khaos7

Everyone knows Miami will be a desparate team tonight. The crowd will be hyped. Wade will be "cured" from all of his ailments, and the Heat will play over their heads. We need Joe to be the $70million man we signed, went to court for against Belkin, and labeled the leader of the team. His cool demeanor actually could be a good thing in the hostile enviorment in Miami. Honestly, we can't have a 5 for 17 night from him. In fact, we need him to have his first 30 point game, I believe and have the capability to match Wade shot for shot. Of course we need to play the defense we've played in the last two games. However, I think Joe has to step up to the challenge tonight and prepare for a dual with Wade. Josh feeds off the crowd at Phillips. I'm not counting on big numbers from him on the road. Flip will be Flip. Bibby has had a good series. Zaza has played big. However, if Horford is out, he may be in foul trouble. Mo isn't going to give you huge numbers. With all of these variables, we need Joe. There are no two ways about it. I'm penciling Wade in for 35 tonight and someone from Miami playing over their head (Jones? Cook?) due to their crowd. Defense and Joe. If we have both of those, we can win this thing tonight.

He's a top 3 player in the league. He still scares me. He can take over a game like few others can. I'd take him on my team. That said...he's a drama queen. He's about as bad as Pierce was last year.

Before I make my statement, let me start by saying that Josh's dunk attempt was ill timed and inappropriate. I'm as big of a Smoove fan as you'll find. I understand being caught up in the moment. However, you don't want to give your opponent any bulletin board material, especially with Horford and Marvin potentially out. That said... Spoelstra and Wade's comments about being offended were soft, sissified, and weak. First, lets start with being offended. What should be most offensive to the coach and his superstar was their team's effort last night. Secondly, what is the difference between Smith attempting a highlight dunk in a blowout and Dwayne Wade standing on top of the announcer's table during several games this year (after humiliating a team) and yelling out, "this is my house?" Both efforts show up their opponents while their down and playing to the crowd. The only difference is one was done by an all star and the other by an immature athletich freak. Again, if I were Josh, I'd just dunk the ball a move along. That said, if that is what it takes to ignite Erik Spoelstra and Dwayne Wade, that is a sad commentary. Want to talk about being offended? I'm offended by the dirty play of Magliore and how (in my view he's played in the playoffs) he's baited our guys into exchanges. Last night, for the first time, I was proud to say Woody was my coach. He said that he didn't want his guys crying. This is playoff basketball and he wanted his guys to play tough. In other words, no crying. That's all I heard from the Heat guys though...whining. Again, Josh was dumb. I'm tired of the errant jumpers and arguing with officials. He's having a good series. Just play and chill, bro. That said, Hawks fans shouldn't blow it out of proportion and the Heat should quit whining.

Can you repeat this again? It was just one game. Lets win three more, than we can talk about Lebron and Cleveland.

I agree with all. We can't lose the edge that we had. Focus has been our biggest issue during the season.

That is hilarious to me! Woody flashing his championship ring is like the Braves old first base coach Pat Corrales taking over the Royals and flashing his 1995 ring for motivation! Gotta love Woody...

Oh, I agree with this! If we can use the same gameplan, why change? It's like the Tom Glavine argument. Why should he stop pitching on the outside edge if guys aren't hitting it? That said, coaching is like a chess game. You have to anticipate the possible adjustments your opposing coach might make. That's what I'm curious to see. I hope Woody is up to the task. Maybe Erik Spoestra (sp?) might call Pat Riley up to get some tip after last nights debacle? If so, maybe Woody needs to call Larry Brown on speed dial...

I make no secrets; I'm not a Woody supporter. I've always thought another coach could get more out of this team. However, last nights defensive game plan was brilliant. Whether you like the guy or not, you have to admit, the strategy he put together (for last night at least) was Detroit Pistonish. That said, Miami will go back and look at the tape. They will try to find weaknesses in our switching defenses. They will make adjustments. Good coaches anticipate that the opposition will make adjustments. On Wednesday, we'll get to see if Woody can counter what Miami throws at us. You know Wade will have a big night sooner or later. The maturation of our coach is equally as important as the maturation of guys like Smith, Horford, and Marvin. Today, I have nothing bad to say about Woodson. However, I'm dying to see how he prepares this team for game 2.

You're right. We get no respect. It's been noted already under another thread. TNT spent more time bashing what we don't have (and Josh's poor shooting) that no props were given to our smothering defense. That said, if we want props and respect, lets keep winning. It's that simple. We win, you have to talk about us. To paraphrase Ric Flair, whether they like us or don't, they'll have to learn to love us if we win. Last night was a great starting point.

Again, I disagree. First, within our own city, people called talked radio stations and even blogged about what the Falcons would do in the second round. To your point, you are correct. We weren't "overwhelmingly picked." However, Using ESPN's "expert picks" as an example, 6 out of the 10 experts picked us (see http://sports.espn.go.com/nfl/features/tal...mp;seasontype=3). A large majority (perhaps that is the operative phrase) chose the Falcons. It would be revisionist history to state otherwise. I never said the Hawks/Falcons comparision was a complete match. However, there are some similarites. Miami is the team with a ton of holes (suspect defense, a bunch of rookies). Arizona was the team with a suspect defense that gave up a ton of yards. While they didn't have rookies on the defensive end, they were questioned before the playoffs because they didn't have much experience. The biggest correlation I was making was a lot of people were feeling overconfident that the Falcons would just waltz into the second round. People are entitled to their own opinion. However, I sense that same overconfidence with the Hawks series. My only warning is don't jump over the edge and want to get rid of the entire team if (and I stress IF) Miami wins. If that is erroneous thinking, so be it. One man's opinion, cuz.

I disagree. On just about every media outlet, they were the team that was chosen to get knocked out the first round first. During their last slate of games in the regular season they had given up 47 to New England, 35 to Minnesota, 48 to Philly, and 37 to New York (with wins against Seattle and St. Louis sprinkled around it). Arizona's takeaways wasn't really mentioned by anyone until the playoffs because of the thumpings they took towards the end of the season. While the Heat doesn't have as many knocks, a lot of people feel there is no chance they can't win this series. I'd just caution us all not to get too ahead of ourselves, using the Falcons' game as a point of reference.

Does this series remind you of the Arizona/Falcons playoff game? The Falcons were overwhelmingly picked to beat them. We all know the outcome. Although the Hawks hasn't been picked as much, a lot of people are saying we should win. However, I see some similarities. Miami has no depth (Arizona has no running game). Jermaine O'Neal is washed up (Edgerrin James). Miami has a championship winning superstar (Arizona has Kurt Warner). Miami's interior is suspect (Arizona has no defense). I don't want this series to have the same outcome. However, I would caution us all not to be too overconfident. I believe we will win. However, we must be careful.

And that's the part that concerns me. Woody.

Honestly, Marvin's defensive abilities are underrated. Plus, he's a decent rebounder. If he's on his game defensively, we have a good shot.

I've finally come to the conclusion that we have to concern ourselves with what we do and not what the other guys do. If we execute, the other guys will have trouble executing. It's that simple. If we rebound, we hustle, we play defense, we don't turnover the ball , and we score, we have a great chance to win. Don't get me wrong; I'm scared of the refs and Wade. However, if we do our part, we have a chance.

I believe if the following persons do the following, we have a great chance to win: Joe Johnson: Joe has to average 25 points and shoot no lower than 45%. We can't have any 5 for 19 nights. He has to be on. One way to accomplish this is to have Joe utilize that deadly floater he has and not rely so much on his jumper. Additionally, he's our best assist man. When he has double teams, don't dribble the ball for 22 seconds and kick out to Josh at the 3 point line. I believe the ball will move around if Joe allows it to. Lastly, he must REBOUND. Wade is a big rebounder at the guard position. We need Joe to match that. Joe must prove his All Star status. Mike Bibby: He's the starter with the most playoff experience. No ill advised quick jumpers that will lead to fast breaks for the Heat. He's also our biggest defensive liability. We can't do anything about that or the step he's lost. The only thing we can ask for in his case is for him to stay in front of his man. Needless to say, our switching defense will have to become a major factor in keeping Chalmers from blowing past Bibby and taking it to the rim. Josh Smith: He must be the best defensive player in the series. Period. He must become an intimidator around the rim. He also needs to stay out of foul trouble and play within his game. He has to win the Beasley-Smith match up (if it is Beasley he's up against). If it is Haslem, he can't allow Haslem to punk him in the paint (as he has done in the past) and average double figures. Additionally, he must stay FOCUS. No ill-advised jumpers. Take the jumper only if the offensive flow dictates it. Attack the rim. Marvin Williams: Marvin is the X -factor IMHO. He should just play his game. Hit his open jumpers. Drive it to the hole when other guys shots aren't falling. Most importantly, I believe he is the key to our defensive strategy. Use those long arms to affect shot selections and play aggressive. Al Horford. We need a double double each night. He's capable of doing this. O'Neal is bigger, but not more athletic. I would argue they are a tie in terms of strength. He must hold it down in the paint. He cannot disappear in the game. If Al has a big series, I truly believe we'll win. 8pts and 9 rebounds won't do it. 12 and 10 and I smell the second round. Flip Murray: Just score the ball baby! Pass it if the shot isn't there. However, you're the offense off the bench. Just score! Mo Evans: Must hit that open 3 and be a defensive changer. When he subs for Marvin, it must be a seemless change. Zaza Pachullia: Zaza is our only big off the bench (Woody won't depend much on Solo). He must stay out of foul trouble and avoid dribbling the ball too much. Think the Boston series. If we have that Zaza, we'll be okay. He must match Magloire's intensity. Solomon Jones and Mario West: If you play, make sure your name is called for all the right reasons. I'll leave it at that... Collectively: As a team, we have more playoff experience (outside of Wade of course). We have to use that to our advantage. We also have to be the hungrier team. That means, we have to dive for the loose balls and not wait for rebounds to come to us. The team that rebounds the best, shares the ball, and has the fewest turnovers will win, I believe. Woodson would be happy to hear that.

I hope you're right. However, no one expected the "lowly" Hawks to push Boston to seven or Golden State to do what it did a year before. And neither one of those teams had a player like Wade that the refs protect at all cost. Also, refs aside, remember 2003-04 playoffs when Wade pushed Indiana as a rookie. Nobody expected the Heat to compete with Indy. Look at him now. I believe Wade has the ability to play at a crazy level and take his teammates to a higher level (thus the 7 assist per game). Don't write them or the zebras off.

I agree with this. Given where we came from it's okay to high, but tempered expectations. We're not championship caliber yet. Rick Sund said it himself. To paraphrase Sund, if we lost in the first round, he doesn't believe that automatically means we should destroy the team. Even during an interview on 680, he had reservations because players of Wade's caliber receive the close calls.

Here is the thing. If Wade goes off and the refs gives him their obligatory phantom calls, his play could become infectious and give guys like Beasley cause to step their games up. Think about Daniel Gibson. Nobody heard of him until the playoffs. However, the stage and playing along Lebron seemed to rub off on him and he and LBJ tore Detroit to shreds. So I can see Beasley, Chalmers, or Cook going off because of the this. I'm with buckeye. I can see myself hating Wade after this series. I'm just not confident about this series. And it's not because I don't trust my team. I don't trust the officiating and I've seen series where a better team has lost to a superstar led team that got the benefit of untimely calls. Put it this way, i can see Wade getting a disputed call to win a game with 5 seconds left before I could Joe. However, I can see Joe going to the basket, getting hacked in the same scenario, and not getting the call. And that, my friends, is an unsettling propostion.

If you can't find an improvement over Bibby or a comparable talent, you keep him at a reasonable price. That simple. He has his shortcomings. However, the swagger of the team changed when he arrived. That's reflected in our record. I'd love to have Jarret Jack, a healthy TJ Ford, or Kirk Hinrich in here as a replacement. That said, if we can't get younger, cheaper and/or better, keep him. We don't know what we have in Acie (partially due to him, his health and Woody). I don't feel comfortable giving him the wheel yet.

Lets be real, guys. I love my Hawks. Watched every game they played during the 13 win season. Endured the Lon Kruger debacle and playoff promise. Suffered through the Nique trade and the many second round exits during the Mookie,Deke, Smitty era. Swallowed a bitter pill during the Boston Nique/Bird showdown. I celebrated when we took Boston to seven last year. That said... As big of a fan as I am, I have legitimate concern about this series. Not because we don't have enough talent. I just remember what went down in that Dallas/Miami championship series. Wade is an extraordinary talent. I can't take that away from him. He can score 50 at will. He plays angry. That said, he also receives the benefit of a stupid amount of calls from the refs. And my concern is, no matter how hard our guys play, key players will be put in foul trouble. Wade will get And 1's on what should be charges. I'm not playing the panicky fan slant here. We've seen it happen. This is what frustrates me about the NBA's officiating. Unlike the NFL where an Arizona can make runs and you don't have a ton of questionable calls that happen at the frequency the NBA does. Are you really confident we can win this series? Although alot of people said they'd prefer to face Miami over Philly (due to our records against them). However, at least against Philly, I feel we would be playing on an even playing field. I just have the erie feeling the refs will influence the outcome of this thing.

Charles is being real. Wade is a superior talent. He can go for 50 on any given night. He's active on the boards, for a guard. And he can block shots. He has Cook who can hit the open 3 when it drives and penetrates, Haslem who gives us fits and Beasley (the young wild card who will want to make a name for himself. Wade is an infectious talent. His drive can motivate his teammates. Remember his rookie year (pre-Shaq)? Lastly, but more importantly, the "zebras" will be on his side. I refuse to underestimate them the way us Falcon fans underestimated Arizona and Kurt Warner.

Woody does deserve some credit in utilizing JJ's best talents. That said, the ultimate amount of credit belongs to JJ and Billy Knight (I can't believe I'm saying this). When Billy made the trade for JJ, pundits everywhere bashed the contract and how much we gave up for it. Some questioned whether Joe had All Star talent. Remember, on the Suns team, he was the 4th option (Nash, Amere, Marion, and THEN Joe). However, billy took the risk (he wanted either him or Ray Allen). Everybody crowned Robert Sarver and Bryan Colangelo geniuses. After all they got 2 number ones and Diaw. They were crowned even moreso when Diaw proved not to be a bus. But now look at both teams. The Suns are on the downward spiral, has severe cap issues, aging, shipped Diaw is in Charlotte, let one of their prized picks (Rondo is a All Star PG in Boston) to for nothing, and only has the Lopez kid to show for it. Meanwhile, we are in a good cap position, JJ is a bonafied All Star, and the Hawks have improved every year. I could gripe on and on about what Billy didn't do. Actually he dodged some bullets with the JJ trade. That said, he saw Joe was an awesome talent, gave him a shot, and look at him now.

Good analysis. I know they are shooting better this year. However, their perimeter game doesn't scare me that much. I'd let them see a healthy amount of zone until they prove they can shoot out of it. We've got to get back on defense to stifle their running game. Another "must win" game in my view. I wouldn't sleep on these guys.

We've got nimbers!