Hawks hope to fare better at home

Post #1 » by **HMFFL** » Fri Apr 25, 2008 12:33 am

Perhaps the comforts of Philips Arena will provide the Hawks with boost desperately needed in their Eastern Conference playoff series against Boston.

The road certainly wasn't kind to the Hawks, who were blown out in Games 1 and 2 of the best-of-seven series at TD Banknorth Garden.

Now they have to see if they can make a stand in Game 3 Saturday at Philips Arena.

"This third game is crucial for us because we can't put ourselves in a situation where we are three games down and think we have any chance of reeling off four straight wins to come back and snatch this series," Marvin Williams said. "Everybody knows we've been a better home team [25-16] than road team [12-29] all year.

The Celtics expect as much.

"You have to expect a better team," Celtics captain and All-Star Paul Pierce said. "Most teams in the NBA play better when they're at home. They'll have their home crowd behind them. They'll be better prepared. So we have to bring our 'A' game. I don't think we've played our best game yet. So we've got to be ready for a test down in Atlanta on the road."

Celtics point guard Rajon Rondo, making his first appearance in the postseason, said his veteran teammates made it clear to him when the playoff really start.

"They told me the playoffs don't start until you win on the road," Rondo said. "Hopefully, we start it on Saturday."

Moves to be made?

While most of the pundits have already written the Hawks' epitaph for this series, coach Mike Woodson is convinced there are adjustments that can be made that can help his team turn things around.

But if his team can't shoot any better (they shot under 40 percent from the floor in Games 1 and 2) or execute its offensive any better, there will be little else left to work with against the Celtics.

"We have other sets we can put in," Woodson said, "but I think if we come down and call a play we need to attempt to execute it. It can not just be one or two passes and then shot the goes up. We had good movement earlier in the game [Wednesday] and then guys just got selfish.

"When you get triple-teamed you have to let the ball go. It is my job, I must put it on my head, they need to move the basketball and trust each other. And they're just not doing that now."

Reality check

TNT analyst Charles Barkley has provided some of the most hilarious commentary on the Hawks-Celtics series.

After Pierce went down with a back injury early in Game 2, Barkley responded with this, "If [Paul Pierce] has got a back strain, hamstring, hemorrhoids, migraines, it doesn't matter, [the Hawks] still can't beat the Celtics."

That wasn't his best one-liner, though.

When talking about the Hawks' plight against the league's best team, Barkley said, "Atlanta's got a bright future, but we live in the present."

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cfan79 · Post #2 » by **cfan79** » Fri Apr 25, 2008 1:46 am

Something tells me Atlanta's going to put up a better effort in this one. I think Law played well in the 2nd game so he can build on that. Plus Bibby I'm sure will feel more comfortable at home.

conleyorbust · Post #3 » by **conleyorbust** » Fri Apr 25, 2008 1:08 pm

I thought we played with some effort. Smith, Horford, and Acie certainly gave it their all. I think the Cs are just too good.

betta1 · Post #4 » by **betta1** » Fri Apr 25, 2008 1:52 pm

Yeah. Our only hope is to try and keep it close going into the 4th if that's at all possible. Hopefully our crowd can really get behind the team and be loud.

JoshB914 · Post #5 » by **JoshB914** » Fri Apr 25, 2008 6:50 pm

Someone told me that as of last night, 6000 tix were yet to be sold... Who knows if it's true though.

Retrovision · Post #6 » by **Retrovision** » Fri Apr 25, 2008 11:32 pm

^lol if the attendance is that bad, its going to just be the newest atlanta hawk joke around the nba.

lets get loud, aleast for the people that are their. I know that we are getting rally towels, but idk about shirts. Red shirts that said "get fired up" in white or blue would be cruical.

reazun · Post #7 » by **reazun** » Sat Apr 26, 2008 2:24 am

I wish i wasnt in chicago. I would be there.

Retrovision · Post #8 » by **Retrovision** » Sat Apr 26, 2008 3:47 am

18,000 sold as far as the ajc reported.

NDaATL · Post #9 » by **NDaATL** » Sat Apr 26, 2008 1:19 pm

Retrovision wrote:18,000 sold as far as the ajc reported.

What's our total capacity?

Either way, it's still sad, but we ARE only a 37 win team and have gotten our butts kicked in the first 2. I just don't see how we sellout a REGULAR season game against the Celtics just 2 weeks ago, and now can't sell the playoffs? Makes no sense.

JoshB914 · Post #10 » by **JoshB914** » Sat Apr 26, 2008 6:08 pm

If the lower bowl seats aren't empty it will look fine on TV. But we all know what a "sellout" at a Hawk game can look like on TV.

NDaATL · Post #11 » by **NDaATL** » Sat Apr 26, 2008 8:05 pm

Yeah I know.

Just looked it up, and Philip's capacity for the Hawks is 18,729, so that means they were pretty much sold out. I'm sure more have been bought in the last 24 hours or so, so we should be fine. I hope we get loud.