Peachtree Hoops: Hawks/Bucks Quotes and Links from Game Three

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The following is a Quotes and Links post for Game Three.

Follow the jump if you can stand it.

That is all.

So, you may have read what we had to say directly after the game, and even the morning after, the feeling hasn't changed. Game Three was exactly what we thought the Hawks capable of before the series even began, based on their track record. Game Three result doesn't impact our feeling of the eventual outcome of the series, it only validates it.

Let's see what others thought:

Unlike ourselves, Alex Boeder at Brew Hoop finds himself changing expectations after Game Three.

And while I predicted before the series the Bucks to steal this one and go down in five games, I can't say that I "expected" this result: an 18-point win that was more lopsided than that suggests. And now I can't say with much confidence that the Bucks will go down in five.

 

 Jeremy at Bucksketball says that Game Three also should have been expected:

Surprise seems to be the appropriate reaction, but should anyone really be shocked? Atlanta was a below average road team this season, MIlwaukee was an above average home team and Milwaukee had shot very poorly from three in the first two games. All those factors seemed to work in Milwaukee’s favor.

Michael Hunt at the JSOnline fires a shot at Josh Smith:

Turns out there is something to do in Milwaukee after all, eh, kid?

You know, like playing a professional basketball game?

Michael Cunningham has figured out that the Hawks shrug off outings like this:

– The Hawks spouted some of those playoff cliches: The Bucks simply did what they had to do, the Hawks still own homecourt advantage, they still have a chance to win Game 4 on Monday for a road split. All of that is theoretically true but have the Hawks shown an indication that they can find the mettle it will take to win the next game? It would have been one thing if the Hawks competed and lost but failing to show up is something else.

 

The Vent has travelled down this road before with this team, and hasn't been shaken:

I was really hoping the Hawks would go in there and smash them, but deep down I knew this team is not made like that. They don't really have a "go for the jugular" mentality. I didn't expect them to lose by so many, but I guess that was just my naivety showing because they absolutely suck on the road in the playoffs. I expect them to bounce back and win Game 4 and I'll be genuinely surprised if they don't.

 

Bret at Hoopinion neatly summarizes the smoking gun in Game Three and offers action items for Game Four:

The Hawks got blown out for one very familiar reason: the team's defense, in allowing for its inherent limitations in preventing dribble penetration, is designed to force the other team into taking jump shots. Milwaukee, to their credit, made a huge percentage of the jump shots they got against the Hawks in this game. In Game 4, should that not be the case, and, should the Hawks convert more of their decent looks, the result may not change* but the contest should remain competitive for more than 40 minutes of game time. Especially if Josh Smith and Al Horford can combine for more than four defensive rebounds.

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