TheNorthCydeRises

NBA Tonight said that the Hawks are 2 - 20 all-time, when trailing 2 - 1 in a playoff series. I know for a fact that one of those comebacks was against Miami in 2009, but I can't remember the other time. Come to think of it, it may be Miami again, in 1994, vs the #1 seed Hawks. ( checking .... ) Yep, it was that team. We were down 2 - 1 in a 5 game series, but won the last 2 games.

In slight defense of Bud, Antić has played well most of the playoffs. And Scott has sucked. Moose should've been playing in front of Scott. Pero played like regular season Pero today. The question to me is this: Bud has started Moose or Brand in almost every instance in which Millsap and/or Horford were out. Moose had 8 starts. Brand has 4. Pero only has 3. Yet, he chose to go with Pero for the start. Interesting. On another note, a guy like Al Horford better start thinking about what he wants his legacy as a basketball player to be. And for a guy whose contract is up next summer, you'd hope he would be trying to become as good of a player as possible, if jus for the simple reason on of getting paid. But I think he is content with being just good, and not great. We need someone who wants to be great on this team.

Wonder why Brand is so deep in the dog house all of a sudden? He's not even an option to play now? Great comeback by the bench + Korver, but this has got to stop. If they want to win a title, our "star" players can't keep coming out like punks. (( looking at you . . Teague and Horford )). Those guys HAVE to step up big time in Game 4.

SMH

Damn. What a shot by Derrick Rose.

Of course, when you dont have a highly popular player or a superstar, the general public may overlook you. But it's the league's fault too. When you give a 14 win team 8x the National TV exposure than a 60 win team, simply because they're in a bigger market, you'll see the general public not take interest in the good team. Why the NBA doesn't have more of a "flex scheduling" setup after February 1st, is mind boggling. What was it? 3 ESPN games and 0 games on TNT?

Honestly, the best thing about Ghostbusters 2, was this: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DaIZvCDWAcQ

Not until the Hawks come up with a viable alternative. If Scott is playing like garbage, Moose can at least get in a game and rebound. He played 4 minutes last night . . grabbed 2 rebounds . . was 0 - 2 FG . . and the team was even while he was on the floor. If the Hawks need that 9th man to play spot minutes, then I don't mind Moose getting those minutes when the game isn't somewhat tight. And I'm a big time Mike Scott supporter. But these are the playoffs. No time to play favorites. Play the people who can contribute in a positive way.

Our radio crew ( notably Holman ) was definitely concerned last night, especially after the Wiz cut it to 5 late in the 4th. Then Bud called a timeout, and the Hawks got on a big roll to close out the game.

3 Hall of Fame players doesn't hurt either.

Because it's a shorter distance. The top of the key and wing 25 foot threes are out of his range. The 22 foot threes in the corner aren't. I've long said that he should take long 2s ( 18 - 21 ft ) because those are the shots that are in his range. The corner 3 is also within his range. But you can tell that those wing and top of the circle 3s are out of his range, because those shots routinely hit the front rim or are way long. To drive the point home even further, here is how he is shooting the 3 ball. Corner 3s: 6 - 7 FG . . ( 18 pts ) Wing 3s: 3 - 13 FG . . ( 9 pts ) Top of circle 3s: 1 - 3 FG . . ( 3 pts )

Playoffs are about matchups and adjustments. If you have the type of roster that can adjust to what the other team is doing well against you, that team will be in good shape to win a series. Almost everyone in the world have said that the Hawks were "too small". Not that we weren't good enough to win, but that we were too small to handle some of the bigger teams that we may face in the playoffs. Regular season success against a team can be thrown out the window. Those teams will play their starters longer and use different strategies to beat you. If we play Chicago in the next round, another good big off the bench would be an asset we could use. If it's Cleveland, we could probably use an athletic wing ( which we had, until Thabo got hurt ). The bottom line is that the great teams can play any kind of way, and adjust to what the other team is doing. Let's see if our group of guys can do just that. The makeup of the roster just forces other people to REALLY step up their games ( ala Teague, Korver, and Horford ).

People forget that it was the HAWKS who were up 3 - 2 in that 1988 Boston series. And we blew that game at the end.

What he is saying is that if we simply had a legit guy who could finish around the rim or maybe create his own shot, this team would be better off. It doesn't have to be a superstar. It could be a guy as simple as a Jeff Green or even an athlete like ( gasp ) Javale McGee. Watch what Golden State does in the Memphis series. Because of their size, you may even see a guy like Festus Ezeli get more playing time to go up against Marc Gasol, instead of Kerr opting to go smallish at times. HawkItus point is that we have too many people on the team that do exactly the same thing. Even the Spurs aren't built like that. The Cavs retooled their lineup so they could be more versatile, and it immediately made them better. So imagine if we had a legit rim protector to put in the game on the frontline, instead of a struggling Mike Scott. You could now run a 3 man platoon at center ( Horford - Antić - rim protector ), and strictly play Horford or Millsap at PF at all times. Millsap is currently averaging 37 mpg. Horford at 33 mpg ( which needs to be increased IMO ). Pero at 17 mpg. So what would happen if we had an athletic big to put in the lineup for defense and rebounding? PF: Millsap ( 36 ) - Horford ( 12 ) C: Horford ( 22 ) - Antić ( 16 ) - other big ( 10 ) That type of lineup keeps us big and solid in the middle, and lethal at the PF spot. That's why as the trading deadline neared, I wanted the Hawks to make a play for a vet big man like a Samuel Dalembert. He's traditionally an active body on the boards, can make a few midrange jumpers, and can block and alter a few shots. With Mike Scott playing terrible, and Bud reluctant to play both Muscala and Brand, a guy like Dalembert would be a decent option to have off the bench. It's all about being versatile, not one dimensional.

I don't think I could ever "shut it down", but I can feel exactly what Wretch is going through. We will probably NEVER have an easier path to the ECF as we have right now. So to not reach the next round, is unacceptable. Totally unacceptable. It reminds me of when I was a kid, and a huge Dallas Cowboys fan ( because that's about all they showed on TV in Tennessee ). In the early and mid 80s, the Cowboys were essentially the modern day Georgia Bulldogs .. a good team that could never get to the next level. As a way too passionate pre-teen and teen, I spent way too much emotion over the Cowboys .. because they would consistently lose games they were supposed to win. It got to the point that I would rather root for the up and coming Cincinnati Bengals team ( who I adopted as my 2nd team as a result of me wanting them to beat the 49ers .. because they beat the Cowboys in the NFC title game. ) I just couldn't take them losing winnable games anymore. Ironically, 30 years later, I'm still a Bengals fan ( and have been through hell rooting for them ), and these days, they're starting to play like those mid 80s Dallas Cowboys teams. But I'm not nearly as emotionally invested in the Bengals now, as I was as a kid rooting for the Cowboys. So as a Hawks fan, who have seen this team for the past 8 years fight but lose to better teams in the playoffs, I feel that our time is NOW. No way they can blow their chance NOW. If they blow it now, how can any Hawks fan have any real expectations for the future? If we can't get it done NOW, with everything damn near perfectly aligned for us ( even a John Wall injury ), when will they do it? I won't disown the Hawks, ever. But it might push me more toward rooting for the home state Grizzlies. Hawks simply need to play like they want to win a ring.

And we're playing by far the weakest team left in the playoffs. With the way we lost Game 1, there is no way in hell we should be 1 - 1 right now. I see what you're saying. But if we were playing Memphis, Chicago, or the Clippers in this round, we would be down 0 - 2 and looking at playoff DEATH. Hopefully having 3.5 days off before we play again, will get them back on the right track.

1st Team All-Defense. Gotta love Tony Allen. Saying that phrase all throughout Game 2 vs Golden State. He shut down Klay Thompson, and helped shut down Steph Curry. He's the closest thing to a Marshawn Lynch type of bad ass in the NBA. Great win by the Grizzlies tonight.

SMH. I'm mad at myself for even knowing what you're talking about. So what "positive" song could the fans in Philips start to sing, to bring the positive vibe that could kill Paul? Real talk though, Paul is the most dangerous crunch time player in this series. Even tonight he hit 5 threes and kept the Wiz within striking distance.

They're playing too laid back in these games. Waiting until crunch time to have a sense of urgency isn't always going to pay off. All in all, a good 4th quarter by the squad tonight. But they need to stop messing around with this team.

Because Pero was ass in the regular season. But in this postseason, he's been a very good role player.

Look at how they're playing. Any criticism of this team right now should not be called "hate". People may be overly critical. But their criticism has merit to it. We're in a dogfight with the Wiz without Wall, and Beal having a terrible shooting game. We will be very fortunate to get a win tonight.

Dennis and Kent showing up tonight.

At least Kyle has found his stroke back.

Lol .. Sessions is Isiah Thomas all of a sudden.

Same thing as Sunday ... Wiz come out strong in the 2nd half .. smh.