What do we prefer: 3rd or 4th seed?

[evildallas]

I'm torn. Orlando routinely beats us like a rented mule, but I've got no desire to face Cleveland or the "Superstar" treatment the refs will give them. I don't fear any of the 5-8 teams enough to worry about first round matchups. If healthy, the Hawks should win any of those first round series (not saying they will, but they should).

I don't think we'll have much choice in the matter as I feel the Celtics will settle into 4th.

[D21]

If ATL has to play ORL, the goal should be the 2nd place, it will be hard, but it should be the goal, certainly not the 3rd place.
ORL is only 2 win ahead of ATL, there's still a chance.

Regarding BOS, maybe they don't want to play against ATL (0-4 in regular season), and as they can't be 1st, 4th is the simple solution.

Even if I fear the Superstar treatment, like Evildallas said, I think ATL can do better against CLE (except if Jamison becomes a nightmare) than ORL. At this moment, I don't see how we can beat ORL, and more without the homecourt advantage.


And that's right, we don't need to look at the 5-8 teams.
It should be the second time the team is getting homecourt advantage, it's not to worry about the team they should beat in the first round.
The goal is to beat any team in the first round, and try to win at least 2 games in the second (not the goal I want, but the goal for Woody to keep his job IMO).

I just don't know what would be the more frustrating: loosing by 20pts against ORL, at least in ORL, or loosing by few points against CLE, but without any chance because of the referees.

What I am sure is that any coach, especially in contract year like Woody, would prefer CLE, because you have the opportunity to put the losses on something else than just being outplay than ORL.

[HoopsGuru25]

The Hawks are really 3 back in the loss collum to Orlando IIRC. They have the tie breaker.

I think the Hawks blew their chance at the 2 seed. They had a really easy schedule(especially with Utah and Chicago's entire team's being hurt) coming out the all-star until today's NJ game but had major slip ups vs GS/NY and blew double digit leads to Miami and Dallas.

[tontoz]

If ATL has to play ORL, the goal should be the 2nd place, it will be hard, but it should be the goal, certainly not the 3rd place.
ORL is only 2 win ahead of ATL, there's still a chance.

Regarding BOS, maybe they don't want to play against ATL (0-4 in regular season), and as they can't be 1st, 4th is the simple solution.

Even if I fear the Superstar treatment, like Evildallas said, I think ATL can do better against CLE (except if Jamison becomes a nightmare) than ORL. At this moment, I don't see how we can beat ORL, and more without the homecourt advantage.


And that's right, we don't need to look at the 5-8 teams.
It should be the second time the team is getting homecourt advantage, it's not to worry about the team they should beat in the first round.
The goal is to beat any team in the first round, and try to win at least 2 games in the second (not the goal I want, but the goal for Woody to keep his job IMO).

I just don't know what would be the more frustrating: loosing by 20pts against ORL, at least in ORL, or loosing by few points against CLE, but without any chance because of the referees.

What I am sure is that any coach, especially in contract year like Woody, would prefer CLE, because you have the opportunity to put the losses on something else than just being outplay than ORL.

First of all no we don't have a chance to catch orlando. They are 3.5 games ahead of us and since they own the tiebreaker we are really 4.5 games ahead.

LOL @ people looking past the first round. The Hawks havent been that good lately. they were taken to 7 games last year against Miami and they sucked. The Bucks don't suck.

[evildallas]

On 3rd or 4th: Whether or not you have the best path through the playoffs is something for fans to chat about once the seedings are in place either to sooth their nerves or bolster their hope. Until then I want the Hawks to win every game and let the chips fall where they may.

On 1st round opponent: Potential first round opponents only affect on me is how I cheer in matchups between other teams, but something tells me no matter how supportive I am that we'll not get to play Toronto in round 1.

Also don't misunderstand ambivalence toward 1st round opponent as looking past the the first round. Atlanta will have to play hard and take care of business against any 1st round opponent, but with home court, experience, and discipline they should succeed. You can't let a first round opponent dictate which spot you shoot for. If you are that concerned about who's the 6th seed then you probably aren't going to be in the playoffs very long.

Milwaukee and Charlotte would probably be the more entertaining opponents, but are more likely to upset us. Miami probably be the best match up in our favor (in spite of the losses in regular season), but last year's series was ugly. Toronto is in free fall and Chicago is a MASH unit meaning neither are likely to rise above 8th place.

[D21]

First of all no we don't have a chance to catch orlando. They are 3.5 games ahead of us and since they own the tiebreaker we are really 4.5 games ahead.

LOL @ people looking past the first round. The Hawks havent been that good lately. they were taken to 7 games last year against Miami and they sucked. The Bucks don't suck.

@Tontoz: I made a mistake, and wanted to say that ORL is "2 Losses ahead", not "2 Wins".
The L are more important for winning teams, than W or Game behind.

Yes there are very few chances that ATL can be 2nd, but there is still a chance.
BOS had the same L record than ORL, and 10 games later, 3 L behind.
ORL just lost against CHA, so why can't they loose 3 more games than ATL ? Few chances, but still possible.

And regarding the first round, I never said that it's already done, just that the goal has to be something else, and that if you start to look at who is behind you on standing, while you should get home court advantage, that's not a good thing.
I know that MIL and CHA are playing good basket-ball, that MIA will get a star treatment for Wade, that TOR was one of the best team in the NBA since December before their recent loosing streak... and that any series with these teams will be hard. It's just that I don't think it's a good thing to look at that, and that only the potential second round matchup should be viewed.
I have the feeling that winning mentality starts right here, even if I am not one that think that the team can reach the ECF (maybe except if BOS is the secound round), and even less the NBA Finals.

[tontoz]

First of all no we don't have a chance to catch orlando. They are 3.5 games ahead of us and since they own the tiebreaker we are really 4.5 games ahead.

LOL @ people looking past the first round. The Hawks havent been that good lately. they were taken to 7 games last year against Miami and they sucked. The Bucks don't suck.

@Tontoz: I made a mistake, and wanted to say that ORL is "2 Losses ahead", not "2 Wins".
The L are more important for winning teams, than W or Game behind.

Yes there are very few chances that ATL can be 2nd, but there is still a chance.
BOS had the same L record than ORL, and 10 games later, 3 L behind.
ORL just lost against CHA, so why can't they loose 3 more games than ATL ? Few chances, but still possible.

And regarding the first round, I never said that it's already done, just that the goal has to be something else, and that if you start to look at who is behind you on standing, while you should get home court advantage, that's not a good thing.
I know that MIL and CHA are playing good basket-ball, that MIA will get a star treatment for Wade, that TOR was one of the best team in the NBA since December before their recent loosing streak... and that any series with these teams will be hard. It's just that I don't think it's a good thing to look at that, and that only the potential second round matchup should be viewed.
I have the feeling that winning mentality starts right here, even if I am not one that think that the team can reach the ECF (maybe except if BOS is the secound round), and even less the NBA Finals.

Given that the Hawks are only slightly above .500 since Christmas i don't think there is such a big disparity between the value of losses and wins in the standings. Since Christmas the Hawks are 21-15 and Orlando has won 7 of their last 8. given the Hawks recent games i don't see how anyone can think we have a chance at the 2nd seed.

[CrymeTime]

As a raptors fan, I hope you guys get as high as you can. I just hope you guys don't us. You guys have smoked us in the past 2 games, and I pretty much expect the same thing on wednesday(Raptors have lost 5 straight, and the closest game, amazingly, was against the Lakers).

I think Atlanta has the best all around style of play. You push the ball, but actually play "D" unlike the Suns, Knicks, Warriors.

[old skool]

Monday nights game (tomorrow) could set a tone for any playoff match up between the Hawks and Bucks.

For most of this year, the Hawks have been the vastly superior team. In the last two months the Bucks have come on strong, with the maturation of Bogut and the addition of Salmons. The Hawks won the last game in Atlanta. If they can win in Milwaukee, they will look to have a relatively easy time dispatching Milwaukee in the playoffs. If the Bucks win, it should indicate the series could be a dogfight. The one thing that might confuse things a bit is that the Hawks will be coming off a Sunday night game against the Spurs, while the Bucks are resting at home.

The Hawks have superior talent and playoff experience. The Bucks have nothing to lose, having been tabbed as one of the worst teams in the NBA in pre-season rankings.

oLd sKool

[_BBIB_]

I'd rather have the 4th and it's not even close. Much rather face the Cavs than the Magic if we take care of business in the 1st round.

And the 4th seed would allow us to be sure to avoid the Bobcats ,teh one team I really think could upset us in the 1st round