We’re LIVE from Hawks-Bucks (and 2-0 would be huge)
The Zaza Pachulia fan club was in attendance Tuesday: (left to right) Andy Johnson, Kenny Traber, Michael Kramer and Carter Davis. (Curtis Compton/AJC)
Hello, and welcome back to the NBA playoffs, something I feel the need to broadcast again since my wife and I were walking around Piedmont Park for the Dogwood Festival Sunday and a nice young man from the Hawks was passing out vouchers for free — yes, free — tickets to tonight’s game.
Oh well. Guess everybody is saving their shekels for the Orlando series.
But the Hawks have a opportunity to visit rare franchise history tonight. Only three times in franchise history — and twice since the team has been in Atlanta — have the Hawks taken a 2-0 lead in a best-of-seven series. With a 1-0 lead over Milwaukee, they can accomplish that feat for the first time since 1970.
Here are the three times it has happened:
♦1957-58: St. Louis Hawks take a 2-0 lead over Detroit in the Western Conference finals. They won the series, 4-1, and went on to win the NBA title over Boston.
♦ 1968-69: Atlanta Hawks take a 2-0 lead over San Diego in the Western semifinals. They won the series, 4-2, but lost in the Western finals to Los Angeles.
♦ 1969-70: Hawks take a 3-0 lead over Chicago in the Western semifinals. They won the series, 4-1, but lost in the Western finals to Los Angeles again.
“It would be huge to protect home court — that’s what we’ve worked so hard for,” Jamal Crawford just said in the locker room. “If we win tonight, the pressure would really on them to go home and take care of business as well.”
One more thing before I turn it over to you. As you may have heard, Josh Smith finished second in Defensive Player of the Year voting, behind Dwight Howard. Smith said he was gratified to finish that high, considering he didn’t even place in the top 10 last season.
Smith and Howard are close friends. The two actually went to pre-school together in College Park. When asked if they stressed defense at the pre-school, Smith laughed and said: “We stressed nibbling on toys and trying to get potty trained. That’s all we were worried about back then. Maybe watch a little Barney, a little Elmo.”
Still, can you imagine their one-on-ones on the Nerf hoop?
I’ll start live blogging at tip-off.
♦
EARLIER TODAY
♦ With no Roethlisberger, Falcons catch break at Pittsburgh
♦ Countdown’s trouble spots: Milledgeville and Remerton?
♦ You’re on the clock with the Falcons (and why not Thomas)?
♦
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118 comments Add your comment
Terry
April 20th, 2010
6:49 pm
First?
Rick
April 20th, 2010
6:49 pm
Woo hoo! Hey Jeff why does the ajc sports page have the game time at 8? Someone doesn’t even know the correct time of the game. That is bad.
Show me state
April 20th, 2010
6:50 pm
Let’s get game 2…..Let’s go Hawks!!!!!!!
Show me state
April 20th, 2010
6:51 pm
Btw congrats to J-Smoove for finishing 2nd in DPOY…….
Jeff Schultz
April 20th, 2010
6:51 pm
Terry — Yes.
Jeff Schultz
April 20th, 2010
6:54 pm
Rick — I’ve got the paper in front of me and the front page says 7. So I’m not sure where you’re seeing that.
celebratingthaHiholiday
April 20th, 2010
6:58 pm
JOSH SMITH SHOULD HAVE WON! Can atl please get some respect! watch ‘em give 6th man to someone other than Crawford…smfh
Dr. Kenneth Noisewater
April 20th, 2010
7:01 pm
i feelin good about this- i say a 15pt margin of victory
JSS
April 20th, 2010
7:01 pm
RISE UP ATLANTA!!!
Ladies and gentlemen (that means P***onaDawg too)
OUR Atlanta Hawks!
Treat them Bucks like a cheesing eating drunk riding a lawn mower!
Mtn Hawk
April 20th, 2010
7:11 pm
Go Hawks!!!!!
Mtn Hawk
April 20th, 2010
7:12 pm
Anyone gonna have some beers with me???????? Or vodka. What should I get hm
Jeff Schultz
April 20th, 2010
7:12 pm
JSS — Thanks for the cross-promotion.
Buzz Aldrin
April 20th, 2010
7:13 pm
Looks like a good crowd on TV, Mr. Schultz.
Jeff Schultz
April 20th, 2010
7:14 pm
Mtn Hawk — I’d love to. Not sure bosses would approve.
Buzz Aldrin
April 20th, 2010
7:15 pm
Is the crowd as good as it looks on TV?
Mtn Hawk
April 20th, 2010
7:15 pm
Well sorry. Thanks for the live blog.
JSS
April 20th, 2010
7:18 pm
Shut down Luc MAM! Bibby continues his good start!
Jeff Schultz
April 20th, 2010
7:18 pm
Buzz — Crowd is louder, I think, but there’s actually a lot more empty seats, particularly downstairs. The other night the lower bowl was filled.
Jeff Schultz
April 20th, 2010
7:19 pm
Offense — attacking well. Defense — not as good as other night but Bucks are more active.
Jeff Schultz
April 20th, 2010
7:20 pm
Horford looks very strong. Already has 8 points.
JSS
April 20th, 2010
7:22 pm
Comida para el caballo!
Mtn Hawk
April 20th, 2010
7:23 pm
Hawks gotta keep the intensity all of the game, and not become complacent as they develop a lead.
Jeff Schultz
April 20th, 2010
7:26 pm
JSS — Just trying to stay out of the glue factory.
JSS
April 20th, 2010
7:28 pm
Dunk for Duck butt!!!
Jeff Schultz
April 20th, 2010
7:28 pm
Back to back blocks by Joe and Josh lead to back to back hoops. This is exactly how you want team to come out: Hawks 21-12.
"Chef" Tim Dix
April 20th, 2010
7:30 pm
For late arrivals, buy a seat Stub Hub, get a carton of cigarettes.
JSS
April 20th, 2010
7:30 pm
Alberto Juantareno and Al Horford share the great name of The Horse in Spanish!
JSS
April 20th, 2010
7:31 pm
Chef, Can’t hurt the flow tonight!
"Chef" Tim Dix
April 20th, 2010
7:34 pm
JSS-That’s my other moniker:”flow hurter”
JSS
April 20th, 2010
7:35 pm
Josh is hitting from the line! Good omen!
Jeff Schultz
April 20th, 2010
7:36 pm
Josh is all over the court.
Jeff D.
April 20th, 2010
7:36 pm
Last minute tix on stubhub with pack o’ smokes, The Racing Form, a basket of groceries and a a tank of gas or limo ride to the game. Schultzie photo is extra.
"Chef" Tim Dix
April 20th, 2010
7:37 pm
To recap; Hawks by 8, Hanson’s pitch count 40.
"Chef" Tim Dix
April 20th, 2010
7:38 pm
Jeff D.: last second addition, case o’ Pabst
JSS
April 20th, 2010
7:40 pm
More Hawks!!! Teague sighting! JTO
JSS
April 20th, 2010
7:42 pm
Mo and JTO, Jeff Schultz, what is Woody thinking?
Jeff Schultz
April 20th, 2010
7:43 pm
PBR — that’s going old school.
Bad old school, at that.
Jeff D.
April 20th, 2010
7:43 pm
f”Chef” Tim Dix free upgrade to Genesee Cream Ale or Utica Club
Jeff Schultz
April 20th, 2010
7:44 pm
Hawks are getting caught standing around again. This is what happened the other night, but not until the third quarter. Bucks on 12-2 run to go up 32-30.
Hawks vs Bucks
April 20th, 2010
7:47 pm
“Hawks are getting caught standing around again”
are they really sure they want to be in the playoffs … stuff like that makes me think they really don’t want to be here.
Jeff D.
April 20th, 2010
7:47 pm
Woody needs to fit those guys with ankle bracelets that go off (shock) when they stand around…
JSS
April 20th, 2010
7:47 pm
I guess JTO is back in the can!
"Chef" Tim Dix
April 20th, 2010
7:48 pm
Y’all I can remember as a teenager PBR being a, and I love this term, ‘business partner’, with my sorely missed Fulton County Stadium.
JSS
April 20th, 2010
7:48 pm
Regular Vets to the rescue!!!
"Chef" Tim Dix
April 20th, 2010
7:49 pm
Not to worry, Bucks run is a shot wad.
Jeff D.
April 20th, 2010
7:49 pm
Hawks vs Bucks I guess the championship trophy imagery has faded away
"Chef" Tim Dix
April 20th, 2010
7:51 pm
Woody’s dome gloss is slightly lower on the Chef’s meter for game two, down to 8.45 on a scale of 10.
JSS
April 20th, 2010
7:51 pm
I remember that Pabst “Bad” Ribbon sign the left field bull pen… One of the reasons I never took up drinking! Go Hawks!
Jeff D.
April 20th, 2010
7:52 pm
As Steve Holman would say, the alarm is going off… put your thinking caps on.
JSS
April 20th, 2010
7:54 pm
El caballo de Lippizzaner for the slam!
Jeff D.
April 20th, 2010
7:54 pm
JSS, could have been worse, Stroh’s Light or Hamms. Hell, Safeway had a Scotch Brand Beer…
Ryan
April 20th, 2010
7:55 pm
Marvin is scrappy tonight. Good to see.
Jeff D.
April 20th, 2010
7:56 pm
A missed shot contest, get points for just hitting some iron…
Mtn Hawk
April 20th, 2010
7:56 pm
Miller Lite here. 16 oz cans. Hawks are lookin good..Nice move.
"Chef" Tim Dix
April 20th, 2010
7:56 pm
As in “I gotta Stroh up”
JSS
April 20th, 2010
7:57 pm
Don’t let Salmons get hot!
Mtn Hawk
April 20th, 2010
7:57 pm
Bad call!
"Chef" Tim Dix
April 20th, 2010
7:57 pm
Crown Black w/ spash of sweet tea here…
"Chef" Tim Dix
April 20th, 2010
7:59 pm
You can count on Jennings!
JSS
April 20th, 2010
7:59 pm
I went college in the Eastern part of Michigan, nothing is as bad as Dixie, Lone Star or Steel City!
Jeff D.
April 20th, 2010
7:59 pm
One of the nicer goatee’s in the league… like Eric Dolphy
Jeff D.
April 20th, 2010
8:00 pm
Padre Beer was a great stain remover
JSS
April 20th, 2010
8:01 pm
Come on, convert these chances!!!
Mtn Hawk
April 20th, 2010
8:01 pm
Damn! Wish I was at this game. A lot better than the Toronto game I went to..Two hr drive.
Jeff Schultz
April 20th, 2010
8:01 pm
Great D by Joe on that — He’s had some big plays at both ends of the court tonight.
Mtn Hawk
April 20th, 2010
8:02 pm
Must be nice to be rich Chef.
Jeff Schultz
April 20th, 2010
8:02 pm
JSS — Do you mean Iron City (Or I.C.)?
Jeff Schultz
April 20th, 2010
8:03 pm
By the way, worst beer ever, and I’m not just saying it because of the Hawks’ opponent: Old Milwaukee.
Jeff D.
April 20th, 2010
8:03 pm
Lets hope for Collins and Randy mopping things up with 4:00 min to go
"Chef" Tim Dix
April 20th, 2010
8:03 pm
I’m the Chef, Rich is my side kick.
Mtn Hawk
April 20th, 2010
8:03 pm
Ah better go buy me a ticket! not.
Mtn Hawk
April 20th, 2010
8:04 pm
Jeff, you ever had that black stripe beer or black label or whatever it was cause…yuck
"Chef" Tim Dix
April 20th, 2010
8:04 pm
Jeff, I’ll second THAT hangover. Wouldn’t even drink it on Sunday for free.
Mtn Hawk
April 20th, 2010
8:04 pm
Woo nice shot Crawford!
"Chef" Tim Dix
April 20th, 2010
8:06 pm
Salmon channeling Ike Turner with that growth.
"Chef" Tim Dix
April 20th, 2010
8:07 pm
nuttin nuttin at the ted
JSS
April 20th, 2010
8:07 pm
Yeah, now score to end the half!
"Chef" Tim Dix
April 20th, 2010
8:08 pm
Big duece by JJ to close out the first half.
JSS
April 20th, 2010
8:08 pm
Yeah I heard it tasted like rusted steel
Mtn Hawk
April 20th, 2010
8:09 pm
Decent half! Braves time now..been flipping between play. Then hawks again!
Jeff Schultz
April 20th, 2010
8:09 pm
That’s the half. Hawks up: 52-46 … Whenever they tried to pull away, Bucks came back. That team plays hard. Horford leads Hawks with 15 points, Joe with 11, Josh 10. Josh hasn’t missed a shot (4-4) or ft (2-2) and also has four rebs, 3 assists, 2 steals and a block.
JSS
April 20th, 2010
8:10 pm
Ilyasova with the huge half, that can’t happen!
"Chef" Tim Dix
April 20th, 2010
8:11 pm
I’ve got a book explaining gaming rules like craps, etc… Under lottery it simply says, don’t.
JSS
April 20th, 2010
8:14 pm
Thanks for the correction, I can speak from the number of kids I saw laying between O’s in Oakland and the Pitt/CMU campuses writhing in pain and saying “never again!”
"Chef" Tim Dix
April 20th, 2010
8:14 pm
Why is Muanica Kuafman dancing at halftime? She’s already rich!
Brett
April 20th, 2010
8:14 pm
ajc.com this afternoon had gametime as 8pm. I turn it on and it’s halftime! glad I wasn’t going to the game.
"Chef" Tim Dix
April 20th, 2010
8:17 pm
mid fourth, phils 1, braves 0
"Chef" Tim Dix
April 20th, 2010
8:18 pm
hanson: 87p thru 3 2/3
JSS
April 20th, 2010
8:19 pm
That is Monica Pearson now!
JSS
April 20th, 2010
8:21 pm
Ciao Folks!
"Chef" Tim Dix
April 20th, 2010
8:22 pm
In retrospect, I did most certainly drunkenly butchered both spelling and new last name.
ncat96
April 20th, 2010
8:24 pm
Okay. We need to start strong in the second half and drain the Bucks.
Jeff Schultz
April 20th, 2010
8:27 pm
Stat of the game, especially after his effort the other night: Brandon Jennings was 1-for-10 at the half.
Jeff Schultz
April 20th, 2010
8:28 pm
Make that 1-for-11.
Hawks vs Bucks
April 20th, 2010
8:29 pm
and now the problem with having Useless Troy bat BEHIND MAC!
Hawks vs Bucks
April 20th, 2010
8:29 pm
dang it, got too many blogs open at once …
Jeff Schultz
April 20th, 2010
8:30 pm
Josh still hasn’t missed: he’s 6-for-6. Playing his way right into a column.
"Chef" Tim Dix
April 20th, 2010
8:32 pm
Jennings is better the Glaus.
"Chef" Tim Dix
April 20th, 2010
8:34 pm
Josh’s personal game modification to better the team this year is unparalled in the league.
"Chef" Tim Dix
April 20th, 2010
8:36 pm
JOSH JAMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMM!
Road-dawg
April 20th, 2010
8:36 pm
i HATE troy glaus…can we just go ahead and promote freddie freamon?
"Chef" Tim Dix
April 20th, 2010
8:39 pm
Be right back, must aquire as we say at the golf course, more “aiming fluid”.
ncat96
April 20th, 2010
8:40 pm
Okay so far so good with the fast start.
"Chef" Tim Dix
April 20th, 2010
8:44 pm
JOSH JAMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMM!
ncat96
April 20th, 2010
8:45 pm
Dayum . . . . Josh is unconcious . . . .
Jeff Schultz
April 20th, 2010
8:59 pm
Ncat96 — You’re right. Josh is sick. I’m just amazed Bucks are hanging in there.
Jeff Schultz
April 20th, 2010
9:00 pm
Josh’s totals right now: 19, 11 and 7 with 2 steals and a block.
NCBravesFan
April 20th, 2010
9:08 pm
I would like to personally thank the stupid idiots in the NBA offices and Time Warner Cable for blacking out the stupid game in NC! Way to go, greedy pigs!
GO HAWKS!
jwill
April 20th, 2010
9:08 pm
troy glaus sux
jwill
April 20th, 2010
9:09 pm
wrong page sorry bub
jwill
April 20th, 2010
9:13 pm
Enter your comments here
JSS
April 20th, 2010
9:24 pm
Josh almost with the triple double!!! Excellent performance, they just need the 3 ball to fall… Big Game 3 coming up!!!
ncat96
April 20th, 2010
9:32 pm
Well . . . really nice close for the Hawks. Especially the strong start of the second half and in general a strong 3rd quater. Gotta like the play of the entire front line including Marvin Williams. The offensive game to feed the post from Mike Woodson really worked. And the post players, especially Josh Smith, did an excellent job of kicking the ball out to the perimeter players (Joe Johnson for the most part). Great overall game tonight. GO HAWKS!
JSS
April 20th, 2010
9:39 pm
ncat96…
Co-sign!!!
Rikki
April 20th, 2010
9:41 pm
Ho hum to both games.
When Josh Smith is on, the Hawks can't be stopped | Jeff Schultz
April 20th, 2010
10:05 pm
[...] ♦ We’re live from Hawks-Bucks (and 2-0 would be huge) [...]
Jeff D.
April 20th, 2010
10:54 pm
Good win. I’d really love to see the Hawks really step on their throats this series. You can almost feel it but they don’t really finish the @ss kicking. 2-0 is fine. By the time they tip off with the Bucks on Sat. the NFL will have drafted all rounds, the volcanic ash will be cleared and StubHub will pay YOU $15 to pick up some tickets. (Jeff Schultz beard and glasses kit included)
Jeff D.
April 20th, 2010
10:55 pm
I really said really too many times… you get the point.