Mike on the Hawks

Take that Hawks message board haters, the Atlanta Hawks dominated the LA Lakers yesterday afternoon. I don’t get to watch many of the Hawk’s games, but I was able to Sunday, and let me tell you, the Hawks really did dominate that game. BUT, as much as I would like to say that the Hawks are for real and that they are going to win in the playoffs, I put my “objectivity” hat on and look at the actual facts.

Fact #1: The game was at home. The Hawks are much better at home than on the road. The win would have been much more quality had they beat the Lakers on the road, because that is what the Hawks are going to have to do in the playoffs in order to advance.

Fact #2: The Lakers lost the game more than the Hawks won the game. Let’s examine the evidence. (a) Kobe Bryant had only 17 points. You know he can score more. (b) This was the Lakers fifth straight game on the road. They have been on the road for more than a week, they are tired. If you watched this game, you could tell that this wasn’t a good Laker performance. (c) The Lakers shot 35% from the floor and 20% from the 3pt line. You aren’t going to win many games shooting that poor from the floor.

Fact #3: The Hawks had every shot falling, and then some. Here is Mike Bibby’s ridiculous three pointer off the top of the backboard. [see below]

Yeah, it was a great victory for the Hawks, but let’s not get too carried away with it.