Former Hawks star Steve Smith has seen enough of the Hawks-Bucks first-round playoff series to make his call on the next two games in Milwaukee.
"I think Atlanta wins both," the NBA TV analyst said Wednesday.
It would, of course, constitute a sweep for the Hawks, who won the first two games, at Philips Arena, in convincing fashion Saturday and Tuesday.
Smith offered caveats about the Bucks returning home and having dynamic scorers in guards Brandon Jennings and John Salmons. But, he acknowledged, it would take at least one of them, if not both, exploding on the Hawks for Milwaukee to take one of the next two games.
Smith praised the Hawks for their focus, attention to detail and defense in their first two games, notably the way that forward Josh Smith and center Al Horford have dominated on defense.
Said Smith, "You can tell by their body language, their demeanor that, ‘We're not satisfied. We're not disrespecting Milwaukee, but there's a bigger picture in mind for this team this year.'"
Smith also gave credit to guard Joe Johnson for the way he has shared fourth-quarter shots with Jamal Crawford this season.
"How many superstars will welcome a guy that pretty much plays the same position, is pretty much known for making shots in crunch time?" Smith asked. "I think people underestimate Joe Johnson. You ask him to guard everybody, you ask him to share the spotlight. He does that and doesn’t complain, and then he's still able to be an All-Star every year with everything you ask him to do."
Woodson voting
For the second consecutive year, coach Mike Woodson finished tied for eighth in voting for coach of the year, won Wednesday by Oklahoma City's Scott Brooks. Woodson received two second-place votes and one third-place vote from 123 voters, the same as Houston's Rick Adelman.
Woodson led the Hawks to 53 wins, their first 50-win season since 1997-98. Last year, Woodson finished tied for eighth with the Lakers' Phil Jackson behind Cleveland's Mike Brown.
Off day
After the Hawks' 96-86 win over Milwaukee on Tuesday, Woodson gave the team the day off Wednesday. The team will practice Thursday and fly to Milwaukee after Friday's practice. The Hawks will be part of an ESPN doubleheader Saturday with a 7 p.m. tipoff that precedes the Lakers and Oklahoma City at 9:30 p.m.
On the tube
The metro Atlanta TV ratings for the Hawks' first two playoff games were down compared to last year's first two postseason games. Saturday's first game had a combined 4.8 rating (about 115,000 households) between Fox Sports South and ESPN's broadcasts. The second game Tuesday drew a 3.7 (88,800 households) on Fox Sports South. Last year, Games 1 and 2 in the opening round against Miami drew combined ratings of 8.7 and 6.9.
Undoubtedly, the Braves drew viewers away Saturday and Tuesday, pulling 2.9 and 4.9 ratings, respectively.
Need two?
Just as the Hawks have had difficulty selling playoff tickets -- tickets were going for less than a dollar online for the first game, and fans were offered vouchers for free tickets for Game 2 -- NBA playoff fever has not completely gripped Milwaukee, either. Wednesday, plenty of tickets were available for Saturday and Monday's games at the Bradley Center.
History lesson
The Hawks' 2-0 lead over Milwaukee is the first such advantage the Hawks have taken in a best-of-seven playoff series since 1970, when the Hawks beat Chicago four games to one in the Western Division semifinals.
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