Just want this in writing, and i want it known that i can change my overall prediction closer the the season. But right now what I think is Hawks will finish below Cavs, Magic, Celtics, Heat, Wizards this year and probably Sixers & Bulls and maybe Bobcats and Pistons. The way it is looking we will get the 6th spot at best. Tell me I’m wrong.
Also, just read a rumor Brandon jennings may fall to us, I would love that…but the more I think about it the more I just want Woodson gone.
stay tuned for stotts era draft coverage
We should have seen this coming. We did see this coming. And now, we see it going past us.
Once again, the Cavs came out and did what the Cavs do, and our Hawks had nothing to say about it. Yeah we got outplayed. But that’s not what hurts. What breaks my heart is to see us that out-classed. They have too many well-rounded ballers, they are just a superior squad. And it’s not just King James. Twice in two games now, the Cavs have stretched out leads early in the second quarter while Lebron hams it up from the bench. Call Mo Williams and Delonte West the Atlanta Spirit cause they own the Hawks too.
In each year of Woody’s tenure, our Hawks have won more games than they did the year before. We took the NBA champs to seven last year and beat a legitimate NBA superstar in the first round this year (yes, Joe, that is what one looks like). But this team, as presently constituted, doesn’t have a chance in hell of ever sniffing a Conference Finals, let alone an NBA title. I hope J-Chill is enjoying Greece and I kinda wish J-Smoove was enjoying Memphis. Going into this series, I was adamant about re-signing Bibby, but not now. For now, I have seen the light. Yeah, this team, without any major adjustments, would be a fixture in the playoffs for the next five years, but never a title threat. No amount of tinkering, tweaking, or tweeting (Josh Smith straight-up for Charlie Villanueva?) will suffice. This team needs a major overhaul. I’m more bracketologist than capoligist, but we don’t sound like we are going to be major players in that bananas 2010 free agent market.
It is a sad realization, fellow Hawks fans, that the wooly mammoth gestation period calling itself the Hawks rebuilding process must begin anew. Normally, I can deal with mediocrity (go to my Facebook page and look at my exes). But not with my Hawks, I’ve been down that road before. Give me championship realities or lottery dreams cause I have no stomach for perennial second-round playoff exits.
What brings me to the brink of tears is to see my team permanently on the brink. All our key guys have holes. Take Joe Johnson. Watching him this series, it finally dawned on me, he’s not a 2 guard, he’s not a shooting guard, he’s an OFF guard. When you hear the phrase deceptive athletic ability, usually it’s complimentary, but not with Joe. He has reverse deceptive athletic ability. Joe is in the lower third of the league in terms of athletic ability at the shooting guard spot (although rapidly rising if the Magic keep starting Redick). His game has more fifty-year-old white dude at the Y wearing REC-SPECS with a button your fly sweatshirt trying to get you to play triangle-in-two in it than it does LeBron or Kobe or D-Wade.
Then there’s Bibby. I’ve seen leaf-eating, tree-dwelling, three-toed amazonian creatures with more lateral quickness.
On to Mr Williams. Marvin drives with all the grace and stability of a gymnast with an inner-ear infection diving into the shallow end of a centrifuge. Either that or there is an inordinate amount of invisible banana peels when he tries to take it to the rack.
And it sucks that we have to play Horford out of position. I haven’t felt that bad for a guy being that undersized since I saw that YouTube clip of Sean Hannity’s amateur porn.
I owe all you folks an apology for being so high on Acie Law. I don’t know what I was thinking (I was high).
That brings us to Josh Smith. Just look to your opponents for inspiration. If J-Smoove turned into Ben Wallace we would be a lot better off. In this series J-Smoove has once again turned into J-Anything But. Stop taking jumpers (but coach I was open, yes Josh and you will continue to be) stop trying to bring the ball up and work on your free throws. Josh Smith reminds me of Jeff Francoeur. When they play well, they look like world beaters, but when they miss, its by a country mile. I was doing a little research into the etymological roots of the name J-Smoove and the best I can tell, it comes from the latin word smoofthvius which loosely translated means “where three on one fast breaks go to die.” I’ve seen schizophrenic truckers with more handles. But I digress.
Looking forward, I’m forced to look back. As a part of my childhood was taken from me every time Nique’s Hawks got eliminated early, I learned how hollow the 3,4,5, and 6 seeds could be. Those who forget the past aren’t doomed to repeat it, Nay, son, They are groomed to defeat it. Unless you are happy with 45 wins and zero rings, the time is now to stockpile picks and cap space. We are still five players from a championship or one LeBron. This team will never get there, but the talking heads will always call them a team on the come. Blueballs in your court Atlanta Spirit.
Dear Woody, If you are going to get run out of the building could we at least run. A 145-125 loss would be a lot more palatable than 105-85. If Horford can’t go, can we please start Josh at center and then four guards. Channel Nolan Richardson(or at the very least Doug Moe) and press full-court with Bibby, Joe, Flip, Gardner, and Mr. Smoofthvius. Thank you in advance for your cooperation. I know we won’t win the series but if it is any consolation, your goatee’s girth puts Mike Brown to shame.
First of all, congrats to the Hawks for being in the 2nd wound of the NBA playoffs. Who woulda thounk it. Hopefully I put my writing shoes on a write a series wrap and/orpreview for the Cavs games. But for now, from Sekou’s blog over on AJC, comes this exchange between Woody and Bibby.
MIKE BIBBY’S BEST SHOT of the entire first round of the playoffs came before halftime of Sunday in Game 7 and it had nothing to do with his 3-point stroke.
Hawks coach Mike Woodson roasted him for passing the ball to Smith in the corner on in the final seconds. As Smith’s 24-footer bounced off the rim with 10.9 seconds left, Woodson jumped Bibby’s case for making the pass.
The surprise was Bibby’s response. He jumped Woodson right back, much to the delight of those of us sitting close enough to hear the entire exchange.
“If you don’t want me to throw to him put him somewhere else,” Bibby shouted. “He’s wide [@*&$%] open. Wide open. What do you want me to do? If you don’t want him shooting that then put him somewhere else. You tell him.”
After getting it back as good as he gave it, Woodson crossed his arms, did a pirouette and smiled at everyone watching as he strolled back toward the Hawks’ bench.
Woodson said later it was the first time Bibby’s “really lit into” him. And that’s why he was smiling about it. He loved seeing that kind of fire and emotion from his veteran point guard.
Charles Barkley from TNT asked this question several times the other night. I have have to say I agree with him 100 percent. I do not always agree with what Charles Barkley has to say, but he hit the spot on this one. The Atlanta Hawks lost 108-93 last night and have lost the home court advantage to the Heat. The Heat now have 3 games at home to Atlanta’s 2 games at home. We have to go to Miami to a crowd that is going to be extremely rowdy. Apparently the crowd will be dressed in black, and I can guarantee it that there crowd with have a college like atomoshphere. Judging on what I saw in 2006 the Hawks are in trouble.
Atlanta needs to develop some sort of a half court game. Running the offense through Joe Johnson and picking for him is not going to work in a series. Mike Woodson job is on the line in my opinion and will be let go if we do not win this series In game one the Hawks were flying down the court playing an uptempo game. In game 2 the Hawks came out flat and not with same intensity or attitude. I don’t know what it is about the NBA, but I see this a lot. During my early days of watching Basketball in the late eighties and early nineties I never saw good teams do this. I know the argument may be that we are just not a great team, but I think we are. There is no excuse to come out like we did the other night. We are a better team and no I do not think the reason why we lost was because of Dwayne Wade. The Hawks need to come in Miami with an attitude and a chip on their shoulder because they are a better team. Let’s at least get a split in Miami and be ready for game 5. RISE UP ATLANTA!!
After injuring his knee last night in playoff action at the Rose Garden, Houston Rockets center Dikembe Mutombo says his career is over. He hurt his knee while getting tangled up with Portland TrailBlazer center Greg Oden. Dikembe played 18 seasons in the NBA and was an eight time all-star. He is also a four-time NBA Defensive Player of the Year and is second on the all-time block list with 1,196 blocks. Mutombo played for Denver, Atlanta, Philadelphia, New Jersey, New York, and most recently with Houston.
I will remember Dikembe for his Atlanta Hawks days. I think any true Hawks fan will remember Dikembe waving his finger to the crowd after making a block. He said that this meant not in the House of Mutombo. Watching Dikembe was always fun and I will always connect with Hawks greats such as Coach Lenny Wilkins, Mookie Blaylock, and Steve Smith. I will also remember when Dikembe led the Denver Nuggets to an upset of Shawn Kemp and company in the NBA playoffs. Denver was an eight seed. Dikembe was also a model citizen off the court and is well known for his Humanitarian work. I remember when George Bush honored him in his State of the Union Address in 2007. Mutombo will be sorely missed in the NBA, but I am sure we will hear a lot more from him in the near future.
Season Over
May 15th, 2009 by pengOh well, I am gonna try to post something in terms of a season ending recap but for now here is some stuff I stole from other sites.
From Elias Sports Bureau: The Cavaliers beat the Hawks by 20 points in Game 2 of their Eastern Conference semifinal series, marking the fourth time in the 2009 playoffs that Atlanta has lost by 20 or more points. That sets a new NBA record for most 20-point losses in a single postseason.
From The Association: “Anyway, the only other thing I got from this series is Mike Woodson’s “who just farted?” face. Call me crazy but if your coach looks confused, panicked and annoyed AT THE SAME TIME… well I’m not feeling too confident.”
Tags: woody
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