A first farewell Hawks fans
by hawksdawgs on May 11, 2009 10:59 PM EDT
41 comments
Foremost, any Cavs fan, except for the admitted front runners from Birmingham, AL that I almost came to blows with during the game, congratulations on a great series of domination. As Hawks fans, we have no one but our team to blame and no new player to hate. You won with class and skill. A rare combination in the this league. My hat is off to you. And I have no problem saying the Cavs are my team for the rest of the playoffs.
That being said, I will not lie. I left the arena pretty dang sad tonight. No funny antidotes or venting over coaching or Gorin's beer is going to make it any better. The Hawks season is over. Many of us are upset over shot selection, coaching, and injuries, but in the end, we are all fans. We come to this website, wright posts, and make comments because we have invested time in the team. We care about the players, the fans, the city, the team. And now, that investment has been returned empty.
For me, it is countless blog posts, 25 plus games attended, a horrible road trip to Charlotte, near fights, verbal fights, high fives, many beers, screaming joy, screaming agony, rants, raves, fist pumps, and game four losses.
For others of you, it is a cable bill you only muster to watch the Hawks, arguments with your wife over what to watch one night, bar debates on why you enjoy the NBA more than the NCAA tournament, a joyous Josh Smith dunk at the one game you attended, your son asking if he can have a Joe Johnson jersey too, a horrible buzzer not beater against the Celtics, a constant refresh of AJC to check the injuries, or a decision to be a little more tired at work the next day because you actually care whether the Hawks beat the Lakers in LA.
We all are invested. During the season, it is about who is right and who is wrong, who is playing well and who needs to step it up, and those issues will certainly return, but when it is all said and done, at least for one day, it is just sad.
I am a Hawks fan. You are a Hawks fan.
And that said, thanks for the ride.
Go Hawks!
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You've done a great job running this blog (at least since I've been here)
Hats off to you, hats off to my fellow Peachtree Hoopers (Bronn and Duff_Man are my favesies lol)
Hats off to the Hawks for improving
No hats off to Mike Woodson. I don’t like you.
Joe is a Beast
Al is a Beast
Smoove is a MONSTER!
by Garrison Hayes on May 11, 2009 11:42 PM EDT reply actions
Lol... Enjoyed hangin' out with you dudes in the Game Threads
I’ll see you fellas there after the (long) summer!
Go Hawks!
Joe is a Beast
Al is a Beast
Smoove is a MONSTER!
by Garrison Hayes on May 12, 2009 1:51 PM EDT up reply actions
Oh... and
Go Cavs!!!
Joe is a Beast
Al is a Beast
Smoove is a MONSTER!
by Garrison Hayes on May 11, 2009 11:42 PM EDT reply actions
Thanks, Drew.
You truly write from a fan’s perspective and it makes it a lot of fun. Here’s to you, man.
Having loved the Hawks since the Nique/Doc Rivers/Jon Konkak days when they played on TBS and a few trips to the Ommi, I’m proud of the ATL this year. From barely making the playoffs after many years of frustration and near hopelessness to being one of the top 4 teams in the East….we’ve come a long way, but we still have a ways to go. A couple of solid moves (hopefully a center that can move Big Al back to his natural PF spot and a legit PG with defensive skills to replace Bibby) and we’ll become a real conference contender. Thanks to everyone that makes this site fun to read and interact with, and here’s to next year……
GO HAWKS!!!
Proud to be a Hawks fan.
I enjoyed reading everyone’s opinion here on this blog. I have not yet developed the good mindset to blog intelligently like you guys, but I’m learning a lot about the team from you. Contrary to what Colin Cowherd said, bloggers have intelligence during games.
Late
by da fatchick thrilla on May 12, 2009 12:41 AM EDT reply actions
Colin doesn't quite realize a few things
He’s smart, sometimes, but there’s so many things he says that I disagree with.
What he doesn’t realize is that he’s occasionally asked to do live commentary from the booth in lieu of actual play by play. That’s almost exactly what a live blogger does, except they do it on the internet so they occasionally take a few seconds to think about it.
There’s crap blogs, but then again, 90% of everything is crap. There’s crappy broadcasts, too.
Back at ya!
Very well, and poignantly stated. You too are a class act (increasingly rare on these sites). We Cleveland fans (long suffering, not the front runners) know frustration and defeat, so we (at least the genuine ones) feel your pain. Been there, done that, got the scars (from baseball and football as well as basketball). In fact, it’s that history that makes what’s going on right now all the sweeter. I think that’s most Cavs fans, so thanks, hawksdawgs, for recognizing that and not taking off on the behavior of any unrepresentative d-bags that you may have encountered.
That's why I can't be upset
I know you Cavs fans have been at the bottom before. I can’t be mad at you guys because you’ve got the best player in the league and you put good talent around him. We will be back next year……….
Go Hawks, from the shores of Lake Erie
Greetings to all of you Hawks fans from a long-time Cavaliers fan. I am posting here to give back to you some of the graciousness that a couple of your posters here have shown toward the Cavaliers, and to our fans, who are as long-suffering as any in the NBA. Cleveland sports in general has been a wasteland for so long. I remember attending the last championship game that ANY Cleveland team won, way back in the cold of a December, 1964 day. The class you have shown in being good sports, good “losers”, although not at all losers, neither your team nor your fans, is remarkable, and thus I will say this, for you who are down and especially for next year, when your squad will hopefully be healthy when playoff time rolls around…………except for against my Cavaliers, GO HAWKS!!!
This was a great season. I can't complain.
I got some non-NBA fans rooting for the Hawks this year. We won a solid amount of games And justified the NBA Package purchase. We actually had Hawks games until May 11th. We saw Josh Smith continue to befuddle observers, yet keep us intrigued with occasional brilliant play. We saw Joe finally out of steam after logging too many minutes. We had Hot Flip bailing us out of some jams. We got to beat D-Wade, who is now on my “Paul Pierce All-Stars” team. We got to enjoy our best season in a decade.
Most of all, we got to come here and have daily write-ups and legitimate Hawks discussion without dealing with the usual disdain or hate that is so prevalent on one other site i’ll not mention. It’s been great being in here for games and awaiting the “post of the night” (and I am demanding about 10 re-counts, by the way). I appreciate the zeal and fan-driven passion we all seem to have.
My only gripe: it took me until mid-season to find this place!
Looking forward to some good off-season chatter!
How our dwyane wade, and paul pierce on the list, but not “bloody lip, broken bones” lebron james….hes the biggest baby in the league, complains more then anybody, and more so then anything gets every goddamn call, more called then Wade, Kobe, Pierce get combined….
the guy simply says HEY, and the refs blow the whistle, he averages 1 foul in over 30 minutes but finished 2nd in defesnive player of the year. um yeah. biggest baby in the league
I used to think that, but...
I think it is in the way Lebron carries himself more than anything. He gets his point across without making it extremely tiresome. James knows he is going to score and hopefully get fouled…Wade and Pierce play to be fouled. It is a subtle difference, but it’s far less annoying. After watching Wade take a few of his on-court naps, I realized just the amount of theater he imposes on a game, and it is tiresome. Paul Pierce tries to get fouled on every play by flailing about, and then he puts on this “I am a bad-ass” look. Plus he put on his own off-broadway production of “The Willis Reed Story” last year when he pulled that stunt in the Finals. All that after flashing gang signs at Al Horford.
I guess the point is: there’s a line between being a douche and being great. Lebron is over the line, Wade and Pierce are beneath it. Zaza would be there on my list, too…if he played for any other team in the league.
I think that sounded wrong...
“Lebron is over the line, Wade and Pierce are beneath it.”
You know what I mean. Me post write good.
Great Blog Drew
I think you have a great job with this blog. I found this site a few weeks ago and have enjoyed your analysis of the Hawks from the end of the regular season through the playoffs.
I also figured out through reading some posts on your old Zaza’s playground site that you and I went to the same high school (This is Tim Kelly by the way).
As someone who wholeheartedly roots for Atlanta teams, and in particular the Thrashers since I’m a STH, I appreciate someone who has been a fan from the ground floor of a rebuilding process like we’ve seen over the last five yars for the Hawks. It is tough at times but as that team starts to come together it is enjoyable and more rewarding than jumping on the bandwagon of a team that is starting to do well.
Keep up the good work Drew.
by The Terry Stotts Era on May 12, 2009 9:17 AM EDT reply actions
thanks for the blog, hawksdogs!
Well said. I’ve enjoyed reading the post game recaps and comments here all season even before I finally caved in and made an account so I could post comments myself. Although we all hoped for more than a 2nd round loss, realistically this was the ceiling we all foresaw for the Hawks this year. They didn’t give the Cavs the competitive series we would have liked to see, but I’ll give them a pass on that due to the many injuries.
One possible benefit of being swept is that Rick Sund may at least consider making major changes. If the Hawks had lost in 7 to the Cavs, I’m sure this off season would instead have been merely about bringing back as much of this current team as possible. Barring Josh, Marvin, Horford, and Woody all making big improvements at the same time, that wouldn’t be enough to get the Hawks further than the 2nd round next year. I’m not sure the Hawks can do enough in one offseason to compete for a championship next year, but I’m hopeful Sund will at least do something more than re-signing Pachulia, Bibby, Flip, and Marvin. Even if it means the Hawks slip down the seeding or miss the playoffs next year in exchange for being much better a few years later, I’d take that.
GREAT BLOG!!
Being that I’m the only Hawk fan in my immediate area(Maryland) I was looking for a place to talk hawks basketball and glad I came across this blog!!
GREAT writing on here, and hey even though the Hawks got swept they still took a step forward.
Let the off season begin!(AVERY JOHNSON COME COACH US PLEASE)
I'm not feeling Avery Johnson
Be careful what we ask for. I hear Avery’s a tyrant and players, in the end, refused to play for him.
Anyone with some form of offensive gameplan
would be better than Woody.
Seriously, how could that guy sit there with a straight face and talk about how the Pistons teams he was with had great offensive gameplans and moved the ball so well, stating that he saw that and knows how great it is. Woody is a bold faced liar, or he is a psychotic moving between two different realities.
"If Woody were Captain of the Titanic, he'd argue the boat sinking speaks to how effectively they put rich people in life boats and lock the poor folks below."
-jrauch commenting at Hoopinion on Woody's (non)logic in his post-game comments
It sucks to get steamrolled like that..
Happened to us Cavs fans in the 07 finals! We recovered and so will you guys! Not posting to gloat…just saying.
P.S. If we lose this year, I might cut my nuts off and bleed to death.
So I told her," I'll be nicer if you try to be smarter!'..That was a mistake.
Will that be on youtube?
I might want to watch.
IF it happens and IF I am that despondent,
it will be on pay-for-youtube.
So I told her," I'll be nicer if you try to be smarter!'..That was a mistake.
And while we're at it...
The Hawks need to fill 2 positions (obviously), PG and C. Good Cs are hard to come by. So are good PGs, but I think a PG can be filled more easily and there is a good FA PG available this offseason.
Jason Kidd may be old, but he WILL play next year (and probably the year after that). So, SOME team will have him. It might as well be the Hawks. Jason Kidd would make the Hawks fly. If there is anything the Hawks have, it’s fast, athletic wing men. Kidd would think he’s back in New Jersey playing with the Hawks. Kidd could be signed for 2 years. I think he could be offered for the same price that Bibby has been getting. Bibby can go; the Hawks would have Kidd, JJ, Marvin, Josh, and Al — Josh and Marviin at the wings and JJ and Marvin at the perimeter.
Oh, but in order for this to work, the Hawks need a REAL coach with an offensive scheme and gameplan. Replacing Woodson must be priority!
I just don't see
how Kidd is no less a defensive liability than Bibby. Dallas had to put Barrea on Tony Parker because Kidd is much slower.
by coachkcastellon on May 12, 2009 2:30 PM EDT up reply actions
I agree not Kidd
Kidd is not the answer, too much of a liability at this point. I would rather have Ramon Sessions and keep Bibby than go out and get kid. On the other hand, I would rather draft Flynn, Lawson, or even Maynor than go out and get Kidd. I think Bibby needs to be the backup and play the Jason Terry role. By the way, Acie is a bust IMO. It’s not like Acie has never gotten into a game. Acie has started games. He just is not assertive enough. He needs to go.
by Hawks-Semi Fan on May 13, 2009 2:28 AM EDT up reply actions
SAVE WOODSON
Okay I don’t always like his rotation, but its not like we are going backwards. we have gone from 13 wins to 2nd rd playoffs. He must be doing something right. We had 3 starters hurting. We have one big on the bench that actually can contribute. If we can get a center, and a defensive PG, and Woody changes his rotation so Joe is not worn down by the 3rd qtr, it would be interesting to see how good we can be.
I heard the Hawks might want Jarret Jack
One problem we do have
The Hawks have too many people at the same position.
Zaza is a big off season target because he is the only true center we have.We need to move and get Gortak and move zaza into the starting rotation.Zaza has the skill set just needs a jumpshot to help spread the defense.
If were keeping Josh and Joe this offseason I wouldnt be surprised if Horford was moved to the Bench into helping us build an 8 man rotation.
Good stuff Drew
Thanks for the blog. The blog (with Hoopinion and occasional AJC) helps a lot when the only Hawks fans you know at Duke are a guy from Marietta and texting with mason. It is nice to read thoughts of other fans, especially with the good Drew sense of humor.
But looking ahead I gotta say, it would demonstrate very typical Atlanta ownership/management if no major changes occur. Last season the ownership had to let Billy Knight go (how tragic!) because they insisted on keeping Woodson. And obviously, there’s no way we’re thniking about letting Joe or Smoove go.
I really think the most realistic aspirations a Hawks fan can have are to resign Flip Murray and use the draft and good transactions to get more frontcourt depth or a backup PG to Bibby. Firing Woodson (though I would want it), letting Bibby go, or trading more disposable players like Marvin, Childress, Speedy, Evans, and draft picks for another superstar seem unrealistic to me.
by coachkcastellon on May 12, 2009 2:30 PM EDT reply actions
Well then again,
I don’t see how Rick Sund could possibly not notice how Acie is still talented (we’re all pretty sure he’s not a bust) and yet undeveloped thanks to Woodson. It’s just hard for me to imagine that he’ll do something significant to address that.
by coachkcastellon on May 12, 2009 2:41 PM EDT up reply actions
I do
Because he may see what I see, nothing that would cause him to keep the guy. It’s not like Acie has never gotten into games. The guy gets in and does absolutely nothing most of the time that he gets chances.
by Hawks-Semi Fan on May 13, 2009 2:30 AM EDT up reply actions
class act
the hawks are a class orginazation, congrats on a great season, good luck in the draft, and see ya next year!
Good Job
Good job on the blog hawksdawg. Until next year farewell hawks fans
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