lethalweapon3

My one rant is on free throws. Smoove spent his time fussing with the refs on every one of his offensive possessions, including ones where he scored. Arms flailing everywhere while the game is going on up the floor. We get it, Josh. Maybe you were hacked. But what are you and your 58% self gonna do about it if the zebras did blow the whistle every time? Stifle, Josh... and get back on D. A team that misses 11 free throws in a home playoff game shouldn't win. Spirit the Hawk was last spotted flying over Magic City for the postgame after-party.

Kenny can't even give Smoove props, he's talking about how much better Nique's in-game dunks were. Three. traffic. lights. away. ~lw3

Joe Johnson isn't sitting out the French Riviera eating live shrimp and playing NBA 2K9 with a man easily confused for his "Dad." That's why when the Heat are down 20 at halftime against a supposedly equal seed, talk turns to the Hawks' "deficiencies." 8 Turnovers, 38 % shooting and Sir Charles' biggest gripe about DWade remains that his mama calls him "Pookie." Both he and Kenny the Jet may have to make some tough decisions about who's on their "Fave 5" once this series concludes. Memo to the TNT crew: You are THREE TRAFFIC LIGHTS from Philips Arena. Come on in and watch "the game" (I hear we have seats occasionally), then go back up the street and critique "the game," not somebody's season. ~lw3

I hear they'll have a picture of Star Jones on them, with the caption: "DWYANE WADE SHOCKED THE WORLD"

He'll be a Heisman Trophy candidate if he switches to punt returner. As he's demonstrated countless times, he's got that uncanny ability to just stand there and catch balls. That's one skill you just can't teach! ~lw3

Just Game 1, 209 Row B. ~lw3

<parade route> Peachtree Street @ North Avenue, continue south Peachtree Street @ (Insert Some Famous Local Dead Guy) Boulevard, continue south Peachtree Street @ Woodruff Park, continue south Peachtree Street @ Underground Atlanta (Flip & Mo get Haagen Dazs. Al gets Gold Fronts. Smoove gets Waffle House. Zaza gets shady chicks' phone numbers), turn right Alabama Street @ Forsyth Street, turn right Forsyth Street @ Marietta Street, turn right Marietta Street @ AJC (AJC critics come out to kiss Woody's *** here), continue west Marietta Street @ Centennial Olympic Park Boulevard, turn right (merge parade here with Caribbean Festival, with the big booming trucks. Trophy ceremony. Rick Sund and Billy Knight break out in interpretative dance here. NOW YOU KNOW said for final time.) Marietta Street @ Baker Street (Speedy fed to sharks at Georgia Aquarium) Baker Street @ Techwood Drive, turn left Techwood Drive @ 10th Street, Turner Studios (TNT finally covers the Hawks, Barkley announces he's been picking the Hawks to go all the way since day one) </parade route>

ESPN's panel of esteemed experts, and the rest of the free world: The experts have predicted 37 wins (10th place in the East) for the Atlanta Hawks. This number is ... 38.6% On the money 33.7% Too low 27.7% Too high Our dear friend, Mr. Hollinger, for ESPN: Atlanta's starting five might be the best in the division, but its bench might not win the D-League. Triangulate between those two extremes and you end up with a team that's unlikely to repeat its playoff appearance of a year ago unless it enjoys an unusually good run of health, because the subs just aren't up to snuff. Sum it all up, and it appears this club is ready to take a step in reverse. The Hawks look like they'll be stuck in the NBA's netherworld --- neither good enough to make the playoffs nor bad enough to get a high lottery pick -- and with little young talent in the pipeline beyond the current starting five, they could be in this pickle for a while. Prediction: 31-51, fifth in Southeast Division, 13th in Eastern Conference MSN/Fox Sports: As talented as Atlanta's starters are, they can't do it all. At some point, you've got to turn to your reserves and be able to rely on them for production. That remains an issue down in "Hotlanta," as they are truly only about seven deep. The rest of the bench consists of unproven youngsters and veteran point guard Speedy Claxton, who was unable to suit up all of last season and has only appeared in 42 games since signing with Atlanta in the summer of 2006. With the pending improvements by multiple Eastern Conference clubs — including a few Southeast Division rivals — the Atlanta Hawks may have a tough time topping last season's record. In fact, it may not be farfetched to suggest they could even take a minor hit in the win column. Expect flashes of brilliance, the downside of a late-lottery selection, or the upside of a consecutive first-round exit. Prediction: 37-45, third in Southeast Division, eighth in Eastern Conference O Canada! Some Tim Chisholm guy of TSN.ca weighs in from Down North, eh? That is unfortunately the sad state of affairs with the Hawks. For every step they take forward, the organization seems intent on sullying it somehow. This summer was a borderline disaster even if they managed to resign Smith. They got little help elsewhere on the roster - choosing to fortify a position already occupied by 40-minute-per-night starter Johnson - and they lost a key rotation player by trying to low-ball him contractually. What results is a team that has gotten worse, not better, after a 37-win season got them into the playoffs, an occurrence that is unlikely to repeat itself. So that means that unless this team can pull off some sort of trade or find a new, heretofore unseen depth to their game, they are going to be returning to the lottery for another crack at improving via the draft. It's a shame, too, because several young teams - Portland and Sacramento come to mind - would have loved to have used the chance to test out their core on the post-season stage so they could take the next-step as an organization. Atlanta, in the way that only they can, get there and decide to regress, perhaps feeling that too much, too soon is a bad thing. Monsieur Chisholm also previewed his beloved Raptors: By no stretch is this team in danger of losing ground to last year's disappointing 41-41 record, as just the quality in the top-five should keep them above .500 ~lw3

Woody sticks around through the summer unless the Hawks get swept in the 1st round by like the Brand-less Sixers or somebody. Come out of the blocks looking bad in 2009-2010, though... ~lw3

Assuming these aren't the losses of the "Clippers at home" or "Jazz or Bobcats on the road" variety, the Hawks have a number of top losses to choose from. The last-second losses at "Da Gahhhden" and in Denver come instantly to mind. ~lw3

All the hints that the #s are wrong (and they ARE wrong) were screaming out at me (11.3 shots per game with Smoove?) while I was prepping for the Lake Show yesterday. I'm peeling the omelette off my face, as I figured out they were 2007-2008 STATS, not this seasons' . My bad! The Bibby factor (and the No More AJ & Lue factor) largely accounted for last year's numbers above. For what it's worth, here's the links for this season's scenario, where the Hawks are in the bottom 10 in 3FG% after the break (35.6 pct, 6.4 FGM/17.9 FGA) after ranking 11th in 3FG% (and 4th in attempts) pre-break (37.2 pct, 7.8 FGM/20.9 FGA). Claus Von Bulow factor? It is a "reversal of fortune" in the opposite direction, although nowhere near as dramatic as last year. Maybe Woody's making adjustments after all! Pre-Break 2008-2009 Post-Break 2008-2009 ~lw3

Hopefully we’ll get to knock some of these off the list this week (maybe even in another hour? Is it too much to ask?). But so far, here IMHO are the top ten victories this season: #1 – Dec. 13 Cleveland (97-92) – Hawks stayed neck-and-neck with the Conference leaders after the Cavs salted away the deficit, halting the Lebronnaires’ 11-game streak before a predictable pro-James crowd. Joe made key buckets in the clutch. Delonte’s last-minute baseline three-point attempt to seize the lead was recently observed by astronomers hurtling toward the Sea of Tranquility. #2 (3-way tie) – Mar. 9 N’Awlins (89-79) – Just imagine how good they’d be if… oh, never mind. Mar. 11 Utah (100-93) – Just imagine how good they’d be if… oh, never mind. Anybody seen Marvin lately? Mar. 15 Portland (98-80) – The “Gee, What If We Drafted…?” Mixtape Tour ends with the streak-busting Hawks on a 5-game tear of their own, and Joe Johnson looking the part of an All-Star again. #5 – Oct. 29 @ Orlando (99-85) – They truly caught the self-congratulatory Magic off-guard in the opener, kick-starting the season on the good foot, and momentarily stifling the offseason’s skeptical critics. Smoove matched Dwight block-for-block. And who is this Flip Murray guy? #6 – Nov. 7 Toronto (110-92) – The Raps, then 3-1, still believed they were kind of a big deal. They needed 14 points from Jason Kapono (no threes) just to stay within 18 of the Hawks. Bibby out-Calderoned Calderon. The Flip Mo Squad (and Solo’s boards ‘n blocks) helped alleviate the setback of Smoove’s ankle injury. NO international incidents at Philips, for once. After so many years, is it possible the Hawks finally have some semblance of a bench? #7 – Feb. 11 @ Detroit (99-95) – Their last road win against a pseudo-quality opponent. Also their first such victory in almost two months, and just in time before the break . A former Piston, Flip’s shoot-first, ask-questions-later offense was just what the doctor ordered. #8 – Feb. 27 Miami (91-83) – Horford rolling on double-dubs (21 points, 22 rebounds) kept the following weeks from turning into a total dogfight with Miami for 4th place. Hawks pulled through against (you guessed it) a predictably pro-DWade crowd. #9 – Nov. 5 @ N’Awlins (87-79) – The Hawks’ frontcourt flummoxed David West and Tyson Chandler in crunch time, and no one in NOLA save for CP3 was terribly effective. For about a minute, the Hawks led the league in PPG allowed. #10 – Mar. 7 Detroit (87-83) – Squabbles? What squabbles? Smoove regains his focus, squashing his alleged beef with Woody as well as four Pistons shots, against a predictably pro-Detroit and pro-Iverson crowd. Generating turnovers and instantly taking off on fast breaks helped keep Detroit on their own heels throughout the game. ~lw3

Our Fine-Feathered Friends were mired among the bottom dwellers in 3-point shooting before the All-Star break. Even WITH Josh Smith’s well-intended contributions, the Hawks shot less than any team in the league from behind the arc… and apparently with good reason. For these mostly lottery-bound squads, one out of three ain’t bad. Pre-All-Star Break: 5 WORST 3-Point Shooting Teams 30th - Sixers: 31.5 pct (3.6 FGM/11.5 FGA) 29th - HAWKS, THE BRICK FACTORY: 32.3 pct (3.7/11.3) 28th - Twolves: 33.1 pct (5.4/16.3) 27th - Nets: 33.2 pct (5.6/16.8) 26th - Thunder: 33.3 pct (4.2/12.7) They have since shot the ball quite a bit more (over 40% more per game) from deep, and are now flying higher, ranking among the league leaders in three-point accuracy after the break. Post All-Star Break: 5 BEST 3-Point Shooting Teams (before today’s games) 1st – Suns: 41.8 pct (7.6 FGM/18.2 FGA) 2nd – Magic: 41.7 pct (11.0/26.3!) 3rd – Hornets: 39.6 pct (7.5/18.8) 4th – HAWKS, NOW THEY KNOW: 39.3 pct (6.3/16.0) 5th – Bulls: 39.3 pct (6.4/16.4) What has been the elixir in this area? Is it the home cooking as of late (the All-Star break did include that long road trip where we couldn’t tell whether the Circus was in town or in opponent's arenas). Did certain healthier players make the difference? Or, Gawd forbid, did the coaching staff make adjustments on offense? ~lw3

I've gotta stick to my 45-37 prediction back in September, so to get to 8-9 the wins can come against Indy (twice), Sacto, Dallas, Minny, Orlando, Toronto, Milwaukee Should they blow one of the home game to the Pacers they can make up for it with any one of SA, Portland, or Miami. ~lw3

BR might've been referring to the Hawks's record over the past 3 seasons sans Marvin, but the inference of "not starting" as evidence of his bench value is a bit misleading since he played in only one of those games where he didn't start. That was 12/8/06 against the Lakers, his first game back since starting off that season injured. The Hawks have won the next eight games where he didn't start (and didn't play), including 1 in 2006-07, 2 in 2007-08, and now 5 this season after tonite's game. http://sports.yahoo.com/nba/players/3928/g...ZPaB4?year=2006 http://sports.yahoo.com/nba/players/3928/g...ZPaB4?year=2007 http://sports.yahoo.com/nba/players/3928/g...ZPaB4?year=2008 ~lw3

Chillz = Zan Smoove = Jana ~lw3

Chris Bosh, I have one thing to say... YOU BETTER WORK! ~lw3

The discernible "NOOOOO!" you hear a split second before the booing is emanating from Section 209. ~lw3

I really gotta get used to that "DOS" thing ("Al Horford!... DOS.") at the games. Is that something new the announcer picked up for the Dominican Dominator, or have I just not been paying attention? ~lw3

...aside from his well-known mastery of The Macarena, of course. Woody-Bash du jour includes a fairly funny Peachtree Hoops blog entry of Woodson's 5 best coaching moves (out of his full strategic array of 7 moves), including... Also includes the signature Open-Mouth Stare Gallery ~lw3

FRY HARRY! ~lw3

The New York Baseball Giants weren't ever in the Junior Circuit, were they??? ~lw3

Around the same time, Smoove was seen around Round Rock, practicing his three-point shooting... ~lw3

J-Rich, to Akon's Manager: "Soooo... what're you in here for?" "Suns guard Jason Richardson was arrested and booked into Scottsdale City Jail on Sunday after a police officer pulled him over for driving 90 mph in a 35 mph (zone) with his 3-year-old son unrestrained in his vehicle's back seat, according to Scottsdale police. Scottsdale police first clocked Richardson, 27, traveling at 67 mph in a 40 mph zone of the 6500 block of East Camelback Road before the vehicle turned northbound onto 64th Street. Police said that Richardson then reached a speed of 90 mph before being pulled over in the 5400 block of North 64th Street at about 8 p.m. The officer noticed that Richardson's 3-year-old son was in the back seat and was not in a child seat, as required by state law. Richardson told the officer he and his son had gone to dinner and were on their way to his Paradise Valley home. Richardson is being charged with endangerment, reckless driving, failure to use a child seat and two charges of excessive speed." And in other news, 'Scottsdale bans all millionaires 6'6" and higher from driving' ~lw3

What's an All-Star party without a pointless scuffle among pointless people? Now, if Suge had gotten bodyslammed F.U. style the way Carnes' client likes to do it, then I'd have been a lil' impressed. I'm sure Shug didn't deserve a pop or two in that nose. Not at all! "An early morning fight at the W Scottsdale Hotel Monday landed rap producer Marion "Suge" Knight in the hospital and led to the arrest of two people, including a man who said he is the business manager for hip-hop star Akon. Robert L. Carnes Jr., 38, of Bethlehem, Pa., was arrested and told police he is Akon's manager. Hotel security called police after two groups exchanged heated words at a private party on the hotel's second floor. Police arrived around 3:30 a.m. and saw Carnes punch Knight in the face twice, Clark said. Officers used Tasers to break up the scuffle. Knight, of California, was taken to Scottsdale Healthcare Osborn to be treated for face injuries." link ~lw3