May 05 2009
Atlanta Hawks Advance Over the Miami Heat
The Atlanta Hawks did something that hasn’t been done in 10 years in Atlanta. They advanced to the 2nd round of the NBA Playoffs. It wasn’t an easy playoff series for the Hawks and they got blew out in 3 of the 7 games they played with the Miami Heat. The good news is that the Hawks blew the Heat out in 4 of the games and this makes them the winner of the 1st round series.
Dwayne Wade did all he could for his Heat team through this playoff series. He was often smiling and laughing while the Heat was on the winning side of things. He even did a head butt to Solomon Jones that resulted in a double technical foul on the two players. He also got a rebound in Game 6 near the end of the game; where he held the ball back and gave a stare down to the opposing Hawk’s defender. His antics on the court seemed to go unnoticed by the guys from TNT Sports and then again on the national broadcast Sunday on ABC. No one seem to mind the behavior or actions he did throughout this series and his behavior did fire the Hawks team up in this best of 7 playoff series.
Josh Smith Dunking Between the Legs Attempt
It seems this little move did catch the eye of ESPN and TNT Sports. They felt it was showing up the other team and was not called for. The guys from ESPN on Sunday actually got to hear a Josh Smith response; when he stated it was for the fans in Atlanta. His remark was labeled as a “weak excuse“.
Well national media, ESPN, and the guys from TNT like Ernie Johnson, Charles Barkley, and Kenny Smith; I got news for you. If you would show more Atlanta Hawks games on TV; you may know the team and players better. Since you don’t watch the Hawks or know about them; let me fill you in on a little secret. Since coming into the league Josh Smith has always rattled the rims with flashy dunks. Over the past 2 seasons, it seems Josh now has a pattern for his dunks. He has had many wide open dunks on the road and often these are just a casual lay-in or a normal dunk. When Josh has the opportunity at home (in front of hometown fans) he puts a little extra on them. The crowd and the fans of Atlanta want to see what Josh can do. We like to seem him dunk and we prefer the ones you would see in a dunk contest. Josh gives great performances on his slam dunks and always rewards the fans in Atlanta well.
Since this was the playoffs and the crowd was a lot larger than other home games for the Atlanta Hawks, I’m sure Josh felt the need to do a little something extra. A two-handed tomahawk dunk would have not been good enough and he needed to bring out the extra creativity in this breakaway dunk. Throwing the ball off the floor, the glass, or going between the legs like he did was really his only option. His dunk was purely for the fans and he would have did something special in a tighter game or one that had the Hawk’s on the wrong side of the scoreboard. There was never anything in this playoff series with the Heat that would suggest Josh would “show up” the other team. The between the legs dunk attempt was for the fans and only the fans. Josh has done spectacular dunks in the last two seasons during home games and rarely serves them up on the road.
Everyone on National TV that commented about the Josh Smith dunk attempt never did consider the fans point of view. Sometimes things are bigger than just the game between two teams and Josh understood this and gave the paying fans what they wanted. It’s the fans that make the sport possible and they are the ones paying the checks, so taking care of them is important. Josh Smith took care of the fans and the guys from TNT and ESPN have no clue about Josh Smith or the Atlanta Hawks team.
Hawks Travel to Cleveland Now
It’s time for the Atlanta Hawks to take on the Cleveland Cavaliers in round 2 of the NBA Playoffs. The Hawks are heavily favored to lose this series with the Cavs. People are still not aware of the great 9 players we have on the roster yet and if these 9 get a chance to show their stuff, the Cleveland Cavaliers may find a fight on their hands. The Hawks are gifted with players that can run up and down the court and they all get off the floor really well. They can cause many problems for the Cavs offense and not sure they will put up enough points to win 4 games in this series.
Obviously you can’t consider the Cleveland Cavaliers team without talking about LeBron James. He’s a great player and all eyes will need to be on him this series. The guys like Ilgauskas and Williams have hurt us with their mid to long range shooting. Hopefully the Hawks keep a close eye on these two, clog the paint where James can’t drive to the basket, and force Lebron to take jumpers. LeBron doesn’t have a consistent stroke from outside and he’s not Dwayne Wade. Let him take open jumpers. He may knock down a few, but LeBron James can’t beat you with his jump shots. His penetration into the lane and the ability to finish at the rim or to dish to great jump shooters is his specialty and the Hawks can limit this by leaving him open beyond the arc. LeBron is confident in his game and it would be nice to see the Hawks let him shoot open jumpers. He can’t make enough to win this series and his pride will be on the line if you leave him open from outside.
The first game will be on Tuesday night in Cleveland. The game time for the Cavs and Hawks will be at 8PM Eastern Time. It should be fun to watch the Hawks and Cavaliers tip it off for real on Tuesday. I think a lot of NBA fans will get a better chance to see what has been cooking in Atlanta for the last few years. The Hawks are ready for this series and they come in a little wounded from the Miami playoff series. The Hawks will need to play under control in the first half and then get the game in a running style in the later quarters.
The first two games will be in Cleveland on Tuesday and Thursday night. Both games will have a tip-off time of 8PM. The Hawks don’t have to win both games, but winning one on the road in Cleveland does give the Hawks home court advantage in the series. They will need to defend their home court in every game they play against LeBron James and the Cleveland Cavaliers.
