To open a meaningful month, the Hawks win one that matters
Because nothing says "NBA basketball" like Horfy and Co. doing the Gator Chomp. (Photo by M. Bradley)
Sometimes I think we’re too hard on the Hawks, and by “we” I mean not just you but me. It wasn’t so long ago that a team on pace to finish with 50 or so victories this season was losing 69 games in a season. It wasn’t so long ago that we wondered if this franchise would ever again make the playoffs, let alone win a series.
So, just for the record, the Hawks are no longer losers, and they’re nowhere close to being a terrible team. They’re a pretty good team, and they have been since May 2008. And yet …
Being human, we want more.
Said Jamal Crawford, who played on his share of lousy teams before becoming a Hawk in 2009: “Fans are appreciative of how far [the Hawks] have come. But now they’re saying, ‘OK, we want more than the second round [of the playoffs], more than winning close to 50 games.’ ”
We’re about to learn if there is indeed more to these Hawks. This month the Hawks will play the Bulls, Wednesday’s stellar opponent, twice more, and also the Thunder, the Knicks, the Lakers, the Heat and the Magic. And then, on April Fool’s Day, they play the Celtics. All but one of those games will be staged at Philips Arena. If there’s to be a great leap forward, it has to start now.
Said coach Larry Drew, speaking before the game: “The month of March could be a good month, or it could be a bad month … We’re in a position where we control our own destiny.”
Drew’s team awoke Wednesday 2 1/2 games behind Orlando for fifth place in the East, whereupon matters got complicated. Josh Smith, whose tender knee was reported not to require an MRI, didn’t suit up because he was off having … er, an MRI. This forced Drew to cobble together a new starting five, which featured Jason Collins at center, Al Horford at power forward and the new man Kirk Hinrich at point guard.
Early returns weren’t positive. The home team required almost seven minutes to score, by which point the Bulls had put up two touchdowns. Right about here, everyone had visions of those epic home wipeouts — a 23-point loss to Boston, a 41-point loss to New Orleans, a 34-point loss to Philadelphia — that have littered this season. Sure enough, the Bulls led by 17 points at halftime, and nothing suggested the second half wouldn’t double the deficit.
But then a funny thing happened, and by “funny” we mean “improbably stirring.” The Hawks made a stand. They took better shots, played tougher D and beat the Bulls to all the loose balls, of which there were many. In sum, the home side acted as if it was tired of being pushed around at home.
Al Horford, stoked by the sight of his old Gators roommate Joakim Noah, played with a focused fury. Horfy, as Noah used to call him, would finish with 31 points and 16 rebounds, and afterward he’d call it “one of the hardest [effort-wise] games I’ve ever played. Playing a team like the Bulls, without Josh, I had to bring that.”
Said Crawford: “That guy’s special. He’s a winner.”
He was also inspirational. From a budding embarrassment, this became a big-time game between serious opponents. The Hawks spent the second half knocking the Bulls backward, and a Horford free throw — he was fouled by Noah — tied it with 56 seconds left. A Noah free throw — he was fouled by Horford — put the Bulls back ahead.
A Horford dunk off a pick-and-roll with Crawford gave the Hawks their first lead. Then Derrick Rose, who had a terrible second half, fumbled the ball, and Joe Johnson dunked. Then Rose missed and Kyle Korver missed, and it was over.
The Hawks had won without Josh Smith after trailing by 19 points. They’d beaten a team they could see in the playoffs. They’d won at the beginning of a month in which they need to keep winning. They’d won, and for the first time in a long while, it felt as if this win meant something.
By Mark Bradley
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81 comments Add your comment
Hawks Fan In New Orleans
March 3rd, 2011
12:34 am
Right on Ms Dee. NYC broke the bank for offense – The Hawks got smart and improved the perimeter defense! Hinrich hounded Rose! and that will bring elite status
Impartial coverage (LOL)
March 3rd, 2011
12:43 am
Mark I see there still has been no follow up on the tech baseball player’s dui and subsequent refusal to submit to a drug test. The AJC drug their feet for a month before finally releasing a handful of lines about the incident.
Exactly how much does it cost GT to have the AJC and their intrepid band of ace reporters continue to ignore this? Since when is one of the most talented baseball players at atlanta’s largest trade school endangering untold numbers of citizens lifes not a story? When you add in the fact this homerun leader’s refusal to be tested for drugs and the fact gt barely gives the guy a slap on the wrist that seems worthy of several bloggers attention.
You do know the A in AJC stands for atlanta right? The north avenue trade school aka Ga Tech is located in atlanta Mark. Just thought I would give you guys a heads up.
tjhook
March 3rd, 2011
12:43 am
Cpt. Kirk enlisted a warrior (Horford) to boldly take the Hawks where they have never been before
D-Man
March 3rd, 2011
1:51 am
Being a behind-enemy-lines Gator fan that grew up here in Atlanta, it thrills me to see Horford doing what he is for these Hawks. While I still got luv for Noah and Brewer from that BACK TO BACK championship squad a few years back, I used to always tell people “Horfy” was the real gem. I never imagined he’d actually be THIS good this quick, either way he is making me look like a genius to all my friends. While Noah got all the attention (he was good too btw) mainly for his boisterous personality, many overlooked Big Al.
Moving on, I know peeps all over Atlanta and basically anyone who watched the NBA were always talking about Bibby’s defense being bad, but was it THAT bad? No disrespect because what he brought to this team initially (stable level headed leadership at the MOST important position in the game – the point) to me, made up for the lack of defense…for awhile. Is it Hinrich? Or is it just having anyone with legs enough to play good defense at that position doing it? I hope it is more that it’s Hinrich. That would be a good surprise. I don’t know what it is, but they seem to click on defense better now. It seems so good, this is the first time I bothered to even post something about the Hawks all season. PLEASE keep it up. After that Falcons beatdown, I need something to pick me up folk…
D-Man
March 3rd, 2011
1:52 am
LOL good one tj
MJC
March 3rd, 2011
2:21 am
Impartial coverage, you are straight up silly to think that the AJC covers Ga Tech better than it does UGA.
Mark Bradley`s Booster
March 3rd, 2011
4:46 am
Mark: I understand your point about this win meaning something. Another way to look at it would be to say that ANY win at this point means a lot because the playoff seeds are so close at this time in the NBA East.
Mark Bradley`s Booster
March 3rd, 2011
4:49 am
Impartial Coverage: This blog is about the Hawks.
Beast from the East
March 3rd, 2011
6:20 am
Great finish. I have to admit that I quit watching after the first quarter. After checking the score in the third I was back in the game. Al’s a beast and Marvin made two HUGE plays down the stretch. Great win over one of the best teams in the league. Keep it rolling, Hawks!
danieltm3
March 3rd, 2011
6:30 am
Very nice post! I agree that this is the first game that has mattered in a long time, sad to have missed it but your recap was a good help.
Lowcountry Bulldawg
March 3rd, 2011
7:00 am
To come back and win against a surging Bulls team w/ the possible MVP in Rose show some special qualities for this group. The Bulls are a damn good team and the Hawks had every excuse to fold. The team had just got in from the long West Coast trip, Josh Smith out with injury, but they fought through that rough start and got the victory. That is the victory they can look back one hopfully as a springboard in pushing for a higher seed. Horford also is clearly the best leader this Franchise has seen since Doc Rivers? Anyone since been better?
RB
March 3rd, 2011
7:23 am
AH is the best player on this team! We begged management not to max out JJ. This move will haunt the Hawks the next 5 years. His game is obviously in decline. His contract will hamper this team from taking the next step.
GEORGIA97
March 3rd, 2011
7:43 am
Yawn. Today’s NBA is pathetic compared to the days when I was a kid in this town watching Dominique, Spud, Doc, Tree, etc. Players these days travel worse than a vacuum salesman and the only game they have is a dunk or short jumper. They also carry the ball down the court and I can’t remember the last time a ref called someone for palming. I can still hear my PE teacher barking at us for doing that but the refs these days don’t give a frog’s happy fat a$s about it. I predict the NBA will be dead in 5 years.
jfreak13713
March 3rd, 2011
7:47 am
I must start by saying I too was wrong about this game and maybe just maybe a little too critical of this team? This game impressed me and made me feel a little guilty for not supporting these guys more. I will try to do so going forward but Hawks please no blow out games at home the rest of the way. Please?
freeeman
March 3rd, 2011
7:53 am
NBA regular season is POINTLESS
YardDawg
March 3rd, 2011
8:03 am
Nice read.
I was about wore out the remote, flipping back and forth between the UGA/LSU game and this one and it was a thrilling comeback.
If only the Hawks would play with this urgency every game . . .
BALI ..
March 3rd, 2011
8:12 am
i have all but given up on the hawks for this year,then bam they play like they did last night.great job go hawks
JD
March 3rd, 2011
8:17 am
What a pleasure it was to watch an NBA game where there were not numerous timeouts in the last 2 minutes.
Ray
March 3rd, 2011
8:21 am
Got to give it to them all without Josh Smith which makes you think what would the score really be with Josh in possibly a blowout on the homecourt by 20 points. If you add his points plus blocked shots.
jason
March 3rd, 2011
8:21 am
Hawks did good last night
phil
March 3rd, 2011
8:35 am
Al Horford is the one Hawk you can really appreciate. Aside from that, get over this win, folks. Too many continuing warning signs. It’s gonna be a loooong month.
PMC
March 3rd, 2011
9:07 am
Awesome Al! About time the Hawks got a chance to be on this side of one of these effort contests.
Even Marvin was good last night!
The Game Has Changed
March 3rd, 2011
9:13 am
Bali-Dont give up so easy. Judge us after our final game then look back over the entire year. The Hawks played well last night. And Geogia97 the NBA is not like it us to be. But its watchable thanks to Kobe
Jusssssstafan
March 3rd, 2011
9:16 am
Damn I couldn’t believe what I was seeing…………Why can’t we play like that all the time?
Husky
March 3rd, 2011
9:16 am
Hilton Armstrong needs to play more than 4 minutes a game. Come on Larry Drew you suck as a coach
Sam
March 3rd, 2011
9:35 am
Anyone else notice how we won the game without Josh? I’m sure it helped not having him out there hoisting up long jumpers that aren’t going to go in. Let someone who can actually make a shot shoot the ball. Move Josh and Marvin after the season, let Jamal Crawford walk, and rebuild this starting lineup around Joe (who we couldn’t move if we wanted to) and Big Al.
A furious comeback makes us take new notices of the Hawks | Mark Bradley
March 3rd, 2011
9:36 am
[...] The first half was laughable, but the laughter ceased in the third quarter. The Hawks dug in and defended the Bulls in a way they haven’t defended anybody all season. Some of it had to do with the new man Kirk Hinrich’s ball pressure at the top, but that wasn’t nearly all of it. Damien Wilkins, Mr. 10-Day-Contract, entered and played significant minutes. Marvin Williams made the best defensive play — maybe the best play, period — of his NBA life, blocking a Derrick Rose dunk inside the final three minutes. Joe Johnson switched over to Rose at the end and kept him shackled. And Al Horford … well, about him you’ve already heard. [...]
MJC
March 3rd, 2011
11:22 am
@Sam: I want some of what you’re smoking. It must cloud reality really well!!
teedub
March 3rd, 2011
1:04 pm
Philips was BONKERS. If you weren’t there, you really missed out. Although Rathbun’s call on the Marvin block was pretty spectacular….http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=839R7kGRKZc&feature=youtube_gdata_player
gtjason
March 3rd, 2011
1:51 pm
There is no doubt that horford, dwight and amare are in a big man class all by themselve!
Kim
March 3rd, 2011
7:10 pm
I was at the game (part of the Atlanta Gator Club). The arena wasn’t even close to full until halfway thru the 3rd quarter & it wasn’t loud/bonkers/electric until the last 3 minutes, The rest of the time it was more like a Bulls home game. GA is full of fair weather fans.