Live from the Hawks: Even John Hollinger is impressed!
Get off to a 9-2 start and you'll have a lot of friends. (AJC photo by Curtis Compton)
We’ve had some fun with our Facebook friend John Hollinger of ESPN.com. We’ve noted more than once that he picked the Hawks to win 31 games in 2008-2009 — they won 47 — and declared their bench “a FEMA disaster zone.” (It was actually pretty good.) More recently we’ve noted he predicted the Hawks will slide from those 47 victories to 44.
Well, fair’s only fair. And if we we tweak Big John for his less-than-glowing appraisals, we must also recognize him when he says something nice. And here it is: In his first power rankings for ESPN’s Insiders (link requires registration), Mr. Hollinger has the Hawks No. 1.
If you’re counting, that makes the third set of ratings that puts these Hawks at the top. Hollinger’s ESPN colleague Marc Stein and John Schuhmann of NBA.com made the same call earlier in the week. (Chris Mannix of SI.com is the contrarian: He has the Hawks No. 2 behind Phoenix.)
With early success comes, as day follows night (or is it the other way around?), increased media attention. I’ve noticed correspondents from ESPN.com (Hollinger again), NBA.com (esteemed former colleague Sekou Smith), CBSsports.com and Yahoo! Sports on hand for tonight’s game with Miami, and it wasn’t so long ago you’d go to a Hawks game find rows of empty chairs in the press gallery.
I’m not going to tell you I’ve been here for every game of the past few years, but I’ve seen a few. And not since the middle ’80s have I seen the Hawks playing at such a high level. (The Lenny Wilkens teams of the ’90s were never quite this good.) I expect the Hawks to win again. I expect them to win every game the rest of the season and finish 80-2.
Yes, I’m kidding. But I’m also excited in a strictly professional way. I love basketball. I love being able to see good basketball without leaving town. And you’re welcome to join me as we chat about Game No. 12 in what has already been a blissful season. To borrow the catchphrase from the Hawks’ failed 1994 postseason: Bring it on!
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356 comments Add your comment
J.J.M.
November 18th, 2009
8:01 pm
look at the crowd they are in it
ryan
November 18th, 2009
8:01 pm
this is it folks, hawks will make some noise in the playoffs this year. forget the big 3. its the big 4 now. whoooo!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
ryan
November 18th, 2009
8:02 pm
screw you brad.
ryan
November 18th, 2009
8:02 pm
i’m just kidding.
BONE
November 18th, 2009
8:02 pm
Hawks are putting in work Yea Boy!!! lol
ryan
November 18th, 2009
8:03 pm
whether or not de hall sucks or not, atheletic arrogance is a great term that describes something that you really couldn’t get at before
J.J.M.
November 18th, 2009
8:03 pm
I hope joe resigns with us
J.J.M.
November 18th, 2009
8:03 pm
Athletic supporter sounds more like it, a secondary player here. I like tight men in a wet jockie strap.Tony Romo, va va voom.
ryan
November 18th, 2009
8:04 pm
god i love this game
J.J.M.
November 18th, 2009
8:04 pm
Mark can you block him?
Mark Bradley
November 18th, 2009
8:04 pm
Josh with a steal. Horfy with a fast-break follow jam. Josh with a rebound and gets fouled. The Heat have no answer for this.
Zach
November 18th, 2009
8:05 pm
as Dane Cook would say, “abused”.
Mark, “the heat are crumbling on both sides of the floor” –Heat Broadcasters
ryan
November 18th, 2009
8:06 pm
actually i wouldn’t mind having de hall back. never mind. yes i would. houston is coming on and i love grimes. how the hell did that interception where he jumped higher than spud could for that int not get talked about more?
Mark Bradley
November 18th, 2009
8:06 pm
I’m telling you, the Heat crew can be brutally honest.
Mark Bradley
November 18th, 2009
8:07 pm
Josh with a muscle layup on Anthony to make it 55-39. Hawks so much quicker to the ball.
J.J.M.
November 18th, 2009
8:07 pm
j smooooove
ryan
November 18th, 2009
8:07 pm
this is like ali vs. cooney. did you see dwaydes look? “we can’t hang”
Zach
November 18th, 2009
8:07 pm
I like it, I respect a tv crew that can be honest and call it like it is.
Mark Bradley
November 18th, 2009
8:08 pm
A blowout by halftime. Crawford to Bibby makes it 19 points.
J.J.M.
November 18th, 2009
8:08 pm
I would bench my starters if i were the heat
ajw
November 18th, 2009
8:09 pm
Wow! this team is rockin’ the house!
Mark Bradley
November 18th, 2009
8:09 pm
OK, Josh has now taken a three this season. But, in his defense, it was at the end of the half.
And not a bad half. Hawks lead 60-43. Dwyane Wade with four points.
ryan
November 18th, 2009
8:09 pm
that wasn’t me. obviously
Zach
November 18th, 2009
8:09 pm
“looks like Miami’s running downhill, and Atlanta’s running uphill.” –Heat Broadcasters. I think that’s pretty dead on
J.J.M.
November 18th, 2009
8:09 pm
wow somebody in here really has no life
J.J.M.
November 18th, 2009
8:10 pm
lol josh first 3
Mark Bradley
November 18th, 2009
8:10 pm
We’re taking care of the other JJM, JJM. That individual is about to get banned.
ajw
November 18th, 2009
8:11 pm
I am smiling with chills from all the excitement. We’ve waited a long time for this. Cherish this baby.
J.J.M.
November 18th, 2009
8:11 pm
thanks mark
ryan
November 18th, 2009
8:13 pm
i think if we can’t sustain this level of play then its on woodson. and does billy have any vindication? what about sund?
ryan
November 18th, 2009
8:14 pm
thats not fair to woodson. way to go hawks!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Opinion
November 18th, 2009
8:17 pm
How bout them Atlanta Spirit now? Hawks number 1 in the NBA with a salary in the bottom 15, and the Atlanta Thrashers playing playoff hokey, how bout them apples???
Mark Bradley
November 18th, 2009
8:17 pm
Billy deserves credit, absolutely. (Though you can make the case that this would have happened two years ago with either Chris Paul or Brandon Roy on the team.)
Rick Sund had a fabulous summer. The Crawford trade was huge, and keeping three of the four free agents plus adding Joe Smith and Jason Collins was more than I ever dreamed he could do. But he did it.
And give Woody credit. The Hawks are playing harder for him now than they did two years ago, and that almost never happens. Generally guys get sick of hearing the same coach talk — familiarity breeds contempt — but this bunch has done the opposite. As Woody keeps saying, “They’re playing for something,” and they seem to know it.
DrewCat
November 18th, 2009
8:17 pm
hawks are looking sharp. Few turnovers and knocking down shots is our formula for success. Everyone is in a rhythm, even Marvin knocked down a few shots. Everybody on this blog needs to lay off Marv, he’ll get it going!!! He’s also playing pretty good defense with his length.
J.J.M.
November 18th, 2009
8:17 pm
now we need the falcons to step it up
Mark Bradley
November 18th, 2009
8:18 pm
Game was tied at 35 with 6:54 left in the half. Hawks outscored the head 25-8.
ryan
November 18th, 2009
8:19 pm
i totally agree mark. woody has done a great job with what hes been given.
Opinion
November 18th, 2009
8:19 pm
Hey Mark,
How bout the worst owners ever? Atlanta Spirit?
Hawks #1 in the NBA
Thrashers Playoff Team
????????
ryan
November 18th, 2009
8:20 pm
i mean that he inherited a mess and kept them on his side. especially what hes been able to do with josh. i thought that relationship was doomed. he actually got through to him and it seems they have father sonish relationship now when it seemed josh would just tune him out forever
Mark Bradley
November 18th, 2009
8:21 pm
Hawks outrebounded the Heat 26-18. Outscored Miami in the lane 28-12. (They outscored Portland 56-28 in the lane.)
Wade is 2 for 9. Hasn’t been to the line. Hasn’t done a thing.
Josh with 11 points in the second quarter.
og37
November 18th, 2009
8:21 pm
I said this off season the Hawks would win the division.We have one of the best starting 5 in the whole NBA.It’s just getting better.I hope Joe Johnson is just playing around.He would be stupid to leave the hawks come seasons end.We also have so many players on are bench that could start for most teams.INCREDIBLE.
Mark Bradley
November 18th, 2009
8:21 pm
Certainly the Spirit is looking better than, say, Dan Snyder.
Opinion
November 18th, 2009
8:22 pm
Look even ESPN has an Atlanta Hawks poll on its front page (are the Atlanta Hawks legit contenders in the East?) only 54% seem to think so, but even ESPN is taking notice
Mark Bradley
November 18th, 2009
8:23 pm
I think what happened with Josh is that he saw the team start to win and he said, “Hey, winning is fun!” Remember, he arrived in the 13-win season of 2004-2005 and had gone through more losing than any of these guys. He’d fallen into some bad habits. But he’s a big-timer now.
MitchC
November 18th, 2009
8:23 pm
Mark, good place to be tonight. Ever thought about being a Hawk broadcaster, instead of an AJC sportswriter? You’re pretty good with those score updates and game action.
Seriously, this team is on fire. I know it’s only November, and that they can hit a lull, and may well. The NBA season is long, after all. However, the way the Hawks are playing right now, they have the potential to win 60 games, or close to it.
Realistically, anything less than a trip to the Eastern Finals will be a disappointment for the Hawks this year. If we continue to play as we have, as I suspect we might, I think we have a shot to beat anyone this year, and.. maybe, dare we say it… end up in The Finals?
Mark Bradley
November 18th, 2009
8:24 pm
I didn’t think the Hawks would win the South. I did think they’d win 54 games and upset somebody in Round 2.
Mark Bradley
November 18th, 2009
8:25 pm
I thought about being a broadcaster until I heard myself on tape. End of that aspiration.
ryan
November 18th, 2009
8:25 pm
as good as the starters have been how bout the second team? thats what i think is almost as important as the improved play as josh, joe, horford… no. its been the starters and the bench
Opinion
November 18th, 2009
8:25 pm
Though im still not convinced Mike Woodson is the best coach long term for this team, I give him a lot of credit with the job he has done this year. My biggest beef was people kept saying the Woodson improved in wins every year (thats easy to do when you set the bar so low)
Mark Bradley
November 18th, 2009
8:25 pm
Give Marvin some credit for D. He has affected Wade. Just made him pass off.