2013 Atlanta Hawks endure their toughest back-to-back of the Playoff Preparation Point of the Season, Crash Dwight Howard Homecoming Afterparty by Defeating the Lakers 96-92, Dahntay Jones Intentionally Injures Kobe Bryant!!...Right.

Honestly tell me, did you think these Atlanta Hawks had ANY chance against a Miami Heat team thats on a LeBron-led Wade County franchise-high 18 game winning streak in the peak season of Playoff Preparation MARCH MADNESS?!?

 I still really actually believe the Hawks can almost at any time #ShocktheWorld and beat a #ChampionshipCalibur team EVEN as currently constructed (which of course them WINNING the championship as currently constructed is a err...long goal) the BIGGEST DEAL about this 34-29 Hawks vs 33-30 Lakers Wednesday, March 13 game is (besides the Models Basketball League pre-game game ^_^) is our #truechampionship potential MISSING PIECE #franchiseplayer is coming off the BIGGEST GAME OF HIS CAREER (39 points 16 rbs 3 blks as a Los Angeles Lakers #rental) and is now back in his HOMETOWN where all eyes will be on Dwight Howard vs. Best Friend soon-to-to-co-free-agent Josh Smith.

Well, the Hawks did indeed SHOCK THE WORLD against the Los Angeles Lakers on Wednesday! With a 96-92 victory and a severely sprained Kobe Bryant ankle, the resilient Atlanta Hawks topped with Lakers without the services of Jeff Teague, Josh Smith, Lou Williams, Deshawn Stevenson, and Zaza Pachulia. What has been lost in a sea of media coverage about the Kobe Bryant ankle injury, the play that created this situation, and whether or not it was intentional is the fact that a starting line-up of Devin Harris, Dahntay Jones, Anthony Tolliver, Al Horford, and Johan Petro totally OUTEXECUTED the Lakers league of Steve Nash, Kobe Bryant, Metta World Peace, Earl Clark, and Dwight Howard. AND the Hawks bench outscored the Lakers 39-16 thanks to the likes of Kyle Korver (15), Ivan "The Terrible" Johnson (12), rookie John Jenkins(12), and 10-day contract Shelvin Mack(7).

Its hard to even pick a PLAYER OF THE GAME for the Hawks because it was such a balanced team effort, something the Lakers are still learning, but if we had to pick one it would have to be Al Horford, playing a team-high 41 minutes for 14 pts (7/12 FGs) 14 rbs 4 asts. He should have gotten AT LEAST 20 FGA but the Hawks played to their strengths and got the win (FAIR AND SQUARE, KOBE BRYANT!)
Don't be mad at me, just ask Steve Nash how they lost this game:

"We just didn't make any shots, I feel like I killed us tonight. I had good looks at the basket. I didn't convert."

 Steve Nash was 4/14 from the field, one of the things that led to a 55-43 Hawks lead at halftime. Kobe Bryant was having a tough game by halftime, 3 points on 1/8 shooting, and EVERYBODY expected Kobe to erupt in the 3rd, which he did, kind of... 20 points in the 3rd and the Lakers won the 3rd quarter 31-21 but the healthly lead build by the Hawks in the 1st half proved to be a solid foundation, the Hawks won the 4th quarter 20-18 on several great plays by Devin Harris, Kyle Korver, even Johan Petro and Ivan Johnson(!!). Ivan made a HUGE play down the stretch, with the Hawks leading 90-87 Al Horford drove along the baseline and missed the shot. But he hustled for the rebound and knocked it right to Johnson under the basket. He flipped in a reverse layup with 33.3 seconds remaining, pushing the Hawks ahead 92-87.

"I can't believe we are losing to the Hawks, gotdamn u Dwight!"

It was a gutsy win, but the aftermath of this victory caused a firestorm of debate. Kobe Bryant took to TWITTER (@KobeBryant) and complained that the last-play defense by Dahntay Jones was an INTENTIONAL FOUL!

#dangerousplay that should have been called. Period.

Dahntay Jones REPLIED on Twitter:

"Tape doesn't lie. Ankle was turned on the floor after the leg kick out that knocked him off balance. I would never try to hurt the man"

 "Leg kick that makes contact with a defensive player is an offense foul. Period. The nba changed that rule 2 yrs ago. Stop it!"

"I have the utmost respect for @kobebryant I would never try to intentionally hurt him. Just wanted to contest the fadeaway #thatsall"

 As a Hawks say I say "HA! Thats what you get!" but as a basketball fan I hate to see one of the G.O.A.T.s get injured on a freak accident during the LAST SECOND of the game with his team down by 2, but it looks like the NBA is making Dahntey Jones a SCAPEGOAT for this Lakers loss, as if the entire game came down to that one play, Kobe was going to MISS regardless! Nothing Jones did altered the shot whatsoever. So the Hawks go on to a 35-29 record, good for 5th in the east thus far, if the Eastern Conference stays in the same standings (it wont) we will be facing the Iso-Joe Brooklyn Nets in the 1st round of the playoffs! Now THAT would be a good series, the world gave the Hawks NO CHANCE against any playoff opponent during the Joe Johnson era, this first year without him, Hawks perception is not going to change, but a PLAYOFF UPSET could upset alot of people. Let's see the Hawks TURN UP for the Playoff-push season!

-WORLDinFAMOUS

After brilliant performance against Utah, Josh Smith has terrible game letting the new-teammate Morris Brothers shine in a 87-92 Suns Win

Well, Josh Smith can only be Josh Smith.

 This is why it takes an enormous amount of patience and FAITH to be a 2012-2013 Atlanta Hawks fan. Josh Smith has continually improved in his handling of responsibilities and being a team leader, but just as soon as a fan gets excited about what we see, he has a dud game. 5 points on 2/11 FGs 0/5 3ptFGs 1/4 FTs 10 rbs 5 asts and 5 TOs is not a good stat line, Josh.

It didn't help it was the same night Jeff Teague had an off-night as well. 6 points (3/10 FGs) 1 ast 4 TOs 2 stls.

Al Horford has his 8th game in a row of 20+ points with 20 pts (8/16 FG3 2/2 3ptFGs!) And what's up with Al Horford hitting all these threes lately?! Could it be Al has a little Dirk in his blood?

It could have simply all been divine in order for the only pair of twin brothers in the NBA to shine as they finally have unexpectedly become teammates, due to a trade-deadline deal with the Houston Rockets.

Markieef Morris was drafted by the Suns with the 14th pick in the 2011 draft and admitted it was a bit difficult to get used to playing without his brother, Marcus, early in his career. He became a good impact player, but now these identical twin brothers will get the comfort and empowerment of playing with each other on an NBA-level, and the Atlanta Hawks were simply the latest victims of that, likely by accidentally taking this 13-32 Suns team lightly.

Hopefully, this game was the wake up call the Hawks needed in order for them to play well enough to defeat the 29-30 Kobe-Bryant-will-not-be-denied-.500 Los Angeles Lakers.

No All-Stars for the Hawks?! Thats okay, we'll still take 4th place in the Eastern Conference

What the hell is it gonna take for this franchise to earn some respect?! DWIGHT HOWARD?! He would probably fit right in with all the hate he has gotten this season, but the NBA coaches apparently weren't impressed by a 29-22 record, which was good for 5th in the Eastern Conference.

They weren't impressed with a career-reviving season from Al Horford, currently averaging 16.7 ppg 9.7 rpg 3.2 apg and 1.1 bpg, this season after suffering a SEASON-ENDING torn pectoral muscle last year.

They weren't impressed with Josh Smith's consistency and leadership, who's impact is MORE THAN THE STATS SHOW but still averaging 17.2 ppg 8.7 rpg 4.2 apg and 2.1 bpg

I don't know how they aren't impressed with Jeff Teague's emergence as a full-time primary ball-handler (They were impressed enough for him to be the ONLY HAWKS PLAYER DOING ANYTHING at All-Star Weekend, Skills competition), currently averaging 14.4 ppg 7.1 apg 1.5 apg on 45% FGs 37% 3ptFG and 87% FTs

Even KRACKER KORVER currently LEADING THE NBA IN 3 POINTERS MADE!! Was not even invited to the 3 point shoot out! Korver, acquired in an off-season trade with the Bulls, now understands the Hawks hate by the NBA, but there are no answers as to why.

 WHHHYYYYYY?!?!?! (i dont know, Kyle, I just dont know...)

How much better were the Hawks expected to be?? When Joe "$125M" Johnson was traded to the Brooklyn Billionaires (Nets) I recall several media outlets (ESPN, Sports Illustrated) predicting the Atlanta Hawks would be a LOTTERY TEAM, (they also predicted the Lakers would win about 70 games sooo....) In my humble perspective, the Hawks have OVER-ACHIEVED thus far! How could our franchise trade away half of our player payroll, our UNDISPUTED franchise player (very disputed, lol) and still make the be between 4th and 5th place in the Eastern Conference?! What kind of award do we get for trading away a SUPERSTAR (lol) getting ROLE PLAYERS in return, only ONE OF THOSE PLAYERS currently in rotation (Shout out to 2011 Champion DeShawn Stevenson!), and having a chance to IMPROVE OUR WINNING PERCENTAGE from last season!!

So what can we do to earn our respect? We aren't getting it from NBA coaches, we definitely aren't getting it from NBA referees (SHOUT OUT TO TIM DONAGHY!), hell we barely get respect from our hometown FANS!

The only way to get that respect is to win, and the Atlanta Hawks have been doing that lately through great defense and a balanced offense that lets all of the players shine, not just a cup of Joe...

Last 3 games
W 122-108 vs Kings MVP Jeff Teague 20 pts (8/18 FGs 5/5 FTs)12 asts & Al Horford 28 pts (11/14 FGs) 8 rbs 6 asts 2 blks
*3 players with over 20 points

W 103-102 vs Bucks MVP Al Horford 23 pts (11/22 FGs) 11 rbs 3 asts 2 stls 2 blks (with the GAME WINNING LAY-UP!) & Devin Harris 21 pts (7/11 FGs 4/5 3ptFGs)
*3 players with over 20 pts, Josh Smith with a double-double (15 pts 13 rbs 5 asts)

W 114-103 vs Pistons MVP Al Horford 23 pts (10/13 FGs) 22 rbs (CAREER-HIGH!) 3 asts 2 stls 2 blks & Jeff Teague 20 pts (6/13 FGs 2/4 3pt FGs) 12 asts
*Jeff Teague's 9th double-double of the season, one of the only point guards to post those numbers

Yeah, we lost to those Miami (c)Heaters when they scored a ridiculous 40 points in the 4th quarter, most of them while LeBron James was sitting on the bench, but that says more about their team than anything, beating the Miami Heat is a tall order for any team in the NBA right now, but I know that these Josh-Al-Jeff led PLAYOFFSHAWKS are not a team to be taken lightly this season.

Right now the Atlanta Hawks are 32-23, which is a half-game ahead of those Brooklynites for 4th place in the east.

Next game is tonight in the city of Salt Lake, this is one of the BIGGEST frontline teams in the NBA, let's see if we can help the Lakers playoff position tonight, shall we?


-WORLDinFAMOUS

Only TWO unbeaten teams in the NBA; Lakers and Hawks, lets compare

The Atlanta Hawks are soaring, people. It is not an early fluke, these Hawks are more than for real, i believe we have an Eastern Conference contender in the making here, and they are not that far from being made.

Hawks 89 Thunder 85
22 16 20 31
14 27 21 23

11/09/08 - Atlanta Hawks (5-0) VS Oklahoma City Thunder(1-5) (See: Seattle Supersonics)
Sunday's game was the first full game without Josh Smith, a HUGE factor on both ends of the floor, and at first it took some getting used to.

The first quarter the hawks played well, outscoring Thunder 22-14, it was unfortunate that Thunder(do i say Thunder or THE Thunder? It sounds gay either way) lost Chris Wilcox to a knee injury, and i guess the Hawks had some sympathy for Thunder in the second quarter, getting outscored 27-16, making the halftime score 41-38.

After a defensively contestive 3rd quarter with Hawks outscoring Thunder 21-20, the Hawks really turned it up for the 4th quarter, keyed by a certain 6th man of the year candidate, Flip Murray, scoring 9 points in the 4th with two 3-pointers and a steal, layup. Joe Johnson scored 8 in the 4th to ice this team, and the Hawks grinded out a win to remain undefeated.



The 2008-2009 Eastern Conference Order of Power

Tier 1
Boston Celtics (6-1)-
Champions. Enough said.

Tier 2
Detroit Pistons (4-2)-
The Pistons should be in Tier 1 with Boston, but they're not. I, for one, am a believer in the Allen Iverson trade, he should make that team better offensively, but unfortunately these two games played so far have only proved Allen Iverson's defensive liability that comes with his offense. If Iverson learned to distribute the ball a little better and score his 20 ppg, the Pistons will remain a championship contender, if this doesn't work, obviously AI and Detroit will divorce, as Iverson is in his contract year.

Cleveland Cavaliers (5-2)-
The Cavs are the biggest wildcard for a championship contender, i mean, of course there is the LeBron Factor, which alone make the Cavs a CONTENDER, but who else on that team can make them a CHAMPION? Mo Williams is averaging 14.1 ppg 4.5 apg, doing a little less than what Mike Bibby is doing for the Atlanta Hawks, so does that put them over the top? Actually, Williams has made less impact than most thought he would, he just fell back into the shadow of LeBron instead of being a leader with him, which is why i'm not ready to declare the Cavs a championship-calibur team, just a contender.
But LeBron James is averaging 28.1 ppg 9.0 rpg 7.0 asts on 47% FGs 77% FTs, great, but not better than last season in any way for James, if he can just average 80% on FTs, he'll be MVP

Orlando Magic (4-2) -
Dwight Howard is averaging 22.2 ppg 13.7 rpg 4.0 bpg but that 48.5% FTs is abysmal even for Howard, i mean, come on, i thought the World victory that is the Obama presidency and the US Gold Medal might motivate this young brother enough to improve his FT shooting at least a little bit! No, not at all, its gotten much worse, and i think the rest of the team has disimproved a little bit too. Of course its only been 6 games, but Hedu Turkoglu and Rashard Lewis really sucking right now, Lewis shooting 40.1% FGs 28.9% 3pt FGs 71.2% FTs for 17.7 ppg, Turkoglu, last season Most Improved Player Award winner, shooting 36.4% FGs 30.0% 3pt FGs 83.3% FTs for 15.5 ppg. If these two guys dont step up not only will they not be a championship team, but they will not even be DIVISION champs, as the Hawks win the Southeast(YYEAAHH BOY!)

Toronto Raptors (4-2)-
Chris Bosh is the best PF in the Eastern Conference, and 2nd to only Amare Stoudamire in the NBA, no doubt about it. He is dominating averaging 26.7 ppg 11.3 rpg 2.5 asts 53.7% FGs 83.1% FTs, and his frontcourtmate isn't doing so bad either. A far cry from his career averages but Jermaine O'Neal is averaging 10.2 ppg 6.7 rpg but the 1.8 blks is what helps Toronto the most. The Raptors are rolling, i don't think they are much better than the Atlanta Hawks, but the Bosh factor alone is slightly bigger than the Johnson factor, outside of that Atlanta wins at every position. I really don't get it though, just because Toronto won 49 games that one season and has been a consistent first round exit ever since, people want to see this team as much better than the Hawks. I'll not argue that perspective for now, but when the Hawks win 49 games this season, we will be considered better than the Raptors, and our Mike Woodson better get COY.

Tier 3 -
Atlanta Hawks (6-0)-
We won't be here in this 3rd tier by the end of this season. The Hawks have a chance to be one of the top 5 teams in the Eastern Conference, and if the east if still considered "least" then we will be the cream of the crop on top. Joe Johnson is 3rd in the NBA in John Hollinger's PER which makes him statistically, the 3rd best player in the NBA, Josh Smith is starting to bloom into a superstar himself defensively, and if he ever develops into that 20 ppg scorer he could, should be at the PF position, a MISMATCH EVERY NIGHT for whoever we play...Al Horford will undoubtedly be a double-double beast increasingly in his NBA career (although he has not averaged that thus far, his first game without Smoove proved much). Marvin Williams is about as solid and getting closer to consistent as you can ask from the Small Forward position, he defends well, rebounds, slashes a little bit, and if he is a brand new 3pt shooter? He is looking like NOT the biggest mistake Knight ever made...even though he probably still is, unless the Hawks get to the Finals before the Hornets, we know our team, Hawks may win the division this season.

Philadelphia 76ers -
Miami Heat -

The remaining teams in the Eastern Conference I feel don't have a realistic chance at becoming great in the near future; Wizards - injury prone, Pacers - No D, Bucks - Bogut, Knicks - maybe suprise, Nets - sucks,

KOBE vs JOE


























Kobe Bryant - 24.4 ppg 5.6 rpg 3.4 apg 1.8 stls 0.8 blks 47.3% FGs 33.3% 3pt FG 78.6% FTs in 33.3 MPG
Joe Johnson - 25.2 ppg 5.2 rpg 3.8 apg 1.4 stls 0.4 blks 50.5% FGS 44.4% 3pt FG 78.9% FTs in 37.4 MPG

Lakers - 1st in defensive effeciency (88.5 points allowed), 1st in offensive effeciency (112.2 points scored)
Hawks - 3rd in defensive effeciency(91.5 points allowed), 12th in offensive effeciency (106.4 points scored)

the JOSH SMITH factor
through the first 3 games, Josh Smith was averaging 14.5 ppg 10.7 rpg 3.5 blks 2.5 stls, and although he has only played 3 games so far, his impact on the defensive end cannot be overstated. I mean, the first game of the season against Dwight Howard and the Magic in Orlando, what he do: 17 pts 10 rbs 5 blks 4 stls, granted, Dwight Howard had 8 blocks in that same game, but obviously we won 99-85. The Hawks have obviously always had this great defensive player, but its about time the Hawks became a great defensive team.

the BEAST of AL HORFORD
Al Horford has played 5 games of excellence at the center/power forward position. Playing slightly fewer minutes than last season due to foul trouble Horford is averaging 8.8 ppg 8.8 rpg 3.2 spg 1.8 bpg, but in Smith's absense, Horford rightfully so became the defensive presence that Smith usually is, posting a stat line of 8 pts 12 rbs 2 asts 5 blks, if he continues this aggressiveness, the Hawks will be alright while Smith is gone.

Marvin "lights out" Williams?
The official number on the season is 4/7 but Marvin Williams has shown a new confidence in that 3point stroke that has NEVER been there before. He was taking and making 3pointers with ease in the New Orleans win Wednesday night, if Marvin can shoot say, 38-40% 3pt FGs this season, (you never know this season) he will have deserved the 3 year 20 million extention he should be offered :D i know that's kind of mean, but that's real

Mike "SolidRock" Bibby
Mike Bibby is a solid point guard. He is a strong solid point guard, he is GOOD, GUARENTEED for about 14 ppg 6 asts every night. Sometimes he even has games like the Toronto game, 19 pts 12 asts, but those are about as frequent as a full moon, but you can count on good floor leadership, decision making(sometimes) with Mike.

FlipMo SQUAD!
Mann, who the f*ck is Josh Childress? Na, i'm just playing i miss the kid and his afro but Flip Murray and Maurice Evans replace him FINE! When the Hawks first signed Mo Evans I was more excited about him, even after we signed Flip Murray, i thought he would not be a big impact player, boy have i been pleasantly wrong. Flip Murray is averaging 12.4 ppg 2.4 rpg 2.2 spg on 41.2% FGs 41.3% 3pt FGs, Maurice Evans has averaged 8.0 ppg 3.4 rpg, combined, these two average 20.4 ppg 6.0 rpg 3.0 apg, i don't think Josh Childress would have provided that this season. Flip is clutch man, Flip can make plays, of course sometimes he may make the wrong decision, but thats not been that often yet. And there are some people that say, "oh well, you like him now, just wait until the trade deadline, you'll be trynig to trade him" I see no such future, i think Flip will continue to be a fire off the bench and he himself will average at least 10 ppg, and Mo at least 8 ppg, thats good enough for the Hawks to win some games

Did somebody say the Hawks had a bad bench?
ZaZa Pachulia, Acie Law IV, Solomon Jones, Randolph Morris, Mario West, the Hawks go 12 DEEP with EASE this season! and none of those guys are scrubs! Well, maybe ZaZa sometimes (especially the way he played in OKC, ugh), but our bench is very good and for the most part, does better than just hold a lead, ive seen our bench extend leads in each game played so far.

11/18/08-11/18/08 - the 2008-2009 Atlanta Hawks weekly predictions:

11/11 - Hawks VS Bulls in Chicago - Hawks 95 Bulls 88
11/12 - Hawks VS Celtics in Boston - Hawks 88 Celtics 87
(i know, i know, it hasn't been done yet, the possibility is almost none without Smith but i am keeping the realistic faith ;)
11/14 - Hawks VS Nets in New Jersey - Hawks 98 Nets 88
11/15 - Hawks VS Nets in Atlanta - Hawks 112 Nets 95

Hawks will be 9-0 by next Monday, believe that