Most media still assuming Boston wins

[AnnArborHawk]

What I find amazing is, that while the media is having a field day with our upstart Hawks, there always seems to be a little one-liner in every article noting that it's a foregone conclusion the Celtics will still win the series.

If we win tonight will that assumption finally go away? At least there's good bulletin board material out there for these guys tonight.

[khaos7]

That stuff no longer phases me. We win, they eat crow. I've heard everyone from 790 the Zone, Wilborn, and others say they eat crow, after we surprisingly won 2 games. If we win tonight, we can make them shut up. Plain and simple. Winning cures all. We win, no more talk.

[WorldBFree]

for as great as ATL looked at home, they looked that bad on the road, and four of the seven games are in Boston. it's now a best 2 of 3, with two of those in Boston, where they have drubbed Atlanta all year, twice in this series.

i'm ecstatic the Hawks have made this a real series, and the momentum going into next year is BIG no matter what happens from here on.

BUT until they show they can compete, let alone win, in Boston, the Hawks are still a long shot.

[khaos7]

Quote:

---

for as great as ATL looked at home, they looked that bad on the road, and four of the seven games are in Boston. it's now a best 2 of 3, with two of those in Boston, where they have drubbed Atlanta all year, twice in this series.

i'm ecstatic the Hawks have made this a real series, and the momentum going into next year is BIG no matter what happens from here on.

BUT until they show they can compete, let alone win, in Boston, the Hawks are still a long shot.

This shouldn't be taken as a slight. We're playing with house money. Nobody expected us to win ONE game, let alone 2. That said, the Celtics have been the favorites since day one. 66 wins justify that. However, the Hawks have put a chink in their armor. Whether we've gotten the media's respect means nothing. WE GOT THEIR ATTENTION. AND THE ATTENTION OF FREE AGENTS. AND THE ATTENTION OF TNT/ESPN when next year's schedule comes out. Most importantly, the Hawks have the attention of the city of Atlanta. So the little snooty remarks made and pronoucements that the Hawks will be beaten handily by the Celtics means NOTHING at this point.

The Hawks have gotten more out of this series than anyone could have expected.

[WorldBFree]

nm

[Johnnybravo4]

An interesting question is, what is a better story for the NBA. The presumptive champion Boston, moving on, or the Atl underdogs moving on? I don't think that anyone will argue that we are a more fun team to watch than Boston. Other than KG they are pretty much a team of jumpshooters. I mean imagine a 7 game series of Lebron vs Josh Smith dunk-off. Imagine a ECF of Hawks vs. Orlando. Old friend in Josh and Dwight. Dwight in a playoff game in his home town. I am sure that the NBA would prefer Lakers vs Celtics for the obvious stories. But none of those teams are long built Lakers and Celtics. They are quickly built "win now" manufactured teams. To me Garnett is still a Timberwolf and Gasol a Grizzlie. Ray Allen is a Sonic. In terms of excitment a Cavs/Lakers would be more exciting. To finally settle the Kobe vs. Lebron Debate.

[khaos7]

Quote:

---

An interesting question is, what is a better story for the NBA. The presumptive champion Boston, moving on, or the Atl underdogs moving on? I don't think that anyone will argue that we are a more fun team to watch than Boston. Other than KG they are pretty much a team of jumpshooters. I mean imagine a 7 game series of Lebron vs Josh Smith dunk-off. Imagine a ECF of Hawks vs. Orlando. Old friend in Josh and Dwight. Dwight in a playoff game in his home town. I am sure that the NBA would prefer Lakers vs Celtics for the obvious stories. But none of those teams are long built Lakers and Celtics. They are quickly built "win now" manufactured teams. To me Garnett is still a Timberwolf and Gasol a Grizzlie. Ray Allen is a Sonic. In terms of excitment a Cavs/Lakers would be more exciting. To finally settle the Kobe vs. Lebron Debate.

I can go with that. Whether we win the series or lose, Hawks' fans must understand WE HAVE ALREADY WON!

Boston can win the next two games. However, we've built capital. If we win one more game, we build more capital. We win the series, to quote Dave Chappelle/Ashy Larry "We're rich b****!"

It's that simple. How the Spirit manages that capital will determine what happens. However, no one can no longer look at us as a team that can't win. We proved we can on the big stage.

Not that I'm conceding we lose, but if we do, I don't want to hear anyone come on this site bemoaning the apocalypes.

[AnnArborHawk]

In the eyes of the NBA, the best case scenario is unfolding. Hawks and Sixers compete to garner excitement in those markets and make for a better story than sweeps.

In the end though, the want Detroit and Boston to win these, with Boston moving on to set up the dream series with LA.

I have to believe the NBA's worst case scenario would have been Toronto beating Utah in the finals :-) At least we can all thank Orlando for making sure that didn't happen.

[Omni_Rock]

Quote:

---

In the eyes of the NBA, the best case scenario is unfolding. Hawks and Sixers compete to garner excitement in those markets and make for a better story than sweeps.

In the end though, the want Detroit and Boston to win these, with Boston moving on to set up the dream series with LA.

I have to believe the NBA's worst case scenario would have been Toronto beating Utah in the finals :-) At least we can all thank Orlando for making sure that didn't happen.

Excellent point. Stern does want the NBA to succeed in the ATL because it would add another competitive and exciting team to the East where they desperately need one. And i think the NBA 's worst case scenario in the West would be another San Antonio/Utah WCF again.

[bronnt]

Quote:

---

An interesting question is, what is a better story for the NBA. The presumptive champion Boston, moving on, or the Atl underdogs moving on? I don't think that anyone will argue that we are a more fun team to watch than Boston. Other than KG they are pretty much a team of jumpshooters. I mean imagine a 7 game series of Lebron vs Josh Smith dunk-off. Imagine a ECF of Hawks vs. Orlando. Old friend in Josh and Dwight. Dwight in a playoff game in his home town. I am sure that the NBA would prefer Lakers vs Celtics for the obvious stories. But none of those teams are long built Lakers and Celtics. They are quickly built "win now" manufactured teams. To me Garnett is still a Timberwolf and Gasol a Grizzlie. Ray Allen is a Sonic. In terms of excitment a Cavs/Lakers would be more exciting. To finally settle the Kobe vs. Lebron Debate.

I agree that Atlanta is a more fun team to watch thatn Boston. And if we advanced it would probably put an end to all that talk of revising the playoff structure so Golden State can get in.

I would dispute, though, that the Lakers are a "quickly built 'win now' manufactured team." Kobe is still in his prime at 29. Odom is 28 and so is Luke Walton. Gasol is 27, along with Radmonovich. They've got some good young players like Bynum and Farmar. Vujacic is only 24 years old, too. Even Ronny Turiaf is only 25. The only guys who are really aging on this team are Derek Fisher and Ira Newble. I think that the Lakers could be really good for a long time, especially if they continue to make smart moves like they did in acquiring Gasol.

[Atlantaholic]

Quote:

---

What I find amazing is, that while the media is having a field day with our upstart Hawks, there always seems to be a little one-liner in every article noting that it's a foregone conclusion the Celtics will still win the series.

If we win tonight will that assumption finally go away? At least there's good bulletin board material out there for these guys tonight.

We need to win a game on the road before people will start looking at us as a bonafide threat to oust Boston... They still have home court advantage.

If we win tonight though... You'll find A TON of people jumping on our bandwagon, and rightfully so.