Round 2, Game 2: Say goodbye to the Atlanta Hawks
Cleveland – It’s over, folks. More than just losing two games, the Hawks have lost players and heart. They’re undermanned. They’re overwhelmed. Soon they’ll be outta here.
This one has sweep written all over it. Yes, a certain series a year ago bore the same look after two distressing road games, and that one went the distance. But Al Horford and Marvin Williams and Joe Johnson weren’t injured then, and these are the Cavs and they’re even more driven than Boston was. LeBron James might not let his team lose a half, let alone a game.
And the Hawks who showed up at Quicken Loans Arena – or, more precisely, didn’t show up – pale alongside the spirited bunch that took Games 3, 4 and 6 from Boston, even alongside the polished crew that saw off Miami in Game 7. In three days here the Hawks managed the difficult task of hurting themselves while taking a dive.
“I don’t know who’s going to dress on Saturday,” Mike Woodson said afterward. And then: “We’ve got to get our main guys on the floor and see what we’re made of.”
Alas, we’ve already seen.The Hawks weren’t going to win Game 2 Thursday without Horford and Williams, but they might have given the appearance of desperation. Instead Josh Smith got two (and then three) early fouls and Johnson managed only three baskets in 22 first-half minutes and by halftime the Cavs led by 24 points, which meant they could have wiped away LeBron’s 18 and still his team would have been ahead.
Two sequences told the grim tale: At the end of the first quarter, LeBron somehow got isolated against poor Solomon Jones. On cue, LeBron whirled past Jones and dunked behind his head.
Flash forward to the shank of the second quarter: The Hawks sought to hold for one shot, though there was a four-second difference between the clocks. They wound up being whistled for a 24-second violation. And LeBron took the ball in backcourt and, from 40 feet away, rose above Mario West and flipped the ball through the hoop.
Obvious point: LeBron can do whatever he wants – he just missed a 45-footer at the end of the third quarter – and the Hawks suddenly can’t do anything. “We need to act like we want to be here,” Johnson had said after Game 1, but almost nobody, Johnson included, has behaved that way.
Sorry, there are no polls available at the moment.Said Mo Evans, who led the Hawks with 16 points: “Even if we’d been at 100 percent, I don’t think we could have won playing the way we did.”
And then Johnson got hurt. He was going for a layup against LeBron with the Hawks trailing by 32 points in the third quarter, and he missed the shot and came down wrong and was off to the locker room, and soon he was in a wheelchair. Woodson’s prognosis: “He tweaked his ankle.”
The mighty Cavs might well have been, as they say in England, a bridge too far for the full-strength Hawks. Still, you’d like to have seen more effort, more passion, more something. The belief coming into this series was that the Hawks needed only to avoid being swept to call this season a success, and now even that modest goal seems a forlorn hope.
It’s said a playoff series doesn’t really begin until the road team wins, but these two wipeouts have belied that bromide. The home side rolled. The road team didn’t even stir. This one’s over.
More on me versus the “mayor”: I promise not to belabor this — indeed, I’m hoping soon to forget it ever happened — but here’s an independent (or so I assume) take on what transpired on a certain Cleveland station last night. (For my admittedly self-interested version, click here.)
And, as Lt. Columbo would say, one last thing: My new best buddy Spirit the Hawk Tweeted me late last night. Here was his heartfelt message:
“Taking on the entire city of Cleveland solo…you’ve got seriously commendable Spirit, Mr. Bradley!”
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175 comments Add your comment
jaxman
May 8th, 2009
10:34 pm
OH no, not an insult from a guy named “stretch”. Point about being in the Navy was that everyone likes to think their home is such a nice place and everyone else’s is a dump. Guess you don’t understand context, huh? Whine some more for me pulease!!!!! Perform your job perfectly everyday I see. Nothing like blaming the refs for being down 35, huh? Bet you didn’t mind it when Dominique was getting all the calls, either. Fact is that’s part of the game. It is imperfect. Everyone knows you have to essentially win by 10 to win by 2 on the road. So, please, cry some more.
jaxman
May 8th, 2009
10:42 pm
Hey Disgusted….more like Hilarious. Why not pay attention to the game a bit more. Yes, there were clearly some missed calls. Home teams always get those. You can’t even say ATL doesn’t get them too. Watch the Miami series???? The MAIN reason that they didn’t get to the foul line is because they fell in love with jump shots. Period. Josh Smith can complain because he went to the hole strong on a few occasions but didn’t get the calls. Even he eventually started hoisting up shots. Other than him, it was a bunch of scared jump shooters.
jaxman
May 8th, 2009
10:45 pm
jaxman
May 8th, 2009
10:42 pm
Hey Disgusted….more like Hilarious. Why not pay attention to the game a bit more. Yes, there were clearly some missed calls. Home teams always get those. You can’t even say ATL doesn’t get them too. Watch the Miami series???? The MAIN reason that they didn’t get to the foul line is because they fell in love with jump shots. Period. Josh Smith can complain because he went to the hole strong on a few occasions but didn’t get the calls. Even he eventually started hoisting up shots. Other than him, it was a bunch of scared jump shooters
Patrick
May 8th, 2009
10:50 pm
Plenty of lousy calls in Game 2–both ways! Ask Szczerbiak or DWest, or LeBron–several noncalls there. [...Sorry but the truth hurts sometimes.] Violet Palmer has to be one of the worst refs in the Association. How is she doing any playoff games?
Hawks at full strength would have been an underdog. Hawks missing a few starters are larger underdogs, no matter who their coach is. Does anyone think ZenMaster Phil would have gotten a better outcome? I don’t think so. Hopefully pride (and home crowd?) will help counteract part of the large disadvantage.
jaxman
May 8th, 2009
10:54 pm
Disgusted,
we need prefixes! Without “mal” we wouldn’t have malcontent. Without “mis” we wouldn’t have misinformed. And without “re” we couldn’t have REJECT!
jaxman
May 8th, 2009
11:02 pm
Patrick,
good post. The team is decimated by injury. Fact is the team sent the leading scorer in the NBA to an early vacation. They have absolutely no front line at this point. Would be one thing if they were taking a beating at full strength. Everyone on here needs to relax and stop making A$$e$ of themselves. This should be a learning experience (ie Bibby the matador needs to go, coach needs to yank Smith if he moves out of the block, etc). Either you are a fan or not. Nothing worse than phony fans.
Want My Floor Seats?
May 8th, 2009
11:54 pm
1) So the “Mayor” of Cleveland moonlights as a local news anchor? Or does a local news anchor moonlight as the Mayor of Cleveland? Sounds like he wants a 3rd job as an Amateur Boxer – “If I see him in this town, I’m gonna fight him!” Does he actually say near the end, “You better hide because I’m coming that way with a SHOVEL?”
Bark Madley’s response was an instant classic, “Oh yeah…I’m gonna be hiding from YOU.”
2) The Mayor of “The City of Champions…” To what city is he referring? He must be delusional. Did he have a brain fart and think he was in Pittsburgh…Or Boston maybe? Cleveland, like ATL, may be a lot of things…But NEITHER ONE is “The City of Champions”.
3) These Hawks are TERMINAL. They aren’t going to “grow out of it” after a couple of more years. A coach and team either GEL or they don’t. Players getting in a coach’s face during a game (J-Smoove) and the ridiculous locker room chatter coming out of the player’s AND the coach’s mouths after crushing losses says just about ALL that needs to be said:
“Woody doesn’t have the ‘SPECT of the Playas.”
You don’t cure that with time. It’s why most teams DON’T WIN CHAMPIONSHIPS, or even make the playoffs. A coach can be a “player’s coach” and still RUN THE TEAM. When the COACH fails to exercise his authority over the players, chaos always ensues…
Reference Thursday’s AJC: “Johnson, Woodson disagree on plan.” Joe Johnson says, “If you give the ball up, there’s no way you’re going to get the ball back.”
Aren’t these the kind of things you work out over the course of a full season? Isn’t this the LAST THING that should be coming up when a team has limped into the 2nd round of the playoffs? The PLAYERS HAVE QUIT on this coach AND THE FANS! Ask Chan Gailey what happened in Big-D when grown men no longer respect you as their coach…
Now you can blog 24/7 on Hawksquawk.net (as if that makes you some kind of Fan-On-Steroids as opposed to the rest of us who pay our hard-earned money for seats in Philips), but how can you continue to lavish praise on players that have QUIT? The definition of a Professional Sports Player is one who DOES NOT QUIT, regardless of the circumstances.
The Thrashers stunk it up until the final 2 months of the year…But even knowing they were mathematically OUT of the playoffs, THEY NEVER QUIT! In fact, they dug down inside and GOT EVEN BETTER! If these Hawks players ever dug down inside, all they’d find would be a bunch of half-eaten waffles and bags full of riddles and question marks.
Sorry, call me a “fair weather fan” if that makes you feel superior…But I prefer to support PROFESSIONAL sports players and teams, especially when it comes to my financial support. These players have TURNED ON THEIR COACH AND FANS because they lack the intestinal fortitude that is the hallmark of TRUE WINNERS. The mask has come off and “NOW YOU KNOW” that they’re just there for the paycheck…And the off-season can’t come fast enough. If you were a “TRUE FAN”, then that should turn your stomach.
They’ve shown that they’re capable of playing very well and competing with anyone in this league…But winners don’t just turn it on and turn it off whenever they feel like it. Winners don’t show up their coach and players with sideline shouting matches and backstabbing locker room drivel. When professionals forget who’s running the show (the coach) and who are paying their ridiculous salaries (the fans) and lose the will to even play for pride, it’s time for attitude adjustments or time to hit the road, Jack…And don’t you come back.
Some of these Hawk Fans on here are hysterical…Quoting their recent playoff performances as “progress”. FIVE BLOWOUTS in nine games? Did you even watch the past 2 games? The guys standing still were the Hawks…The guys celebrating their win by halftime were the Cavs. You saw a team with Talent + Heart destroy a team with Talent + No Heart. Give me 5 guys with avg talent and an all-consuming desire to WIN and I’ll slaughter your team with above avg talent and a desire that consists of phoning in performances whenever they feel like it…EVERY TIME.
Fortunately I resisted the Kool-Aid and didn’t go for the sucker punch of signing on for Season Tix next year. The Thrashers showed me they’re headed in the right direction. The Hawks simply showed me they’re a train wreck…And it takes a long time and heavy equipment to clean up a train wreck.
Want My Floor Seats?
May 8th, 2009
11:59 pm
Actually, phony professional players are worse than phony fans…And sports fans who believe they are superior to other sports fans are the worst of all.
Harpie
May 9th, 2009
12:36 am
Mike Woodson is without a doubt the World’s Worst Coach. Also – the NBA should be ashamed of the way their officials call the games; it’s a travesty…
Topics about Miami » Archive » Round 2, Game 2: Say goodbye to the Atlanta Hawks | Mark Bradley
May 9th, 2009
2:42 am
[...] Mark Bradley added an interesting post today on Round 2, Game 2: Say goodbye to the Atlanta Hawks | Mark BradleyHere’s a small readingJoe Johnson has had a lot to say before the Miami series and before this one; unfortunately, he himself has done none of the things he said that the team needed to do. I was very surprised to see how much praise the ESPN commentators … [...]
RA
May 9th, 2009
8:20 am
Now, any of you can take me to task if you want to, but any coach in the league would have been hard pressed to make a better showing with the team that they had on hand by the end of the game on Wednesday. It’s a testament to Woodson that his team was still playing in the fourth quarter, they could just as easily have lost by fifty. Back off Woody. (If any of you doubt me, think back to the 1990 finals, Detroit and LA. The Lakers lost Byron Scott and Magic Johnson, and Pat Riley, arguable the best postseason coach in the history of the game, got swept.)
Now,with all respect to Woody, if there is the slightest bit of truth that Byron Scott may leave the Hornets, the Hawks need to make a play for him. I’m not saying fire Woody. Promote him, give him a raise and a title within the organization, God knows he’s earned it, but Byron Scott is one of the all time great players in this league and he’s taken every team that he’s ever coached at least as far as the conference finals. He’d demand respect from players and coaches alike. Sorry Woody, but it’s the right thing to do. If Scott’s available.
RA
May 9th, 2009
8:23 am
I can do you one better Want My Floor Seats. Fans that abandon their own team when the team needs support are the most despicable of all. Give your tickets to someone more deserving. No real Hawks fan wants you there anyway, and after what the teams done this year, they deserve a lot better than the likes of you.
Cuz
May 9th, 2009
9:07 am
It is not over till we say it’s over. Did America give up when the Germans bombed Pearl Harbour, he11 no. Now who is with me?
Where is Senator John Blutarski when we need him?
RA
May 9th, 2009
9:44 am
Uhm, Cuz, nevermind…
Prasad
May 9th, 2009
10:15 am
I’m with you ,Cuz…These bandwagon fans are making me sick..Ok,so we are the underdogs..Big deal..We shocked the world last year when we were down 0-2 in the series against Boston..Boston who I believe had a superior team compared to the Cavs today..I just hope I am not the only one cheering for the Hawks in the arena today.Stupid article.Hey MB,Why dont you leave the ATL and move to Cleveland?You are a disgrace. I understand you are trying to be an analyst, but you are just being a “premature ejaculator” in my opinion.
TROTTINGHOME
May 9th, 2009
10:37 am
guys being hurt is not the real problem. The Hawks are not in the same company as “The King” and Company.
Reminds me of Ray Charles song “It’s a rainy night in Georgia…It must be raining all over the world.
TROTTINGHOME
May 9th, 2009
10:38 am
Cuz ….you out of line son…LOL
nunna yo bizznezz
May 9th, 2009
11:02 am
cuz,
lmao!!!
dang dog,it was japan who bombed pearl harbor,lol..
1st off,if joe johnson cannot play,its not the end of the world folks..
joe is tired,the rest will do him well in time for games 5 or 6 to come back..after all,he is no.3 among minutes played this year:
NAME TEAM G TOT. AVG. PTS. PPG.
1 A.Iguodala,PHI 82 3269 39:51 1541 18.8
2 S.Jackson,GSW 59 2339 39:38 1223 20.7
3 J.Johnson,ATL 79 3124 39:32 1688 21.4
playoff minutes,during regular season..kobe is nowhere in the top 25,lol..joe is a shooter who can score,but he is not a scorer who can shoot..scorer’s shoot regardless and put up 40 shots to make 10,but they don’t get down on having a bad night,but,joe does..unconscious is the word im looking for when your a scorer,you forget the bad night or bad shot and keep it coming..most great ones shoot their way out of bad nights..when joe has a bad game,it lingers on and becomes a SLUMP..
would i trade him? no!!
he is what he is,and the hawks are trying to make him into something he is not..let him shoot,pass,create,come off the screen,and even have him come off the bench..can u imagine letting him be your 6th or 7th man..
its not who starts but who finishes..and to be honest with u,joe would not mind by coming off the bench and not being looked at as being THE MAN!!! its not knocking him,he is just a humbled team player,which is great to have..
2nd,if woody brings in horford and williams to spell the other guys and not try to start them and to play quality but limited roles,then we’d be ok..he then would have to add them into a bigger lineup with both solo,and morris against the bigger bodies up front to match up with cleveland.
and then from the jump we need to establish the inside game,get some fouls on the cavs beef up front from the beginning and let it play out from there..thomas gardner and othello hunter deserves more increased playing time starting tonight..
if joe can’t go,then u start flip at sg where he belongs,and u bring in law and gardner as the reserves for bibbs and flip..
hunter/morris/zsa,will make up the subs for horford/evans/and smith..
with williams playing spot duty here and there for defense..he can still move,its just his shooting wrist..
initiate a drive to the hoop 1st gameplan,and don’t be afraid to sit josh down when he is taking those wild shots..
starting the 2nd period,leave mario in the game against mo williams,and Assign him the duty of slowing him down as he brings the ball up court and play in his pants the whole night..
let lebron shoot as much as he wants from the outside,just cut him off as he drives and play his pAssing lanes when he drives to the hole..
and finally,call plays for othello/solo down low..it won’t hurt..
Rollins Tree
May 9th, 2009
12:15 pm
PREDICTIONS FOR THE HAWKS –
GAME THREE – We show up looking like a playoff team full of energy and playing for the home crowd as we do so well. Great game but we lose in the final minute because of missed free throws.
GAME FOUR – The Hawks refused to get swept and actually blow out the Cavs.
GAME FIVE – Its over by the end of first quarter and we lose saying goodbye to the playoffs. Josh Smith sits the whole second half.
OFF SEASON – Woodson is giving a key to the city of Atlanta and a three year extension.
NOW YOU KNOW!!!
nunna yo bizznezz
May 9th, 2009
3:21 pm
1 more thing..
solo was being watched by the heat when he played in college..
he was listed as a #2 with us,not a #1..
his lateral movements,close to mid-range jump shot,and his quick shot blocking ability at close range makes him a superb skilled player for the tall power foward position.
his weakness is his weight which is too light,not enough low post or back to the basket moves,no floor awareness of whats around him,and consistency of getting lost on defense.
he never got lost in college,but,he is getting lost in the nba.
it is coachable,don’t forget it.
it can be corrected..
these are not my words but someone whom i respect since i moved back from florida..
A.S.– A very good friend of mine..
Kenny D
May 9th, 2009
6:51 pm
The Hawks need leadership ! I am a true HAWKS fan ! We are looking at a sweep!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Want My Floor Seats?
May 10th, 2009
3:04 am
Hey RA – You missed the point, pal. It’s NOT that that Hawks Fans abandoned the team. In fact, there was a sellout crowd of 20,000+ at Philips tonight, the majority of us cheering on the Hawks…Despite their pathetic efforts last Tues & Thurs in C-Land.
I’ve spent more than $5k in tickets to take the family to Thrashers and Hawks games this season, including $600+ tonight…So if it weren’t for fans like me, there wouldn’t even be major sports franchises in this town. Get it? And it’s certainly not wise for a team to fold up like an accordian and alienate those who are paying their salaries.
Ever had your 5-yr old son ask you why his favorite team and players don’t seem to be playing as hard as the Cleveland players and they don’t even look like they’re trying to win the game??? Yeah, lots of fun there…Maybe I should thank the Hawks for that one, huh?
I’ve been going to Hawks games since College Night 1982…And I’ve seen more unique types of disappointment with this franchise than Carter has little pills. However, this was a new one for me. Even the Hawks players (the ones who care) used words like “Humiliating” and “Embarrassing” and claimed it wouldn’t have made a difference if they were at 100% strength BECAUSE OF THE EFFORT (or lack of) THEY GAVE.
This team is HISTORY…It just imploded in a different way. They DID look like their Manhood was challenged and they responded better tonight. But ask yourself why J-Smoove was quoted in Sat’s AJC saying:
“This series starts for us now, on our floor…We were just trying to steal a game at their place. That was our goal. And we came up short.”
WHEN WILL SOMEONE ON A HAWKS TEAM SAY, “Our GOAL is to win it all…Everything…And we aren’t going to settle for less!” Team goals of having home court in the 1st Round and “stealing” a game in Round 2? Really, now how are “true Hawks fans” supposed to reward a team that sets such lofty goals for itself??? Please tell me…
It’s now SIX blowout losses in 10 playoff games…Starters who show up some days and phone it in other days…A coach who can’t get his players to do what he tells them to do…And backstabbing locker room talk for whoever will listen…YET THE FANS STILL SHOW UP. Go figure.
I guess we’re a glutton for punishment. Or maybe we just believe in the Hawks players more than they believe in themselves. But I tell ya…After nearly 3 DECADES of crap like this, maybe I won’t spend my 5 Large next year. It’s really starting to get old.
MVP23
May 10th, 2009
2:19 pm
want my seats???? As a long suffering fan of Cleveland sports I feel your pain. Since the Browns came back to the league I had season tickets…until this year. I can’t take this constant rebuilding crap. If the owner was not so incompetant he could hire a GM who would get the franchise going in the right direction. The first few years us fans were just glad to get football back, but to tell you the truth, the three years w/o pro football was way less distressing than watching this crap.
Next, you have MLB and their crap. The rich teams pay the poorer teams a little money to keep their franchises pofitable…and young. These poor teams will bring up the young talent which will eventually run off to NYC or Boston. I keep hearing this crap about the small market teams being competative with the large market teams. Yes, this is true but it’s a DIFFERENT small market team while the Yankees and their ilk are their EVERY year. They NEVER have rebuilding years.
Finally, the NBA. I know the league and players association wants LeBron to go to NYC for ratings and money. I’ll just say this…if LeBron leaves Clevland , the league might as well fold the franchise. Cleveland as NOTHING….NOTHING going it’s way but LBJ and if he leaves…the franchise might as well go too.
The Scratch card » a Move
June 14th, 2009
6:37 am
[...] Milwaukee. I love The Los Angeles Lakers but she’s often six games short of the road. So become six match ups today and begin reaping the rewards that so many are enjoying. You can simply enter the road [...]
Twitter Trackbacks for Round 2, Game 2: Say goodbye to the Atlanta Hawks | Mark Bradley [ajc.com] on Topsy.com
September 1st, 2009
7:38 pm
[...] Round 2, Game 2: Say goodbye to the Atlanta Hawks | Mark Bradley blogs.ajc.com/mark-bradley-blog/2009/05/07/round-2-game-2-say-goodbye-to-the-atlanta-hawks – view page – cached Mark Bradley of the AJC writes that the Hawks-Cavaliers playoff series is essentially over after only two games. — From the page [...]