GAME 2 ATL AT CHI 8:00 PM

[Supporter]

Monday, May 4, 2011

8:00 PM ET - United Center, Chicago, IL

ATL Leads Series 1-0

vs.

on

Your Starting Lineups For Tonight's Game

Atlanta Hawks

PG:SG:SF:PF:C:Sixth Man:Coach:

Injuries: Kirk Hinrich(Strained Hamstring)

Chicago Bulls

PG:SG:SF:PF:C:Sixth Man:Coach:

Injuries: Carlos Boozer(Turf Toe)

LETS GO HAWKS LETS GO HAWKS LETS GO HAWKS!!!

***antijinxantijinxantijinx***

Edited May 4, 2011 by Supporter

[Supporter]

We're in for a doozy fellas, Derrick Rose just got awarded MVP and moments later, he gave a very emotional and heartfelt speech as his teamates and coaches looked on. I think that it's safe to say that they will bring it this game...and I'm pretty sure that Dr. Stern has sent his Zebras the "memo".

Edited May 4, 2011 by Supporter

[Diesel]

We're in for a doozy fellas, Derrick Rose just got awarded MVP and moments later, he gave a very emotional and heartfelt speech as his teamates and coaches looked on. I think that it's safe to say that they will bring it this game...and I'm pretty sure that Dr. Stern has sent his Zebras the "memo".

Stern can't have the coach of the year and the League MVP getting their *ss handed to them by a 44 win team with a minimum coach.

Stern didn't care about Orlando because of SVG's comments against him... but Stern will not allow us to mop the floor with the best team in the League...

I expect Whistles and Bad calls all night. And the refs should be ashamed of themselves.

[High5]

Give me a break with all this Stern talk. The Hawks aren't going to win or lose this series because of anything Stern does. Rose didn't get to the line once last game and I didn't see any Chicago fans blaming the refs.

Anyway, the Bulls are going to be on a mission tonight. The Hawks have to be ready to match their intensity from the tip or it could get ugly fast.

[Admin]

Give me a break with all this Stern talk. The Hawks aren't going to win or lose this series because of anything Stern does. Rose didn't get to the line once last game and I didn't see any Chicago fans blaming the refs.

Anyway, the Bulls are going to be on a mission tonight. The Hawks have to be ready to match their intensity from the tip or it could get ugly fast.

I tend to agree with you that Stern isn't controlling this series, but if there comes a time when it looks like we might see an Atlanta - Memphis or maybe even OKC finals then you might see Stern pull some strings since a series like that will surely not be good for national and/ or global ratings.

Agreed, we definitely need to match their intensity right from the beginning. Just like SVG said if you let the Hawks get out in front of you then you are in trouble, but if you put them in a hole early they have shown that they will lay down. I've got faith in us though that we won't be laying down or taking the Bulls lightly at any point.

[Admin]

Oh and thanks for continuing to make these game threads Supporter, you seem to be good luck so keep it up!

[Supporter]

No problem Dolfan, as long as the Hawks keep winning I have no problem doing these game threads.

[Gray Mule]

(Side note: Bulls coach looks like a marshmallow in chocolate)

Relax Hawks. Play for fun and games. All the pressure is on the Bulls. They are in a "must win"

tonight and the Hawks, who are supposed to be swept in four straight, are playing with house money.

Hawks don't have to win tonight. Bulls do.

Bulls have the NBA's coach of the year. Bulls have NBA's MVP for this year. What do these lowly

Hawks have? Nothing, except a 1-0 lead and a Bulls team who will be in the desperation mood.

"We gotta do it and we've gotta do it right now!"

If the Bulls come to Atlanta down 2-0, is it possible that there just might be a couple of fans in

the Highlight Factory making a little noise for these Hawks? Could be just too much. Cause

someone to have a nervous breakdown.

:Praying:

Edited May 4, 2011 by Gray Mule

[terrell]

Stick with the red uniforms fellas. Hope they left the blue ones in Atlanta.

I tend to agree with you that Stern isn't controlling this series, but if there comes a time when it looks like we might see an Atlanta - Memphis or maybe even OKC finals then you might see Stern pull some strings since a series like that will surely not be good for national and/ or global ratings.

Agreed, we definitely need to match their intensity right from the beginning. Just like SVG said if you let the Hawks get out in front of you then you are in trouble, but if you put them in a hole early they have shown that they will lay down. I've got faith in us though that we won't be laying down or taking the Bulls lightly at any point.

Please. Stern getting paid regardless.

[Johnnybravo4]

The Angry Birds are gonna go HAM on the MVP!

[Admin]

Please. Stern getting paid regardless.

You think that all Stern cares about are his paychecks?

[jy23]

I honestly have no idea what to do with myself right now.....I really just don't know what to do with this success so far. I feel like if I get happy then somebody's going to see it and take it all away from me, while I'm watching the game I'm never excited bc I'm just waiting on that breakdown and for us to lose the game but it never really happened and when chicago did make a run we actually responded and still pulled out the W.....everybody that knows me knows I'm the biggest hawks fan but everybody is tripping on how NOT excited I am right now, really I just don't know what to do. lol

[terrell]

You think that all Stern cares about are his paychecks?

Why shouldnt he? League aint going nowhere regardless of who's in it. Spurs made finals appearances, after finals appearances, after finals appearances. Most boring team in the league right there. And why would he let the biggest market out there(NY) get swept this year if he only cares about the ratings? You guys are dilusional. lol

[QuantumHawkz]

(Side note: Bulls coach looks like a marshmallow in chocolate)

Relax Hawks. Play for fun and games. All the pressure is on the Bulls. They are in a "must win"

tonight and the Hawks, who are supposed to be swept in four straight, are playing with house money.

Hawks don't have to win tonight. Bulls do.

Bulls have the NBA's coach of the year. Bulls have NBA's MVP for this year. What do these lowly

Hawks have? Nothing, except a 1-0 lead and a Bulls team who will be in the desperation mood.

"We gotta do it and we've gotta do it right now!"

If the Bulls come to Atlanta down 2-0, is it possible that there just might be a couple of fans in

the Highlight Factory making a little noise for these Hawks? Could be just too much. Cause

someone to have a nervous breakdown.

:Praying:

Thats so true.The Hawkz will win the series and get to the ECF i can't wait.(p.s Where are the people who said LD wasnt a good coach? The man got us ower frist second round win in like forever. Crow anyone?)p.s.s- any word on the Rose injury?

Edited May 4, 2011 by QuantumHawkz

[Admin]

Why shouldnt he? League aint going nowhere regardless of who's in it. Spurs made finals appearances, after finals appearances, after finals appearances. Most boring team in the league right there. And why would he let the biggest market out there(NY) get swept this year if he only cares about the ratings? You guys are dilusional. lol

Because ratings are the most important thing to Stern and the NBA and his paychecks are based off of that. If the league has huge ratings and lots of advertising then he's going to get paid for it but if they have a finals that nobody wants to watch or advertise in then he's not going to get paid. And I don't mean that he is paid a commission or anything like that but I'd bet that his salary is tied directly to how much money the league brings in.

It's also not about "the biggest market" it's about the biggest draw from both the fans and from advertisers. Sure the Knicks may be in a huge market but if they're going to get blown out of the finals in 4 games then they're not going to keep the ratings up. You may not believe that but it's a fact that the NBA will earn a lot more money with 2 teams that people want to see than they will with 2 teams that people won't really care about seeing. I don't remember the exact numbers but if memory serves a couple of years back when Orlando was in the finals it was one of the lowest rated finals in history and then last year with the Celtics and Lakers was one of the biggest.

Actually here you go, these are the numbers ...

The 2010 NBA Finals featured a rematch of 2008 with a renewal of the classic rivalry between the Lakers and Celtics and proved to be a smash hit in the ratings. With the historic rivalry between the two most successful teams in the league being the marquee matchup once again and the Finals going seven games for the first time since 2005, the series achieved a 10.6 rating and an average of 18.1 million viewers, the highest numbers since 2004. This was a 26% increase from 2009 and a 14% increase from 2008, the last time the Lakers and the Celtics met.^[13] The deciding Game 7 garnered an 18.2 rating and a tally of 28.2 million viewers, making it the most-watched NBA game since Game 6 of the 1998 NBA Finals, which had a 22.3 rating and drew 72 million viewers.^[14] In addition, the seventh game bested the previous Game 7 in 2005 by 31%. Game 7 is as of now the most-watched NBA game in ABC's current eight-season run with the league.

Now do I think that Stern will do whatever it takes to keep teams like Memphis and Atlanta out of the finals? No of course not, but I absolutely do believe, and I'm sure both Phoenix and Sacramento would agree, that there will be a few calls per game that the marquee team will get that could easily affect the outcome a game and a series and it doesn't take much to make that happen.

[HawkItus]

I feel good about tonight.

[terrell]

Because ratings are the most important thing to Stern and the NBA and his paychecks are based off of that. If the league has huge ratings and lots of advertising then he's going to get paid for it but if they have a finals that nobody wants to watch or advertise in then he's not going to get paid. And I don't mean that he is paid a commission or anything like that but I'd bet that his salary is tied directly to how much money the league brings in.

It's also not about "the biggest market" it's about the biggest draw from both the fans and from advertisers. Sure the Knicks may be in a huge market but if they're going to get blown out of the finals in 4 games then they're not going to keep the ratings up. You may not believe that but it's a fact that the NBA will earn a lot more money with 2 teams that people want to see than they will with 2 teams that people won't really care about seeing. I don't remember the exact numbers but if memory serves a couple of years back when Orlando was in the finals it was one of the lowest rated finals in history and then last year with the Celtics and Lakers was one of the biggest.

Actually here you go, these are the numbers ...

Now do I think that Stern will do whatever it takes to keep teams like Memphis and Atlanta out of the finals? No of course not, but I absolutely do believe, and I'm sure both Phoenix and Sacramento would agree, that there will be a few calls per game that the marquee team will get that could easily affect the outcome a game and a series and it doesn't take much to make that happen.

Srew with the integrity of the game, for a few extra dollars. Yeah, that's the ticket. lol. 1st you say he doesnt care about the $, and then you say he wants higher ratings so he can make more $. lol. Ok dude.

[Admin]

Srew with the integrity of the game, for a few extra dollars. Yeah, that's the ticket. lol. 1st you say he doesnt care about the $, and then you say he wants higher ratings so he can make more $. lol. Ok dude.

Wow you are thick! You said all he cares about is his salary, I said he cares about the ratings and that will lead to him making more money but the ratings are the biggest thing to him.

But yeah go ask any Suns or Kings fan whether Stern would screw with the integrity of the game.

[DJlaysitup]

I feel good about tonight.

+1 for the optimism...I don't feel as much confience tonight. Our guys have seldom been known to put out 100% effort when they don't feel they have too. LD will preach em up and they will say the right things pre-game, but if we get down early I would expect a semi-laydown.

Chances are - deep down - they figure they have already accomplished their mission in Chicago - they have the split and we have home court now. (which actually is the truth)

Hope I'm wrong....GO HAWKS!!!!

Edited May 4, 2011 by DJlaysitup

[Admin]

+1 for the optimism...I don't feel as much confience tonight. Our guys have seldom been known to put out 100% effort when they don't feel they have too. LD will preach em up and they will say the right things pre-game, but if we get down early I would expect a semi-laydown.

Chances are - deep down - they figure they have already accomplished their mission in Chicago - they have the split and we have home court now. (which actually is the truth)

I dunno from listening to the guys and the coach it sure sounds like they really want to take both games in Chicago to make things a lot easier on themselves so I absolutely expect them to come out and give it 100% tonight .

And let me just say this, thank GOD we don't have to watch the Hawks on NBATV any more this year. So far we're unbeaten on every network outside of NBATV and 0-2 on NBATV so if this trend holds up then good things are coming tonight!