I hope the Hawks don't end up with Chicago in the first round

[capstone21]

They have been playing really well lately and could be in for upsetting whoever they play in the first round.

They are only a half game behind philly and a game and a half behind Miami.

I never thought I would be cheering for Miami to win but right now I don't want anything to do with Chicago.

Edited April 12, 2009 by capstone21

[Hawk88]

They have been playing really well lately and could be in for upsetting whoever they play in the first round.

They are only a half game behind philly and a game and a half behind Miami.

I never thought I would be cheering for Miami to win but right now I don't want anything to do with Chicago.

I sure dont' want to face my leauge MVP in D. Wade! Regardless of who we match up against, it's going to be tough gettting through. I am prepared for a letdown.

Hawk88

[Deeman]

I sure dont' want to face my leauge MVP in D. Wade! Regardless of who we match up against, it's going to be tough gettting through. I am prepared for a letdown.

Hawk88

Dude the Heat suck. I would rather play them than Chicago. Bibby can't guard D Rose.

[TheTruth]

I certainly agree with the OP. Chicago scares the crap out of me because of D Rose. Rose will drop like 20+ and 8 something assists if Bibby doesnt step up his defense. Chicago may not be overly talented, but they bring their lunch pail to work every game and could really upset their first round matchup. If we can somehow control D Wade, as in him scoring no more than about 20 something points, then we should squeak by Miami...they don't scare anyone outside of Wade.

[mrhonline]

Miami would have to lose out and Chicago win out for that to happen...

[HamHawk]

Either way, it's never an easy road to a championship. Yes, I said road to a championship. . . .first round's first, but the competition only gets tougher later in the playoffs so it really doesn't matter who we play first round. Our regular season record keeps improving, so shouldn't our playoff performances? Last year we lost in 7 in the first round. . . . this year?? I've got high hopes regardless of our opponents.

[Peoriabird]

we should squeak by Miami..

I love our fan base

[TheTruth]

Lol. Come now. The Hawks are good, but they have not proven they can easily beat teams they should on a CONSISTENT basis. Until they do that, anyone who thinks the Hawks are to the contrary are nothing but blind homers.

Besides, no one should just be writing off Miami. They aren't as good as us, but it's not like we are leaps and bounds better. They still have a MVP-like superstar who can go out and win games for them. We better tighten up for whomever we play because lackadaisical defense, poor coaching, and missed opportunities will not get it done--no matter who we are facing.

[mattlanta]

Lol. Come now. The Hawks are good, but they have not proven they can easily beat teams they should on a CONSISTENT basis. Until they do that, anyone who thinks the Hawks are to the contrary are nothing but blind homers.

Besides, no one should just be writing off Miami. They aren't as good as us, but it's not like we are leaps and bounds better. They still have a MVP-like superstar who can go out and win games for them. We better tighten up for whomever we play because lackadaisical defense, poor coaching, and missed opportunities will not get it done--no matter who we are facing.

It's tough to admit it, but I agree with that post. The Hawks are very shaky, especially on the road. Dwyane Wade and his buddies in black and white are definitely going to try and get him past the first round. Even when people call the Heat a one-man team (hard to disagree, but Beasley has been red-hot recently) they still have the potential to give the Hawks a beat down (like they did already this year). I think the Heat is my choice of opponent as well... compared to the 76ers and the Bulls, I think we have a better chance of beating them than any of those teams, but by no means should we be writing them off. Good post, TT.

[DrReality]

Whoever we play Rio will play a big role given that he only averages so few minutes.

[EazyRoc]

I really don't care who we play in the first round. We have homecourt advantage, and we are a better team than all the possible teams we could face. Can you imagine what Phillips Arena will be like this year ?

[Peoriabird]

Lol. Come now. The Hawks are good, but they have not proven they can easily beat teams they should on a CONSISTENT basis. Until they do that, anyone who thinks the Hawks are to the contrary are nothing but blind homers.

Besides, no one should just be writing off Miami. They aren't as good as us, but it's not like we are leaps and bounds better. They still have a MVP-like superstar who can go out and win games for them. We better tighten up for whomever we play because lackadaisical defense, poor coaching, and missed opportunities will not get it done--no matter who we are facing.

We have had multiple injuries this year to our front court and are >10 game over .500 whereas the Heat have relatively healthy all year long and are basically a .500 team. But yet The Heat get more respect from some of our fan base than our home team does! Interesting :brick wall: Hawk win in 5 easily!

[TheTruth]

Respect? Bird, don't start with such useless words. No one is claiming the Heat are the real thing. And no one is claiming that the Heat are going to destroy us. All some of us is saying is that we can't overlook them like some of our fans are. The Hawks still have a long way to go in terms of consistency and playing at a high level through four quarters. And guess what?

...That is exactly what is needed in the playoffs.

Imagine that.

[Peoriabird]

Respect? Bird, don't start with such useless words. No one is claiming the Heat are the real thing. And no one is claiming that the Heat are going to destroy us

Even when people call the Heat a one-man team (hard to disagree, but Beasley has been red-hot recently) they still have the potential to give the Hawks a beat down (like they did already this year).

Sounds like at least one person thinks that they are capable of dishing out a beat down!

[HamHawk]

Any team is capable of giving any team a beat down. . . it's the NBA. Look at the Cavs/Wizards for instance this season or our own Hawks vs. the eventual champion Celtics in playoffs last year. Saying there is no potential is asinine. Being concerned with it shows prudence, but being scared of any team?? No way. It's playoffs. It's the time for our Hawks to outshine the performance exhibited last year!

[frosgrim]

I wouldn't mind playing Chicago at all. The Hawks front court matches up very well against the Bulls' FC, even with the addition of Miller.

Rose is a rookie and will not get nearly the calls that Wade will get in the playoffs. Besides who is a consistent half court player for the Bulls? Hinrich, maybe. Gordon? Not likely as the Hawks have too much length for him to stay hot through a 7 game series. Then who?

Even more problematic for the Bulls is who takes JJ? The micro backcourt they are running can't do a thing against JJ. With Marvin, hopefully back, they can't move whomever is playing SF to guard JJ.

Lastly, Horford gets a strength advantage against Noah and/or Thomas. And a serious quickness advantage vs. Miller.

In all, I really like the match-up vs. the Bulls out of the 3 potential.

[TheTruth]

Doesnt matter now because it appears the Heat have clinched the 5th spot.

Here is to a great series. I still think we win in 5.

[NJHAWK]

The Bulls would be very tough for the 5 games it would take us to beat them.

[Hawk88]

Dude the Heat suck. I would rather play them than Chicago. Bibby can't guard D Rose.

I hope your are right, but the Heat don't suck as long as they have D. Wade. The guy can carry a team. And as you know the stars get all the calls.

Hawk88

[cam1218]

There isn't a team bellow us in the standings that is better than us. I think most of us know that--we have 82 games to prove it too. However, when was the last time the Hawks won a playoff series? I feel we SHOULD beat Miami but I'm going to worry my *** off this whole series. Until the Hawks become a regular playoff team that has won a couple of series I think everybody should be a little bit worried. Making the playoffs last year was step one. Step two IMO is winning a series (though you could argue it could be homecourt), and winning a series is something we haven't completed yet.