Hawks Game Of The Month
Atlanta 109, Cleveland 106
Atlanta, GA - April 19, 2009, 11:03 PM ET - The top two teams in the Eastern Conference faced off in a pivotal game for both teams. The Atlanta Hawks, looking to keep up with the Dallas Mavericks in the race for complete homecourt advantage, as well as clinching the top seed in the Eastern Conference. Meanwhile, the Cleveland Cavaliers are in a fierce battle for the second seed against the Boston Celtics, and also had a slim chance of overtaking Atlanta for the top spot. Earlier in the season, the Cavs and Hawks made a trade along with the Milwaukee Bucks, swapping role players including Wally Szczerbiak and Speedy Claxton.
With a playoff atmosphere in the air, the Cavs got off to a hot start on their home floor. With LeBron James and rookie Sly Vick leading the charge, Cleveland opened a 31-23 lead through the first quarter. Joe Johnson got the hot hand midway through the second quarter, but the Cavs still played well. Johnson's 14 second quarter points helped keep his Hawks in the game, and cut the deficit to 5 at halftime.
The Hawks opened the second half with a 15-4 run, giving them their first lead since the opening minutes. A timeout and some strong defense helped the Cavs regain their lead. A buzzer-beater 3 by former Hawk Speedy Claxton put Cleveland up by four going into the final period.
[align=center] [/align]
[align=center]Left, Rudy Gay Posterizes LeBron for the Game Winning And-1. Right, The 2003 #2 Draft Pick Blocking the #1 Draft Pick[/align]
The fourth quarter similarly started with a Hawks run to regain the lead, followed by a Cavs run to put themselves up two. After some basket trading, the Hawks found themselves down three points with just over a minute left. Al Horford posterized Cavs Center Zydrunas Ilgauskas on one end, and got posterized by the Lithuanian on the other. Joe Johnson then sunk a critical three to tie the game.
Darko Milicic (10 points, 7 rebounds), in possibly the finest hour of his NBA career to date (which is kind of sad), swatted a seemingly open LeBron James jumper, then called a timeout with 15 seconds remaining. T.J. Ford drove into the lane, before passing to Rudy Gay, who shook defender Yi Jianlian and not only dunked on LeBron, but drew a foul as well. Gay sunk the free throw. With 4.4 seconds remaining and no timeouts, LeBron sprinted up court, and launched a long three that bricked off the backboard. The Hawks celebrated a 109-106 victory, and clinched the top seed in the Eastern Conference.
JORDAN Player of the Game: Joe Johnson: 33 Points, 5 Rebounds, 5 Assists, 2 Steals, 1 Block, 12-24 FG, 6-6 FT
MCDWYANE Shitass of the Game: Wally Szczerbiak: 5 Points, 2 Rebounds, 3 Turnovers, 2-9 FG, 14 minutes
Top 5 Performers: (P/R/A/B/S)
Joe Johnson (ATL): 33/5/5/1/2
LeBron James (CLE): 25/7/7/2/4
Zydrunas Ilgauskas (CLE): 24/13/4/3/0
Josh Smith (ATL): 15/13/4/5/1
T.J. Ford (ATL): 17/3/8/1/3
ATL 23 30 28 28 109
CLE 31 27 27 21 106
The Hawks Month In Review: April 2009
It could not have been a better month for Liam Washburn and the Atlanta Hawks. The Hawks, who were three and a half games behind the Dallas Mavericks for the best record in the NBA managed to close the gap and secure homecourt advantage through the entire playoffs. Posting a phenomenal 14-1 in the month of April, the Hawks finished with a 62-20 record, destroying the previous franchise record for regular season wins.
Atlanta started a road trip on the last day of March with a hideous blowout at the hands of the mediocre Los Angeles Clippers. Coming into the new month, they finished the road trip strong with three easy wins in Sacramento, Portland and Minnesota. They then briefly returned home to eliminate the Charlotte Bobcats in a hard fought battle, and blew out the Miami Heat, who were without the services of leading scorer Dwyane Wade.
Atlanta went back on the road once again, and clinched the Southeast Division title by blowing out the Boston Celtics. The next night, they eliminated yet another team, this time the Toronto Raptors in blowout fashion. Consecutive win #8 came at the expense of Rip Hamilton and the Detroit Pistons, who were in a fierce battle with Milwaukee for the eight seed, and the right to face (lose to) the Hawks in the first round.
In a tight game against the Cleveland Cavaliers, the Hawks clinched the Eastern Conference title, and win #9. They then went back home to dominate potential playoff rival Orlando and the already eliminated Washington Wizards, in their last home game of the regular season.
The Hawks then flew to Milwaukee, to play back-to-back games against the 8 seed holders. Atlanta prevailed easily in the first game,securing their first sixty win season in franchise history. However, the Bucks won in a hard-fought game to knot the season series and gain some breathing room over the Pistons. It also ended the win streak at *only* twelve games. The Hawks took their frustration out on the hapless Toronto Raptors by blowing them out by 33.
In the final day of the season, Atlanta stood at 61-20, while the Mavs had finished with a 61-21 record and the tiebreaker. In a nail biter, the Hawks squeaked by the Nets 113-111 in the season finale to secure homecourt advantage throughout the playoffs, and a 62-20 finish. They will face Jose Calderon, Michael Redd and the 42-40 Milwaukee Bucks in the first round of the playoffs.
Record:
Month: 14-1; Home: 4-0, Away: 10-1
Overall: 62-20; Home: 32-9, Away: 30-11
@
Win 95-79 - Johnson: 32/4/3, Martin: 22/5/3 - RECORD: 49-19
@
Win 102-91 - Horford: 34/12/2, Aldridge: 19/9/3 - RECORD: 50-19
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Win 100-90 - Johnson: 36/8/5, Jefferson: 20/16/3 - RECORD: 51-19
Vs.
Win 100-95 - Gay: 27/4/5, Okafor: 24/7/2 - RECORD: 52-19
Vs.
Win 104-81 - Horford: 15/14/3, Marion: 25/11/4 - RECORD: 53-19
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Win 112-97 - Ford: 15/6/11, Garnett: 22/10/7 - RECORD: 54-19
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Win 106-79 - Gay: 26/5/6, Williams: 19/13/5 - RECORD: 55-19
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Win 110-102 - Smith: 18/8/5, Hamilton: 21/6/5 - RECORD: 56-19
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Win 109-106 - Johnson: 33/5/5, James: 25/7/7 - RECORD: 57-19
Vs.
Win 110-96 - Horford: 20/12/2, McGrady: 25/7/6 - RECORD: 58-19
Vs.
Win 95-87 - Johnson: 27/2/3, Butler: 25/2/4 - RECORD: 59-19
@
Win 102-87 - Ford: 19/4/10, Redd: 25/3/4 - RECORD: 60-19
@
Loss 95-92 - Calderon: 15/6/13, Smith: 20/13/5 - RECORD: 60-20
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Win 102-69 - Johnson: 30/6/2, Jefferson: 17/8/9 - RECORD: 61-20
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Win 113-111 - Smith: 26/7/4, Carter: 28/4/5 - RECORD: 62-20
Yo dont tink I fogot bout chu Washburn. Yous stil ded meat. I still gots cunnecksions here. Expek morr rakes in yo futoor. Ha ha ha ha ha ha! - Da Dark Knight
P.S. Did you get my e-mail? Ha ha ha ha ha ha bich! I'll wash your burns muddafucka!
P.P.S. Lyke my knickname? It beest.
Around The NBA:
MVP Candidates - P/R/A/B/S
1. LeBron James (CLE) - 28.9/7.6/7.1/1.2/1.1 - LeBron continues to lead his terrible team to the top. James absolutely exploded in April, averaging over 32 points a game, won East player of the month and helped the Cavs to a 10-5 record for the month. He is overdue for an MVP.
2. Dirk Nowitzki (DAL) - 28.0/8.9/4.8/1.1/0.7 - Dirkules continues to enjoy a career season, and his Mavs won 61 games. However, LeBron's numbers are a bit better, and Dirk's team fell of course a bit in April. The best player on the best team award would go to Joe Johnson, who isn't even an MVP candidate.
3. Yao Ming (HOU) - 27.0/10.8/3.8/2.1/0.4 - Through all of the roster instability, Yao has quietly led one of the best squads in the NBA. With a 52-30 record as the sixth seed, the Rockets could be a promising sleeper pick, and Yao has led the way, with career highs in nearly every stat.
4. Chris Paul (NOH) - 22.0/4.7/10.5/0.2/2.7 - Chris Paul exploded in April, possibly outplaying even LeBron James. His Hornets fell a bit in the month, going 6-7, but Paul has been absolutely phenomenal, leading the NBA in both assists and steals, on top of 22 points per game.
5. Kobe Bryant (LAL) - 30.5/4.5/5.5/0.5/1.0 - The Lakers have been arguably a better team than the Mavericks as of late, and Kobe has led the way. Leading the league in scoring, Kobe may not be the best player in the NBA any more, but the Lakers would be nothing without him.
West Player Of The Month: Chris Paul (New Orleans Hornets) - 23.4/5.2/12.1/0.3/3.1
East Player Of The Month: LeBron James (Cleveland Cavaliers) - 32.5/7.7/6.8/1.6/1.3
League Leaders
Points Per Game: Kobe Bryant (30.5)
Rebounds Per Game: Tyson Chandler (12.7)
Assists Per Game: Chris Paul (10.5)
Steals Per Game: Chris Paul (2.7)
Blocks Per Game: Josh Smith (2.7)
Field Goal%: Yi Jianlian (58.6%)
3PT%: Dirk Nowitzki (47.7%)
Free Throw%: Caron Butler (95.6%)
Season Standings:
Western Conference:
1xyz- 61-21 - Winner: Southwest Division, Best Record in Western Conference
2xy- 56-26 - Winner: Pacific Division
3x- 54-28
4xy- 50-32
5x- 53-29
6x- 52-30
7x- 48-34
8x- 44-38
--------------------
o- 37-45
o- 30-52
o- 29-53
o- 28-54
o- 22-60
o- 22-60
o- 20-62 - Worst Record In League
Eastern Conference
1xyz- 62-20 - Winner: Southeast Division, Best Record In Eastern Conference, Best Record In League
2xy- 56-26 - Winner: Atlantic Division
3xy- 55-27 - Winner: Central Division
4x- 49-33
5x- 46-36
6x- 45-37
7x- 43-39
8x- 42-40
--------------------
o- 41-41
o- 37-45
o- 35-47
o- 32-50
o- 30-52
o- 29-53
o- 20-62
Hawks Player Report Cards: April 2009
The month of April was a very successful one for the Atlanta Hawks. Posting an amazing 14-1 (.933%), they were easily the best team in April and seized full homecourt advantage in the playoffs from under the Mavs' noses. As always, they were led by their main cast of players, particularly Joe Johnson and Al Horford.
Honor Roll
Joe Johnson: Posted nearly 27 points per night in the month of April and carried his team. Amazingly, he did it in just 31 minutes a night. Continuing to shoot an amazingly high percentage as a swingman, he is quietly one of the most improved players of the year, even though he won't be in the voting. Grade: A+
Al Horford: Averaged 17 and 10 in April. Horford was exceptional during the month. With Josh Smith not having the best month, he stepped up big time, with defense and scoring. Very likely a 2010 all-star. Grade: A
T.J. Ford: His scoring went way down in the month of April, but it didn't seem to hurt his team. He has instead continued to feed his uber-talented team with passes, has scored when necessary and has been a very solid defender and rebounder in spite of his size. Grade: A
Josh Childress: Minutes went way up in April as he was the first off the bench. Finally getting the playing time he wanted when he signed the contract, he has used his time well, playing almost as good as Joe Johnson. Could replace Rudy Gay in the starting lineup. Grade: A-
Passing
Andrea Bargnani: Has been very solid off the bench, backing up both forward positions. A solid three-point threat, and an improving defender, Bargnani looks less and less like a bust by the day. Grade: B+
Josh Smith: Saw a slight dip in his scoring, among other stats during the month. Has still played well, but not at the level he had in the past couple of months. Grade: B
Rudy Gay: Frustratingly inconsistent. Puts up solid averages, but his stats fluctuate from day to day. Being on such a stacked team, Gay may need to worry about being replaced by Bargnani or Childress in the starting lineup, to see if he would do better off the bench. Grade: B-
Darko Milicic: Hasn't been a great scorer, averaging under six points a game in April, but is a decent rebounder and defender. Overall, much better than Pachulia was as a backup at Center. Grade: C
Struggling
Wally Szczerbiak: His non-scoring stats have dipped quite a bit, and he shoots a sub-par average. He is expected to miss the first round of the playoffs. It won't hurt the Hawks much, as Wally was on the verge of being phased out of the lineup anyway, and is not expected to be resigned. Grade: D
Anthony Johnson: Actually hasn't played poorly. He just hasn't played much, and is pissed about it. Give him T.J. Ford minutes however and you have more wasted possessions and turnovers. Does not fit in the system. Grade: D
Amir Johnson: He still sucks. In the four games he played, he was of relative use though, and next to Matt Barnes, he looks decent. Grade: D
Matt Barnes: Forget about 2007. Matt Barnes may be the worst player in the NBA right now. Grade: F
Playoff Matchups (Conference Quarterfinals)
Western Conference:
(1) Dallas (61-21) Vs. L.A. Clippers (44-38)
Season Series: Mavericks Won 3-1
Key Matchup: Steve Nash Vs. Jason Terry
(4) Utah (50-32) Vs. (5) New Orleans (53-29)
Season Series: Tied 2-2
Key Matchup: Chris Paul Vs. Deron Williams
(3) Phoenix (54-28) Vs. (6) Houston (52-30)
Season Series: Tied 2-2
Key Matchup: Yao Ming Vs. Amare Stoudamire
(2) L.A. Lakers (56-26) Vs. (7) San Antonio (48-34)
Season Series: Spurs Won 3-1
Key Matchup: Tim Duncan Vs. Andrew Bynum
Eastern Conference:
(1) Atlanta (62-20) Vs. Milwaukee (42-40)
Season Series: Tied 2-2
Key Matchup: T.J. Ford Vs. Jose Calderon
(4) Chicago (49-33) Vs. Miami (46-36)
Season Series: Bulls Won 4-0
Key Matchup: Dwyane Wade Vs. Larry Hughes
(3) Cleveland (55-27) Vs. Indiana (45-37)
Season Series: Cavaliers Won 2-0
Key Matchup: LeBron James Vs. Danny Granger
(2) Boston (56-26) Vs. (7) Orlando (43-39)
Season Series: Celtics Won 3-1
Key Matchup: Kevin Garnett Vs. Dwight Howard
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