Atlanta Hawks: Hawks 84, Magic 81
- The Hawks will never beat the Bulls playing like this!
- Chicago’s elite defense will bottle up all those jump shooters! If Jameer gets open layups on critical possessions what is D-Rose going to do to the Hawks?! The Hawks gained confidence from the Dwight Defense in this series but they don’t have such tricks for the Bulls!
- And don’t get me started on J.J.’s insistence on dribbling out possessions and taking bad shots in the face of defensive pressure! Chicago’s offense isn’t special but even if the Hawks manage to get a lead they will shoot themselves out of it! Josh might be able to bother Boozer but does anybody deliver more momentum-sapping bad shots and turnovers?
- And I haven’t even mentioned how Chicago is going to . . . “We will worry about Chicago tomorrow,” Marvin said.
- (UPDATE: Yes, blog people, I was trying to be facetious there.)
- The Hawks won ugly, but they did win. They may not have had to show so much resolve if they’d figure out how to play with leads, but they did show resolve. “Our will to come up with the loose ball, come up with the big plays down the stretch was big,” J.J. said.
- The Hawks overcame (another) bad offensive night by getting 14 offensive rebounds and converting 14 Magic turnovers (eight steals) into 19 points. So they found a way to score when they took and missed a lot of jump shots. That’s something.
- “It’s a bad feeling to let a team outwork you and they did tonight,” Dwight said.
- Hinrich left the game with what the team at first said was a right knee injury but later updated as a strained right hamstring. The Hawks said he will have an MRI on Friday. If he misses any games then obviously Atlanta’s chances against Chicago dwindle.
- The Hawks are in the second round for the third consecutive season. They got there by winning in 6 against the team that shellacked them last spring. OK, it’s not the same team, but it’s still Dwight, Jameer, Stan Van Gundy and their band of shooters.
- “This is a very hard-fought series,” L.D. said. “Coming into the series, not many people gave us a chance. A lot of people thought what we accomplished against this team in the regular season was a fluke. But our guys came into the series thinking they could win.”
- The Hawks achieved some rare franchise feats by both finishing this series early and winning as the lower seed. And now they will be picked apart between now and Monday as critics scrutinize their well-known weaknesses and question their credentials.
- It’s what should be expected for a team that often can’t seem to get out of its own way. The Hawks blew leads in Games 3 and 4 then nearly blew one on Thursday before stirring fans at Philips with another close W.
- In the aftermath, Jameer’s reservation with D-Rose for the second round was on the Hawks’ mind.
- “That kind of a slap in the face to us and our organization for him to come out and say something like that,” Al said. “I’m sure he’s a great guy and everything but at the end of the day, that’s uncalled for. You can say whatever you want but you have to be able to back it up.”
- Once again Atlanta’s offense moved outside as the minutes ticked off.
- After attempting 23 shots in the paint in the first half and making eight, the Hawks attempted 12 from close range and made seven after halftime. After earning six free-throw attempts in the first quarter, the Hawks took nine over the final three periods.
- Marvin, left with room to operate as the Magic focused on Joe and Jamal, made some big shots in the second half. Then he missed one and J.J. tapped it out to Jamal, who made two clutch free throws.
- “I just wanted to make a play,” J.J. said. “The play was designed as a pick-and-roll with Al and Jamal. We didn’t really come up with what we wanted but Jamal shot the ball and when it went up, I just tried to crash glass and somehow get my hand on it, and I did.”
- Joe needed 25 shots to get his 23 points. He started 1 for 8 and then made 9 of his next 17. In the fourth quarter, those included a deep 3 with the shot clock winding down; a nice slice to the basket for a 9-footer; a missed fadeaway 19-footer, and a nice reverse layup.
- That pretty much summed up his night: some good mixed with some bad and it all worked out at the end of his 46 minutes.
- “I really thought Joe got into a good rhythm,” Drew said. “He missed some easy shots but I thought he was really aggressive. I was going to ride him all night–not to run every play to him, but I was going to try to keep him on the floor as long as I could. I just felt he was going to will him to this win.”
- Josh, meanwhile, had his worst game of the series and at one point was booed by fans frustrated by his bad shots and careless turnovers.
- Hinrich was good on D again and also had Dwight flustered with some early dig-downs. Dwight turned it over on his first three post-ups. One came when Hinrich tied him up for a jump ball and then stole the tip.
- Dwight finished the series with outstanding production and efficiency. He scored 20 percent of his team’s points, had 29 percent of its rebounds and not only protected the rim on defense but disrupted Joe and Jamal on the perimeter.
- And yet Dwight’s offseason has started already.
- “There’s no need for me to comment on my future, so don’t even bring it up,” Dwight said. “I’m focusing on how I can get better for next year with the Magic.”
Michael Cunningham, Hawks beat
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163 comments Add your comment
Rev in Tampa
April 29th, 2011
1:36 am
Grandad,
I suppose I can read MC’s article as a witty. But its too late for me to think that hard. I’m only still up because the tail end of that storm that you guys got yesterday is only just now passing over Tampa. But it is pretty weak. Only more thunder than wind.
Rev in Tampa
April 29th, 2011
1:40 am
“answerted” – being from Georgia, it sounds right to me.
The Real Mandingo
April 29th, 2011
1:43 am
Jamal Crawford aka “The Difference” is underrated by NBA experts and aficionados, under-utilized by the Hawks’ coaching staff, and unappreciated by Hawks’ mgmt. J-Craw was clutch off the bench all last year and won Sixth Man of the Year last year but couldn’t get a contract extension this year. Joe Johnson gets a max deal, then “Boss” gets a 5yr deal shortly after the start of this year’s regular season before the deadline and Jamal gets nothing. Then Jamal goes from last year’s number two scoring option (and number one clutch option) for the Hawks to the number four scoring option. Most people are financially motivated and I think Jamal just like most people wants to be rewarded for excellent performance. It should be no surprise his numbers (scoring avg., shooting percentage, etc.) were down this year because he felt dissed, dismissed, and disrespected by the Hawks organization coupled with the fact that the delusional Josh Smith thinks he is a legitimate all-star forward in the Eastern Conference who has taken away shots from Jamal in this year’s team shot distribution. I realize Jamal tanks it defensively. He has the ability and athleticism to play good defense but he lacks the will and the desire to play good defense. Jamal needs to be motivated to play defense. He has the length and quickness to get steals, pass deflections and blocked shots especially on smaller guards. I can’t feel sorry for Jamal because he’s still making $10mil. this year but by the same token he should be paid commensurate to his skill set, talent, ability, potential, and performance according to the NBA salary structure. I’m done with this rant. Yeah, I know I’m riding Jamal’s jock, sac, or whatever you want to call it.
drmaryb (*_-)
April 29th, 2011
1:44 am
Lucky Charm!
SlimJr! You are my Lucky Charm in this series.
Sorry Grand-Daddy but, you got Mrs. Grand-Daddy.
I LOVE SLIMJR! He is my man, my hope to beat The Magic!
Najeh Davenpoop
April 29th, 2011
1:45 am
LMAO
Ernie is talking about the Hawks putting the Biatchi article in the locker room.
Kenny says “could they read it?”
Najeh Davenpoop
April 29th, 2011
1:52 am
Kenny Smith is basically saying the Hawks will lose to the Bulls because the Bulls get hustle plays and hockey assists.
Wabe
April 29th, 2011
1:53 am
lmao just heard that najeh
dacheesecakeman
April 29th, 2011
1:55 am
@Najeh Davenpoop that what that chant was. I couldn’t make it out sitting in the 400 section
northcyde
April 29th, 2011
1:56 am
Playing like what MC? You mean the lockdown defense they played on the Magic tonight, until the layups at the end? You mean the 14 offensive rebounds we grabbed, which led to us taking 12 more shots?
Like most fans, you need to simply accept what the Hawks are. They already told you what they are . . and that’s a jumpshooting team. We shoot jumpers. We don’t have a leader PG to make the game easier for everybody else . . or some sophisticated offense . . or a low post scorer to toss the ball down to on the block . . so we simply do what we do.
It’s not pretty, but it is what it is.
To say that we can’t beat Chicago playing like this is a flat out lie. The key to beating Chicago has nothing to do with what we do offensively. It’s how we play DEFENSIVELY. And that’s always been the case. What this team has to do against Chicago is the same thing we did with the Illusion. Don’t let the fringe guys around Rose beat us. Make the “new Isaiah” score 40 a night to beat us. And most of all, make his azz shoot jumpers.
We have no PG to set other players up, so it’s ISO JJ or ISO JAMAL it is. You give it to the guys that can make tough shots. Sometimes they settle for the long jumpers, which make the shots look horrible.
Honestly, I could care less how ugly the offense looks. We don’t have the personnel to run a “pretty offense”. The only thing that matters at the end of the day, is if we win or not.
Here are the facts MC. We need JJ and Jamal to be on their games to beat the Bulls. We all know that. If they are, that gives us the 2nd and 3rd best player in this series, with Rose being #1.
Let this ish play out. Let’s see if a Bulls team that has never played together in the playoffs, can withstand the pressure of playing as the favorite. I know they made the playoffs last year, but they have 9 new players on this team, with only Rose, Noah, and Deng the holdovers from last year’s squad. They looked VERY SHAKY doing that against a much inferior Pacers team.
So let’s see how this plays out, if JJ and Jamal have it going in one of these games.
The Bulls are not invincible. Not even close.
Harry Hawk
April 29th, 2011
1:56 am
Hawks in a sweep. Beating an all-time great Magic team in the first round means that this Hawks team is ready for championship glory.
Grandad
April 29th, 2011
1:57 am
Najeh
assistin’ the assister [hockey assists]
are a great stat.
I wish basketball kept up with those.
Great * -team- stat.
Larry Bird used to talk about it alot.
Paradise Lost
April 29th, 2011
1:58 am
“— but they routinely tried to shoot themselves in the foot, only to be bailed out by the Magic who would stab themselves in the heart in response.”
LOL and co-freakin sign!
I will have relocated to ATL in just over a week’s time. Hawks, please, please, PLEASE keep winning till I get home. Watching a play-off game in person would be sweet!
Msevey
April 29th, 2011
1:59 am
We need to worry about if the hawks are going to show every game against the bulls,this isn’t the magic,you play subpar ball against this team you’re in trouble,I know some hawks fan think we can win this series,we won’t win playing the way we did against the magic,let us just pray.
dacheesecakeman
April 29th, 2011
2:01 am
I wonder what those kids will call themselves now that Dwight Howard’s out the playoffs? Cant use Club Kyptonite anymore.
drmaryb (*_-)
April 29th, 2011
2:01 am
ROF – CTC!
Grand – Daddy! Mmmmmwah!
__________________
It has been a while, since, I rolled on the floor and was kicking the couch!
You really do hang on my every word.
I should slip you my address. To heck with my phone ‘nimber’.
Najeh Davenpoop
April 29th, 2011
2:02 am
Northcyde and others, I think it’s pretty obvious MC is being sarcastic, and possibly even making fun of the more overreaction-prone among us blog people, with those first few lines of his post.
northcyde
April 29th, 2011
2:04 am
Game 3 on Friday . . Game 4 on Sunday.
Looks like it will be Game 4 for me next weekend. Just depends on what time the game is.
northcyde
April 29th, 2011
2:06 am
LOL . . maybe he is Najeh. Just wasn’t expecting that from him. But now that I re-read it, maybe he is.
dacheesecakeman
April 29th, 2011
2:06 am
If the Pacers can play great against Chicago, then we can too, if we can play with some heart and not give up. Chicago may be the best team but this is the playoffs and they haven’t done anything yet
Grandad
April 29th, 2011
2:07 am
northcyde;
You didn’t want a rah rah homer.
You wanted a tell it like it is journalist.
Now all of a sudden has MC hurt your feelings?
What were all those things you said to me
when I dared to mention the word “dispassionate” ? [to MC]
Now he pokes a little fun or simply tells the bitter truth,
truth…..truth…..you can’t handle the truth !
Go Hawks !
Chicago in 5.
Najeh Davenpoop
April 29th, 2011
2:10 am
Fun fact: the Magic outscored the Hawks by 11 points over the course of this series, and the Hawks in going 7-3 against the Magic this season outscored them in those 10 games by a total of 4 points.
Najeh Davenpoop
April 29th, 2011
2:12 am
Cheapest tickets available for Games 3 and 4 vs. the Bulls are $43 right now on Seatgeek.
Don’t call me an ass hole for saying this, but I wouldn’t mind a Game 1 blowout loss if the Hawks could bounce back and win Game 2, for the simple reason that those tickets are going to get a LOT cheaper after Game 1 if that happens.
drmaryb (*_-)
April 29th, 2011
2:13 am
*ROF – KTC
Najeh Davenpoop
April 29th, 2011
2:13 am
Hollinger has an article up praising the role of Collins and Zaza in this series win.
The Real Mandingo
April 29th, 2011
2:14 am
I wonder if the Hawks’ coaching staff and mgmt. grab their ankles from the front or the back when they get ready to bend over and take from Josh Smith aka J-Smurf. Better yet, I wonder if they ask Josh Smith how he wants them to grab their ankles.
Message to the Hawks organization: Man up and stand up to this cancerous wankster before he utterly destroys this team.
I apologize for the vulgarity but he just p_sses me off.
Najeh Davenpoop
April 29th, 2011
2:19 am
Hopefully Kirk gets well, but if not, hopefully Teague gets to play big minutes and play well.
northcyde
April 29th, 2011
2:19 am
Grandad please. MC is an excellent journalist. And I always expect him to call it like it is . . good or bad.
But that sensationalistic first 3 bullet points isn’t his style at all. So now that Najeh has pointed it out to me, it has to be a sarcastic, tongue and cheek type of start to his article.
If MC actually believes that, he would’ve articulated it in a different way, as he always does. It’s late, so I overreacted to the post.
What you did was call the man out for his professional “matter of factness” in covering the Hawks, like it was a negative or something. And I wasn’t the only one that saw that.
LOL . . it’s all good though. Like I said. It’s late.
drmaryb (*_-)
April 29th, 2011
2:21 am
I LOVE ME SOME – poop!
(that’s najeh for the slooow people)
northcyde
April 29th, 2011
2:23 am
And people need to lay off of Smith. He had a bad game. Every player on the Hawks has had at least one bad game in this series. Enjoy the win, instead of hating on him for a minute.
Hopefully LD will put him back at PF vs the Bulls, so he may be more inclined to work on the inside and be more of a defensive force in the paint.
northcyde
April 29th, 2011
2:24 am
Now it’s bedtime. Good job Hawks. A real good team win tonight.
superiorblogman
April 29th, 2011
2:27 am
LD will lose the Bulls series when he goes back to starting the regular lineup which is just horrible.
PG Hinrich-Not what the Hawks need longterm and does not get others involved but plays good D most of the time.
SG Joe-Good all around player and best closer on team.
SF- Marvin-Maybe the worse starter in the league. Can not create his own shot, overrated defensively, and can not even make open shots consistently. Does nothing well consistently.
PF-Josh-Totally inconsistent at doing anything positive, consistently struggles to take good shots. Athletic ability looks to be fading this year.
C- Al- Not a C, does not defend the rim or play rough enough to be a C in the NBA.
That starting lineup is just overly flawed. Joe and Al are the only 2 guys that I would want starting on my team and Al would be at PF.
Hawks Fan In New Orleans
April 29th, 2011
2:44 am
The TNT prognosticators don’t give us a chance in round 2 against The Chi.
I feel we can slay the bull and shut up the Rose-riders with a shocking game one victory. It can be done.
Grandad
April 29th, 2011
2:57 am
northcyde
Grandad @ 1:11 am
I actually brought it to Rev’s attn…..^…..above…..^…..!
Let’s get two things straight:
(1) I was just messin’ with you above.
Seein’ if you could take what you dish out.
What you did was call the man out
for his professional “matter of factness”
in covering the Hawks.
(2) I did no such thing !
I said MC was dispassionate;
and that was interpreted incorrectly by you and others.
* ["And I wasn’t the only one that saw that"]
What I said, I said to MC, not to you.
He answered accordingly.
I had / have not one problem with matter of factness.
(I rather appreciate it)
And w/o dredging up old crap, it’s useless
[was then and is now]
to bring up old stuff just so I can explain to you what I mean’t.
Nonetheless, Mr Cunningham is a fine journalist.
If I remember correctly, I think I asked him if;
“he enjoyed his job” ?
You & others missed my point.
So be it.
I’ve caught all your little jabs along the way…oh yeah.
Now you catch a little bow in the ribs & you want to whine?
northcyde, you’re a right good feller, evenin’.
Michael Cunningham
April 29th, 2011
2:58 am
@Grandad: “For yawl gettin’ on Mr. Cunningham:
I think he was displaying a certain amount of acerbic wit,
rather than suddenly morphing into a misanthropist.
Don’t you think?”
my ambition apparently exceeds my talent.
Najeh Davenpoop
April 29th, 2011
3:08 am
SVG gave LD some major props in his postgame press conference.
Grandad
April 29th, 2011
3:09 am
As soon as I put up my post;
nc there you were…..
” hatin’ ”
I wish we could outlaw that word from the blog.
northcyde criticizes [hates] MC. (tonite)
Now we are not supposed to critique Josh.
I reckon because we are not professional journalists,
then we as blogger / posters cannot make observations.
(it’s hatin’)
Yet nc can distribute the propaganda proclaiming
Joe to be an elite defender -&- so on…
But only because he has the stats to prove it.
We journeymen [not alists] can’t opine by observation.
Otherwise ” it’s hatin’ ” !
G’nite.
Grandad
April 29th, 2011
3:11 am
MC;
enjoyed the article,
it summed up my feelings exactly.
Worldwide Clyde
April 29th, 2011
3:23 am
The 2006 Blogger Of The Year Strikes Again
Worldwide Clyde was the only one to predict Hawks in 6 before the series started. Shout out to the people that made money off my prediction.
Now the Hawks face the Bulls. My prediction for this series is Hawks in 7. Rose will get his but so will JJ. Keith Bogans and Ronnie Brewer won’t be able to guard him. Josh Smith will hold Deng in check and Horford always has big games against his former teammate in Noah.
Hawks reach the Eastern Conference Finals
FIRE LD
jonn m
April 29th, 2011
3:25 am
FOR THE FIRST TIME SINCE 1970 THE HAWKS DEFEATED A HIGHER SEED IN A SEVEN GAME SERIES, IN ARGUABLY ONE OF GREATEST WINS FOR THE TEAM IN THE LAST 41 YEARS AND
YOUR STORY LEADS WITH HOW “THE HAWKS WILL NEVER BEAT THE BULLS”……SEKOU SMITH WAS ONE OF THE BEST BEAT WRITERS IN THE COUNTRY…YOU ON THE OTHER HAND ARE A SAD SUBSTITUTE WHO
CONTINUALLY FOCUSES ON THE NEGATIVE AND STRUGGLES AS A WRITER.
Grandad
April 29th, 2011
3:26 am
Josh:
I fear that he is a distraction.
“You can win a game with distractions,
but you can’t win a *championship”
- Tom Izzo –
It’s time [this summer]…..let’s wish him well
& And for the umpteenth time I like the young man.
Josh plays hard;
but he costs us [the Hawks] ballgames.
*(decision making)
If he has not learned by now,
what do yawl really think, he’s gonna have an epiphany.
We must, have to, gotta, acquire a Big.
As most pundits have said;
Josh is the most marketable.
I do not believe I’ve ever seen a player that,
can make me go from thinking:
franchise player to trade him within, I said “within” a qtr.
Bless his heart.
mykhalc
April 29th, 2011
3:33 am
@Clyde…LOL at Fire LD after CHI upset,,,too funny brah!!! KA BOOM!!!
Michael Cunningham
April 29th, 2011
3:33 am
@john m: “SEKOU SMITH WAS ONE OF THE BEST BEAT WRITERS IN THE COUNTRY…YOU ON THE OTHER HAND ARE A SAD SUBSTITUTE WHO
CONTINUALLY FOCUSES ON THE NEGATIVE AND STRUGGLES AS A WRITER.”
no kidding.
vava74
April 29th, 2011
4:58 am
Let us not get carried away.
The MAGIC sucked throughout this series and would have been easily swept by CHI, BOS and would have lost to just about anyone else this year.
That mid season trade was a total disaster for them.
It may have also helped us that last year’s beat down made them come in with excessive confidence that in the playoffs Howard would dominate, we would collapse on him (like last year) and they would cash in from outside.
ORL played ONE game in which they were smart and played the right kind of basketball and in that game they ran us over (game 5).
I also think Bianchi’s column ended up have a double positive effect: motivated our guys and relaxed ORL.
SVG sucked big time this series in the battle of the idiots where LD showed that although he came up with the right strategy (play Howard one on one and close out on the shooters and penetrators, as some of us always said over the summer) as soon as adjustments were needed – Game 5 – “his wheels came off”.
It was sheer luck that ORL reverted back in to a good Hawks impersonation in game 6, playing impatient perimeter basketball, jacking up rushed and bad shots and having no one crashing the boards besides Howard.
vava74
April 29th, 2011
4:59 am
MC,
send me an e-mail with your address (it obviously can be at AJC) so I can forward you a consolation prize instead of the $100.00
CoastDog
April 29th, 2011
5:00 am
Way to go Hocks!
MsDee
April 29th, 2011
5:14 am
We might have an advantage over Chicago. Just like Jameer ASSUMED they would have been in the 2nd round right now, with Kirk hurt or maybe out for a few games, they TOO will ASSUME they can walk right thru us in the 2nd round. But Teague will and should be comfortable out there now since he knows he wont be pulled as quickly as he normally is. This should be a great opportunity for Teague to play with the starters and play the DEFense we know he could play against Rose!!
Big Daddy
April 29th, 2011
5:24 am
What a great win for this team. The Hawk survived by making great matchups and determination. I applaud them. They did not play well but played hard. To move further along in the playoffs they are going to have to play smart. It is possible. Two weeks ago, I did not believe we would be in this position. Now that we are, i have to give them their props and say that this was truly a team effort. Everybody who played really contributed and we are going to need that to continue playing Chicago.
Reggie
April 29th, 2011
6:26 am
We should stay big with the exception of Za Za starting and Collins off the bench because we need a more active player on offense vs Noah.
terrell
April 29th, 2011
6:39 am
Get well Kirk!
vava74
April 29th, 2011
7:27 am
The KEY to be competitive against CHI is again to stop the perimeter shooting.
In particular by Deng (who has been killing us) and Korver (who is hot).
If Al puts his mind to it and brings back his blue collar mentality, he will be able to win the match up against Noah.
Boozer is perfectly within the limits of what Josh can do defensively man to man and sufficiently soft defensively for him to be able to attack the rim and get him into foul trouble.
Even if Rose goes for 45 points every single game, like Howard did on game 1, we can win if we shut down the perimeter shots from his kick outs.
Obviously, we need JJ and Jamal to be quick to pass off the traps which Thibs will devise to slow them down.