AJC > Sports > Hawks > Blog > Archives > 2008 > May > 04 > Entry
DEL.ICIO.USGame 7: Celtics advance 99-65
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Well, you had a feeling this would happen.The Hawks hadn’t beaten the Celtics in five tries this year heading into game seven.
They couldn’t beat them in six tries either.
Road losses are something that has plagued the Hawks since the season started. Good teams find ways to win on the road. The Hawks never did. The Hawks were 12-29 on the road this season. 0-3 in the playoffs.
Just think were the Hawks would be if they had won three more road games (15-24). They still might be the eighth seed, but maybe they wouldn’t have been blown out in Boston. Maybe, just maybe, they would have been able to win one of those games during the playoffs.
A winning team would have found a way. The Hawks are on the verge but they’re not a winning team…yet.
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Comments
By Hawkamanic81@yahoo.com
May 4, 2008 6:40 PM | Link to this
Same old Hawks. Try and set the fans up for some excitement then send them crashing back down to reality. The team had no fight today as expected. The team has some very overrated young players like Josh Smith and Josh Childress that will never make a huge impact on good teams.
If people are smart they will not pay for tickets for next season because this team will still struggle to win games. The refs helped the Hawks along by giving them free throw after free throw in Atlanta. If it hadn’t been for that, this series would have ended in 5 games at the most.
By james harvey
May 5, 2008 1:33 AM | Link to this
what tha u talkin bout playa
By james harvey
May 5, 2008 1:33 AM | Link to this
what tha u talkin bout playa
By Joe
May 5, 2008 7:43 AM | Link to this
Time to do a sign-and-trade for Josh Smith…I know ATL fans will not like it, because we are all style over substance down here, but it is the RIGHT move for the organization.
What you saw out of Smith yesterday is what you will get from him in big games. He does not have the mental toughness to be a max contract player.
We must trade him now while his value is at peak. We could get some expiring contracts and a bunch of draft picks for him. It will also free up the salary cap space we would have used on him to go out and get someone who will contribute in big games and be a LEADER.
By Da Hawks
May 5, 2008 9:55 AM | Link to this
Joe,
You could not be more wrong about Josh Smith. He is 22 years old and was playing in his first playoff series as a professional. I think it is a bit early to get rid of the guy. Without Josh Smith this Hawks team will lose a ton of its athleticism and attitude. Josh is the type of core player we have been looking for and I am excited that he is a Hawk!
By Simp
May 5, 2008 10:13 AM | Link to this
The problem I have with the hawks is that no have good enough one on one skills to enhance the offense which is too predictable with zero cuts for players who do not have the ball and that the best shooter is on the bench. This off season I hope the players work on moving without the ball in hand because we are terrible at that. Too much helping on defense that led to easy baskets was another issue.
By harry freeman
May 5, 2008 10:59 AM | Link to this
I think someone with money got to the hawks before game 7. How can they beat the best team in basketball and then miss the rim!? Seems to me that a legit team would have been fired up for game 7 vs Celtis…they layed down for his one……why?
By Joe
May 5, 2008 11:57 AM | Link to this
Da Hawks, because I am sure that you did not watch any Hawks’ games before last week, I will cut you some slack.
For those of us who have slogged through every regular season game for the last few years, we know that the “attitude” of which you speak is Josh Smith’s biggest detriment.
Now, since you are likely an ATL sports fan and have no idea what it takes to play winning sports, I would expect you to like Smith’s “athleticsm.” You probably still think Mike Vick was a great “leader.”
The fact of the matter is that Smith is a million dollar talent with a two dollar brain. He will never become mentally tough or a leader. He needs to go now while we can dupe some idiot GM into taking Smith and get a lot in return.
If the Hawks give Smith a max contract it will set the franchise back into the same rebuilding mode we have been in for the last decade.
By lbj_fan
May 5, 2008 12:42 PM | Link to this
Let’s see. Hawk’s payroll is $56M, Boston’s $72M. The fact that it went to 7 games is a disgrace for the Celtics. With the amount of money they spent this year, if they don’t win it all, it’s a big failure for them. The Hawks were just glad to make the playoffs, and they can build on this experience. They have a lot of young talent, and now they have playoff experience as well. They know what it’s like to play at a higher level. As for the celtics, i don’t see them getting past the cavs. Cavs have a superstar in Lebron who will destroy whoever will try to guard him and they are a playoff tested team.
By J.Rich
May 5, 2008 5:29 PM | Link to this
Why are you people so hard on Smith? I believe it was a guy named Bibby that ran off at the mouth and forgot to show up. Get it right bloggers.