Something I Want To Say To The Board, And About Last Night's Game...

[Colin]

I never posted much on Hawksquawk in the past because the board's history of kneejerk reactions and lack of faith. Which is fine, seeing as how the Hawks don't have any recent history of success.

But now, i'm getting tired of it.

Last night's game was bad, obviously. The Heat played better than we did. Joel Anthony played like Zaza, Dwyane Wade got to the line and played like a superstar, and the Heat got the crowd behind them. They hit their open shots, and came out and played like their season was on the line.

That said, what did you expect? We weren't a good road team in the regular season, so we knew we would have trouble on the road in the playoffs. We lost one at home, and we stole one on the road, which could be enough to get us by, we just need to protect our homecourt one more time, and we're in the second round.

We were playing on the road, without two of our starters, and that is how we played. Josh Smith has been singled out by the media this week, and it looked like the crowd's booing got inside his head yesterday. He is a young guy, and as much as we like to beat him up for his stupid shots, we have to realize, he doesn't have much experience in big clutch games, and last night, he showed he couldn't handle adversity.

That is when the veterans need to step up, which Bibby did, but Joe Johnson didn't, and that is why we lost such a lopsided game.

As much as you like to criticize Woodson for a game like last night, it is tough. In my eyes, he was playing with 6 NBA players, screw Solomon and Mario. I am not saying Acie isn't an NBA player, but what the hell do we expect him to do, he has very little game experience in games that matter, and is coming off injury. (Which you CAN blame on woody).

What i'm saying, is that we get to do exactly what we want. Win a game 7 at home, move on to the second round for the first time in a while, and at least put up a fight against the Cavs. If you want to sit around, and say "hey, if we lose, Woodson gets fired, it is a win-win situation". I don't want to hear it, LOSING A f***ing PLAYOFF SERIES IS NEVER A WIN SITUATION.

As much as you hate the god damn coach, the reason we played this season was to compete for an NBA title. If you wanted Woodson fired, you basically were rooting against us every game, so go ahead, root against us again.

We have gotten better every season, from 13 wins to 47 in just a couple of years, always improving. Woodson isn't the greatest coach, obviously, he doesn't adjust well, and his offense is a joke most nights. But he STANDS UP for his players, all 6 of them he actually had last night, and I admire that. He has his heart in the right place, now he just needs to get his mind there too.

You guys may think that we will just get swept by the Cavs, but I don't. I think if we win game 7, get Marvin back, have Horford, and get our minds right for the series, we can win our home games against the Cavs. Then guess what, all you would have to do is steal one on the road.

But that isn't the point. We have a HOME GAME 7, and I for one have faith in my team, I still have the same outlook I did when the playoffs started. Please try to realize we are a home win away from the second round.

[DieHardHAWK]

amen

[MaceCase]

clap..................clap..............clap............clap............clap......clap.....clap.....

.clap...clap..clap. clap clap clap clap CLAP CLAP CLAPCLAPCLAPCLAPCLAPCLAPCLAP

[Gray Mule]

Several reasons for the loss, which have been discussed fully.

Hawks have a leadership problem without Horford on the floor. Yep, you heard

the old man. Our second year center, who many feel is out of position, is the

main man when it comes to leadership.

He tried to inspire them by being dressed and on the bench last night. If the game

had been close at the end, I'm sure he would have been willing to try playing on

one leg. He's just that kind of player.

Hawks were down two starters. Within minutes, we were down three as JJ managed

to grab two quick fouls. Flip, off the bench, had a cold hand last night. Bibby was great.

He couldn't carry the burden alone and no one helped.

Our super athletic power foreward man child, like a baby, continued to cry to the refs.

If the Hawks are to advance, he needs to put away his childish behavior and act like

a man among men. Quit the crying and moaning. Don't let the Heat know how much

it hurts. This just adds fuel to their fire.

He had some great defensive stops and blocks. Yet, he let the Heat get inside his head

and it ruined his offense. When he drew the foul and it wasn't called, he forgot the

team and the game. Flustration and lack of confidence on the offensive end then

overshadowed his good defensive work.

Don't jump Solomon Jones. He's our third string center. Being that, I thought he did

all right for himself. There's a reason he's behind Horford and Zaza on the depth

chart on a team that finished 4th in the east.

Very little seperated the 4th and 5th teams in the east in the regular season. This

continues to be the case in the playoffs. Each have three wins. Each team has

injuries. Three blow out victories each. It all comes to a conclusion at the Hawks

house Sunday.

GO HAWKS!!

[LOL_Hawks]

Yeah, I saw that blowout loss coming a mile away. What made me mad, however, was the fact that the Hawks basically accepted their fate by the middle of the 2nd quarter. They lost their composure when it came to the officials (Mo Evans especially. You know the officiating's bad when Mo is yelling about it, but still, come on, Mo!), they let the Heat's offense do whatever they want. Basically, it looked like they just wanted to get back to Atlanta ASAP after halftime.

It's not the loss that makes me mad about them losing last night, it's the way that they reverted back to their dead duck road team aliases last night.

But I definitely agree with the sentinemnt that losing a playoff series is ALMOST NEVER a win-situation. Maybe it was last year when we pushed the champs to a 7th game, but not this year. I dislike Woodson (don't hate him like most), but if we lose this series then he gets fired and our stupid owners will probably get another figurehead. I mean really, people really expect this ownership to give Sund the power to go after a REALLY good coach. We're probably gonna end up like the Heat and get a Spoelstra-type coach. I'd honestly rather have Woodson stay around than a Spo-type, because Spo is only in the playoffs because of Wade. Basically, I don't like Woodson, but at this point he's probably the best we can do with what we have. Basically, losing this playoff series to fire Woodson and get in some random figurehead would suck more than losing this and keeping Woodson.

Of course, we might win Game 7 since the Hawks always seem to show up in big games at home, so who knows?

[Diesel]

I never posted much on Hawksquawk in the past because the board's history of kneejerk reactions and lack of faith. Which is fine, seeing as how the Hawks don't have any recent history of success.

But now, i'm getting tired of it.

Last night's game was bad, obviously. The Heat played better than we did. Joel Anthony played like Zaza, Dwyane Wade got to the line and played like a superstar, and the Heat got the crowd behind them. They hit their open shots, and came out and played like their season was on the line.

That said, what did you expect? We weren't a good road team in the regular season, so we knew we would have trouble on the road in the playoffs. We lost one at home, and we stole one on the road, which could be enough to get us by, we just need to protect our homecourt one more time, and we're in the second round.

We were playing on the road, without two of our starters, and that is how we played. Josh Smith has been singled out by the media this week, and it looked like the crowd's booing got inside his head yesterday. He is a young guy, and as much as we like to beat him up for his stupid shots, we have to realize, he doesn't have much experience in big clutch games, and last night, he showed he couldn't handle adversity.

That is when the veterans need to step up, which Bibby did, but Joe Johnson didn't, and that is why we lost such a lopsided game.

As much as you like to criticize Woodson for a game like last night, it is tough. In my eyes, he was playing with 6 NBA players, screw Solomon and Mario. I am not saying Acie isn't an NBA player, but what the hell do we expect him to do, he has very little game experience in games that matter, and is coming off injury. (Which you CAN blame on woody).

What i'm saying, is that we get to do exactly what we want. Win a game 7 at home, move on to the second round for the first time in a while, and at least put up a fight against the Cavs. If you want to sit around, and say "hey, if we lose, Woodson gets fired, it is a win-win situation". I don't want to hear it, LOSING A f***ing PLAYOFF SERIES IS NEVER A WIN SITUATION.

As much as you hate the god damn coach, the reason we played this season was to compete for an NBA title. If you wanted Woodson fired, you basically were rooting against us every game, so go ahead, root against us again.

We have gotten better every season, from 13 wins to 47 in just a couple of years, always improving. Woodson isn't the greatest coach, obviously, he doesn't adjust well, and his offense is a joke most nights. But he STANDS UP for his players, all 6 of them he actually had last night, and I admire that. He has his heart in the right place, now he just needs to get his mind there too.

You guys may think that we will just get swept by the Cavs, but I don't. I think if we win game 7, get Marvin back, have Horford, and get our minds right for the series, we can win our home games against the Cavs. Then guess what, all you would have to do is steal one on the road.

But that isn't the point. We have a HOME GAME 7, and I for one have faith in my team, I still have the same outlook I did when the playoffs started. Please try to realize we are a home win away from the second round.

Let me explain it to you.

First of all, I don't think anybody believed that we would have no trouble with Miami or that the possibility of Miami winning was out of the question. The problem is that there's a difference between losing and looking like you don't know how to win. Boston fans can feel OK about their game 6 because their team just lost. 4 OTs, old man Ray Allen 51 points and the Bulls just outlasted them. However, when you look at our game 6, it is not the fact that we lost the game. It's the fact that we look like we didn't have a clue about how to win it. How many bone headed shots do we have to take? Is there some requirement of boneheaded shots? How many times will our PF, Josh Smith, shoot ill-advised shots? Raise your hands if you yell "No, no, no, no, no, no, no.. " everytime Smoove gets a pass and he's wide open near the perimeter. Why can't we establish anything near the inside? Joel Anthony is about the sorriest....player in the league and we got him looking like Deke. How many times will Jones and Cook be wide open on the perimeter? How long will we play this switching defense before we realize that they have adjusted to it and are killing it? Why are we constantly making horrible passes? Why does Beasley look like a much smarter player than Smoove?

It's not that we lost, it's that we look like we don't know how to win.

So we talk about coming home for game 7. Well, think about it.. game 5, we went on a 35-17 run while Wade was injured. Was that the difference in the game? If you took a poll today, it's hard to find fans that believe that the Hawks will win this series... The refs will call this game tighter. Hothead Smoove will piss them off farther. The announce crew is just waiting to say that Smoove's dunk attempt is why we lost the series.

That's why people are complaining.

[Plainview1981]

I never posted much on Hawksquawk in the past because the board's history of kneejerk reactions and lack of faith. Which is fine, seeing as how the Hawks don't have any recent history of success.

But now, i'm getting tired of it.

Last night's game was bad, obviously. The Heat played better than we did. Joel Anthony played like Zaza, Dwyane Wade got to the line and played like a superstar, and the Heat got the crowd behind them. They hit their open shots, and came out and played like their season was on the line.

That said, what did you expect? We weren't a good road team in the regular season, so we knew we would have trouble on the road in the playoffs. We lost one at home, and we stole one on the road, which could be enough to get us by, we just need to protect our homecourt one more time, and we're in the second round.

We were playing on the road, without two of our starters, and that is how we played. Josh Smith has been singled out by the media this week, and it looked like the crowd's booing got inside his head yesterday. He is a young guy, and as much as we like to beat him up for his stupid shots, we have to realize, he doesn't have much experience in big clutch games, and last night, he showed he couldn't handle adversity.

That is when the veterans need to step up, which Bibby did, but Joe Johnson didn't, and that is why we lost such a lopsided game.

As much as you like to criticize Woodson for a game like last night, it is tough. In my eyes, he was playing with 6 NBA players, screw Solomon and Mario. I am not saying Acie isn't an NBA player, but what the hell do we expect him to do, he has very little game experience in games that matter, and is coming off injury. (Which you CAN blame on woody).

What i'm saying, is that we get to do exactly what we want. Win a game 7 at home, move on to the second round for the first time in a while, and at least put up a fight against the Cavs. If you want to sit around, and say "hey, if we lose, Woodson gets fired, it is a win-win situation". I don't want to hear it, LOSING A f***ing PLAYOFF SERIES IS NEVER A WIN SITUATION.

As much as you hate the god damn coach, the reason we played this season was to compete for an NBA title. If you wanted Woodson fired, you basically were rooting against us every game, so go ahead, root against us again.

We have gotten better every season, from 13 wins to 47 in just a couple of years, always improving. Woodson isn't the greatest coach, obviously, he doesn't adjust well, and his offense is a joke most nights. But he STANDS UP for his players, all 6 of them he actually had last night, and I admire that. He has his heart in the right place, now he just needs to get his mind there too.

You guys may think that we will just get swept by the Cavs, but I don't. I think if we win game 7, get Marvin back, have Horford, and get our minds right for the series, we can win our home games against the Cavs. Then guess what, all you would have to do is steal one on the road.

But that isn't the point. We have a HOME GAME 7, and I for one have faith in my team, I still have the same outlook I did when the playoffs started. Please try to realize we are a home win away from the second round.

Do you realize these players get paid millions of dollars? If they can't even go out there and give their best effort every night, why are they getting millions of bucks? Do they shyt gold or something? There is nothing special about this team or players or anyone involved in the organization. If anything, it's the players that should be sorry and not the freakin fans. This "We gotta support them no matter what that they do" battered wife mentality is pathetic. Because that's what it is... A battered wife mentality.

Mike Woodson is not a good coach. He will never be a good head coach. He isn't capable of being a good head coach. He wouldn't be the head coach anywhere else.

I would say the players should apologize to the fans for their horrible efforts in this series. But if they did that, they'd just saying sorry far too often and it would quickly be meaningless. Aren't you tired of hearing these guys say "We don't have the energy". It's like... WTF? Isn't what you get paid to do? Aren't you supposed to be a professional athlete? And people wonder why the love for professional sports is gone from alot of fans. Why are sports ratings down? Gee, I wonder why?

Edited May 2, 2009 by Hotlanta1981

[TheNorthCydeRises]

I think Horford or Marvin have to play in Game 7, for us to pull this out. Even if you strictly use Marvin as a defensive deterrent and an extra rebounder and passer, he needs to be on the floor.

I thought the team fought hard in that 2nd quarter. JJ had 9 points in the quarter. Bibby had it going, and made that big steal and shot at the end of the half. I think Wade didn't hit a shot in the quarter ( although he did get to the line ). It's just that in that 3rd quarter, they hit every shot, and we missed every shot to begin that half. Once Wade hit those back-to-back 3's, I think that's when JJ and the boys packed it in.

The problem tomorrow, is if Wade looks to try to score 50 on us, by driving to the hole at will, and taking a ton of shots. If he gets it going early, we might be in trouble. But if we come out and play great team defense, we'll be OK . . even if JJ doesn't have it going.

Of course, I'd love to see him have a 12 point first quarter, and get us rolling early.

I've said this many times about the Hawks, but they play exactly like Utah on the road. Well, Utah is a little better, but they still find ways to lose games on the road that they have no business losing. Jerry Sloan is a far better coach than Woody, yet, his teams have sucked on the road for the past 6 - 7 years or so. But get that Utah team at home, and they look like world beaters in front of that home crowd.

That's the hope for us. If we do like Woody said, and come out and play great DEFENSIVELY in that 1st quarter, we should be able to win the game. But if we give up 25+ points in the quarter, it may be bad news.

[hawkman]

I still believe in these guys and WILL be at Phillips at 1PM Sunday afternoon cheering for my team. Hoping we lose so that we won't get "schooled" by Cleveland or so Woodson gets fired or for personal vindication for those who post how bad the team is all the time is nothing but loser talk. THis is Game 7 of a Playoff series AT HOME IN PHILLIPS ARENA. If you can't stand up and support the team now, why bother following the team at all? Why bother posting here?

[DrReality]

We have to come out ready to play and take control. That is the pattern in the series and whoever leads after the first quarter wins. So we need to be loaded bor bear from the jump.

[MaceCase]

Why couldn't we all just join in my slow clap?