Box Score

Recap

Toward the end of his first half stint of action, after he hit a three and dished to Josh Smith for a dunk, Acie Law stepped up to continue his fine defensive performance on Chris Paul. He clapped his hands, smiled, and then started slapping Paul on the butt. At least three "good games," simply saying with each swift motion, "I am here to play." It bothered CP3 so much he wanted a foul call. He even complained about it coming out of halftime. Just how much was Acie in Chris Paul's head? He wanted a hand check foul on a butt slap. What a great game for Acie. What a great game.

Maybe celebrating a little early, the Hawks almost did not get back on defense with about a minute and half to go. But they wanted to hug and high five. The whole team seemed excited. Randolph Morris did not smile, but he clapped. Joe even screamed a little. It was as if the team had said all the right things in the papers. Old Josh Smith coming back. New season. Playoff mentality. And as the seconds wound down, the Hawks were shocked excited that they actually did the things they said. This might actually be a team that can back up the talk. Empty words become strong action. The Hawks may just have the experience and skill to embody the cliches that make a team a winner.

The Victory Bullets

• Jame Posey cannot guard Joe Johnson. At all. 
• Chris Paul plays like a jerk. An incredibly intense, talented jerk. I would cry if I had to play him.
  
• After the opening quarter, how good was the Hawks defense tonight? Al Horford, Mike Bibby, Flip Murray, and Josh Smith shot a combined 15-46, and the team won by 10 points. 
• Zaza is like a less talented, bigger, slower Chris Paul. He plays like a jerk too. 7 boards and 7 points in 20 minutes of work. I kept screaming at him "you're a man amongst boys, Zaza." He did not acknowledge me, but I think that is because he already knew.
  
• I know he had an off game. I also know the Hawks won. But just so you know, I refuse to even think about going back to the 30 minutes, 8 shots a night Al Horford. 
• While I cringe a bit that our strategy going into the game was simply to have Joe Johnson guard Chris Paul, props to Woody for trying Acie on him and sticking with it when it worked. 
• Clear path foul?
• The crowd tonight was small but rowdy. A lot of Chris Paul hate actually, and a lot of noise on on that dunk by Josh Smith. I did some celebration after that one that involved one dance move, air punching, and some screaming.
• Get well soon Marvin

Cannot let up now. Winning two of the next three will be difficult but almost necessary. It is very clear the Hawks are a different team at home. You would like it to be different, but with that reality, the fourth seed becomes all the more important.

Winner of SoCon tickets?

Buzzsaw for "Acie Law only scores when he gives his team the lead."

A great win tonight. Go Hawks!