Atlanta Hawks at Bucks Game 4: Mind Game
Can the Hawks put an end to this? (Benny Sieu/Milwaukee Journal Sentinel)
MILWAUKEE– No deep analysis necessary for this one. Basically Game 4 will show us what the Hawks are about. Are they mentally tough? Do they have pride? Are they for real?
They’ve said the right things about being embarrassed by what happened in Game 3 and vowing to respond this time once they get challenged but right now the Hawks are in a show-me state. That’s what happens when you get blown out on the road by a team you handled at home. The game was barely four minutes old, the Hawks down just 14-5, and Smoove knew they were in trouble.
“It felt like in the huddle we was down by 20 in the fourth quarter,” he said. “It was only the first timeout. I could tell everybody was tensed up. I could tell we wasn’t having fun at that point and time and it carried on pretty much the whole game. We’ve got to be able to play loose and free, and not worry about what’s going on around us and play with a lot of confidence.”
So after getting humbled like that, after a brutal video session Sunday morning followed by a practice, after two days to think about how they got bullied, are the Hawks better prepared mentally for Game 4?
“I think so,” Josh said. “Everybody is focused. Nobody wants to get blown out, I don’t care if it’s at home or on the road. It left a sour taste in our mouths yesterday. Definitely a wake-up call. We’ve just got to be prepared for anything they throw at us. I think we will play with a sense of urgency early on and not wait until we are down by 20-plus to be able to answer back.”
If there are skeptics among you, that’s with good reason. You’ve seen this story too many times. Hawks win home playoff games. Hawks don’t compete in road playoff games (with that one notable exception in Miami). Hawks can’t quite fulfill their potential. Hawks remain a second-tier team.
It’s got to feel like Charlie Brown trying to kick that football with Lucy holding. This would be the time you finally kick the dang thing only to have her pull it away again and ending up on your back feeling like a simp. Heck, I wasn’t sure where I was going with that but it’s actually not a bad analogy for Game 3, huh?
“For me it was a little disappointing because we didn’t respond,” Woody said. “You would hope that you’ve grown a little bit from last two years so the games won’t be [as] lopsided as it was [Saturday] night. You have got to learn from it and improve.”
Let’s forget what’s happening to Denver, Dallas, and the Lakers. Sure, those series show that nothing is for certain in the playoffs, even for the defending champs, but let’s not pretend they have anything to do with the Hawks. For one thing, all of those teams have more currency than the Hawks, who took another step by winning 53 games but won’t earn real respect until they can make a legit postseason run.
The Hawks have internal questions to answer and can’t be looking elsewhere to take comfort from getting blistered in the Bradley Center. Josh said the Hawks know winning tonight would help answer lingering questions about this group.
“The first two times [in the playoffs], especially when we first got in, we was new we didn’t understand things about the playoffs and the postseason,” Josh said. “We was just playing with a lot of momentum at home. We didn’t really know what to do on the road. Last year we still was young but we had the depth that we needed and we had the maturity and growth that we needed to be able to win games on the road.
“We’ve got to be able to approach every road game like we do home games: confident and not worried about the crowd and get back to having fun.”
The Hawks can earn redemption tonight. That’s always the cool thing about the playoffs. Win tonight for a 3-1 lead and so much pressure is alleviated from the Hawks. The questions would be about how the Bucks can possibly hope to avoid elimination at Philips Arena on Wednesday.
Lose and … well, at least the Hawks have homecourt.
“You play the regular season to get homecourt advantage,” Woody said. “Just in case. [Tonight] is a big game. If we win tomorrow night we can go home and wrap it up. If not we’ve just got to go home and handle our business there and continue to play it out until we can win four games.”
If the Hawks need to rely on homecourt advantage to win a series nearly everyone expected them to win convincingly it wouldn’t feel like they’ve taken another step, would it? And that’s before you consider what it would mean for a second-round series against the Magic, whose only concern is whether they can sweep the Bobcats tonight.
Better for the Hawks to win tonight and prove that Saturday wasn’t what they are about. They can show that they can win road playoff games under pressure. They can put down a plucky opponent that rose up for a quick minute but couldn’t hang when the Hawks played their game.
“The great teams, they figure it out eventually and we are not there yet,” Woody said. “We are still learning.”
MC
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793 comments Add your comment
VenomSpitter
April 26th, 2010
11:29 pm
I’m sorry ya’ll I’ve kept my eyes on the Thunder all year and I’m a fan of there’s. I don’t think I can stand the Hawks anymore.
Goooo Thunder
o.O-Mac-Town -Macon, Georgia- Westsider-O.o
April 26th, 2010
11:29 pm
O’Brien, that mindset doesnt even make sense for Woodson to have, considering that homecourt is only for this round anyway.
Nique's Revenge
April 26th, 2010
11:29 pm
mike “HOLD SERVE” woodson
wow. pleeeeeeeease can we get a pro coach next season?
BONEY
April 26th, 2010
11:31 pm
Venom,
The Thunder haven’t won anything yet – they have 2 wins – just like the Hawks.
Nique's Revenge
April 26th, 2010
11:31 pm
@ BONEY quit trollin
u don’t believe that doggie squeeze you be spittin
now hold that limo door open for woody while we push him out
o.O-Mac-Town -Macon, Georgia- Westsider-O.o
April 26th, 2010
11:32 pm
lmao@Mike Woodson’s excuse for a poorly coached game though. “Well we won and home, and so did they…so now we just need to hold serve”
I would have asked…well, sir, how is that gonna hold up after the 1st round when homecourt isnt even in your favor?
BirdDawg
April 26th, 2010
11:34 pm
bigdave
April 26th, 2010
11:26 pm
“our effort was a lot better”
“he’s gonna go in and break the tape down”
when Woodson say’s he’s gonna go in and break the tape down, he just means he and staff go in and jump up and down on the film, chew on it, and snap it in half. he clearly isnt doing anything with.
shut your cliches up Woodson u suck!
LMAO!!!! Too funny!!! I have tears in my eyes from laughing so hard!
Roland
April 26th, 2010
11:35 pm
Jennings is a classless, arrogant punk. I’ll be very happy if the Hawks eliminate his team and we don’t have to watch or listen to his garbage anymore.
BONEY
April 26th, 2010
11:35 pm
Nique’s Revenge – when someone doesn’t agree with your nonsense, that makes them a troll? I really hope they fire Woody – then you’ll have to find smeone else to blame – like the players.
VenomSpitter
April 26th, 2010
11:35 pm
BONEY the Thunder>>>>>>>>>>>>>Hawks face it
VenomSpitter
April 26th, 2010
11:37 pm
BONEY is Woody’s brother LMAO
bigdave
April 26th, 2010
11:37 pm
Delfino:
‘we a team, we get everybody involved”
BONEY
April 26th, 2010
11:38 pm
Lakers are 2 – 2 vs. Thunder – FIRE PHIL JACKSON
BirdDawg
April 26th, 2010
11:38 pm
Roland,
Jennings can afford to talk trash when he’s got wide open lanes to run through all night. It’s up to the Hawks D to shut him up and clearly they weren’t equal to the task in three of these four games.
Nique's Revenge
April 26th, 2010
11:38 pm
@ Boney when we have a real coach we can build a real playoff team that will win MORE than 10% of their playoff road games and there won’t be any blame because we will be able to compete with NBA quality strategy!
rusty
April 26th, 2010
11:38 pm
sund you are also an idiot
Nique's Revenge
April 26th, 2010
11:39 pm
Venom for real thunder would slap the hawks around. I want that star kid on our squad
BONEY
April 26th, 2010
11:39 pm
VenomSpitter,
I’m not crazy about Woody either – but talking about firing him now is just plain stupid.
BONEY
April 26th, 2010
11:41 pm
OK – Nique’s Revenge . . .
So losing on the road is the coach’s fault – I get it now.
Nique's Revenge
April 26th, 2010
11:41 pm
@ Boney agreed firing him now is stupid. shoulda at least 2 years ago got rid of his azz
Najeh Davenpoop
April 26th, 2010
11:42 pm
“But I am tired of hearing Hawks players talking about how “we just need to figure it out”
Me too.
Jim Mora was exactly the same. You would never hear him say anything concrete in a press conference about why the team was losing — just that they need to play better.
Roland
April 26th, 2010
11:42 pm
BirdDawg,
Jennings decent play gives him no rant to brag. Do you hear Wade talking trash after he almost single-handedly beat the Celtics? No, because he’s not a classless piece of garbage. Did you hear Joe talking trash after what he’s done to the Bucks? No, you didn’t, and he’s clearly been the best player in this series. The Hawks didn’t talk trash after what they did in the first couple of games either. There’s no excuse for his arrogance.
Roland
April 26th, 2010
11:43 pm
* no right to brag *
Nique's Revenge
April 26th, 2010
11:43 pm
Boney there are other coaches of questionable talent, like mike brown, but we don’t have a big eraser named LEBRON on the end of woody’s FAIL PENCIL to correct all the mistakes
Najeh Davenpoop
April 26th, 2010
11:44 pm
I’m not going as far as to say Fire Woody. But I will say this: if you flip Skiles and Woodson this series, the Hawks sweep. Easily.
The only reason to keep Woody around is because there’s no guarantee that someone better is out there ready to replace him. If the Hawks do stumble across someone better, I’m all for firing him.
rusty
April 26th, 2010
11:44 pm
if i was you woody i would have been to embarressed to open your dfm
BirdDawg
April 26th, 2010
11:46 pm
Boney,
In a way it is Woodson’s fault. When the team is away from home and can’t feed off the crowd to get them going, the only thing they have to rely on in intense road games like this is confidence in their offensive and defensive execution. Clearly that wasn’t the case. One such example is when the called a timeout in the final minute and out of the timeout, Joe frantically dribbles to the three point line and launches a wild three that was well contested. Typically, you’d like to see a a play drawn up to get your key players open (unless you have Lebron who can consistently create on his own). Also, when your defensive scheme is clearly being abused and creating easy opportunities and open shots for the opposing offense, it’s up to the coach to make adjustments to that scheme, not the players. Sometimes, you can blame road woes on the players for lack of effort and enthusiasm, but clearly that wasn’t the case with the Hawks tonight. They played with good intensity and focus, they were just outcoached.
BONEY
April 26th, 2010
11:47 pm
OK Nique’s Revenge – now you’re talking – the NBA is a players league – the reincarnation of Red Auerbach ain’t gonna help the Hawks beat Cleveland or Orlando.
Nique's Revenge
April 26th, 2010
11:47 pm
lol @ Najeh
will woody whip out his cell phone for game 5 and ask kenny and chuck what play to call next?
BONEY
April 26th, 2010
11:48 pm
“If you flip Skiles and Woodson this series, the Hawks sweep. Easily”.
C’mon Najeh – is Skiles gonna suit up or something?
BirdDawg
April 26th, 2010
11:48 pm
Roland,
Point taken. But the Hawks still need to shut him up.
JSS
April 26th, 2010
11:52 pm
TOLD YOU SO! This is not Woodson, this on the players! You don’t change DNA in the middle of the series. Marvin Williams and Al Horford have gone Casper! Poof! It does not happen to mature teams… JJ, Crawford and Smith showed up… Everything that I said had to happen on the road to win did not fall into place. Now, you’re in a best of 3 dogfight! You better have a big set of huevos!
bigdave
April 26th, 2010
11:53 pm
thats a risk you have to take. anytime you can improve your wins, yet regress, you’ve done all you can do. the scheme hasnt developed with the talent. if you dont have the personnel that fits what you do then develop it or adjust your scheme. i find it hard to believe that we’ve missed on consecutive drafts getting players that can contribute consistently.
BirdDawg
April 26th, 2010
11:54 pm
I look at the Hawks as being in the same position as the Pistons a few years back. They had back to back 50 win seasons with Rick Carlisle, but couldn’t get over the hump despite all of their talent. They swapped Carlisle with Larry Brown, kept the same team and won a championship over a heavily favored and arguably more talented Lakers team. Coaching makes a huge difference guys. Michael Jordan was always the best player on the planet, but not a champion until Phil Jackson arrived. Same with Kobe and Shaq. Coaching matters and based on the fact that this team has been making the same mistakes and excuses for the last three years, it’s time for a change. Unless there is a drastic difference in their play and execution over the course of the rest of the playoffs.
Nique's Revenge
April 26th, 2010
11:55 pm
@ Boney yeah players’ league and the Bucks don’t have their star!
and woody still can’t figure it out!
blame at JJ for not leading
blame at Josh for WEAK drives to the basket almost EVERY TIME WEAK LAY UP ATTEMPTS… WHERE ARE HIS MONSTER SLAMS??
blame at marvin, well for suiting up
blame at COACHING for putting horford at 5. wtf is that?? ZAZA at 5 horford 4 and 5 if desperate only. No excuse for us not dominating the bucks in the paint
plenty of blame, but mostly to WOODY for not putting his chess pieces on the board right, just random junk that hasn’t worked for years, and only works when his players say F that and have ALL STAR performances to RESCUE HIM from his BAD COACHING
look at him in the postgame! no spirit no fire, SAME OLE JUNK
FIRE WOODY
BONE
April 26th, 2010
11:55 pm
DAMN , JOE IS LEAVIN THIS JULY YALL, WISH HE STILL HAD HIS TWITTER SO WE CAN TELL HIM WE UNDERSTAND CUZ HE GETS NO HELP, I HOPE HE WINS A CHAMPIONSHIP WHEREVER HE ENDS UP, FIRE WOODRO
BirdDawg
April 26th, 2010
11:56 pm
bigdave,
Well said. It’s hard to see this coach and his scheme suddenly taking this team to the next level when it has pretty much kept them on the same level for the last three years.
bigdave
April 26th, 2010
11:56 pm
why couldnt we find a good look at the hoop when we needed a basket? im fine with a miss, but a good shot…? instead of trying to sneak a hoop out of nothing.
Eric C.
April 26th, 2010
11:57 pm
Folks…it doesn’t matter. Really…the Magic are last year’s Cavs – they swept the Bobcats and will be well-rested for the next round. The Hawks don’t stand a chance of winning a road playoff game…so why even bother…just let the Bucks have the honor of being sliced and diced up by the Magic.
Tell us, Mike Woodson, why the fans should even have an inkling of hope. You are the coach…tell us how a team so talented can look so pathetic away from home? Is it really just a lack of focus? A lack of energy? A lack of discipline?
Clyde
April 26th, 2010
11:58 pm
THE FIRE WOODY TRAIN WILL HIT FULL STEAM AT 1:00am. MC WE MIGHT NEED A NEW BLOG UP.
FIRE WOODY
BONEY
April 26th, 2010
11:59 pm
Nique’s Revenge,
Can we at least see how the series ends up before we send Woody packing? The series is tied – what if the Hawks win the next 2 games – then what?
BONEY
April 27th, 2010
12:00 am
Enter your comments here
bigdave
April 27th, 2010
12:01 am
keep trying to sneak transition baskets that arent there.. and its not like we have Nash or someone at point. it eventually ends up looking sloppy. yea.. it might fly regular season, but thats not the case come playoffs when its time for execution. the defense stinks. too much going on… overly complicated takes away from instincts. to be honest switching kills your help and weak side defense..
bigdave
April 27th, 2010
12:02 am
Skiles about his bench
“not afraid of leaving those guys out there”
Wabe
April 27th, 2010
12:04 am
Just watch the highlights.
They really do tell the story.
The Bucks getting wide-open looks from beyond the arc.
The Hawks highlights featured mostly JJ dribbling, dribbling, dribbling and forcing up tough, contested looks that went in.
Credit him for them going in, but it shouldn’t be this difficult to get a player as talented as JJ to get buckets. We don’t move him around off the ball nearly enough. This guy can stroke it, but has to work way too hard to get his.
Clyde
April 27th, 2010
12:04 am
DON’T WORRY SAMUEL. I’LL TAKE OVER WHILE YOUR STILL IN HIDING.
WOODY = COY
MY A$$
FIRE WOODY
Najeh Davenpoop
April 27th, 2010
12:05 am
“C’mon Najeh – is Skiles gonna suit up or something?”
Do you see what he’s doing with that hodgepodge Milwaukee roster?
The Bucks without Redd and Bogut are maybe the 9th most talented team in the East. The Hawks are at least the 4th best, if not higher.
Clyde
April 27th, 2010
12:06 am
THE BUCKS LOST ITS TWO BEST PLAYERS AND WE ARE AT FULL STRENGTH BUT YET WE STILL GET OUR A$$ BEAT.
FIRE WOODY
Wabe
April 27th, 2010
12:06 am
Chris Webber: “I’m disappointed in the Atlanta Hawks.”
Wabe
April 27th, 2010
12:06 am
Webber: “I’m not a believer anymore in the Hawks.”