As De La Soul would put it… Stakes is high! But will the Atlanta Hawks be left looking like the Pharcyde, with the Indiana Pacers passin’ them by?

My dear, they may not know us, but we know them very well. All season long, we’ve seen Our Fine Feathered Friends play loose and often without focus at the starts of the first and/or second halves of games, fully expecting they’ll find a way to just turn it on by crunch time, then tightening up and flaming out completely when the BR-30 doesn’t come on. More often than not this season, that strategy worked, especially against the Bobcats and Magic and Wizards of the world.

Now, though, they’re one “whoops-oh-well” away from the end of the season and a very probable breaking up of the band. How will Our Fine Feathered Friends perform? Tonight, at Philips Arena, will Atlanta fans get to see the Hawks -- or pressure-cooked turkeys?

After two previous flops in Atlanta, the Pacers figured a way to adjust to the Hawks’ super-sized lineup by subbing in Ian Mahinmi and Jeff Pendergraph earlier in Game 5. With Josh Smith sitting and in early foul trouble, the Pacers directed the offense to whichever of David West (series-high 24 points, six consecutive FGs in the second quarter) or Roy Hibbert (series-high 18 points) was in. Hibbert’s 14 free throw attempts surpassed the combined total (13) of the prior four playoff contests. Smith’s absence from the floor also allowed free reign for Paul George (21 points, series-best 7-for-8 FGs).

After holding firm in that first quarter, the Hawks slid further behind with defensive lapses and blown short-range shots… and then allowed the bottom to completely fall out in the third quarter. Pointless technical fouls, fouling a 30-foot shooter at the end of the shot clock, and more of the same unfocused play contributed to the biggest laugher in the series.

The winning spreads have gone from 17, to 15, to 21, to 11, and now to 23. The saddest part of Game 5 is the Hawks wasted away their best performance at the free throw line, shooting 30-for-37 after missing 13, 12, and 9 freebies in their previous three games. With their backs to the wall and the season, unlike Smith’s toes, on the line, will the Hawks come through from the stripe when the whistles blow their way?

Frank Vogel figured a way in Game 5 to adjust to Hawks head alchemist Larry Drew. With his back to the wall and the season, and maybe his next NBA head coaching contract on the line, will LD find the proper substitution patterns to neutralize what Indiana throws out there? He may just be fine-tuning his poker game for the summer, because The Man of 1,000 Starting Lineups insists he hasn’t had to make adjustments at all. Via AJC:

“It’s like it’s been all these other games, just preparation going into the game, knowing exactly what you want to do from a defensive standpoint. We haven’t approached any of our games any differently. At this point we won’t either. We will stick with the same game plan, go out and play our best and give it our best shot.”

The NBA’s tenth-best field goal shooter in the regular season, Al Horford, shot just 11-for-28 in his last two playoff games. With his back to the wall and the season on the line, will he make the crucial shots and plays that prove he deserves to be a marquee player going forward in Atlanta?

Smoove, Devin Harris, Kyle Korver, Johan Petro, and Anthony Tolliver may be rocking the candy-cane-and-blue Hawks jerseys in Atlanta for the final time tonight. Jeff Teague and Ivan Johnson may have to do some summertime contract shopping as well, while DeShawn Stevenson and Dahntay Jones could conceivably be donning NBA jerseys for the last time.

With their backs to the wall and the season, and perhaps the terms of their next NBA contracts, on the line, will Larry Drew’s season-long mantra about a “sense of urgency” kick in and show up on the floor with these guys? Will interior players keep the Pacers out of the lane, leaving George and Indy's perimeter players (just 7-for-19 on threes in Game 5) settling for contested (and un-fouled) long distance shots? Will they win fights for loose balls and defensive rebounds? Will they “respond” and put the homecourt pressure back on the Pacers? Will they show this "composure" thing that LD keeps harping on in front of refs and fans, or will the Pacers fly home sipping a fine whine made from Hawk tears?

Teague comes across more like a mallrat from Indio, California than a cat straight outta Indianapolis, pretty much assuring fans, “easy, my sheezies. Pressure what? Pressure who?”

“There is no pressure. No one even expected us to be in a Game 6. We are going to go out and have fun. We know we can beat this team. We’ve proven. We are going to go out and play with a lot of passion and energy and try to get a win.”

Hopefully, The Passion of the Hawks has a good ending tonight.

Let’s Go Hawks!

~lw3