The Game:

Not much to say about the game. The Hawks were unimpressive. They looked lackadaisical and sloppy and even though they were able to cut the Heat lead down to 7 in the 4th, they could never get it closer than that.

The good:

Josh Smith actually made a couple of outside shots. He also went baseline and dunked ALLLLL OVER! Alonzo Mourning. That was nice to see – Zo and his swagger get on my nerves. I think I saw Smith kick him in the kidney on the way up.

Childress looked good and had some nice drives. I’m not complaining, but does Childress ever shoot the ball outside? I mean, he can’t shoot worse than Josh Smith, so he might as well put it up.

Zaza played a solid game again, to the tune of 17 points and 11 rebounds and didn’t back down from Mourning at all. He and Harrington are the only Hawks who really have an inside game. I think Zaza kicked Mourning in the kidney too.

The bad:

Joe Johnson looked weak, offensively and defensively. Offensively, he was indecisive in crucial situations like the time he let the shot clock expire as he pump faked for the 5th time. Just shoot the ball! It’s better to miss than to not get a shot off. Defensively, Dwayne Wade used him.

Salim had an off shooting night, but on the upside, he didn’t force bad shots.

Josh Smith didn’t take enough shots on a night where he seemed to be shooting well.

The Hawks got burned on the defensive end on the same play multiple times. A Heat guard would drive to the middle of the paint. Zaza, who was guarding Mourning, would step up to help. The Heat guard would then dump the ball down to Mourning who would get an easy basket. I’m not sure whose fault this one is. Is it the fault of a Hawks defender for not rotating over to cover Mourning, or is it Zaza’s fault for leaving him in the first place? Seems like Woodson would have noticed it and made an adjustment.

While Pachulia was shooting free throws, the PA announcer was saying “Teeerrreelll Owweeens, in the hoouuussse” because they were showing T.O. on the jumbotron. No regard for a Hawks player shooting free throws.

Parking in our usual spot was $10 instead of the normal $5. I asked the attendant if the price would be jacked up every time the Hawks played a good team and he replied with something like, “Nah, you know…Shaquille O’Neal…Miami…Cleveland…Lebron…know what I’m saying?”. Yes, I know what you’re saying — it’s what I just said. A simple yes would have sufficed. Or maybe, giving him the benefit of the doubt, he was saying it was more about the players than the teams. I understand the law of supply and demand, but I wish they could throw a little subsidy bone to season ticket holders — some kind of indicator on the ticket that would keep us at a standard rate, although I guess these lots are private enterprises, so they’ve gotta make a profit. Don’t listen to me — I’m just bitter toward any type of parking services (a remnant of my days at UGA).

Halftime:

I don’t want much from the Hawks halftime show – a few t-shirts launched into the crowd or maybe some thick bootied (sp?) dancers shaking their laffy taffy – but when the entertainment promotes itself as “The High Impact Squad”, I expect a little more than a few tights-wearing losers dunking the ball from a trampoline placed inside (not outside) the free throw line. NBA Mascots have been doing the free throw line trampoline dunk for years. I say, at least take the trampoline back to the 3-point line, or alley oop the ball from a slingshot, or get some crowd participation. Emmanuel Lewis was in the house. I wonder if he could dunk off a trampoline.

These guys had ridiculous names too, like Eclipse and C-4. In their own words, “They call him C-4, because he’s explosive, like nitroglycerine”. Sounds like the best bet would have been to call him nitro, or nitroglycerine.

Steve, inspired by the display, decided to call himself “Solar Flare” and run off to join the High Impact Squad. He didn’t wink at me when he said this, so I’m assuming he’s serious, although his winking eye might have been too tired after the winking binge it went on at the Tech/GA tailgate.

We didn’t get any t-shirts.

Getting there:

Man, what a pain in my ass. It was fine until we got about a quarter of a mile from the turn to our underground parking off Marietta. Then, a traffic cop was slowing things down and some confounded idiot in front of me wouldn’t turn right on a flashing red. We ended up waiting another 10 minutes because of this idiot. We also missed the 1st quarter, not necessarily because of this idiot in front of me, but because the Hawks were actually playing a decent team. The line was pretty long going into the arena, so we just waited it out in the food court.

Did anyone see Tyron Lue on the sideline for the Rockets game? Hate to go back in time, but I never got a chance to post on it since last night. He was inactive because of a root canal, apparently. They showed his ugly ass towards the end of the game and he looked hilarious. It looked kind of like Steve when he got stung on the lip at that tailgate a couple year ago, except Steve has more developed facial features (massive chin) and Lue’s lump was more towards the jaw, like he was holding Woodson’s load in his ample cheek. Very amusing.
Two other things: 1) I think Dennis Scott and Steve Smith do good jobs as color guys (not colored) on the radio and TV, respectively; and 2) F’ing Yao rules are b*llshit! He was faking all kinds of chinese crap and getting calls! Infuriating. One other thing specifically about the game: Joe Johnson looked like holy hell out there; I didn’t see his line, but he couldn’t have been better than 6 for 20 shooting, and he quit hustling on D, in my opinion, which is unacceptable for a $19MM man.
Last thing about the team - I am really liking stoudamire… he was lights out against new orleans in that huge comeback that we of course lost, but he continues to display game. Agree w/ poster Todd that he was great value in the 2nd round.

…Both Todd and Steve figured prominently in my recap of the GT/UGA game for SI.com…

http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2005/writers/lang_whitaker/11/28/the.links/index.html

Game Notes

What a disappointing loss. The Hawks built up a thirteen point lead midway through the 3rd quarter, then pissed it away in a matter of minutes. The Hawks really need more shooters; they had no one hitting from the outside. Salim and JJ were not on their games and no one else stepped up to hit the shots. Tyronn Lue is worthless; I just don’t see why he gets any PT. He can’t shoot, he never finishes his drives to the bucket and he’s not a great passer. Chris Paul sure would’ve looked good in a Hawks uniform…

Zaza looked good again- 15 pts, 10 Rebs. Josh played well and had a beautiful alley oop slam. Al had 16 or so, but missed some key shots down the stretch.

Personal Experiences

Everyone was feeling under the weather after the long day of tailgating for Tech-UGAg. I was supposed to go with Dave, but he couldn’t get it up (not the first time, from what I hear) to go. Steve was out hungover and Mike was ill, so I took my wife Janet and son, Ismail. This is Ismail’s 4th game; unfortunately, they didn’t play “Laffy Taffy” for him to dance to this time. For the first time ever, they asked me how old he was at the gate. I told them that he is two (he’s 3 1/2) and they said next time I will need to have a ticket for him. I’ll make sure not to go to that gate again; I refuse to pay full price for a ticket to a game that he’ll barely even watch.

Lang was in press row and came up to visit in the 4th Quarter. He predicted the Hawks would bounce back, but it never came to fruitition.

Not much else went on; the crowd wasn’t very big and wasn’t very loud despite the tension in the 4 th quarter. Must’ve also had a Tech-UGA hangover.

Stop the Presses! The Hawks are off the snide. Our Hawks were able to take advantage of Boston playing consecutive nights by beating the Celts 120-117. A great game from Al Harrington who finished with 34 points. Salim continues to impress and get major minutes; the kid can shoot. What a steal for a second rounder! Marvin Williams once again did nothing to change my mind that it was a mistake to draft him. Oh, for the love of Chris Paul. The biggest surprise, however, was the monster 4th quarter from Zaza Pachulia (19 pts, 13 Rebs). He made amends for the last home game (missed two free throws to ice the game) by owning the offensive glass and making several key shots down the stretch. This time, he also made two key free throws with 33 seconds left to keep the lead. JJ missed some free throws to put it out of reach, but later made amends by knocking down two with less than 15 seconds to play. Whew!

One of the highlights of the night was seeing Hawks reject Dan “Rudy” Dickau get teed up and also fouling out.

Paul Pierce is awesome. This is my first time seeing him play- the guy can flat out score. He finished with over 30 points and seemed like he never missed a shot the whole second half. I can’t understand why anyone else was shooting the ball down the stretch; I guess that’s why Doc Rivers wore out his welcome in Orlando.

Game Experience:

Everyone met at my house at 6:15. I made the call of a first Hawks victory; no small prediction given my general pessimism. I figured that two nights in a row would wear down the Boston, a team that’s not that good in the first place. A caravan of two car loads left my house- Steve, Matt, Ismail and I in one car, Mike and his girlfriend’s brother-in-law in the other. After dinner in the CNN food court, we made our way in to Phillips. Three of us bought $10 seats separate from the season tickets, but we moved at the end of the first quarter to our half-empty home, section 303. I’m pleased with my luck in selecting section 303- for the first four games, there has been some nice breathing room and easy accessibility to the aisles. The overall crowd level was OK and it looked to be about 2/3 full. The atmosphere down the stretch picked up as it looked like the Hawks would get the W; the Memphis game was a little more pumped up. After the game, I left feeling that the Hawks are really starting to show a marked improvement-they are not as bad as the 1-9 record indicates. This team will get better.

I knew the Hawks were in trouble when Dick “Fire Marshall Bill” Bevetta was introduced as a referee for tonight’s contest against the Mavs. When is this old goat going to retire? Anyway, for my first visit to American Airlines Center, I decided to get a $19 upper deck seat. Much to my surprise, the 40 year old woman with braces at the ticket window informed me that all upper level seats sell for $5 beginning two hours before tip ($30 for lower level but I’d rather wait for a good team to shell out that kind of scratch). After taking a lap inside of the AAC and surveying the 8 different shades of Nowitzki jerseys they hawk (pardon the pun), I made my way to my front row upper deck seat. Soon enough, two teenage chicks were seated to my right and then a mother/daughter pair plopped down to my left. Naturally, the mom/daughter left at halftime and the teenagers were out of there with 7 minutes left in the game. Maybe it was the sweatshirt I haven’t washed this year. The game was competative throughout as Atlanta was the beneficiary of poor shooting by the Mavs. Zaza played well and almost fouled out the two Mavs centers. As much as he turns the ball over, it still seems worth it to dump the orange muffin into him as much as possible. When they don’t, it becomes a one on one show for Joe or Al. Also, if Josh Smith makes a jumper early, watch out as he is bound to miss at least two later. Woodson should put him on the offside block to set picks and get garbage buckets. There were a few things I discovered about the Mavs tonight. One, is it me or does Nowitzki have dentures? His upper choppers sure look like falsies to me. The second nugget was the announcer calling Jason Terry “Jet” all night. I thought the only Jet was Kenny Smith. I never heard him say Jason once. Well, to wrap up, I thought the Hawks played pretty well. I think they will win one in the next week, especially if Delk returns soon.

I’m not sure if I’m allowed to post on your precious blog, seeing as how I haven’t actually attended a Hawks game this season (went to Hawks/Heat preseason game in Nashville, but I guess that doesn’t count), but I’m writing this and sending it to Mike in hopes of getting in on the fun. Perhaps I can I contribute the occasional outsider’s view of things.

First of all, I love the spirit, fellas, and I hope you guys can keep up the blogging all season long. I know we all work and have jobs and stuff, but please continue to put in the work. For all of us. The Hawks are my favorite team and, despite the suckitude apparent to everyone, I’ve watched every game this season.

Having just read through all the previous posts, I have a few notes and thoughts…

– I’m happy about the Joe Johnson era. Yes, we probably overpaid for him, but he’s obviously the best player on the team, and without him we wouldn’t even be close in any of these games.

– Steve, the highlight of the Lakers@Nuggets game earlier this season was the Denver fans chanting “No Means No” at Kobe the entire game.

– I’m calling Mike “Tio Mike” from now on.

– Todd, since you got the tickets earmarked for young Latino kids in the Buckhead area and took Ismail, doesn’t that mean they went to proper use?

– Marvin Williams has an abnormally small head.

– You guys seem to like Pachulia, but I’m not so high on him. He seems to turn it over waay too much for me. On the other hand, I saw somewhere the other day that he’s only one year older than Bogut, who was the first pick in the draft, so maybe it’s not that bad an investment to get Zaza signed to a four year deal.

– Who will be the first person to post porn on here? I’m guessing Dave.

– I can’t stand Tyronn Lue. He looks like a fetus, with the same underdeveloped features. He’s probably the worst defender on the team against the pick-and-roll, and I’d rather us play Royal Ivey, because he’s more athletic. Lue has experience, but that hasn’t really gotten us anywhere yet, obviously.

– If we’re going to do anything this season, I think Al Harrington is the key to it all. He’s got to play as well as Joe Johnson for us to have a chance to win some games. He’s in a contract year, so maybe he’ll get it going.

– For our first win, I’m picking either at New Orleans/Oklahoma City on Friday or against the Celtics next Wednesday. The Hornets are off the night before we play them, but the Celtics play at Cleveland next Tuesday night, then they’ll fly into Atlanta after the game, get in really late, then play the Hawks about 15 hours later.

– I hear that Billy Knight’s nickname within the Hawks is Cassius Clay. Maybe Tio Mike can give us a photo illustration of that.

– Looking ahead to next year’s Draft (and here’s a good NBA Draft site: http://www.nbadraft.net/) I’d love it if we end up losing enough games to get Daniel Gibson, which would give us a real point guard for the first time since Mookie got traded.

– I’m coming in for Thanksgiving. Golf anyone?

For Christ sakes, Pachulia missed two free throws with 11 seconds left and Gasol hits a bucket at the buzzer. This is the second game in a row where Zaza missed key free throws in the 4th Quarter.

The atmosphere last night in the 4th Quarter was reminiscent of 1980s Hawks crowds. Why? Because we played hard and put ourselves in a position to win. After scoring 6 points in the first 8 minutes of the 3rd quarter, the Hawks turned it on. Salim, Marvin and John Edwards stepped up and brought this team back. We owned the 4th quarter and the building was electric. I was seriously feeling moved by all of the enthusiasm; it was infectious. The Hawks get the big stop on the Grizzlies with 12 seconds left and Zaza rebounds and gets fouled. I was thinking back to Thursday and I was praying he worked on his FTs between then and now. First shot, clang. Okay, just make one to guarantee the possibility of OT. Clang. Grizzlies call TO, set up a play and inbound at half court. They move the ball around frantically. They put up a shot with few tics left and miss. Yes, we’re going to win. Uh-oh, somebody didn’t box out Pau Gasol. Who could that be? Zaza, of course. Pau rebounds and frantically shoots a left handed mini-hook. Swish; red lights go on. Grizzlies win, crowd gets punched in the gut and we drop to 0-6. The refs review the play and Salim is the only one that stays back, hoping for a better fate. Alas, the call stands.

Everyone is moaning about the FTs in the concourse. However, there seems to be a bit more buzz than normal. Maybe they sensed what I felt- maybe we are turning the corner and what we saw was the light at the end of the tunnel.

The first time in our seats is not bad. No hot chick as Dave and Steve claim, just empty seats. It is a little difficult to see plays in the lane on our side but overall we are pretty close for being in the upper deck and for $5 a game, you can’t beat it. I just don’t understand why they don’t make all seats in the upper deck that price. Why can’t people learn from Arthur Blank- ” Filled seats are better than empty seats”?

At the least the day ended well- I got home just in time to see Auburn beat the mutts. The day was at least partially salvaged.

Bad news first: the Hawks lost (0 - 5 officially), traffic sucked hind tit, and the $4 apiece hot dogs soured my stomach more than the goat (yes, goat) I tried for lunch at the Bombay Grille. But the good news is that I found out where Courtney Gains, a.k.a Kenneth “Worm Man” of “Can’t Buy Me Love” fame has been hiding; he’s been masquerading as Chris Kaman, the center for the LA Clippers. Maybe he’s in hiding so no one else will “shit on [his] house”.

There were also some bright spots, team-wise: the Hawks stayed close the entire game, they crashed the boards pretty well, and they got a lot of open shots. Unfortunately, they couldn’t put any shots down, particularly wide open, mid-range jumpers. Well, that’s not entirely true — they missed a lot of inside shots too.

Despite the poor shooting, I thought the team, particularly Pachulia, showed solid effort. Zaza must have spent 3-quarters of the game on the court — lying down. He took out Sam Cassell, Cuttino Mobley, and a referee, and I swear this photo shows him attempting a Georgian Gonad Grab on the ref. Maybe he thought it was the league’s one female ref, or maybe that’s just the way they do things in his native Tbilisi, Georgia. I bet Dave G., frequent patron of Georgian bath houses, can tell us how that kind of thing goes down.

Speaking of going down (that doesn’t sound right), Ashley and I were able to make our way down to the good seats after halftime. We owe it all to Todd and Ismail and the taunts raining down from their fancy-ass Kovalchuk suite.

“Tio Mike, your seats suck hind tit!”

Or at least that’s what it sounded like the little fella said over Todd’s cell phone. Not that our normal seats were horrible, but a loss is a whole lot easier to tolerate from 25 rows up. If only I hadn’t had to witness Kaman/Gains claim his revenge by “shit[ting] on [our] house”, the night would have been perfect.

At 3 PM yesterday, my dad called me and told me that he had tickets for the Hawks-LA Clippers game that night. I wasn’t too interested until he told me that they were luxury box seats in the suite of Ilya Kovalchuk, hockey star of the Atlanta Thrashers. He gave them to the LaAmistad program, which works with young Latino kids in the Buckhead area. However, because it was such short notice, they couldn’t find mnay people to go, so we were invited. I immediately said yes, having never sat in a suite at Philips before.

While waiting at will call for the guy with the tickets, I saw Terrell Owens pick up a entrance pass. All of these kids were going crazy when they saw him, but he basically ignored them and his bodyguard shooed them away. Maybe if there had been a camera around he would’ve put on a show for everyone.

After getting the tickets, we went in and found our way to the Suite. It was really a nice view. What I enjoyed most is seeing Mike Floyd and pointing at him and laughing at him in Section 303 for being such a peon. My three year old Ismail loved being in the suite as it gave him room to run around. He also wanted to talk to Tio Mike, so we called him and Ismail asked, “I’m up here, where are you?” Maybe he was taunting him in his own way.

The one bad thing about the suite was that there was no food or drinks, so we had to go back down to get it. I guess you have to pay extra for catering.

The game pretty much sucked; every time the Hawks got within a bucket, the Clips would push the lead back to 7-9 points. Zaza Pachulia really lost the game for the Hawks in the 4th Quarter as he missed several key shots and free throws that would’ve put them back in the game. I was surprised to see he had 16 pts, 13 rebs and 6 assists; I guess the 4th quarter overshadowed any of his previous accomplishments.

My first official game in our season tickets is Saturday. I know Ismail will wonder why we don’t get to sit in the box again and he’ll miss the leg room.