Got Karma? Hawks defense swarm Yao-led Rockets, Mike Bibby buzzer-beater 3 wins game

Hawks 103 Rockets 100
27 19 31 23
22 32 25 24

Now that was a good shot. Much prettier and with a much better result than the buzzer-beater we saw on ESPN as the #1 play of the night, and i would still be a little sick about that game if it wasn't for this one. And it was a good shot, great assist by the great Joe Johnson, his season-high 14th of the night, but none of this would be possible without the player of the game -- Josh Smith.

29 pts (13-16 FGs 3/4 FTs) 2 rbs 1 ast 1 blk

Marvin Williams aggrivated a shoulder injury in the last game against the Nets, so knowing he wouldn't be in the lineup, the Hawks would need an offensive lift, they got it. From the first play of the game, with the Maurice Evans assist Josh made a running 7-foot jumper with the AND 1 against Yao, it was felt that Josh would have a good offensive game. Josh Smith scored 29 pts (13-16 FGs 3-4 FTs), these 13 field goals coming mostly on drives to the hoops and short range jumpshots.

It would be an epic battle, for we all know the Atlanta Hawks know no 7-footers, so we had been slightly concerned that Yao would score easily on the Hawks in the paint, and that had been realized when Yao scored 8 points on 2 dunks a jumpshot and 2 free throws, but Josh Smith using his quickness to his advantage showed in the 1st quarter how we would win, Josh scored 13 points on 2 post-up hook-shots 2 driving layups 1 jumper and 3 free throws, and just as Josh Smith won the tip-off, Josh wins the battle of the paint in the 1st quarter, but the Rockets lead, 27-22.

2nd quarter, the Hawks 2nd unit play was great, particularly that of Acie Law (!!) and Flip Murray, who played together to start the 2nd, a rare sight indeed, and of course, Flip Murray has always scored well on driving layups and ill-advised 3s, but Flip played smart in the 25 ft range as well, hitting shots from 18 feet and getting to the line. Hawks played better collectively as a unit than the opponent, as usual, especially at Phillips Arena and the Hawks led 54-46 at halftime.

Halftime leaders: Hawks - Josh Smith 19 Rockets - Yao Ming 15

3rd quarter the Rockets came out gunning, hitting


That was a great game played by the Hawks, Josh Smith needed this offensive outburst, this in-paint confidence booster, so when he is facing Dwight Howard in the next game, he can try to hold him down.

Happy New Year Nets, Vince Carter buzzer-beater in OT wins game

Hawks 91 Nets 93 (OT)
21 28 20 16 6
16 13 34 24 8

BOX SCORE

I mean, it was a great shot, no doubt about it, but that shot wasn't the reason the Hawks lost the game. This was the first overtime game all season for the Hawks, and it was the Nets 4th, so they know a little about how to take care of the few possessions in a 5:00 OT Quarter, the Hawks are still learning that.

In the 1st half, the Nets were in full meltdown mode, the Nets scored 16 points in the 1st quarter and didn't score again until 6:13 left in the 2nd, and that was AFTER Coach Frank was ejected (lol, that was funny, u could see the curses flying from his mouth). the Hawks simply kept their cool, Bibby hit his technical free throws, and the Hawks kept pressing. On the last play of the 1st half, Coach Woodson subbed Joe for Mario West, a defensive stopper. It turned out to be a genius move by Woodson, Mario stole the ball from Devin Harris and with 2 seconds on the clock, lauched a halfcourt 37 foot shot, and it went it. Mario went nuts. This was an important moment because as a friend of mine pointed out at the end of the game, that just goes to show the difference between a veteran in a big moment, and a rookie.

Hawks shot 7/10 3pt FGs in the 1st half

Nets shot 1/5 3pt FGs in the 1st half

The Hawks were in the driver's seat all 1st half, and with their ejected coach making a motivational speech (you men better get out there and win! gotdammit!), the Nets stormed back in the 2nd half with a Vince Carter 3 on a Devin Harris assist, and that started a 14-3 run that cut the score from 49-29 to 52-43. Josh Smith hit a jumpshot after the ensuing timeout and the competition was fierce from that point on. At the end of the 3rd, it was 69-61, Hawks lead.

The 4th quarter start was an indication of things to come for the Hawks, as the Nets' Ryan Anderson fouls Josh Smith for two free throws, and Josh misses both free throws. Those misses turn into a Devin Harris layup, and after a Mike Bibby 3pt attempt, a Jarvis Hayes 3pt is made and the score is 69-66 just like that. After a timeout, somehow Josh Boone was the reciever of a Devin Harris assist and scored easliy. A few lead changes and free throws and the regulation game comes down to this: 83-85 Nets lead Hawks ball, Josh Smith shoots a three-pointer (!!) misses and Mike Bibby gets the rebound, feeds to Al Horford and Al lays it home plus a foul. Now the score is 85-85 with :47 left, time to take the lead, right? No, Al Horford misses the free throw, and the Nets get the ball and call timeout. Nets inbound to Devin Harris who launches a three, misses, and Josh Smith gets the rebound, ignites a break, and feeds Joe for the game-winning jumpshot. Joe's shot actually gets tipped by Devin Harris and Brook Lopez gets the rebound to call a timeout. 3 seconds left in regulation and the ball is inbounded to Vince Carter. Carter launches, misses, and we're in overtime.

We all know what happened in overtime so let's just say what we learned about the Hawks in this game:

• Hawks MUST make crucial free throws to win the game


• if Mike Bibby is ever fouled beyond the 3, worry about the FIRST free throw, not the last


• Josh Smith is truely coming around as a scorer, playing inside-out for 20 pts


• Joe Johnson is as clutch as they come, but we must have another reliable clutch option


• Mario West gets very excited after hitting half-court buzzer-beaters (lol)


• Mike Woodson will play Solomon Jones AND Mario West before he plays Acie Law IV

that last particular bullet is a sad fact, but the Hawks are still a winning team! Let's see how they do against the Yao-led Rockets.

Hawks close out 2008 with a win on the road, Johnson 27, Smith 24

Hawks 110 Pacers 104

26 24 35 25

25 21 37 21

BOX SCORE



Yes. It has finally been said. ESPN might be coming around to the Hawks this season, people.

First, we were gifted with a ESPN DAILY DIME feature, realistically predicting the Hawks to win 50 games, there was even a national poll taken, and 67% believe the Hawks can do it.



"What can you say? Joe has been huge for us this season, I put him in the same class as LeBron, Kobe -- he's playing at that level. He's making big plays for our team, he's making players around him better." ---Coach Mike Woodson



That is not the quote of a coach saying some nice things about his best player to the media to make him feel good, that's the truth in the NBA that very few realize. Joe knows:



"I don't get treated like that, but I feel like I'm up there in the elite," Johnson said.



If not one of the elite, at least one of the most clutch scorers in the NBA, Joe scored 12 points in the 4th on his way to 27 pts (9/21 FGs 2/6 3pt FGs 7/8 FTs) 7 rbs 5 asts, Josh Smith was great defensively as usual, but was also great offensively, hitting BIG free throws in a close game, scoring 24 pts (7/13 FGs 10/14 FTs) 6 rbs 3 asts 1 blk, but no big, especially not the one he jumped against (7'2 Roy Hibbert - 13 minutes, 0 pts 0 rbs) played bigger than Al Horford. Even with pesky Troy Murphy and Jeff Foster getting 12+ rebounds, Al Horford scored 12 pts (4/8 FGs 4/6 FTs) 14 rbs 2 asts 2 blks. Mike Bibby played about his average, except for his under-average 3pt shooting, 14 pts (5/14 FGs 1/6 3pt FGs 4/4 FTs) 5 rbs 6 asts. Marvin Williams didn't score alot of points, but was more than formidable against the scoring machine Danny Granger, Marvin scored 9 pts (3/10 FGs 1/3 FGs 2/2 FTs) 6 rbs 2 stls.



Our bench was big again, even though Acie Law wasn't part of it, again. ZaZa scored 9 pts 5 rbs, Mo Evans hit 2 big threes for 6 pts 3 rbs, and Flip made a few driving layups for 8 pts 2 rbs 2 asts.



I am an extremely optimistic, but not unrealistic Hawks fan, and even i am pleasantly suprised by the New Year record, 21-10, now let's see how we improve in 2009!

Defense, balanced scoring dominated the Denver Nuggets, Hawks improve to 20-10, T-5th best record in NBA

Hawks 109 Nuggets 91

24 29 18 20

29 25 24 31

BOX SCORE


This is a great year for Atlanta's birds.

Hawks 20-10 (4th in Eastern Conference, 5th in NBA)
Falcons 11-5 (NFC wildcard playoffs, Matt Ryan Offensive Rookie of the Year)

Both franchises have been through their fair share of turmoil, the Falcons a lil' more drama than the Hawks, but its beautiful to see these Atlanta teams maturing into real championship contenders.

This game started out very contested. Denver is a very good team, but NeNe, their starting center was out with an injury. Chris "Birdman" Andersen started in his place, he was no real challenge to Al Horford, as Horford made several big plays in the 1st quarter against him. Joe Johnson scored 12 pts in the 1st quarter, and the Nuggets doubled him at every position the rest of the game, Joe made them pay though with his excellent passing, usually to Mike Bibby who made big shots all game, he is a great floor leader offensively for the hawks, scoring (20) and assists (9). Al Horford played great. 16 pts (6/9 FGs 4/5 FTs) 10 rbs 4 asts, people don't give Atlanta's passing enough credit, especially that of Al Horford and Mike Bibby. Al Horford has to be the best passing center in the east, right?

i had been getting on Josh Smith lately, because i felt he hadn't played extremely well yet, but i just found out he had a nagging injury that he a playing through. That's alright, this is the year for the improvement of Mike Bibby, Marvin Williams, and Al Horford to shine, we won't be talking about Josh Smith all-star this year, but we will be talking about the Hawks 50 wins :)

The Hawks are looking real good right now, to themselves and the rest of the league. Joe Johnson is in his absolute prime, he is undisputedly an all-star and one of the best all-around players in the league. Mike Bibby is in his absolute prime, he has led this Hawks team to a winning situation better than anyone could have imagined this season, Mike Bibby should be an all-star.

• The Mike Bibby-Joe Johnson backcourt combine to score more points per game than any other backcourt in the NBA.
• the Mike Bibby-Joe Johnson duo has made more 3 pointers than any other duo on any team in the NBA.
  
• Mike Bibby has made 78 3pt FGs this season, 2nd in the NBA, Joe 70, 5th.

Its beautiful, the Hawks being a winning team, now I am going to make another outlandish prediction. Hawks 21-10 in 2008, 13-4 in January to make them 34-14. Watch.

Joe Johnson season-high 41 fuel highest scoring Hawks game all season, defeat Bulls 129-117

Hawks 129 Bulls 117

35 28 32 22

32 36 30 31

BOX SCORE

From the opening tip to Al Horford, pass to Josh Smith, assist to Al Horford with a jumpshot, you could tell this was going to be a high-scoring game. We could see that Derrick Rose was going to be a handful, as he was last time in Chicago, and as he will be increasingly for years to come as the soon-to-be ROY (or OJ Mayo). But we could have not seen the shootout unfold as it did between Ben Gordon and Joe Johnson.

First quarter, Joe 12, Ben 15. Second quarter, Joe 10, Ben 3. Third quarter, Joe 8, Ben 8. And in the all important fourth quarter, Joe 10, Ben 4.

Overall, it was the Hawks best offensive game of the season, and a great demonstration of the versitility of the Hawks, they can play slow pace, half-court style basketball, or the 7 seconds or less D'Antoni style they tried today. Either way, Hawks win. Josh Smith agrees;

"It shows we are real versatile," Smith said. "It doesn't matter whether we're playing a fast style of basketball or slow, just as long as we win."

Every player had a great stat line for the night:

ATLANTA HAWKS
STARTERS	MIN	FGM-A	3PM-A	FTM-A	OREB	DREB	REB	AST	STL	BLK	TO	PF	PTS
Marvin Williams, PF	35	6-10	0-1	4-5	3	5	8	4	0	1	1	4	16
Josh Smith, PF	34	8-14	1-3	7-9	2	5	7	5	2	1	2	1	24
Al Horford, C	38	4-10	0-0	2-2	5	5	10	5	0	1	0	2	10
Joe Johnson, SG	44	16-31	4-6	5-6	1	2	3	8	2	0	1	2	41
Mike Bibby, PG	35	6-8	3-5	2-2	0	2	2	7	0	0	1	3	17
BENCH	MIN	FGM-A	3PM-A	FTM-A	OREB	DREB	REB	AST	STL	BLK	TO	PF	PTS
Maurice Evans, SF	12	1-1	1-1	2-2	0	1	1	0	0	0	1	2	5
Zaza Pachulia, C	21	5-7	0-0	0-0	2	5	7	2	0	0	0	3	10
Ronald Murray, SG	20	2-6	0-3	0-0	0	0	0	2	0	0	0	3	4

Somebody ask Woodson, when will we see more Acie out there? Its a damn good question..

If (and when) we beat Denver on Monday, the Hawks will be 20-10, the first time the franchise has reached 20 wins before the calendar flip since the 1987-1988 season. That team coached by Mike Fratello and led by Dominique Wilkins 30 ppg, and Doc Rivers 14 ppg 9 apg led the Hawks to a 50-32 record that season. Let's do better.

Joe Johnson 2nd career triple-double, Williams 21 lead Hawks over Thunder

Hawks 99 Thunder 88

24 19 25 20

23 22 24 30

BOX SCORE

A few pundits say we should be taking care of "bad" teams early and flexing our muscle in the eastern conference. We do threaten every team in the eastern conference but i think we played the Oklahoma City Thunder very well.

Joe Johnson scored 20 pts (8/23 FGs 2/8 3pt FGs 2/2 FTs) 11 rbs 11 asts, including 8 pts 4 rbs 6 asts in the 4th quarter alone. Marvin Williams was on the recieving end of at least 4 of those assists on his way to 21 pts (9/13 FGs 1/3 3pt FGs 2/4 FTs) 7 rbs, Josh Smith had his best offensive game since coming back from injury, 19 pts (6/11 FGs 1/1/ 3pt FGs 6/9 FTs) 3 rbs 3 asts 3 stls 1 blk.

Mike Bibby did his usual well, 14 pts (6/13 FGs 2/5 3pt FGs) 7 rbs 6 asts.

Al Horford did okay but "the Boss" got BOSSED in the paint in this game, OKC outrebounded the Hawks 52-40, Jeff Green had 14 rbs, Chris Wilcox off the bench had 19 pts 12 rbs, i mean, what really good, Al? lol

We will be alright, Merry Christmas, Happy Holidays, and a 22-10 record for 2009.

Mike Bibby season-high 27 pts, Iverson benched 4th Q, Hawks win

Hawks 85 Pistons 78

25 16 22 15

22 30 17 16

BOX SCORE

In the preview for this game, it had been said that a key matchup was the Iverson VS Bibby battle of team leadership, offensive effeciency. It's pretty safe to say Bibby won that battle. This game had also been donned as a PLAYOFFSHAWKS PREVIEW, for these Detroit Pistons would be our first round matchup if the playoffs started today, we hope things stay that way, because even the Hawks would rather see, especially after this game, these Pistons rather than, say, the Dwayne Wade Heat in the 1st round. Agreed. Regardless, we could be them too, as we did in south beach last week in the clash of the southeast, it was the game after we endured a 3-game losing streak in that Texas triangle trip, we all know what happened there.

So, HERE, Mike Bibby goes off, scores 27 pts (10/13 FGS 6/6 3pt FGs 1/2 FTs) 3 rbs 5 asts 3 stls in 38 minutes. Joe Johnson has a solid game, 19 pts (8/22 FGs 1/4 3pt FGs 2/2 FTs) 5 rbs 7 asts, Josh Smith had a very interesting game. One of the main matchups we saw in that game was Josh posting up against Tayshaun Prince. Now, Prince is a true Small Forward, always has been and with this new coach, he likes to start Rodney Stuckey, so that moves AI to the SG, Rip to the SF and Prince to PF...Josh Smith should have OWNED that matchup, but it was good for him to feel himself big in the paint, he hasn't owned the paint in any game yet, but he was posting up, we need to see more of that from him, anyway, he scored 11 pts (3/13 FGs 5/8 FTs) 8 rbs 2 asts, but he also held Tayshaun Prince to 2 pts 1-8 shooting.

Al Horford owned the paint, 11 pts (5/9 FGs 1/2 FTs) 11 rbs 4 asts, but only his 4th double-double of the season.

I predict wins for the rest of the year, and close the year 22-10, 4th in the eastern conference, closing in on the southeast division title.

Hawks shake off Celtics loss, balanced-attack smack Warriors, Williams 22, Johnson 19

Hawks 115 Warriors 99

21 33 27 18

31 21 27 36

BOX SCORE


Good game. The Hawks love this style of play and excel greatly in these type of games, not so much the chaotic, no-defense, shoot-in-less-than-5-seconds type of offense, but the fastbreak passing, Josh Smith rebounding and igniting the break, Mike Bibby to Joe Johnson to Marvin Williams for the alley-oop BOOM! Thats what im talking about, this isn't quite Suns basketball, especially not anymore, but it was an interesting test for how we can be against them and in fast games in the future.

Marvin Williams scored 22 pts (10/13 FGs 2/2 FTs) leading the Hawks to a 115-99 victory at Phillips arena on Friday night. It was only two nights after a heartwrenching defeat by the Champion Celtics in a much anticipated, ESPN broadcast game, the only one of the Hawks season and the first in 5 years. We all know what happened in that game, but the important thing is how the Hawks bounced back, and who other than Marvin Williams would have a career night the night after a game like that. Marvin Williams 10-13 FG equals 76.9%, a career-high FG%, with 9 rebounds in 35 minutes. Joe Johnson was looking to bounce back in a major way after missing that game-tying free-throw, he did well with 19 pts (8/20 FGs 2/8 3pt FGs 1/3 FTs) 5 rbs 5 asts, Josh Smith was the assist man in this game, 14 pts (5/8 FGs 4/5 FTs) 6 rbs, and 7 asts.

IS there any logical reason why Al Horford only had 1 personal foul, yet played 29 minutes, and still scored 14 pts (5/9 FGs 4/5 FTs) 6 rbs 5 asts 3 blks ?

Acie Law 8 minutes ?

Mike Bibby had a Rondo-game (lol) 2nd led the team in rebounding ended with 7 pts (2/8 FGs 1/3 3pt FGs 2/2 FTs ) 8 rbs 7 asts.



so ESPN is the mainstream most popular sports news media, right? well, why do they make themselves look like such fools so often? see the way Mr. PAUL SEVERINO generalizes the Hawks on internet TV:

"The Hawks like many sports teams have multiple personalities, there's the "Bad Hawks" the team that plays on the road, just 6-8"

from what i understand, maybe im just nieve, a 6-8 road record isnt bad, especially when those wins have come against Orlando, New Orleans, Chicago, OKC, Washington, and Miami. Can't be mad at losses to Celtics, Cavs, Nets, Raptors, Dallas, Houston, San Antonio. Oh, yeah that Indiana game we should have won, but still.. all i'm saying is the Hawks don't deserve a reputation as a "bad" road team, they will have to earn that respect, and my sentiment is that they will this season.

Tomorrow is another "biggest test of the season" this is a 2009 PLAYOFFSHAWKS PREVIEW at Phillips Arena on Sunday. The Allen Iverson Pistons against the new-improved Mike Woodson HAWks, we wil see who prevails

Celtics military execute down the stretch, Hawks not quite there yet, Celtics win 16th in a row

Hawks 85 Celtics 88

22 20 17 29

21 22 19 23

BOX SCORE

Mann.. it hurts so bad to type that headline. This was the game of the year to alot of people, the city of Atlanta was alive for this game in a way they haven't been since the playoffs, of course, there was no shortage of hype for this game. What sucks is the result of all that hype. So many things went wrong for the Hawks in this game, this was a defensive battle, and unfortunately, obviously, the defending champs win in that aspect.

PeachtreeHoops defined the deciding factors in this game in his recap, here is some of that info:

Possible determining factors for Boston's win...

• Whereas only Ray Allen (1-8) struggled atypically from beyond the arc for Boston, both Joe Johnson (1-7) and Mike Bibby (2-8) struggled for the Hawks. Of course, the flip side* of that for Atlanta is that Josh Smith and Ronald Murray combined to make 3 of 5 three-pointers. Atypical isn't really a strong enough word to describe that.
• Atlanta's willingness to switch ball screens and leave Mike Bibby guarding Paul Pierce one-on-one. On a night when no one who was used to making three-point shots was making them, Pierce attempted just one three-pointer mostly because he didn't need to. I presume the Boston staff watched tape of the Cleveland game where a couple of times in the second half, the Cavaliers had either Mo Williams or Delonte West set a screen for LeBron, the Hawks switched, and LeBron got to attack either Flip Murray or Mike Bibby one-on-one. Cleveland only ran this a handful of times. Boston had to run it at least 12-15 times. Bibby never had a chance.
• Boston, with the bizarre exception of Atlanta's penultimate possession (if you count Bibby's prayer with .7 left a possession) where Joe Johnson was presented with just Ray Allen as an obstacle to the basket, did Johnson no such favors. When Atlanta ran (and ran and ran) isolations for Johnson on the wing, Boston put at least three defenders on the strong side. There was nowhere for Johnson to go and no one to receive the ball as off-the-ball movement, as 'Nique pointed out (and pointed out and pointed out) on the local broadcast last night, isn't really a part of the Hawks' half-court offense.

There is some level of respect (at least in the media) for the Hawks to the Celtics, here are some post-game quotes:

"This is not a rivalry. [The Hawks] are a very good team, they play with a lot of confidence and swagger. Joe Johnson is one of the best in the business and they cause a lot of hell and havoc. But you have to win for it to be a rivalry." -Kevin Garnett

"If they played everybody the way they play us they’d be a top five team in the league." -Rajon Rondo

What we learned about the Hawks in this game:

Josh Smith needs to learn how to play the power forward position,and he should learn that from Kevin Garnett, if he can rebound and block shots with the best in the NBA, but if he wants the ball on offense, he has got to develop that KG footwork, the reason the Hawks aren't taken seriously as a balanced team is beacause we dont have a true center and we don't have a true power forward.

Marvin Williams needs to do a little more on offense, i think he is the most improved Hawks player this season and he is slightly reliable on offense, he should be given more chances, after scoring 11 pts at halftime he scored 5 points the rest of the game

Mike Bibby needs to learn to penetrate, he did that one time and scored, but never again, seeing the way Rajon Rondo gets the rim at will, Mike Bibby should learn to do that.

Al Horford is a beast, but Kendrick Perkins is just a little meaner than he. Al Horford plays the center position as well as any big in the East not named Howard, but he must be more offensively polished

Joe Johnson is not perfect, people. I know that might break alot of hearts, but even with the biggest game of the season on the line, after making 7-7, Joe can miss that 8th free throw, he is still the 3rd best SG in the league, but not perfect.

The Hawks are gonna be alright, it will be very interesting to see how they bounce back from this at Phillips Arena against fast-paces Golden State, i wanna see the Hawks score 120 pts for once.

ATLANTA HAWKS
STARTERS	MIN	FGM-A	3PM-A	FTM-A	OREB	DREB	REB	AST	STL	BLK	TO	PF	PTS
Marvin Williams, PF	39	6-12	0-2	4-7	4	4	8	3	1	2	2	2	16
Josh Smith, PF	41	4-13	1-2	5-7	1	6	7	4	1	1	3	5	14
Al Horford, C	41	3-10	0-0	2-2	4	7	11	4	0	2	2	3	8
Joe Johnson, SG	40	6-16	1-7	7-8	2	3	5	4	3	0	0	3	20
Mike Bibby, PG	38	5-16	2-8	2-2	0	5	5	2	0	0	3	1	14
BENCH	MIN	FGM-A	3PM-A	FTM-A	OREB	DREB	REB	AST	STL	BLK	TO	PF	PTS
Maurice Evans, SF	15	1-4	1-2	0-0	2	0	2	0	0	0	1	2	3
Ronald Murray, SG	12	2-4	2-3	0-0	0	0	0	1	1	0	1	0	6
Zaza Pachulia, C	14	2-4	0-0	0-1	2	1	3	0	0	1	2	4	4

Hawks defeat Diaw-led Bobcats, lol, Johnson 28, Smith 15

Hawks 83 Bobcats 79

27 21 20 11
23 19 26 15

BOX SCORE

ESPN RECAP


Well alright, that was fun. It is always fun to play a bottom-feeding team in the division because you know you should win, but that's also sometimes the trick that doesn't treat too, I won't say the Bobcats cannot beat the Hawks, especially with the aquisition of Boris Diaw and Raja Bell for them, that actually makes their team better balanced talent-wise, so their gameplay should improve slightly, but they will still be a bottom-feeder.

The Hawks allowed the new-look Bobcats to win the 1st 2 quarters of the first half, then Hawks defense cranked up, and showed why they will be a tough match for the Boston Celtics on ESPN Wednesday. After only scoring 10 points in the 1st half, Joe Johnson turned it up offensively to finish with 28 pts (11/18 FGs 2/6 3pt FGs 4/5 FTs) 5 rbs 8 asts, Joe is truely one of the NBA's best clutch players. Josh Smith was great in this game, staying in his game scoring 15 pts (6/11 FGs 1/2 3pt FGs 2/4 FTs) 7 rbs 5 blks 2 asts, Al Horford is staying true to his nickname "THE BOSS" and owning the paint, scoring 12 pts (6/12 FGs) 14 rbs 5 asts 2 blks, and Mike Bibby was good and average, despite missing all 5 three point attempts and no free throws in this game, he scored 14 pts ( 7/15 FGs) 3 rbs 6 asts. Marvin Williams had an unimpactful game, in 34 minutes scoring 6 pts (2/4 FGs 0/2 3pt FGs 2/2 FTs) 6 rbs 2 asts.

Next up, the great Boston Celtics (23-2), if any team can break their streak, its us.

Hawks impressive win over LeBron, Cavs, Bibby 24, Williams 19

Hawks 97 Cavs 92

24 14 28 26

31 16 21 29

BOX SCORE



Josh Smith swatted the potential lead-taking 3 pointer deep into the stands with such powerful emphasis, it was as if Delonte West got smacked in the face right by the Cavs bench, oh wait, that actually did happen. (right after that block, watch the replay)


The Hawks made a HUGE statement defensively in this game against the 2nd hottest team in the NBA, the Hawks played poised, Joe Johnson was so cool in the clutch down the stretch, its a beautiful feeling as a Hawks fan having this confidence in your team, that knowing sense that we can beat any team ESPECIALLY at Phillips Arena, and their timing couldn't be more perfect as we begin a 8-game homestead to bring the fans of Atlanta out for the Holidays.



Mike Bibby should be an undisputed all-star this season, leading the Hawks with his veteran leadership scoring, playmaking, even his defense has been exceptional, he and Joe Johnson make THE MOST LETHAL backcourt in the Eastern Conference, so they should both be all-stars this season, or vote all 5 Hawks starters to the all-star game, we one of 3 teams that have 5 all-star candidates (Lakers, Celtics). Mike Bibby played exceptional in this game, led the Hawks with 24 pts (9/16 FGs 3/8 3pt FGs 3/4 FTs) 6 rbs 5 asts, Joe Johnson scored 4 points in the first half, then 11 in the 4th for 17 pts (7/17 FGs 0/5 3pt FGs 3/5 FTs) 3 rbs 8 asts, and Marvin Williams got the the free throw line tonight! 19 pts (3/6 FGs 2/3 3pt FGs 11/13 FTs) 7 rbs 2 asts 2 blks, not bad compared to the last time these teams met, and how did our frontcourt matchup with theirs?

Josh Smith 12 pts (5/8 FGs 2/2 FTs) 8 rbs 1 ast 1 stl 1 blk

Al Horford 12 pts (3/5 FGs 6/7 FTs) 8 rbs 2 asts 1 stl 1 blk


There was one thing i didn't like about the ESPN Recap:

"The Hawks are trying to build their fan support after making the playoffs last season for the first time in nine years. Despite taking eventual NBA champion Boston to a deciding seventh game in the first round of the postseason, Atlanta seemingly has yet to convince many fickle fans that the Hawks are as much worth the price of admission as seeing a superstar such as James."

I don't think the 19,200 fans in attendence at Phillips Arena were all there to see LeBron, and although the Hawks are not yet in the top 10 fan attendence in the NBA, i think we should be doing a little better than "trying to build our fan support," that's disrespectful to me as a Hawks fan. But, i feel Joe Johnson, the way to earn respect of national media and the league is winning. We're doing pretty good at that right now. (Hawks 14-9, 2nd SE divison, 4th Eastern Conference)

This was a fun win, great win, now the Hawks must relax and pray on Sunday to get ready for the practice Bobcats on Monday, and the BIGGEST SHOWDOWN OF THE SEASON on Wednesday.

Hawks A+ PASS Southeast Division TEST, Hawks defense back, Johnson 21 Smith 15

Hawks 87 Heat 73

20 23 32 12

25 15 15 18

Hawks erase terrible start to top Heat

Finally, a great game from the Hawks with Josh Smith in December. That exciting Grizzlies victory was a given with Josh returning and that team sucking, we all saw the brick-fest, bullet-dodged win against the Knicks at Phillips arena, "Happy b-day Josh," God said, and then the Texas Road Trip that showed the Hawks still can't quite mess with the Western Elite, which is fine, because we won't see them often. But this Miami game was the biggest test of the season, to me. Atlanta Hawks went from 12-6 to 12-9 real quick, tied with Miami for 2nd in the Southeast Division and 4th in Eastern Conference, it was a real team-will defining game. The Hawks imposed their will on this one, in Miami, no less.

The Hawks beat the Heat with sound defense and excellent passing, playmaking, assists in the game. the 73 points scored by the Heat is the lowest point total Hawks held an opponent to all season. Joe Johnson scored 21 pts (8/20 FGs 3/8 3pt FGs 2/2 FTs) 7 rbs 4 asts, Mike Bibby has a good-average game scored 15 pts (4/13 FGs 4/7 3pt FGs 3/3 FTs) 4 rbs 8 asts, Al Horford scored 8 pts (3/6 FGs 2/3 FTs) 10 rbs, and Josh? Josh Smith had an interesting stat night, i hope Josh himself sees this stat and makes a positive change before this LeBron game:

See Brett LeGree's recap of Miami VS Hawks game

15 pts (5/11 FGs 0/3 3pt FGs 4/5 FTs) 7 rbs 3 asts 1 blk

Now Josh, if you would just drive to the basket 80% of the time, and shoot those jumpshots and 3s only when they REALLY dare you, you can be the defensive beast you already are and score 20 ppg 8 rpg 4 apg 3 blks or more.

Marvin Williams had his first really BAD game of the season, that's alright, he was due, guarentee he will play better in Phillips against LeBron, hopefully.

37 min 6 pts (1/10 FGs 0/3 3pt FGs 4/8 FTs) 9 rbs 0 asts 0 stls 0 blks

ATLANTA HAWKS
STARTERS	MIN	FGM-A	3PM-A	FTM-A	OREB	DREB	REB	AST	STL	BLK	TO	PF	PTS
Josh Smith, PF	28	5-11	0-3	5-6	0	7	7	3	1	1	1	3	15
Marvin Williams, PF	37	1-10	0-2	4-8	4	5	9	0	1	1	0	0	6
Al Horford, C	32	3-6	0-0	2-3	4	6	10	2	1	1	1	1	8
Joe Johnson, SG	40	8-20	3-8	2-2	2	5	7	4	1	0	4	1	21
Mike Bibby, PG	36	4-13	4-7	3-3	0	4	4	8	2	0	2	1	15
BENCH	MIN	FGM-A	3PM-A	FTM-A	OREB	DREB	REB	AST	STL	BLK	TO	PF	PTS
Maurice Evans, SF	24	4-7	0-2	4-5	2	4	6	0	1	0	0	1	12
Zaza Pachulia, C	17	2-3	0-1	3-4	1	6	7	0	0	0	0	4	7
Ronald Murray, SG	18	1-3	0-0	1-1	0	2	2	1	0	0	1	0	3
Acie Law, PG	6	0-1	0-0	0-0	0	1	1	0	0	0	1	1	0
Solomon Jones, PF	2	0-0	0-0	0-0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
Mario West, SG	2	0-0	0-0	0-0	0	0	0	0	0	0	1	0	0
Randolph Morris, C	DNP COACH'S DECISION
TOTALS		FGM-A	3PM-A	FTM-A	OREB	DREB	REB	AST	STL	BLK	TO	PF	PTS
		28-74	7-23	24-32	13	40	53	18	7	3	11	12	87
		37.8%	30.4%	75.0%	Team TO (pts off): 13 (17)

Hawks seemed to have took Knicks win for granted, played same way in Dallas for 7th loss

Hawks 98 Mavs 100
23 20 16 39
21 20 33 26

ugh, another painful loss. Josh Smith agrees, “There’s no question this is one you wake up thinking about in the morning,” he says in the Sekou Smith Traveling Hawks piece.
Its unfortunate, it would have been monumtenal to go to Dallas and steal one on them, especially the way they are rolling, the hawks could have stopped that. Let me just say that Dirk Nowitzki is a magnificent player, its no wonder or question why he won the MVP that year, he is still the 3rd best PF in the NBA(Duncan, Garnett), and the best shooting PF of all time, seriously, how many other 7 footers average 25 ppg on 50% FGs 40% 3pt 90% 3s ? Yes, so it was understood that dirk would win that matchup, it was Joe's job to exploit the matchup between he and Juan Jose Barea. HE was supposed to score 30 and Barea should have been held to single digits, well, Joe Johnson DID score 32 pts (12/22 FGs 5/10 3pt FGs 3/5 FTs) 2 rbs 2 asts, but we shouldnt have let this under 6-footer score 22 pts (16 in the 3rd), the key to Dallas 33 pts 3rd quarter that almost sealed the game.

But how o how did the Hawks score storm back with a 39 point 4th quarter and then with the hawks down by 2 with Dallas ball, Josh Smith stole the ball! He dribbles upcourt with 35 seconds left in the game, loses control on the ball, and Jason Kidd steals it, flings it upcourt to Brandon Bass, who slams it home to make it 96-92, but then Mike Bibby runs downcourt and hits a three! score 96-95, Dallas has the ball, Josh Smith fouls Jason Terry, hits both free throws, score 98-95, hawks ball. No timeouts. Joe brings the ball up, tries to force a shot, we really dont know what happened here but Jason Kidd ended up with the ball and flings it up to Brandon Bass AGAIN who slams it home again. 100-95, 3 seconds left. Joe brings the ball up and hits a 3 as the buzzer expires, just to give him that 30+. Mavs win, 100-98.

The Mavs won and they deserved to win, but the Hawks could have deserved to win too with the excellent 4th quarter they played.

Marvin played okay. Bibby played good. Josh played good. Zaza played great. Joe played great.
nobody else did anything, Flip continues to suck.

STARTERS	MIN	FGM-A	3PM-A	FTM-A	OREB	DREB	REB	AST	STL	BLK	TO	PF	PTS
Marvin Williams, PF	38	3-10	1-4	4-4	2	4	6	1	1	0	1	2	11
Josh Smith, PF	39	3-9	0-1	7-11	2	7	9	3	1	1	3	4	13
Zaza Pachulia, C	35	4-7	0-0	5-5	4	8	12	1	2	2	4	4	13
Joe Johnson, SG	39	12-22	5-10	3-5	0	2	2	2	0	0	2	5	32
Mike Bibby, PG	38	9-18	2-5	1-1	1	4	5	5	3	1	3	1	21
BENCH	MIN	FGM-A	3PM-A	FTM-A	OREB	DREB	REB	AST	STL	BLK	TO	PF	PTS
Maurice Evans, SF	19	1-4	0-1	0-0	0	1	1	0	0	0	1	0	2
Acie Law, PG	10	0-1	0-0	2-2	0	1	1	2	1	0	1	1	2
Ronald Murray, SG	9	0-2	0-1	0-0	0	1	1	0	0	0	2	1	0
Solomon Jones, PF	13	2-2	0-0	0-1	1	1	2	1	0	0	2	2	4

Hawks narrowly avoid loss against Knicks, Josh Smith birthday

Hawks 98 Knicks 95
30 25 16 24
31 17 26 24

Happy 23rd Josh Smith! We felt this was gonna be a great game with the style the Knicks play and the return of forward Al Harrington against our Al Horford and Josh Smith. The result was not pretty in the first half, Harrington scored 20 pts on 8/12 shooting, but Atlanta was leading 57-55. the Hawks buckled down on defense in the 3rd quarter, but it looked like their offense went with it, holding the Knicks to 16 pts in the 3rd, the Hawks only scored 17. The 4th quarter, the Hawks gave the ball to their 2 best playmakers Josh Smith and Joe Johnson, we are still waiting for Josh to become the great offensive playmaker he can be, especially if he would, i dunno, take 60% of his shots in the paint, he could be an unguardable player at the power forward position, but he scored 16 pts (6/12 FGs 1/5 3pt FGs 3/5 FTs) 8 rbs 5 asts. Joe Johnson scored 17 pts (8/17 FGs 1/7 3pt FGs) 5 rbs 7 asts, and Marvin Williams was the leading scorer of the game with 18 pts (7/14 FGs 0/2 3pt FGs 4/4 FTs) 4 rbs 3 stls.

Its good to see Al Harrington reminice and respect the progress the Hawks made since his departure, he was always a class act for the hawks, he'll be a fine 2-year-rental for the Knicks.

Hawks surely didn't play their best in this win, they know it and they'd better learn from it before facing Dirk Nowitzki in Dallas.

STARTERS	MIN	FGM-A	3PM-A	FTM-A	OREB	DREB	REB	AST	STL	BLK	TO	PF	PTS
Marvin Williams, PF	38	7-14	0-2	4-4	0	4	4	0	3	0	1	1	18
Josh Smith, PF	35	6-12	1-5	3-5	0	8	8	5	0	2	2	3	16
Al Horford, C	29	5-7	0-0	4-5	3	6	9	1	1	0	0	0	14
Joe Johnson, SG	44	8-17	1-7	0-0	0	5	5	7	1	0	6	2	17
Mike Bibby, PG	37	4-14	2-8	0-0	1	5	6	9	1	0	2	0	10
BENCH	MIN	FGM-A	3PM-A	FTM-A	OREB	DREB	REB	AST	STL	BLK	TO	PF	PTS
Maurice Evans, SF	28	5-10	1-4	0-0	2	2	4	0	2	0	2	2	11
Ronald Murray, SG	16	4-6	0-0	2-3	1	3	4	1	0	0	2	1	10
Zaza Pachulia, C	13	0-0	0-0	2-4	0	0	0	0	1	0	2	2	2

Josh Smith returns, Hawks superb defense, balanced scoring effort grounds Grizzlies

Hawks 105 Grizzlies 95
24 15 30 26
24 26 33 22

BOX SCORE

Well, I sure wish i was the D that Sekou is referring to in his blog entry, something about a guy who accurately predicted all of the Hawks first 16 games wins and losses, coinscidence his name is D and im DJ, maybe it is me. If or if not, THIS was me, in yesterday's rare preview, i wrote the casual prediction of a 105-95 Hawks win, and, there you have it. But the story of this Hawks win is so much more than the score.

Josh Smith's return was grand, defensively, offensively (still taking those 3s, if Hawks aren't the #1 3pt shooting team in the league by the end of the season, ill say thanks JOSH!), still as explosive as ever, Josh Smith is, was, and always has been that X-factor that makes them able to beat ANY team in the league, i mean, of course any team is capable of beating any team in a game situation, but the 08-09 Hawks without Josh Smith were a 45 win team good for 5th seed in the East and beyond, but the 08-09 Hawks WITH Josh Smith are a 50 win team and may even earn homecourt advantage in the 1st round THIS SEASON.

SWAGGER Of the Game

Mike Bibby
Wow, Mike is really showing what he can do this year, you can see his floor leadership and decision making skill is at an all-time high, he is easily in his prime at 30 years old, shooting a career high FG%, 3pt FG%, now if we can just get that FT% above 80 he'll be an all-star PG. Last night Bibby scored 20 pts (7/11 FGs 4/6 3pt FGs 2/2 FTs) 3 rbs 10 asts, that will be his 7th game so far with 20 pts or more, his 2nd game with 10+ assists, and his 7th game shooting 50% or better from 3. I mean, he isn't quite Devin Harris (Bibby for Harris and the Hawks go to the Finals) but the Hawks aren't gonna get much better than this from another veteran PG in the league, Bibby is a great fit for this team. Mike Bibby played a perfect second half: 6-6 FGA, 4-4 3PTA, 5 assists, 0 turnovers.

SUPERSTAR JOE
Joe Johnson
Thats the Joe we know, thats the 3rd best SG in the league Joe, thats one of the most versitile players in the league, shooting and passing beautifully leading his team with Bibby to a win. Not every night Joe will score 26 pts 5 rbs 5 asts

The Invisible X factor
Marvin Williams
Marvin Williams scouting report from the opposing team about him probably reads, "average at everything, try not to completely ignore him" and so far opponents haven't taken heed to that little truth of advice in that statement, because Marvin's a shooter now, he may not be Ray Allen or Peja Stoy, but he's got a better 3pt % than both of those players right now. He has also improve in his ball handling and passing ability, there were several nice assists made in this game, 16 pts (4/9 FGs 2/5 3pt FGs 6/6 FTs) 4 rbs 5 asts.





The BO$$
Al Horford is the Boss, i guess. After the Hawks beat the Bucks at Phillips Arena, somebody asked Al his nickname, or rather he volunteered it, then, clearly making it up on the spot declared, "I'm the BOSS!" at the time i was making fun of him for it, my friend asked me, "is that anybody's nickname is the NBA?" i said "no, maybe in the WWE" so im laughing joking about it, and i go to Phillips Arena and they booming it over the system everytime he scores now, "AL HORFORD, THE BOSS!" Wooooww.... we'll see how long it sticks, probably as long as LeBron's wrist kissing thing before each free throw.
NEVERTHELESS, "the BOSs" had a good game, it would be good for Horford to average a double-double, but with this hawks team, its so not important these induvidual milestone statistics, and with Horford especially because his presence is bigger this season than the last, especially on the offensive end. 15 pts (7/9 FGs 1/2 FTs) 5 rbs 4 asts is a good stat line for the starting center.

Hawks ball movement is beautiful.


Joe Johnson is still magnificent.

Al Horford is still a beast

Josh Smith is still great.

Season Prediction:
Many people called me crazy for my preseason prediction of a 47-35 record for the Hawks this season, a 10 game improvement for a team that only added bench would have been great, but no one could have predicted the Hawks beautiful ball movement, excellent 3point shooting, all-star play of Mike Bibby, and improvement of Marvin Williams, if you look at my previous prediction i predicted Marvin would DISimprove this season, but i am glad to be wrong, Marvin is a very important piece to the Championship-level Hawks, whenever we get there, but THIS SEASON, it is not outside the realm of possibility to achieve a record of... 50-32 - 5th seed in eastern conference, i would put us at 4th seed, but its too early to count out Detriot and Allen Iverson, no matter what, THAT is who we will see in the first round playoffs this year, in my prediction, and since that D person predicted November I am going to predict December

Hawks VS Grizzlies W
Hawks VS Knicks W
Hawks @ Dallas W
Hawks @ Rockets L
Hawks @ Spurs W
Hawks @ Miami W
hawks VS Cleveland W
Hawks VS Charlotte W
hawks VS Celtics W
Hawks VS Golden State W
Hawks VS Detroit W
hawks VS OK City W
Hawks VS Chicago W
Hawks VS Denver L
hawks @ Indiana W

and dont call me a jynxer if they lose a few of these games, but i think worst case scenario, Hawks will go 10-6 in December to match the November record, and if they stay on that path these Hawks may end up....50-32 exactly as i predicted, i swear if the Hawks get 50+ wins Mike Woodson deserves Coach of the Year, so follow December with me i wanna see the Hawks succeed.

Hawks record going into 2009: 23-8

Hawks beat east-worst, fresh-fired Eddie Jordan Wizards, like we're supposed to

Hawks 102 Wizards 98
28 27 25 22
17 28 26 27

BOX SCORE


Test.

Its actually pretty sad, the situation for the Wizards. They have, what they feel, one of the best scoring guards in the league, a guy that can score 30 ppg and legitimately lead his team to being a title contender, a guy that signed a 6 year 118 million dollar contract 3 months ago...and he is recovering from his 3rd knee surgery in 3 seasons.

i mean, shout out to Hibachi 2.0 blogspot, that boy Moose is a fantastic blog writer, but Gilbert Arenas was one of my favorite players for a while, alot of people say he will never be the same player again when he returns, we can only imagine what Gilbert himself is going through as his team sucks and his coach gets fired. I can't wait to hear Agent Zero prove himself again when he returns, but until then, and even after, still, the Hawks needed this win.

Mike Bibby led the Hawks in a balanced scoring team performancewith 21 points (8/14 FGs 3/6 3pt FGs 2/2 FTs) 5 rebounds, 6 assists, 2 steals. Joe Johnson was good, 18 points (7/18 FGs 1/5 3pt FGs 3/3 FTs) 3 rebounds, 3 assists, but Mo Evans and Al Horford were the reason the Hawks won this game.

Mo Evans scored 19 points (6/14 FGs 4/7 3pt FGs 3/5 FTs) 9 rebounds, and Al Horford scored 19 points (7/10 FGs 5/6 FTs) 13 rebounds, 6 assists, and 2 steals, and the play-of-the-game definitely goes to Horford.

The Wizards tied the game at 98 after a Caron Butler 3 pointer with 1:10 left to play, Mike Bibby dribbles up the court, passes to Marvin Williams, he drives, dishes to Al, Al dunks with dominating fashion to get the bucket and the foul. Makes the free throw.

The Wizards played well though, Caron Butler is a great player, Antwan is okay, but the Washington Wizards organization might as well be rebuilding, because they surely will not be competing for a playoff spot this season.

Hawks outexecuted down the stretch - Bosh beasts, Raptors win

Hawks 88 Raptors 93
21 29 15 23
24 22 23 24

We didn't have to lose this game.

Seems like every time i give Coach Woodson credit in a game, the next game the Hawks lose and Woodson is blamed for one reason or another, but in this game, Woodson is rightfully blamed.

and no one knows better than Brett LaGree at PeachtreeHoops, see how he breaks it down:

"With 3:32 left in the third quarter, Zaza Pachulia went to the bench. The Hawks were up 2, in no small part thanks to the 8 offensive and 9 defensive rebounds Pachulia had already grabbed. By the end of the third quarter, the Hawks would be down by 4 points. In the fourth quarter, the Hawks would never regain the lead. As a team they would grab, in the fourth quarter, just 7 defensive rebounds. Toronto would grab 15 fourth quarter rebounds, 4 of them offensive. Pachulia would never leave the bench."

Why, Mike? I was watching the game from home with friends and we were all saying "Wow! ZaZa is getting like ALL the rebounds!" but of course, Bosh was beasting, Al Horford can't contain that beast, and the Raptors won, like they were supposed to, but ZaZa could have definitely got a few of those rebounds, he has been outstanding in rebounding and defense since Josh has been out, he should have played more minutes than 0.

Now, after every game, everyone knows the coaches and players talk and give their analysis from their perspective, which is always an interesting thing, because analysis of the game is a whole different sport than playing, lol, and Mike Woodson is undoubtedly an expert, we cannot understate or undervalue the career this man has had with basketball, google him, but peep what Woodson said after the game:

"We hurt ourselves because we settled too much for 3s. We were just too selfish tonight. Sometimes those shots are appetizing and they look good, but if you're not making jump shots, you've got to get to the free throw line.''

Come on, the Hawks are the #1 3pt shooting team in the NBA, they were 6/13 in the 1st half, but in the second half went only 2/13, that does not mean the shots were bad or selfish, just not enough was going in, this was not a "get-to-the-line" kind of game, when you play a team like the Toronto Raptors, they are Chris Bosh and shooters, that is it, and Jose Calderon, who had 11 assists, but seriously, they are not a physical team, and surely Jermaine O'Neal doesn't make them that if/when he returns, no one cares.

Anyway, Al Horford has got to do better, Marvin Williams has got to do better, and we are on our way to Washington D.C., this way not a bad loss, the Hawks are still a better team than the Raptors thus far, and we will continue to prove that, especially after the return of JOSH SMITH.

Going into December 10-6. 4th in eastern conference.

believe that.

No Redd, Bogut, Hawks beat Bucks at Phillips Arena

Hawks 102 Bucks 96
24 24 19 29
28 20 23 31

BOX SCORE

Joe wanted to rebound well from the lowest scoring effort surrendered all season, and he did it not by scoring 30 points, but by scoring wisely, assisting well, and leading in every since of the word his team to victory with 15 points, 9 assists.

Al Horford led Hawks scoring with 21 points(9/12 FGs, 3/5 FTs), 9 rebounds, 3 blocks, 2 assists, 2 steals, he has been outstanding in the absence of Josh, Mike Bibby was good as usual, 18 points (6/14 FGs 4/9 3pt FGs 2/4 FTs) 5 rebounds, 2 assists, and Marvin Williams had an idential stat line, but a more efficient 18 points (4/8 FGs 1/3 3pt FGs 9/10 FTs) 5 rebounds, 2 assists, 2 blocks.

"Flip-Switch" Murray was ON tonight after having been OFF for the past 3 games, although Mo Evans always steps up if and when Flip is OFF, and even some games where Flip is ON Mo plays big off the bench, we are going to soon start counting how many games we have both Flip and Mo is double figures, Sekou calls them "FlipMO Squad"

Busta Rhymes said no, lol.

In other news, this was the reunion of the the Hawks and Tyronne Lue, in which tried so hard to play well against his old number 10, Mike Bibby, but Bibby showed exactly why he was traded for, and why the Hawks were never successful with Lue, in that game. The Hawks are winning, and Hawks are being expected to win certain games and winning, this is such a far cry from even just last season, let alone the 2 seasons previous, even though Mike Woodson has been a fool more often than not in his head coaching career with the Hawks, but he deserves some credit this season, seriously, if the Hawks win 50 games, Mike Woodson Coach of the Year.

see you in Toronto.

Hawks spanked by Cavs, and LeBron, Joe held to 4 pts..bench shined though

Hawks 96 Cavs 110

12 20 26 38
28 21 30 31

BOX SCORE

Even though the Hawks are just getting used to being a "good" team, just now hearing of these "expectations" even after playing 9 games without Josh Smith(which is the total number of games missed HIS ENTIRE CAREER before this), and even though their previously outlandish goal of winning 50 games has become slightly believable, they are still quite a ways to go to defeat a LeBron-led team, and at since at this point its the Cavs, i guess it helps that the rest of the team is pretty good too.

Seriously though, the Hawks could not have come in with a game plan, couldn't have had a #2 option in case Joe was off(and boy was he off). There was one sequence in the game that had me very mad at Marvin Williams. After having 2 straight GREAT games (21/14/4 - 22/10/1) i was hoping he would have the confidence to go up against the greatest individual talent in the game today, he did not. With 0:42 left in the 2nd, Marvin drove toward the basket, now, he DID lower his shoulder, but LeBron was moving, and James was called a blocking foul. James was PISSED, dude smacked the floor stormed up and said some curses (away from the ref), so Atlanta gets the ball back, Bibby throws it into Marvin Williams in his opposite favorite corner with LeBron James in his face. So what does Marvin do? He fakes a shot, pivots right, then fakes a shot again, and pivots again. You know, a wise man said, "indecision kills confidence, exploits weakness" and Marvin Williams got EXPOSED on that play, LeBron just TOOK the ball from Marvin, shoved him to the floor, and threw the ball to a very bad player, Sasha Pavlovic for an open court layup. and of course by this time, the score is 29-50....Marvin later picks up his face and makes a jumpshot so the halftime score is 31-50.

Whats goin on with Joe?
whew, i dont think i've ever seen Joe this bad. 4 Pts on a layup and 2 free throws? missing 7 FG attempts and 2 threes? It would be one thing if we were playing, say, the Bulls and Al Horford was beasting to make up for some of that missed scoring, but yeah we would definitely need Joe to score at least his 20 pts to beat the Legend of LeBron's 30/8/8 or close every game. This was Joe Johnson's lowest scoring output since a game against the Championship Pistons in the 2005-2006 season. It's all good, every great player has a bad game or two in the season, let's just hope that was the one.










Law IV

Of course there is always credit given to a good player performance in a win, but there is also always a bright spot in every loss too. Acie Law played his heart out for a season-high 23 minutes for 20 pts (6/11 FGs 1/1 3pts 7/10 FTs) 6 rbs 7 asts, but besides his stats it was the advantage the Hawks had when he was on the floor, his speed and quickness off the dribble and in the open court has not been seen in Atlanta since, ummm, Jason Terry? ew, anyway there was only one sequence that i was upset at him for and that was a fastbreak in the 4th quarter, a 2-1 advantage, all he had to do was feed Mo Evans for the layup, he attempted his own layup, missed got the rebound and then tried to feed Mo, which the pass went out of bounds for a turnover. Can't do stuff like that against the Cavs, but he played a great game.

Marvin Williams is still playing great, the Cavs are a team cemented in the top 3 Eastern Conference, and will be as long as LeBron is employed there, however, we can beat this team with our speed, versatility, and athleticism, no player or team can STOP LeBron, but if you can hold him to his averages our team defense can overcome their other players offense, and the Hawks bench is better than the Cavs anyday. Its okay, they were expected to win this one, but when they come to Phillips Arena on December 13, Hawks and JOSH SMITH will be ready.

Joe scores 30, Hawks beat Bobcats, though it should have been easier...

Hawks 88 Bobcats 83
24 19 20 20
16 31 15 26

Hawks win, but it was an ugly one.

the Hawks got off to another bad start in this game, allowing the Bobcats to race out a 13-4 lead in the first 5 minutes, and the 1st quarter score ended at 24-16.

In the 2nd quarter, the Hawks got right though. Starting it off with a Mo Evans 3-ball, the Hawks scored 31 pts in the 2nd for a 47-43 halftime lead.

3rd quarter problems started showing again, the Hawks are really lucky to win this game, if we had been playing any other team we probably would not have come back, but the Hawks scored a mere 15 pts in the 3rd, and the Bobcats led 63-62 going into the 4th.

4th quarter Hawks crank it up like we are supposed to, Joe goes to work like he is supposed to, scoring 7 pts, but assisting 2 HUGE 3-pointers back-to-back by Mike Bibby, after 2 Joe Johnson free throws, Bibby hits a THIRD 3-pointer on a Johnson assist, and the Hawks were up 77-73, but this kid D.J Augustine, who had been beasting for the Bobcats (hit 7/11 3pt FGs), hit 3-pointers on back-to-back possessions, making the score 79-77 in an instant. That's when Joe went to work, immediately after the inbound Joe Johnson launched a 3-ball, swish to make the score 80-79 with 4:13 left. Bobcats score to make the score 81-80 with 2:33 left. Marvin Williams, this kid is brand new this season, his improvement has been totally under the radar in the NBA. Marvin Williams, the 3rd leading 3pt FG% leader in the NBA, gets in position in his favorite corner, he gets a great pass from Maurice Evans and launches a 3-ball. Swish. 83-81 with 2:12 left.

It was a great game where it should have been a 10+ point win, but a few things could be learned here:

• Although Brown started probably the shortest backcourt of all time D.J. Augstine might be pretty good as a scoring point guard
• Marvin Williams is a significantly better player than this time last season
• Flip Murray is a great 6th man some nights, the element of cancer itself, frustration itself other nights
• Mo Evans is rock solid