The Atlanta Hawks beat the Portland Trailblazers on Monday night, halting Portland’s 6-game winning streak and sweeping the season series. With quality wins against Boston & Denver and a 9-2 record, it may be time to take these high-flying Hawks seriously.
The Hawks needed a 35 point effort from Joe Johnson & a 20 point and 16 rebound performance from Josh Smith to overcome the stubborn, division-leading Trailblazers 99-95 in overtime in Atlanta on Monday night. It’s beginning to look like the Hawks have the makings of a true winner for the first time since Dominique challenged Bird in the mid 1980s.
Save a road loss to the Lakers and an embarrassing gaffe against at Charlotte, the Hawks have taken care of business this year. They are undefeated at home (5-0) and managed and impressive road record of 4-2, including a win at Boston. But how are they doing it? Is it smoke and mirrors, lucky breaks, or are they legitimate contenders in the East?
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The Atlanta Hawks’ bus got in an accident after the morning shoot-around in Milwaukee. The real tragedy was their performance in Game 4.
Though dominant at home, the Atlanta Hawks are proving they are mere roadkill away from Philips Arena. Despite the loss of Bogut, the upstart Bucks are beating the once dominant Hawks rather easily at the Bradley Center. Game 3 was a blowout and an embarrassing loss for a 50-win team. On Monday, the Deer took it to the wingless birds 111-104 to tie the series at 2.
John Salmons and Brandon Jennings continue to pester the Hawks. Salmons poured in 23 and Jennings contributed 22 points and 6 assists. But it was the hot shooting of Carlos Delfino (22 points, 6 of 8 from the 3 point line) that spelled doom for Atlanta. Delfino was emblematic of the entire Bucks roster on Monday: hustling, taking smart shots, and converting from the charity stripe. As a team, the Bucks shot over 55% and were 88% from the line on 32 attempts. They took nearly 15 more free throws than they averaged in the prior 3 games.
I would say Game 4 was 50% Milwaukee’s great play and 50% Atlanta simply not being ready for primetime. I love a good underdog story, but the talent of Atlanta is too deep to be troubled by this Milwaukee team. Mike Woodson needs to share a lot of the blame. He has never had success on the road in the playoffs. Though it will likely not derail the Hawks this round, you can bet that against Orlando, zero road wins means a quick summer vacation.
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