The Hawks lose Game 1 by 43 points, and it seemed worse
The Hawks tried to stop Dwight Howard. Fail. (Photo by Gary W. Green, Orlando Sentinel)
Orlando – The Hawks really believed they had a chance to steal Game 1, but the only crime committed here was fraud. The East’s No. 3 seed performed as if it were back in its glory days of Billy Knight burning lottery picks on guys named Williams.
The Hawks were tied after 14 minutes. Ten minutes later they trailed by 20 points. And it would — oh yes, it would — get doubly worse.
It’s no easy feat to trail a Round 2 playoff game by 41 points having played only 36 minutes, but the proud conquerors of Milwaukee managed it. They were down 85-44 after three quarters. And I say it again: This is why so few folks outside Atlanta, and many folks in Atlanta, don’t take seriously a team that won 53 games this season and has survived a Game 7 in each of the two springs.
The Hawks tried really hard those first 14 minutes. Then the home team got going, and the visitors decided trying to play sound basketball really wasn’t worth the effort. So they ceased and desisted.
Joe Johnson kept losing the ball. (He had four turnovers against five points the first half.) Jamal Crawford looked scared. (His first half: Two points, two points.) And Mike Woodson’s grand scheme to control Dwight Howard worked for a little while, but the sheer weirdness of it — deploying the forgotten Jason Collins before the NBA’s sixth man of the year and the ancient Joe Smith in the first quarter — undid the team it was supposed to bolster.
The Hawks were so consumed by trying to bump and bedevil Howard they stopped running any semblance of an offense. (Collins made a basket and seemed shocked.) They scored 23 points in the first quarter; they managed 21 in the next two. They tried to go Iso-Joe and that didn’t work, so everyone decided to hoist jumpers. And the lead grew — it would peak at 112-66 — and the humiliation deepened, and the East’s No. 3 seed became something a No. 3 seed should never be: pitiable.
Joe Johnson wasn’t the only Hawk lacking this night — the line forms on the left and stretches to Daytona Beach — but he’s supposed to be the go-to guy, and he wasn’t. Not for lack of trying, though. He looked off an open Al Horford on the baseline in the second quarter to take a fadeaway jumper, which missed. In the third, the game long gone, Johnson started to pass to Jeff Teague and then, for the heck of it, shot another. Missed again.
To reiterate: This is the No. 3 seed, not the No. 8. Even if the Magic are superior — certainly a prima facie case can be made to that effect — they shouldn’t be 43 points better. But the Hawks keep going on the road in postseason and laying these dinosaur eggs and then wondering why we don’t give them credit for being a big-time team.
“This was uncharacteristic of us,” Johnson said afterward, but it was perfectly in character. This is a team that has played 13 road games the past three postseasons and has lost 11 of them, 10 by at least 19 points. Even if this was the most egregious, it was simply the continuation of a regrettable pattern.
Just when you think the Hawks have a chance to do something really good, they offer up a loss that makes you wonder if they’re any good at all. Yeah, yeah – it’s only one game and it still could be a long series, but the more the Hawks keep doing this the harder it is to write off one bad loss. Because there have been so many.
“It was frustrating,” Horford said. “Guys were trying, but we got a little distracted. We should be past that. We’re a good team. They’re not 40 points better than us.”
No team should be, the but Magic were in Game 1. Numerically, it was the worst playoff loss the Hawks have absorbed since moving to Atlanta. The only surprise was that it wasn’t the worst loss in the history of basketball. Because that’s how it smelled.
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219 comments Add your comment
braves choke again
May 5th, 2010
2:42 am
The Hawks have no heart and that is because they have no confidence. They don’t have confidence that they have a plan or are well coached enough to beat teams with equal talent in the playoffs. And they’re right.
Bigstack O' Pancakes. It's an Irish name!
May 5th, 2010
2:53 am
Watching Woodson coach makes you miss Paul Hewitt and his bumbling. Hewitt will be back. Hopefully Woodson won’t.
Bigstack O' Pancakes. It's an Irish name!
May 5th, 2010
2:54 am
It is all Bobby Cox and Terry Pendleton’s fault. These Hawks can’t hit.
hot err
May 5th, 2010
3:42 am
This franchise is gonna continue to suck for the next 6-7 years if we give J.J. max money. Clearly he’s not worth it.
Shane
May 5th, 2010
3:50 am
prima facie
Nice. A little Latin. prima facie – or on the face … on the surface
BravesFan79
May 5th, 2010
4:01 am
Im a Hawks/ GT fan, but this was Coach K against Coach Hewitt bad….. just on the pro level!
If we are to compete with Orlando, we must hire a better coach, Jeff Van Gundy is a EXCELLENT coach, and would be my top choice!
jeff
May 5th, 2010
5:57 am
It wouldn’t matter who or what plays were called, ISO JOE is trying to out himself in ELITE company. He won’t pass the ball!! If he shares the ball we have a chance. If he ISO’s 1 on 4 and 5 we will lose big in 4 games straight. Come on- All star or not, it took the other players to help him acheive that status. You have to share the ball, it will open more opportunites for good shots, not fade-aways.
Woodson is goofy
May 5th, 2010
6:14 am
I wish I knew, ……says Woodson.
jo
May 5th, 2010
6:17 am
If we remember the Hawks came unhinged after SEVERAL phantom foul calls against them and the fact that ORL and Howard were rarely caled for anything The Hawklettes then started to play against the bad calls and forgo to play against ORL. The Hawks need more maturity to be sure. They also possibly need beter coaching as the stop Howard game opened up everyone elses game…
76erfan
May 5th, 2010
6:39 am
Yikes! I thought I was tuning into an NBA playoff game last night, but instead of Orlando Magic vs. Atlanta Hawks, I seem to have stumbled upon Harlem Globetrotters vs. Washington Generals. I endured the 13-win 76er season (see pseudonym) and this was still the very worst trashing I have ever seen on a professional basketball court. The worst of it might have been that the Hawks didn’t even use their two periods of trash time to try to develop something that might possibly work against Orlando for the remainder of the series. They didn’t even do a adequate job of going through the motions. Atlanta Hawks, find enough pride to at least be ashamed!
oldfart
May 5th, 2010
6:43 am
To quote the Lynrd Skynrd song:
Ooooh that smell
Can’t you smell that smell
Ooooh that smell
ynot
May 5th, 2010
6:56 am
The Hawks should have played at the Punchline. People across the country were laughing all night.
E43
May 5th, 2010
6:59 am
many things went wrong out there and I dont know if its only me but i think that it makes sense to start teague because:-
1) teague forces inside shots rather than mid-long range
2) bibby will be stuck with J-williams
3) the bench can finally have a true point guard with bibby on the court.
I am well aware of the shortcomings of the hawks players but the hawks havent favored well with the current depth chart. i think 43 points are enough 4 a change. im not saying that the change should be permanent.
i think woody uses that switching zone to hide bibby whose offense doesnt quite make up for his poor deffense anymore. at least with teague in there you can scrap the switches outside of the C position.
Dr. Kenneth Noisewater
May 5th, 2010
7:04 am
i vomited after seeing the game last night- If Bucks took the Hawks to 7, we’ll be swept in this series. What an embarrassment. Then throw in the fact that the Braves lost to the Nats as well, probably starting another losing streak. Is it fall yet??
Dr. Kenneth Noisewater
May 5th, 2010
7:05 am
Disgusting
Dr. Kenneth Noisewater
May 5th, 2010
7:05 am
Hawks & Braves both lose on the same night- i’m sensing a pattern here.
jeff
May 5th, 2010
7:10 am
Can someone call Delta and ask them where the Hawks got dropped off? It appeared to me the players last night were scrubs.
I don’t think they need to go to Disney world. They looked Goofy enough already.
Willy
May 5th, 2010
7:15 am
I don’t even care how Woodson would explain this, I want him gone.
Ezekiel
May 5th, 2010
7:20 am
If any GM is insane enough to give Joe Johnson a max contract should be horse-whipped. JJ is a “small game” player. He’ll score 30 against the Sacramento Kings on a Tuesday night in February but when the playoffs start he recedes like a worm back into a hole in the ground.
Ezekiel
May 5th, 2010
7:22 am
If any GM is insane enough to give Joe Johnson a max contract he should be horse-whipped. JJ will come up big and score 35 against the Sacramento Kings on a Tuesday night in February but once the playoffs start he recedes like a worm into a hole in the ground.
dean
May 5th, 2010
7:25 am
My son was at the Braves/Nat’s game last night. If that wasn’t bad enough I had to text him that, “…with over 10 minutes left in the 4th qtr, the Hawks are losing by 43 points.” It’s time to break the bags out.
Hawk TT
May 5th, 2010
7:25 am
No Al, the Magic aren’t 40 points better than the hawks. Maybe 20-30—-but who’s counting in loserville. Atlanta pro teams suck again: baseball, football, hockey, basketball. The name fits.
Marvin Mangrum
May 5th, 2010
7:26 am
If what the Hawks have is the best coach available, God help coaching!
NoShamSam
May 5th, 2010
7:26 am
If anybody watches game 2, it will be interesting to see if the Hawks have any fight left, or if they will have just given up
59bulldawg
May 5th, 2010
7:28 am
Unbelievable! Hawks are better than this!
JEWELL ROLLEN
May 5th, 2010
7:31 am
“YOU DON’T LIVE BY THE JUMPER….YOU DIE BY IT!” QUOTE…CHARLES BARKLEY……STOP JACKING JUMPERS AND START TAKING THE BALL TO THE BASKET…..RUN SOME OFFENSE…OH WAIT, WE DON’T HAVE ONE!
BIG BALLER
May 5th, 2010
7:33 am
Embarrassing!! these clowns should be ashamed to show their faces in public. Joe Johnson wants a MAX CONTRACT! are you kidding…these guys are embarrassing themselves and our GREAT CITY of ATLANTA…Woodson..GOODBYE!! don’t let the door knob hit u where the good LORD split u…Joe Johnson GOODBYE…go be somebody’s second or third option…WE need Bosh and Wade….trade Josh Smith…this kid is a HEAD CASE…could be great but will never reach his potential…Marvin Williams…horrible….get him outta here too! build around Al Horford…Jamal will be better without Joe being here…I will not watch another game…they will be done in 4….5 max…this team has no leadership and NO HEART…and no DESIRE TO BE GREAT…..
Required Reading | Hard Knox Sports
May 5th, 2010
7:40 am
[...] Hawks 41 point loss seemed worse to Bradley [AJC] [...]
Mark
May 5th, 2010
7:42 am
You must be kidding…after Sunday’s win, a lot of talk,etc and then…..A bunch of babies, no teamwork,no leadership, just sulk ….Orlando is ready to move on….and find a new coach, Scott Skiles would be on my list
The Cynical White Boy
May 5th, 2010
7:45 am
Yeah, kind of funny to see a latin phrase (prima facie) in an article pertaining to a ’sport’ which decided long ago to ignore the demographic slice of people who may toss around latin phrases.
Maybe you should start writing your NBA articles in tune with the demographic that the NBA caters to. So write your NBA stuff in rap, or gansta code.
d.carter
May 5th, 2010
7:46 am
I HOPE YOU GIVE THE FALCONS AND MATTY POPSICLE JUST AS MUCH GRIEF AS YOUR GIVING WOODY AND THE HAWKS… THE FALCONS HAVENT WON A PLAYOFF GAME SINCE THE PITBULL 7 LEFT…LMAO
Mike Hunt
May 5th, 2010
7:49 am
There’s not much more to say than this team lacks a heart. No effort. No class. Second rate at best. This will be a sweep of epic proportions. Once again, Atlanta will be embarrassed.
JB
May 5th, 2010
7:50 am
Hawks do not match up with the magic at all. cleveland would thump us also but the magic have really made the hawks look bad this season. Hawks have not guts but also have proved that they can’t beat the magic. They did beat orlando on a fluke buzzer shot, but other than that, we have been taken to the woodshed! Orlando could be the only team to sweep it’s way to the conference finals. I think hawks go down 4-0! We damn sure aint gonna win in orlando!!!
All World
May 5th, 2010
7:53 am
This column and subsequent comments are jokes! Hawks fans should be proud. Atlanta is the third best team in the NBA East. Want to be better than Magic? Get a player better than Howard. Cavs? Get somebody better than LeBron. Hawks are going as far as they can with what they have. Get Dwayne Wade.
Wanted 2 Coaches!!
May 5th, 2010
7:53 am
Bobby Cox I mean Mike Woodson needs to go. This town will never wake up!!!!
Roto Rooter
May 5th, 2010
7:54 am
@b17211 – That is the best idea I have heard yet. Wade would move the ball and compete with HEART. Let JJ walk, Get a defensive big man (more on that later), and then hire Paul Westhead so at least we will be entertained.
Joey
May 5th, 2010
7:54 am
What was it Woody said Tuesday morning, Mark? Something to the effect of, “We’ll just have to make adjustments on the fly.”
My answer to that is the same as yesterday: Hahahahahahahahahahahhhahahahahahahahahahahah!!!
jg
May 5th, 2010
8:00 am
two words: totally embarrassed!!!!!!!
have we ever made a legitimate run on a team after trailing by 20 or more. i’m not talking about coming back and winning–i’m talking about getting it back to 10, 5 or even re-claiming a victory. i honestly can’t remember one. however–i can remember several, tons of them that we’ve led by at least 20 only to fumble the lead away and end up in a war or even most times lose the game.
woody says this is not the atlanta hawks! i say it is the atlanta hawks! i’ve seen last night’s game a bunch of times. we get down, we give up, we have no coach that can motivate or more less make any adjustments and finally we have no player with any sense of pride that will step up and get pissed off and knock the crap out of someone to make a statement.
this game was a joke–even orlando’s ball boy was seen laughing at the hawks…didn’t bother the hawks–they still get paid!
woody–bench everybody–if those guys play bad sit them too–unbelievably horrible!
pluckthehawks
May 5th, 2010
8:00 am
Fear our deer…..
JQP
May 5th, 2010
8:01 am
Why would any top tier player want to stay or come to Atlanta with the complete lack of fan support illustrated by this thread?
They lose one game on the road, against probably the most talented & best coached team in the NBA, badly. One game. They got crushed in Boston the first two games in 2008 1st round and came back in dramatic fashion. I’m with ‘em until they lose 4 and then Woodson’s record can and should be on the block.
5 years of steady improvement and he deserves at least to play out the full season and see what happens.
Joe Johnson is one of the hardest working, underappreciated, humble players in the NBA. Does everything for this team. Defends the toughest players, takes and makes big shots. Led hawks to 53 wins and awesome wins in game 6 and 7 vs Bucks. If we keep bashing our best players like this and offering no support we’re not going to land anyone decent.
Mr. Phil
May 5th, 2010
8:03 am
Simple fix is to stop trying to have Crawford play point. Anybody notice, the jump shots started raining when he came in. First, its one on one with Crawford, then Joe, then everybody. In the end, you get thumped by 43. Sure having Bibby and Crawford in at the same time will hurt defensively, but the main problem last night was the ball stopped moving offensively. I say when Woody brings in JC, he needs to either leave Bibby in or put in Teague. Using them to set Crawford up and then you can take them out once Crawford gets warmed up. Either that or have Joe run point.
pluckthehawks
May 5th, 2010
8:04 am
I have seen many a blow out in 21 years going to over 1000 Magic games but this one IN THE PLAYOFFS may have taken the cake…I partied with clients and 17,000 close friends last night, the refs let them play and one team did.
AG
May 5th, 2010
8:07 am
When you lose in basketball by 43, it is not the coach fault. The players have no pride!!! They have no fight. Pride should have made the game closer because team’s in the NBA make runs. The next game is a heart check. Josh was the only one playing tonight and even the bench outside of Pacullia played bad as well.
Richard Hamilton
May 5th, 2010
8:08 am
Wow your prediction of the Hawks playing to the level of their opponent went down in flames, just like the hawks. Hawks will be luck to win one at home. Magic take this series 4-2, and that is being generous.
Rex D
May 5th, 2010
8:11 am
It is just one loss Mark. Orlando 1, Hawks 0. Seven game series. First team to 4 wins. And just remember a week ago, after Game 5 of the Hawks-Bucks, you tried to make the game’s result bigger than it really was, basically saying it sure felt like the series was over. And the Hawks won the next 2 games and advanced. Let’s see what happens these next few games . . .
RB
May 5th, 2010
8:12 am
Did someone say Max contract? Whodat??
Paul Hewitt's Agent
May 5th, 2010
8:12 am
My client is interested…
bigeasy830
May 5th, 2010
8:14 am
These Hawks have bounced back before and I have no other choice but to believe that they will bounce back again. The hawks have won 2 play-off series in the last 2 years and made the play-offs 3 years in a row, The Brave nor the Falcons have not did a thing. The Falcons were one and done in their littlee lay-off appearance. So, those who are saying when is kic-off you must be a Tech or UGA fan because those sorry falcons have not done a thing and never will.
Mike Woodson
May 5th, 2010
8:15 am
I promise we will play for two quarters next game.
pluckthehawks
May 5th, 2010
8:16 am
Rex… it was one massive, hope destroying, humiliating and memorable loss to be more specific.