“Sure, you can have ‘em. Jeff Teague shook me out of these.”
The Kings. The Bobcats. The Knicks. The Pistons. The Cavs. The Celtics. The Magic. The Bucks. The Sixers. The Jazz. The Bobcats again.
The Atlanta Hawks have had a particularly underwhelming season on the road, an 11-24 mark that’s currently as bad as Cleveland’s. For a team that professes to want to make the playoffs as a low-seed, and do a little something once they get there, it behooves them to demonstrate they can beat a
"Ain't no paddles involved in this, right?"
Another barn-burner is in store for all you rabid hoop fans out there, as the 12th-seeded Ragin’ Cajuns of Louisiana-Lafay… huh, what? Oh, there’s some OTHER basketball being played today? Cool!
The New Orleans Pelicans are situated in the West Region, but for much of the season they have feasted on the East. Back when they defeated tonight’s opponent, the Atlanta Hawks (7:30 PM Eastern, SportSouth, FoxSports NOLA) at Smoothie King Center on F
"Really, Masai? Really?"
I ask you... which is the best Toronto Raptors team ever? Butch Carter’s 2000 Raptors, with Vince Carter and T-Mac, plus Doug Christie? The 2001 Raptors, led by Lenny Wilkens and featuring "Half-Man, Half-Amazing," Alvin Williams, Oakley and A-Davis? Or the 2007 Raptors, with Bosh and Bargs, T.J. Ford and Sam Mitchell leading the way?
Think fast. Because the 2014 edition of the Toronto Raptors are very close to being better than any of the others.
A winning
"What? Who... me, on a .500 team? That's a stretch."
Remember those Charlotte Bobcats? Those guys that were pushovers, that tanked their way into the worst single-season record in NBA history just two seasons ago? The team loaded with draft picks that never quite seem to pull it together, and a dumpster fire of veteran castaways? The team always got in its own way trying to play defense? The team that could only beat the Hawks only once in a blue moon?
Yeah, forget all you remember, bec
“Now, I want you all to sign up early. Don't wait until THIS young man here breaks your ankles.”
The Denver Nuggets have flown into town, and for the Atlanta Hawks’ sake, let’s all hope their arms are tired.
The Nuggs (29-36, 11th in West) come into tonight’s action feeling mile-high, just hours after having dusted the suddenly-bumbling Miami HEAT on their own floor. Running through a five-game road gauntlet over the course of seven days, including three games in the last four, ro
"Prince's 1979 self-titled album? Yeah, I'm a big fan."
Following a horrendous road trip, the Atlanta Hawks return to the comfier confines of Philips Arena and are likely to kiss the floor when they arrive. Zaza Pachulia and Head Coach Larry Drew of the Milwaukee Bucks may very well join the Hawks in the floor-smooching festivities tonight (7:30 PM Eastern, SportSouth, FoxSports Wisconsin).
A rousing ovation is likely for one of the most endeared Atlanta Hawks of the past decade. More t
"Don't sleep on my game."
Can the Atlanta Hawks stop their months-long skid in Salt Lake City against the Utah Jazz (9:00 PM Eastern, SportSouth, ROOT Sports Rocky Mountain), a club that needed a strong second half just to beat the lowly Philadelphia 76ers and end their own five-game road-trip losing streak? A lot will depend on how focused a pair of former Jazzmen are on the court.
Paul Millsap and DeMarre Carroll are still well-lauded for their tenures in SLC. Drafted in the second ro
The beatings will continue. But, does morale need to improve?
After just five double-digit losses on the season going into February, our Atlanta Hawks have dropped seven of their last ten deficits by ten or more points, including last night’s collapse at Golden State.
Even with the playing field leveled somewhat by opponents’ misfortunes, the Hawks’ defensive ineptitude has the team failing to capitalize. LaMarcus Aldridge had a rare night struggling from the field on Wednesday. But Blaz
"This comes with ankle insurance!"
The beatings will continue. But, does morale need to improve?
After just five double-digit losses on the season going into February, our Atlanta Hawks have dropped seven of their last ten deficits by ten or more points, including last night’s collapse at Golden State.
Even with the playing field leveled somewhat by opponents’ misfortunes, the Hawks’ defensive ineptitude has the team failing to capitalize. LaMarcus Aldridge had a rare night struggli
Full Squad?
It won’t have the same affect on the Atlanta Hawks as it has on tonight’s opponents, the Golden State Warriors (10:30 PM Eastern, SportSouth, CSN Bay Area), but the Hawks may be as close to full strength as they’ve been in awhile with the return of All-Star Paul Millsap (bruised knee) to the starting lineup. Atlanta will need all hands on deck to have any chance of tripping up G-State and snipping their latest losing string in front of the 67th consecutive sold-out audience at O
Are you ready for another wild round of pinball-scoring basketball? Strap yourself in!
The Atlanta Hawks take their wobbly, hobbling expedition into Oregon, facing the Portland Trail Blazers (10:30 PM Eastern, ESPN, NO LOCAL TV) tonight. If you discovered that 140-point halves are to your liking after the nets burned with the fire of a thousand Suns’ baskets on Sunday, then you’re likely to be in for another treat from Budenholzer’s Bunch today. Indeed, when it comes to cumulative scoring, T
The Suns would probably be rising in the East. Alas, Arizona is in the Wild, Wild West. So tonight at the US Airways Center, we get the Atlanta Hawks and the Phoenix Suns (8:00 PM Eastern, SportSouth, FoxSports Arizona), two teams whove tumbled down to the same precarious 8th seed in vastly different ways.
From the outset, no one had high hopes for this Suns team. They were mired in a ruthlessly competitive Western Conference. They were being led by a rookie head coach in Jeff Hornacek, foll
This is a pretty big game. For the Boston Celtics.
Even Aaron Hernandez has shown more fight of late than the Celtics, losers of their last five games with no victories over playoff contenders since January 22. Now a solid 12-seed in the putrid Eastern Conference, the Celts already have one foot firmly established in the water for the 2014 NBA Draft Lottery.
To make it a double, though, they need BOTH the Brooklyn Nets and tonight’s opponent, the Atlanta Hawks, to suck hard enough to fal
The Atlanta Hawks rebounded against the Knicks on Sunday to crawl out from under an eight-game slide. But will they be able to rebound at all tonight (7:30 PM Eastern, SportSouth, WGN) against the Chicago Bulls?
The Bulls (29-26; five-game streak snapped Monday at Miami; 17-8 since January 1) registered 57 and 52 rebounds in their last two wins against Atlanta (26-29), their offensive rebounding percentages (43.5% and 42.5%, respectively) the highest they’ve achieved so far this season. Last
The Mike Woodson Job Conservation Tour continues tonight!
While the Atlanta Hawks honor Lenny Wilkens this evening at Philips Arena, more than a few New York Knick fans will be in attendance, surprised that another ex-Hawks coach still roams the sidelines for their team, particularly after losing in overtime at home to the Western Conference’s worst team going into the All-Star Break. It was the Manhattanites’ fifth loss in six games before the break.
Now, after their second loss in post
If it ain’t fixed… don’t break it!
Such appears to have been the mindset of the general managers for two floundering teams that oppose each other tonight, the Atlanta Hawks and the host Detroit Pistons (7:30 PM Eastern, SportSouth, FoxSports Detroit).
Pistons GM Joe Dumars didn’t meddle with the bog-jam in his starting frontcourt, the brutal inefficiencies in his starting backcourt, or the bench that’s sorely lacking in talent and health. He may not have had any choice in the matter, es
Well, is it finally time for a changing of the guard or not?
Not “guard,” as in "a member of the Hawks’ backcourt." That can wait, at least until Thursday afternoon.
Ever since Dwight Howard started getting all wishy-washy about his stay in the Magic Kingdom a couple seasons ago, the Hawks have comfortably held the role of the Atlanta Also-Rans: the second-best team, essentially by default, in the NBA’s Southeast Division.
There are two teams that would kill for that undistinguished
Showcase? Or Glass Case?
While the Atlanta Hawks are somewhat refreshed from the All-Star Break, you’re likely to see, and experience, a bit of the Gas Face. This freefalling team will be trudging through an uphill battle with the Indiana Pacers tonight (7:00 PM Eastern, SportSouth, FoxSports Indiana), then will try to fend off Slam Dunk champ John Wall and the Wizards tomorrow.
Lineups can get funky in the days before the NBA’s trade deadline passes, and the next two Hawks games should
The Atlanta Hawks appear to be stuck in the Land of the Lost. That perception adds a dash of irony to their game against tonight’s opponent, the Toronto Raptors (7:00 PM Eastern, SportSouth, TSN2).
The matchup with Atlanta’s favorite Atlantic Division team (#netswatch) is yet another case where the opponents will be aiming to shake off a Hawks Hex. Atlanta has come up to Air Canada Centre and vanquished the hosts in five consecutive outings. The last Raptors home win against the Hawks came o
Will the power outage continue tonight? The Atlanta Hawks’ offense (102.1 PPG, 2nd in Eastern Conference) was flying high until it ran head-on into the Pacers, Pelicans, and Grizzlies over the past week. It gets no easier soaring against the Chicago Bulls (8:00 PM Eastern, SportSouth, CSN Chicago), who hope the charge past the Hawks in the Eastern Conference standings.
The Hawks (25-24) have been unable to control the pace-of-play in their last three games, all losses. There’s no reason to b
A little rest for the weary? Both the Atlanta Hawks and tonight’s opponents, the Memphis Grizzlies (7:30 PM Eastern, SportSouth, FoxSports South in Memphis viewing area) each got to enjoy an extra day or two off before a couple of daunting schedules kick in.
For the Grit ‘n Grind Gang, the Atlanta game initiates a four-games-in-five-nights swing versus Eastern Conference teams preceding the All-Star break. They get the Cavaliers in Cleveland tomorrow night, then fly home to play the Wizards
This battle is for the birds!
Down in the Big Easy, victories don’t come either big or easy for the Atlanta Hawks or their ornithological opponents, the New Orleans Pelicans (8:00 PM Eastern, SportSouth, Fox Sports New Orleans).
Tom Benson’s other team has taken flak for their creepy choice of a mascot. I’ve got a suggestion that’s even creepier but almost as apropos: Elijah Price, from the movie Unbreakable. This team’s key players seem to be persistently at risk of tearing or breaking
With such relatively sparse and often opponent-friendly crowds, it can be astounding to discover that Philips Arena can be such a veritable House of Horrors for certain opponents of the Atlanta Hawks. No matter which Kevin leads the way, Minnesota cannot seem to trump the Hawks in ATL. The Timberwolves scampered home on Saturday night after losing there for the 11th consecutive season.
Atlanta’s next opponent, the Eastern Conference’s top-seeded Indiana Pacers (7:30 PM Eastern, SportSouth, F
