so the Hawks wont face them in the finals to cap it off for the Hawks to make it all the way as champions. That means the Hawks would have to avoid facing teams that are better than them: Boston, Cleveland, Orlando and Lakers for the Hawks to win the crown. That stinks.

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J. A. Adande

TRAPPED TEAM: Atlanta Hawks

For a while, I thought the Atlanta Hawks were ready to make the natural progression from their first-round loss to the Celtics two years ago to last year’s second-round loss to the Cavaliers and advance to the conference finals this season. But it’s impossible to envision the Hawks’ beating Cleveland or Orlando. It doesn’t seem fair that a team that has come so far so fast has already reached it limit, but sometimes these things happen. Ask the Bucks or Nuggets of the ’80s or the Cleveland Cavaliers of the ’90s or the Sacramento Kings of the 2000s.

The Hawks could lose Joe Johnson to free agency, but that shouldn’t be envisioned as the worst-case scenario. The worst case might be bringing him back and paying full scale for a player who hasn’t shown he can carry a team to the conference finals. At least Johnson has good company. Dominique Wilkins never got the Hawks to the conference finals. Neither did Pete Maravich. Sometimes franchises just have a ceiling. Atlanta’s is in the second round.

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It’s just plain silly to say the Hawks should be a 60 win team this year – Orlando didn’t even make it to 60 and they were clearly better than the Hawks this year . . .

I mean, even the mighty Lakers only managed 57 wins. Get real . . .

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Truth-Serum – you speaka the truth . . .

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MC, I got angina when I read BOTH Bradley’s and Shultz’s blog stating that the Hawks will have a easy time with the Bucks. It brought back bad memories from the past…when Crucky was playing for the Phils…and the Philly’s with their tobacco chewing misfits were supposed to be steamed rolled by the all mighty Braves on their way to the World Series. They showed no respect for the team or the city…THEY didn’t give those guys a snow ball chance in H to compete with the mighty Braves…”Right!” Needless to say the AJC printed enough poster board material to fill up a recycle bin…Well we all know how that series end. Hopefully, the Hawks want listen to that rubbish and remember what happen to the Cavs last year. Any team can beat you if you under estimate them. Anybody that thinks that the Bucks will be a push over…needs to lay off the Kool-Aide. Skiles will have his guys ready to compete…it want be easy…you can count on that. Look for a lot of zone…like always…it will come down to execution and ball movement.

The Hawks are still a very young team. I believe the Hawks will win the series…however, I still think they will endure some struggle alone the way. It is just a maturation process…this is only their third year in the playoff…and second time hosting a playoff series. I hope the players are not drawn into the media hype. That would be a shame after all the hard work they have put in to put themselves in this position. These have to be the most competitive first round match-up in the East…that we have seen in some time. Maybe the Cavs versus Bulls could be a cakewalk…however, the rest of the match-ups should very competitive.

DON’T BY INTO THE HYPE…BE PREPARED FOR A STREET BROIL…GO HAWKS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

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I’d put Joe on Salmons, hoping they cancel out with each other (hopefully JJ does better than that) and just destroy the rest of this team

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Are ya’ll serious? The Hawks did underachieve. We should have about 60 wins. Do ya’ll not remember all the games we choked away this season?

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The hawks fans are the most ungrateful and dumbest fans ive ever seen. Woody goes out and coaxes his team to a steller 53-29 record (twenty-four games over .500) and the 3rd seed overall in the conference. What more do you want? You want us to have better record than Orlando, Lakers or Cavs. Were not as good, we dont have as many good players so the record wont match theirs. Should the Hawks go out and add the right free agents, then their record would rival those three elite clubs. In the offseason, had we attempted to sign Maxiel of Detroit, Amare Stoudemire, Antoine Jameson, Antonio McDyess, John Salmons or another blue chip free agent, our record would have improved for us to win 60 games. We didnt so that is why we dont have the best team in the nba. We might still get lucky win the title, but in order for us to do that, Orlando, Lakers and Cavs MUST be eliminated so the hawks wont have to play them. Then the hawks are better than everybody else and the title will then be up for grabs for the hawks to secure.

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From some of these comments I can tell some of these cats did not see the game last night. The Cavs played their main guys last night. Hickson, Jamison, Delonte West, Illgaskus, Parker. I know some of you want to discredit the game last night but the Cavs played starters and their main bench guys last night. And like vava said, why even debate with truth serum. That cat clearly never knows what he is talking about. He just rambles on and makes dumb points. Most times the point he is trying to make goes against his own argument.

I’m on the official Travis Outlaw for Hawks starting sf bandwagon. After seeing Marvin play with the second unit guys lat night and still not stand out I just gave up on him. Mario freaking West looked more like a player last night than Duck. Time to move on from this draft mistake and bring somebody else in here.

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What people dont realize is that despite the fact that we choked away about 10 games that we had won which we lost; on the other side of the coin we WON THREE GAMES THAT WE WOULDNT HAVE WON HAD THE STARTERS BEEN IN: Game #1: last game against Toronto–Chris Bosh was out; Game #2: last game against Lakers–Bynum was out; Game #3: last game of the season against Cavs–LaBron,Mo and Shaq were all OUT. We might have won only 50 games this year had those 3 game been played with the starters in. So 53 is not bad, although I still say we should have won 60 games this season with our current talent level. Add more talent and well win 70.

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It’s easy to say that no other team had 60 wins so expecting the Hawkd to reach that number is unrealistic, but many of those teams probably have at least a few games where they underachieved as well.

At the same time, like northcyde says, there were several games in which the Hawks played like sh-t and still pulled out a last-second victory. Nobody is counting those as losses.

The one thing that consistently caused the Hawks to play below their full potential this year is the lack of a real offensive system. I’d say realistically they win 2-3 more games this year if they actually ran plays. Yes, Woody deserves criticism for this, but not to the extent that it overshadows an otherwise great season. Ultimately how well the Hawks do in the second round and beyond will determine how Woody should be judged this season.

As for Adande, it is fair to say that the Hawks’ ceiling this year appears to be the 2nd round, but assuming the Hawks won’t improve beyond this point when their front court is all under 24 and there’s no telling how good their point guard of the future might be is absolute lunacy. Most people had the Magic’s ceiling as the conference finals heading into last year’s playoffs too. The Hawks certainly have the potential to improve well beyond where they currently are, even if that doesn’t happen this season.

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After just read the article about Woodson stating he expects an active summer from Teague. It also said he gave the bulk of his PG mins to JCrawford and MEvans, so I did a little research and found out a different story. Last yr our guards and their mins were Bibby(34.7), JJ(39.5), RMurray(24.7) and ALaw(10.2). This yr our guards were Bibby(27.4), Crawford(31.1), JJ(38.0) and JTeague(10.1).

Bottomline, JJ’s mins were reduced by 1.5MPG, Bibby’s by 7.3MPG, Crawford played 6.4MPG more than RMurray, while Teague and ALaw were the same. Add the reduced mins of Bibby and JJ (8.8)then subtract Crawford’s 6.4 increase over RMurry and you get an extra 2.4MPG. Then factor in MEvans’ 6.3MPG reduction this yr, and add it to the 2.4 reduction and you see how Woodson could have easily increased Teagues MPG to a consistent 15-18MPG.

How can Woodson claim he gave some of Teagues mins to MEvans when he actually reduced his mins by 6.3MPG? Woodson is a damned lier who had no intention of developing Teague and allowing him an opportunity to demonstrate he could provide more overall OFF/DEF production for this team than his beloved MBibby. He was afraid if he had done what he did last night earlier in the season, Teague would have forced his hand on the Bibby issue, especially the way Bibby regressed.

Hell, instead of telling Teague he needs to have a productive summer, he should be telling that to Bibby. Teague will automatically get better with more mins, consistency, encouragement and confidence, while Bibby will only get worse no matter what you do, except for his DEF, which can’t get any worse.

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Daniel said:”Do you really think that having more of Teague (which of course means less of Crawford [Not Bibby}) would have this team in a better position now and for the future? That position is at best supposition if not flat out wrong-headed.”
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How is this so when crawford is a shooting guard.
He does spill bibby,thats because woodson wanted he and joe to play together.
We all have see that they play decent but crawford would be best suited to spill joe or he or joe play the SF position while the other plays SG..

Note from last night:Morris showed why with more time and knocked off rust,he would be a nice addition into the lineup,and collins showed for a big man,(and not jumping on his jumpshots,well,toe shots)that he has some outside range.. He could bring the oppositions big man out on the perimeter(collins that is)to help open up the lane for joe,crawford,smoove,teague and even marvin!!
Mo will be Mo,and he’ll make a way to get his,trust!!

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As far as I’m concerned, J.A. Adande is not the be-all, end-all. In fact, nobody from ESPN is. I agree with the blogger that said it’s fair to say the 2nd round is the Hawks’ ceiling THIS year.

Of course, it’s also every easy to say that when the choice is between Lebron and a strong Cavs team or Dwight/Vince and pretty strong team. Gee, looks like Adande didn’t go out on a limb after all, eh?

I think anyone here could have an already has done that. At the beginning of the year, no less. Consider me unimpressed with his analysis.

I’m much more impressed with Northcyde agreeing with one of the many versions of Truth Serum. I don’t know whether to say that necessity makes for some very strange bedfellows or this is one of the best comical ironies I’ve ever seen on the blog. Either way it is frakkin’ hilarious.

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Grandad ,

Good post.

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Ken

From day 1, woody had no intention of playing teague, because he believes a rookie should sit and learn their rookie year, especially since he had veteran guards in front of him.

Although I disagree with woody, I don’t think he did it because he was afraid of teague showing up bibby. He did it because that’s what his coach did when he was a rookie.

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Adande like most ESPN analysts was trying to find an interesting angle on how to qualify our franchise.

What he said is historically true and remains applicable to this year. So, although I may object to the style of this type of piece “god given decree on how the hawks will be forever” the contents are sadly true as it as already mentioned above but must be put into perspective: the is no unavoidable fate, nor curse. It’s a simple combination of lack of money, popular support and poor/average management.

As for this season, only an Howard injury would take us into the ECF, both due to lack of a quality game and the protection Howard gets from the refs.

With balanced refereeing, we would have a decent chance but we know what we will get and we would need to raise the quality of our game dramatically to upset ORL.

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MC,

Why do you keep denying that LaBron has been to the finals? Wasn’t that addressed in a blog a few weeks ago? I see you said it again in your Five Players to Watch article.

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Screw ESPN, Adande and all their writers. They’ve gotten it wrong about Hawks the last three years. Adande got it wrong now again, and ESPN will continue to get it wrong simply because they have a profound dislike for Hawks, so screw those guys, man! They do not know what they are talking about!

Those still talking and doubting Horford’s skills must live in wonderland. Playing out of position, AL is getting better every game. And for you to suggest he has peaked, that is just insane!

These fire Woody posts are getting tiresome.

Versus the Bucks, Joe seens to have the fire in his eye. If Hawks ball right, they should sweep the Bucks.

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What’s Joe trying to say? He’s gonna shoot a ton more since he is the “leader?”

Only now when he has a big contract coming up does he decide to be a “leader.” Where the HELL was this mentality the last 5 yrs?

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beat us

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Kwooden

A big part of it too is JJ. Last time we played the bucks we were without Crawford. And they had no answer for Joe.

It will be interesting to see if woody forces the issue with jj and Jamal or if al and Josh get their chance to shine.

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MC, I’m only saying this out of respect, but in your article on the Five players on the spot, you mentioned Lebron hasn’t been to the Finals. But he has though. Three years ago he was swept out of the finals by the Spurs.

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“Hell, instead of telling Teague he needs to have a productive summer, he should be telling that to Bibby. Teague will automatically get better with more mins, consistency, encouragement and confidence, while Bibby will only get worse no matter what you do, except for his DEF, which can’t get any worse.” – Ken Strickland

FIRE WOODY

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Dem Hawks baby!!!!!!!!

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This is total BS…..all Hawks have to do is stay focused and play killer defense for an entire game.

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This stuff is really funny. Dissecting every game of an 82 game season and saying Woody and the Hawks underachieved. Funny stuff. Keep it coming guys.

I really hope we keep Woody, however, I put nothing past Sund after signing Collins and Mario over Siler and Sims. There are at least 3 jobs open right now and more to come, so I don’t think a coach who just came off a 53 win season would have a hard time finding work. Hopefully, Sund won’t pull a NO, Toronto, Det or NJ and hire Ken Strickland or the Ball Boy.

Woody=COY

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It’s easy for Mike Bibby not to rack up the turnovers. Both Bibby and Teague play different ways. Bibby walks the ball up the court and unless he turns it over handing it off to JJ or Jamal, he’s straight.

Teague on the other hand actually controls the ball and attempts to set others up off of penetration. He’s bound to have more turnovers if he’s got the rock in his hands more when on the court. Not to mention you’re comparing turnovers of two gaurds that are both on opposite ends of the AGE SPECTRUM. Go figure, the rookie averaged more turnovers than the seasoned-vet. What a shocker…

I’d also say that JT0 hasn’t really gotten the minutes in the pro’s to pick up the game at the level that some of you expect of him. I mean, let’s be real, he left Wake Forest after his sophmore season, so he’s still in need of some polish. But, that won’t happen unless he’s on the court.

Some choose to ONLY SEE THE BAD in a good performance.
He had double-digit assists that last game. When’s the last time you saw that from Bibby? Yet, you still have those that wish to criticize him for a turnover that he may have committed here or there, and they’re clearly missing the potential the kid offers. Guys like Tyreke Evans and Steph Curry play for teams that had nothing to play for, essentially they had no pressure on them. Well, Teague wasn’t in the same situation – he’s actually on a winning team, which changes the dynamics of the way he’s brought up. There’s no doubt in my mind that JT0 would’ve had better numbers had he been on a team that played him more and let him play as if they had nothing to lose.

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if the asg promoted waddel for his performance, then they are sure to fire woody for his.

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FIRE MIKE KNAPP

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All I know for sure is that if the Hawks play up to their potential, THEY WILL EASILY WIN THE NBA TITLE THIS JUNE, with literally no resistence whatsoever from the other clubs.

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the atlanta hawk players want everbody to wear white shirts because they want to have a white out at philps

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