May 11 2009
Can Atlanta Be the First Team to Come Back from 3 Games Down?
It’s not been pleasant for the Atlanta Hawks or their fans through the first 3 games of the playoff series with the Cleveland Cavaliers. They have certainly got their work cut out for them if they do plan to come back from a 3-0 deficit. I think everyone is aware of how hard that might be to do; but is there a chance? Can the Atlanta Hawks get a win in Game 4 and get enough momentum from that to win 3 straight games? They would have to win 2 Games at Cleveland and they have been a tough team to beat at home. The Hawks have threw away all their mulligans if this were golf, but they are on a Par 4 course and they just need 4 good licks.
It might seem like an impossible challenge now but with every win it would bring hope. The Hawks must defend their home floor and win Game 4 in Philips Arena Monday night. The Hawks and Cavs will tip things off at 7PM Eastern Time in Atlanta and this is their chance to show some life in this 2nd round playoff series. A win at the Highlight Factory tonight would have the toughest challenge facing them next game in Cleveland. If the series does go to a Game 5; then the Hawks would need to play at the highest level possible to win. If the team figures out how to win in Cleveland, you would get to bring them back to your home floor and anything could happen in a Game 7 back in Cleveland.
You never know what might happen and it’s to the Hawk’s best interest to play this series out to the end. If LeBron James turns an ankle or another key guy in their line up; then things could dramatically change in this NBA playoff series. In order for the Atlanta Hawks to start winning they must do things differently. There hasn’t been a lot of changes to their approach for these first 3 games. Maybe on Monday they will at least try something new. You don’t have anything to lose at this point and it would be nice to try a different game plan with these guys. Full court pressure and running the ball up and down the court would be a nice change of pace. The Hawks can out run Cleveland if they will constantly push the ball for 48 minutes; this means you must make frequent substitutions to keep guys fresh on the floor. A more physical game is needed in this series. There should be more technical fouls and pushing and shoving in this series and it hasn’t happen yet. The layups and dunks the Hawks are given up must stop or be met with hard fouls. Foul trouble early in the game doesn’t matter because they are beating the Hawks in 3 quarters right now. Don’t take guys off the floor due to foul trouble. Encourage the guys to foul and play much more physical with Cleveland to get them out of their game.
Coach Mike Woodson does need to stop analyzing stats and coach the game. He told the team after the 1st quarter in Game 3 that the defense was good and things would be great with a little offense. The reason Mike Woodson said this is because the Hawks were losing to the Cavs by a score of 22 to 19. Yes, 22 points isn’t bad to give up in a quarter. However, those 22 points came from dunks and lay ups and that had to be addressed. You can’t give up dunks and lay ups in the NBA playoffs and this is the most important thing the team needs to take care of right now. Mike Woodson often looks at free throws attempted and made in games too and he hates to lose that stat. The Coach for the Atlanta Hawks is looking at every stat except the only one that counts. The score is the only stat that matters and Woodson must learn this and quit analzying things from a stat perspective. He’s good about telling you why the team did well or struggled for a half or a quarter of basketball. He will tell you every little thing that went wrong or right for the Atlanta Hawks. The only thing that puzzles me is why did he leave the same guys on the floor that was causing these problems?
I could tell right away in Game 2 with Cleveland that the body language from the team just wasn’t there. Later on, Mike Woodson mentioned this; yet he left the same guys out there that had the bad body language. If you see something that is wrong out there Coach; you must make line up changes to correct it. Hoping the guys on the floor figure it out soon is not working right now and you must be more aggressive with your substitutions during games. We did see great body language in the last minutes of Game 2; when guys like Thomas Gardener, Mario West, and Solomon Jones got in to play. Even Hunter from Ohio State was playing a great game during the trash time that was left from the starters.
Keys to the Game for the Atlanta Hawks: More up-tempo style of offense and more defensive pressure on the ball. Plus a more physical game inside is a MUST for the Hawks to mark a tally in the Win column.
