So last night’s win at home (146-115) against the Raptors was more than getting back into the winning column after loosing a tough game Sunday in Detroit. The game against the Raptors was a huge offensive onslaught by the Hawks that left the Raptors heading to Hartsfield Airport to get out of Hotlanta as soon as they could. Before I get to the Hawks, I just want to say how disappointed I am in the Raptors. I wouldn’t consider myself a fan of the Raptors, but at the same time, I do prefer them over a number of different teams. I thought they would be a contender for a playoff spot for sure in the East this year, but so far they have not been very impressive, losing 10 of their 13 games by at least 8 points (with 6 of those games by 13+) and going 4-11 in their last 15 games. With one of, if not the tallest, starting lineups in the NBA (Bargnani, Bosh, Turkoglu in the front court with all at least 6′ 10″). I just don’t really understand why they are not better, except maybe for the play of their guards. But back to the Hawks. It was a somewhat historic effort with the Hawks scoring over 145 for the first time since 1993 (149 in a win against the 76ers). Nine different Hawks were in double figures, with Mo Evans being a point away from making it ten. Even rookie Jeff Teague had 13 points while playing 23 minutes. This won’t happen that often, but it is good to see the Hawks be able to share the rock and cruise to a win while getting everybody involved. One of the themes that the Hawks need to have is to win the games they are supposed to win and compete against the teams that are as good or better than them. They don’t have to win every game against Boston, Orlando, Cavs, or Lakers if they will take care of business the other games and at least show up against the good teams. Hawks have a back-to-back home and away this weekend, with the Knicks coming to town and then a game in Dallas. Like I said, take care of the games you are supposed to win and compete against the good teams.
A Complete Team Effort
Posted in Game Commentary, Mike's Take with tags Atlanta Hawks, Hartsfield Airport, Jeff Teague, Mo Evans, Taking care of business, Toronto Raptors on December 4, 2009 by Michael YDon’t just be thankful, but come hungry
Posted in Mike's Take, Previews with tags Mike Bibby, National TV, Orlando Magic, Southeast division, Thanksgiving on November 25, 2009 by Michael Y
As the Hawks prepare for their showdown on Thanksgiving with the Orlando Magic, they need to realize one thing – that despite sharing the best record in the East with Orlando, they still have a long way to go to get any respect, especially after losing to the Hornets the other night. The talk about the Hawks has pretty much since disappeared and all they did was lose to the Hornets to end their seven game winning streak. This season is still early, but in order to get some more real respect and to try and regain the lead in the Southeast division, they are going to have to come up with a good effort against the Magic. Last season, the Hawks went 1-3 against the Southeast division champions, with the lone win being the Hawks opening night win, meaning its been over a year since the Hawks defeated the Magic, so a win is important in help deciding the pecking order of the division this year. Even though they lost to the New Orleans Hornets last Saturday, the Hawks had a bigger loss, which was losing Mike Bibby to an ankle injury in the first quarter of the game. He is currently listed as day-to-day. The good thing for the Hawks is that they have and won’t have a game until the Thanksgiving showdown, giving Bibby pretty much the whole week to receive treatment and hopefully be ready to play Thursday, but if not, it is going to be up to Joe and Jamal to lead the team. To me, Teague just looks too lost and raw to be able to help the team out right now. He still needs the game to slow down for him, because he looks lost out there. But either way, the Hawks better not be just content to play on national TV on Thanksgiving, because if they do, the Magic will spank them. The Hawks need to come out hungry, with something to prove. Well, because they do.
Why the Hawks are on top of the East
Posted in Mike's Take with tags 1st place, 2009-10 season, Atlanta Hawks, Jamal Crawford, Josh Smith on November 20, 2009 by Michael YCan you believe it? The Atlanta Hawks are 11-2 and have the best record in the NBA. Nobody gave the Hawks any respect when it came to finishing high in the Eastern Conference (they weren’t consensus to be the 4th seed), but they have shown a maturity and different mindset as they have begun the season. I think that there are three big reasons why the Hawks are doing as well as they are.
1.Consistent core
The core of the Hawks (aka starting 5) have been working together and building their relationship with each other and now they look really comfortable on the floor. Josh Smith (draft – 1st round) has been on the Hawks since the 04-05 season, Joe Johnson (sign and trade) and Marvin Williams (draft – 1st round) have been in Atlanta since the 05-06 season. Al Horford (draft – 1st round) and Mike Bibby (trade) came during the 07-08 season. So this Atlanta Hawks team has been playing and starting together for their second full year, which has let them become comfortable and now are allowing them to just ball rather than having to play basketball.
2. Jamal Crawford trade
I loved this trade as soon as I heard about it, but I don’t think that I realized the impact this trade would have on the season and the team. Jamal Crawford is the scorer that Mike Bibby is not. I qualify that though by also saying that Bibby is still very much important to the team because Jamal Crawford isn’t (a) the ball handler that Bibby is and (b) the leader that Bibby is. So while Mike Bibby is still very important to the Hawks, Crawford is filling in the scoring shoes that the now older Mike Bibby doesn’t do as well anymore. Yes, Bibby will still hit a shot if he is wide open, but it is Crawford that can create and open up other people because of his scoring presence.
3. Josh Smith growing up
So I think that this is probably the biggest reason why the Hawks are where they are today. Through 13 games, I would have never in a million years guessed that Josh Smith would have not had a 3 point attempt this season. He is averaging 16 points, 9 rebounds, 4 assists, 2.5 blocks and is shooting 56% from the floor (last year averaged 2 rebounds, 2 steals, and a block less per game). He is literally a beast on the floor, not only being a force on the defensive end, but attacking the basket on the other end. I said last year that he should just attack the basket and he would be successful. He has and the Hawks are currently leading the league with points-in-the-paint, with over 50 points per game.
I’m Back
Posted in Mike's Take on November 19, 2009 by Michael YSo around the end of the playoffs last year, I stopped blogging. I had gone to a sport job fair and they [people from the Hawks organization, specifically the HR lady] told me that if they saw that I had a blog, they would probably just throw my resume out because they would consider me a fan, rather than somebody who really cares about working in sport. So for the past 7-8 months, that’s what I did. Upon further consideration (and, I will be honest, the fact that the Hawks are better than they were last year), I have realized that what I want to do is write and I am not going to not do something just because one person says they don’t like the idea of a blog. That being said, I hope you continue to read, comment, and care about what I do.
Another win and a look ahead
Posted in Game Commentary, Previews with tags Atlanta Hawks, Schedule, Jamal Crawford, Toronto Raptors, Mo Evans, Jeff Teague, Zaza Pachulia on December 12, 2009 by Michael YSo the Atlanta Hawks defeated the Toronto Raptors last night by the score of 111-89. It was the second time in 10 days that the Hawks had beaten down the Raptors, which the Hawks outscored them by 53 points combined in both contests. It has been a good start to the month of December for the Hawks. The bench has played exceptionally well in addition to the starters, as shown by Mike Bibby, Al Horford, and Joe Johnson all playing less than 28 minutes last night, with Bibby playing only 16 minutes himself. The fact that the bench has played well may not be as big of a deal right now, but it will have a big effect later. With Bibby being 31 years old, he can’t physically play 30 minutes a night for a whole season. I have said before how big the Jamal Crawford trade was, but with these good performances, it has given Jeff Teague a chance to get some good minutes to help him gain experience being a rookie. Four Hawks had double figures off the bench (Crawford, Evans, Pachulia, and Teague), and with them scoring, it will let the starters not have to work so hard so they will have more in the tank come playoffs time. (Yes, I said playoffs time. Part of becoming a contender is to not think about getting there but what is going to happen when you are there.)
The schedule for the Hawks for the season on the whole is not a bad schedule at all. There aren’t any crazy home or away streaks like they had last year when they were on the road for pretty much the whole month and home for the next. They have had a pretty mild beginning to December, but as we get closer to the end of the month and the beginning of January, I feel that it is the toughest part of their schedule. After playing very winnable games against the Nets and the Grizzlies, they play 5 out of 6 on the road, with a four game swing that goes from Chicago to Minnesota, then to Denver and a swing by Indianapolis before they end the year with a back-to-back home and home with the Cleveland Cavaliers and Lebron James (and if you remember correctly, swept the Hawks in 4 games in the playoffs last year). So the Hawks need to continue to play well so that they can get through this tough stretch of games with success and stay close or get on top of the Southeast division and/or Eastern Conference Standings.
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