Atlanta Hawks 119 Sacramento Kings 97 or where the Hawks front court hates the rim.

by hawksdawgs on Mar 17, 2009 11:28 PM EDT

I am just going to assume this attempt ended successfully.

Forty is an important number. It is biblical of course. And I always liked that mystery it therefore carried. It is one of those breaking point integers. You can go without food for 4-6 weeks. Forty-ish days max. Forty is a number that you don't arrive at with simple talent or dumb luck. Forty is one of those numbers that makes you ask questions like "what exactly do I have here?" It is not a milestone that cements your fate. Forty is a way of saying I have gotten this far because effort and help, and on the other side of forty, I have equal parts present skill and past accomplishment to do what i want. The Hawks now have forty wins.

Al Horford

Al Horford apparently likes his nickname. "The Boss" decided to only shoot the ball via dunks or "and 1" opportunities. If those were not options, he simply chose to pick up an assist. The only thing that worries me about his game is the fatigue of his flex celebration. (How do I know about flex celebration yo ask? Well, I was a 14 year old boy. I know what extended periods of flexing can do to someone.) Tease Sacramento's defense all you want, given the opportunity, Al could have done whatever he wanted out there. Not many NBA players can say that on a given night, no matter how bad the defense is.

I could probably write three to four more paragraphs about how I love Al so...

Joe Johnson

Outside of the Hawks front court domination, the night can best be summed up by Joe's game. He shot the Hawks out of the lead in the first. He stopped shooting in the second, making his only two shots, and the team stormed out front. Then Joe threw it up six times in the third and the Kings cut the lead. As the fourth quarter opened, I was freaking out that the Hawks' best option was down low, yet Joe was shooting AND he was walking out to put the finishing touches on another 44 minutes game. Then Joe went on his own 7-0 run to put the game away. Moral of the story? Let the big fellas work more inside when it is working. Despite my ardent belief that it was actually more luck than skill, Woody managed the roster well tonight. Joe is relentless.

Josh Smith

Three things. I have said it once and I will say it again. Josh and Al both get double doubles and things seem so much easier. In all seriousness, Josh Smith probably has blisters from dunking the ball so much. Finally, if Josh is going to shoot a three, I guess I want it to be a desperation buzzer beater to end the half.

Victory Bullets

Quietly, a very nice game for Mike Bibby. He is loving playing teams that don't have point guards.
I admit he is crafty, but how Kevin Martin can shoot 17 free throws is beyond me. I am starting to truly think Joe can take his game to the next level by losing 30 lbs.
Acie Law and Flip Murray plus 26 and 28 respectively.
Just these few games for Acie seem to already make a difference. That 3 ball in the corner going up with a little less trepidation. And sometimes going in I might add.
Suspect defense for a large portion of the game? yes. 22 point win? also yes. On this night, one yes is much louder than the other.
The mysterious winning aura of Mo Evans in the starting lineup continues.
Game thread comment of the game, Bronn with "I just saw, during that timeout, Randolph Morris smiling AND LAUGHING in the background." Check the comments for the full fallout from this revelation.

The Hawks now stand 12 games over .500 for the first time all season, and Al Horford is totally awesome. Yep, that about sums it up.

Go Hawks!

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40th win

   I didn’t get to watch tonight’s game due to work commitments (i.e.: covering a high school baseball game which went an ungodly 3 hours, 4 minutes — after a 66-minute delay) but it’s good to see another barrier shattered.
   Not to mention putting more distance between the Hawks and Miami, who ESPN wants to gain homecourt in the worst way so they can lead SportsCenter with Wade-LeBron when they’re not bringing us up to date on the latest Yankees or Red Sox news.
   Anyway, it was good to see that the Hawks didn’t re-enact last month’s brutal Clipper loss. Nice to see Al Horford and Josh Smith both get double-doubles in the same night. Also nice to win by so much, even against the league’s worst team, when Joe goes 8-of-21.
   Thursday night is huge in my book. Going 7-0 on this homestand would be a great boost going to Cleveland Saturday. Plus we owe the Cubans one after that loss back in December.
   Back at you tomorrow!

by tennesseehawk on Mar 18, 2009 12:01 AM EDT reply actions

Math

suggests that the Hawks are 12 games over for the first time all season. Here’s to maintaining that number as a bar not to fall under the rest of the way.

by rbubp on Mar 18, 2009 12:35 AM EDT reply actions

alright

that was just a slip up and not a mathematical mistake.

still, it is safe to say i am going to start writing these things with a calculator in my hand.

but good news is 12 games is all the more impressive!

by hawksdawgs on Mar 18, 2009 7:40 AM EDT up reply actions

I love you anyway, Drew

The occasional malaprops just add to the charm, man. It’s all in good fun.

by rbubp on Mar 18, 2009 12:05 PM EDT up reply actions

Evans in the starting lineup

perhaps his weaknesses (offense other than spot up threes) are reduced by the talent around him. When you have Good Josh and The Boss pulling down boards and controling the paint it leaves room for him to pick up easy rebounds and spot up threes.
He used to come in with the second line that just didn’t play to his strengths as much.

All in all, I’m just ecstatic that our bench is developing and Acie looks like an actual point guard. +26 was beautiful.

by MLT on Mar 18, 2009 10:07 AM EDT reply actions

Randomness

"I am starting to truly think Joe can take his game to the next level by losing 30 lbs. "
Hahaha. In unrelated news. I got into a debate with one of the behind the scenes guys for the television broadcast about Za Za. He thinks the crowd is just being facetious when they applaud Za Za. I disagree of course. I tried to explain to him most Hawks fans appreciate how hard Za Za works. I told him there are like 3 blogs named after him! We know his limitations, but we love him all the same….. What do you think?

by Co Co on Mar 18, 2009 10:45 AM EDT reply actions

i can't claim serious adoration

in naming my first blog zaza’s playground.

but i do genuinely love the guy. i mean i wrote a whole post adoration on his birthday.

i can see where people see a basketball player who can’t jump, travels close to fifty percent of the time, and plays pretty dirty and thinks people are simply mocking him.

but not me, i think he invaluable to the team this year. micah hart actually posed the question via twitter who was a better backup center in the league. I said Pryzbilla when Oden is healthy but couldn’t think of another.

i mean his name is legally zaza. what’s not to like?

by hawksdawgs on Mar 18, 2009 11:35 AM EDT up reply actions

I'm inclined to agree

I never worry about what’s going to happen when he’s in there—he knows his role and he plays it well. And the fact is that if the other team lets a mismatch on him he will work it and put the ball in the hoop. Considering the total game, he’s better than some centers that start (Chris Kaman, anyone?).

by rbubp on Mar 18, 2009 12:56 PM EDT up reply actions