So… now that we’re all here…

Falcons fans, think back to where you were in 2009 when, for the first time in its 44 seasons, your favorite football team went over .500 for the second-straight year. Or how about in 2011, when the Falcons reached the playoffs in back-to back seasons for the first time in 46 years. You were probably in front of a TV, somewhere? Hi-def, maybe?

You likely don’t recall exactly where you were in either of those instances. So how about January 1999, when the Falcons went up to mighty Minnesota and won its first-ever trip to the Super Bowl? That moment when you had to adjust your antennae because the sure-as-rain Gary Anderson missed his fourth-quarter field goal, but Morten Andersen nailed his in OT? It’s probable you remember the exact seat you were sitting in, the first person you hugged, when the improbable happened.

Any baseball fans out there remember that Summer of ’69, when the Bravos secured the National League West division on the strength of Rico Carty’s sac-fly and 46-year old Hoyt Wilhelm shutting down the Reds? The team that made Atlanta’s maiden voyage into the NLCS, getting swept by the Amazin’ Mets despite the best efforts of Hammerin’ Hank?

Or perhaps, Joe Torre’s streaky ’82 club when they clinched the NL West in Dale Murphy’s first MVP season, starting the year with a MLB record 13-0 start but needing help from the Giants to hold off the Dodgers on the final day, before suffering a similar fate as the ’69 club at the hands of Bruce Sutter and the Cardinals? Do you recall where you were when the Bravos clinched the division? Not so much?

Those were times in the ATL when just pulling off division titles sufficed as a big friggin’ deal. Yet if you were at least of teenager age by 1991, you probably have a great tale to tell about where you were and what you did the moment When Sid Slid to put away the Pirates. If you were of drinking age, you remember the very brand of the beer you cried into when Atlanta finally earned a trip to the Fall Classic.

Becoming consistent contenders can be fun, winning division titles a little better, and winning the whole shebang is way better. But there’s something truly memorable, downright magical, about the moment your team finally reaches your sport’s ultimate championship round -- the moment your team becomes impossible for the world to dismiss out-of-hand as a perennial also-ran.

With LeBron James and the Cleveland Cavaliers in town, the Atlanta Hawks come into Game 1 of these Eastern Conference Finals (8:30 PM Eastern, TNT, 92.9 FM in ATL) knowing that somewhere, in their huddle, there could be a Sid Bream just waiting for his big moment to arrive.

Atlantans have Cleveland to thank for at least having a 1995 title parade to look back upon. Clevelanders would really like to move beyond 1964, when the Browns brought the city its last pro championship. But when he proclaimed a stunning return to Northeast Ohio last summer, James really tried his best to pump the brakes on the notion that 2015 will be The Year.

“I’m not promising a championship,” he warned in July while announcing The Decision Part Deux. “We’re not ready right now. No way. Of course, it will be a long process, much longer than it was in 2010… I know that I’m going into a situation with a young team and a new coach (David Blatt).” But after being boosted by a pair of mid-season trades, James (who’s prevailed in his last four ECFs) and Cavs fans recognize there’s no time quite like the present.

Before he established himself as the de facto player-coach, much like Richie Guerin did in an official capacity the last time the Hawks reached the NBA’s Final Four, James declared, “I will be the old head. But I get a thrill out of bringing a group together and helping them reach a place they didn’t know they could go.”

After dispatching the Celtics and Bulls, the Cavs come into Atlanta with the postseason’s most potent offense (108.2 postseason O-Rating), and it seems they’re figuring out the defensive side of things, too (98.8 postseason D-Rating; 3^rd in conference semis after the Warriors and Hawks; league-best 44.7 opponent eFG%).

The loss of Kevin Love to an injured shoulder, and the lingering issues with Kyrie Irving’s knee have brought Tristan Thompson and Iman Shumpert to the forefront to relieve the All-Stars. Thompson is arguably the best offensive rebounder in the game right now (4.0 O-Rebs per game vs. CHI), and keeps Cleveland’s possessions alive whenever their shooting gets off-kilter. Thompson’s ability to crash the glass makes it easier for Timofey Mozgov to go after everything in his vicinity (2.2 playoff BPG) on defense.

In the backcourt, Shumpert brings the defensive intensity that Irving cannot. Meanwhile, Matthew Dellavedova has proven helpful as a pest, and J.R. Smith’s gambling (team-high 1.8 playoff steals per-36) has paid off so far. Smith’s +9.3 plus-minus leads the Eastern Conference among active postseason players, ahead of Kyle Korver’s +6.6.

Defensively, it’s essential that the Hawks treat Kyrie like an extra shooting guard. Jeff Teague and Kent Bazemore have to put Irving (3.3 playoff APG; 1.6 TOs/game) in situations where his best option is to give up the rock, rather than finding open jumpers (45.7 3FG%, 57.1 catch-and-shoot FG%) and open lanes to the hoop.

Until Irving proves himself as a capable floor leader, LeBron (7.9 playoff APG, 4^th in NBA) adequately serves that role. Atlanta will strive to spread James thin as Cleveland’s primary help defender, distributor, and help rebounder, in addition to their go-to perimeter scorer (4.8 playoff 3FG attempts per game, 14.6 3FG%) at the end of the shot clock.

By keeping LeBron hyperactive all over the floor, he’ll create opportunities (NBA-high 4.6 playoff TOs per game) for the Hawks to capitalize in transition, and to find an open scorer between DeMarre Carroll and Paul Millsap. LeBron’s in-game tallies will continue to impress the TV broadcasters, but box scores alone won’t win championships.

DMC (team-high 17.1 playoff PPG, 52.4 FG%) will have his hands full with James, but now the feeling is mutual, and the Junk Yard Dawg’s ability to space the floor and drive to the hoop makes it difficult for LeBron to leave him open to compensate for other Atlanta mismatches on the floor. Whichever of James (2.9 playoff personal fouls/game) or Carroll gets in early foul trouble puts their opponents at a considerable early advantage in each game of this series.

Staying true to their ball-movement philosophy in the playoffs, the Hawks have the league’s top-two active leaders in points per-48 created via assist, in Teague (25.8) and wunderkind Dennis Schröder (24.5). Individually, or together, they are each capable of pushing the Cavs (NBA-low 92.9 playoff pace) out of their plodding tempo, forcing Cav ballhandlers and defenders into making costly mistakes. With smart decision-making, both players can create havoc for Cleveland defenders, as post passes to Millsap and pick-and-pop with Al Horford should be available all night.

Horford and Millsap took advantage of a slow-footed Nene and Marcin Gortat in the past series, in part, by crashing the offensive glass, and they could become a problem for Cleveland, one of the subpar defensive rebounding teams in the postseason (74.9 D-Reb%; 15.6 opponent second-chance PPG, 4^th-most in playoffs).

Blatt will try to offset that action by getting an energetic Mozgov involved in runouts early in the game, forcing Atlanta’s big men to get back quickly. It was an offensive wrinkle that worked well against Chicago, despite Joakim Noah’s league-high 4.0 O-Reb average during the semis.

Of the things Cleveland misses most by Love’s absence from the lineup, transition offense is among them (6.9 playoff fastbreak PPG, next-to-last in NBA). Still, the Hawks’ bigs need to collaborate to keep James and Mozgov from picking up steam on the open floor.

Hovering over all of this is the spectre of en fuego Korver (35.0 playoff 3FG%). If the league’s leading three-point shooter during the regular season stops defying the Law of Averages and reappears for stretches, it will be tough for the Cavs to keep up over the course of a seven-game series. Shumpert can keep up but gets easily flustered when Korver heats up. Blatt may deploy a rested Shawn Marion to help out along the perimeter if Shumpert and Dellavedova don’t suffice.

Cleveland was held to double-digits in their two losses to Chicago; in 19 of their last 20 regular-season losses, the Cavs failed to score more than 100 points in regulation (the exception being the Hawks’ 109-101 home win back in late December). LeBron might get his 40-and-whatever, Kyrie his 30. But where will the other 30-plus points be coming from to help Cleveland keep up?

There’s plenty of room for a breakout game among Atlanta’s bench players. In Cleveland’s last visit to the Highlight Factory, the Cavs found themselves slowly eroding a 17-point first-quarter lead. But as Cavs assistant Larry Drew knows, it’s a game of runs, and by the fourth quarter, it was Schröder (4 of his 8 assists) and Mike Scott (5-for-6 FGs) running the Cavs out of town. Scott now has competition from the well-deserving Mike Muscala for playing time, but has the potential to make up for what’s been an underwhelming playoff run thus far.

When Teague sat out of the mid-December game in Cleveland, Schröder ably sliced-and-diced (10 assists, 1 TO), and the Cavs are still trying to find the license number of the (Shelvin) Mack Truck that went 6-for-6 on them from three-point range. Pero will be up to his usual Antics, probably getting a few long-range bombs each game, but his ability to win battles for boards in the post against the likes of Mozgov and Thompson will be crucial to give Horford the rest that he’ll need.

Although it took a few more seasons to win it all, “The Giants Win the Pennant!” is the lasting call that nostalgic sports fans remember. When it’s time to take that “Shot Heard ‘Round the World,” who gets to be the Hawks’ Bobby Thomson? Take care of business at home, starting tonight, and Atlanta may soon find out.

Let’s Go Hawks!

~lw3