The Quest for #2 : The story of the 2007 - 2008 ATL Hawks

Welcome Peja
Peja Stojakovich traded from Sacramento to Atlanta for Josh Smith

The Hawks traded highflyer Josh Smith to Sacramento for superstar Peja Stojakovich.

"I've always considered Stojakovich one of the great players in the league today." , Hawks general manager Ixcuincle said in a press conference. "His presence here should skyrocket our offense."

Although Josh Smith made highlight reels with his highflying dunks , he rarely replicated his highflying ability on defense and rarely scored more than 12 points. He struggled to hit shots that were far away from the rim and basically the only shot he hit in his Atlanta tenure under Ixcuincle were slam dunks and jams. With Stojakovich replacing Smith (even though Stojakovich is rated 78 and Smith 82) the offense looks to add another superstar to the list of talented players signed during the offseason.

The Hawks are 1-1 during the Stojakovich era. In their win they pulled away from the Bucks in the 4th and won. Ever the proponent of team play , Woodson ensured no player scored more than 20 points and Stojakovich was willing to pass the ball off to his teammates.

In the first loss of the Stojakovich era , Marvin Williams was announced as out for 2 weeks with injury. In his place , rookie J.T Foreman scored 12 points in a Hawks 2-point loss to Miami (3-1).

Critics have complained that such a team filled with superstars will have problems because of multiple egos. Coach Woodson dismissed the criticism as asinine , saying that his offensive system he has built with Ixcuincle ensures that everyone gets a touch. "We've trained the ego superstars to pass the ball off to teammates instead of hogging the ball." , Woodson said. "There are no egos on this team. They died off when they signed with this team."

2 Straight Chokes
Team collapses again in final seconds

Indiana 96 - Atlanta 95

At one point this game was out of hand , with Atlanta down 16 and furious coach Mike Woodson screaming vehemently for the Hawks to step up. The Hawks responded by cutting the deficit to 2 near the end of the 3rd quarter , but in the end careless turnovers by this team helped the Pacers get the lead in the final seconds of the 4th , and a missed Gary Payton jumper with time ticking down put this game in the loss column. The Hawks , 1-3 , have many talented superstars on their team , but it hasn't come together yet.

As with yesterday's game , the Hawks had a chance to win it in the final seconds (14 seconds left to win it today , 7 seconds left to win it yesterday). Unfortunately , in both circumstances , a Payton jumper fell short.

The Hawks fell early and couldn't get things going as they trailed by 10 and at one point in the 3rd , 16. Following this , the Hawks utilized Peja Stojakovich , and he did not disappoint. Stojakovich , Payton , and Jasikevicius combined to carry the team on their back and brought them within 2 points of tying the Pacers. But , in the 4th Rodney Tian carelessly threw away a pass , one of multiple 4th quarter turnovers in the clutch that would cost the Hawks this game.

"We need better ball control" , coach Mike Woodson said. "Surely it's perplexing to have a team as talented as this 1-3. We've got to gel together , and fast."

Robbed of Victory
Controversial foul costs Atlanta game

Cleveland 94 - Atlanta 91

If you could write a formula for the Hawk's troubles this season , this would be it.

Atlanta Hawks + Good Opponent = Trailing by 10 or more points + rallying to pull within 3 + Hawks loss

The point is , the Hawks just aren't clutch.

A controversial 5 second violation ended any hope of a game-tying three pointer to send the game to overtime , and Cleveland won a contested game which included the injury of LeBron James. James was injured twice in the game , the 2nd time he went out of the game and did not return. In his absence , the Cavaliers apparently didn't need him. They pulled away from a struggling Hawks offense and at one point led by 14 before the Hawks would finally wake up. In the 3rd quarter the Hawks finally started to resemble the talent they are capable of , and made it close in the 4th. But , as is the case when the Hawks play a good team , the Hawks just couldn't get any offense going in the clutch. The Hawks again struggled from the three-point line and failed to grab offensive rebounds.

"Frankly , I'm tired of this." , Ixcuincle said. "I am [expletive] tired of this team underachieving and not reaching its potential. A team with this many superstars should not have 2 wins at this point. It's pathetic."

peja for smith rotfl

What's happened to Sarunas Jasikevicius? He was your main man last year, and now he's on the bench. Put him at Start

He averages about 6 ppg and lost the shooting touch he had last year. Sometimes he starts and sometimes Doug Christie starts.

Quick update...this dynasty has been so much fun that I usually play 2 back to back games and am thinking about playing another game later tonight. I alt-tabbed to write the "controversial" article against Cleveland then alt-tabbed back and won against Houston. I am now 3-5 with the Hawks.

Back In the Mix
Hawks win in OT , now .500

Atlanta 128 - Washington 123 (OT)

At the beginning of the season many pundits were astonished to find the Hawks under .500. A team with that much talent shouldn't be that bad , they said.

They were wrong.

After a poor start the Atlanta Hawks have gotten things clicking , and have now won 3 straight. They beat the Washington Wizards (5-4) in overtime to improve their record to 5-5. Despite this , they are ranked 4th in the division since Miami , Charlotte , and Washington have better records. 3 Hawk starters ended up in the 20's , and the criticism of Mike Woodson for not utilizing the best out of his team has stopped , for now.

Washington 113 - Atlanta 110

The Hawks continued a 2-game slide as they fell to the Wizards today , 113 - 110. They are now even at 7-7.

Gary Payton led the way for the Hawks with 27 points. His teammate Peja Stojakovich chipped in 26 in the losing cause.

The game was characterized by poor defense by both teams as both teams would go on uncontested streaks. Washington and Atlanta , at one point , both hit 8 straight shots. The teams set a dynasty record for most points scored in a half ; never before in the 1+ dynasty years had any opponent scored 60 points or more at halftime.

The game remained close throughout until the 4th quarter where the Wizards seized the lead. The Hawks had a chance to tie the game , down by 2 , when a missed shot by the Hawks resulted in Brendan Haywood going to the free throw line , where he missed 1 of 2. Frantically trying to tie the game with 8 seconds left , the Hawks called a timeout. Unfortunately , when they came out of the timeout they were confused and Payton ended up trying to tie the game with an errant 3-pointer that clanked off the rim , sending the Hawks to their 2nd straight loss.

When asked about the team's confusion in the post-game conference , coach Mike Woodson replied , "We just didn't execute the play correctly. The play called for Stojakovich to get the ball and hit the game-tying three from the left wing. Unfortunately Stojakovich was the one who was going to inbound the ball , and when he did the player didn't know where Stojakovich was , panicked , and threw it to Payton for his failed shot."

Notes : The previous game involved the Hawks falling just short as they tried to chip into a Lakers 18-point lead. Marvin Williams has healed fully from his injury and expects to play the next game. Devean George has drawn ire from coaches for his poor performance and will likely be benched next game for Josh Childress , as the power forward carousel continues to spin.

Atlanta 100 - Portland 90

4 Hawks starters scored in double digits , and the Hawks continued their red-hot play as they beat Portland 100-90. The Hawks (12-7) kept the game close but eventually Portland's turnovers in the 3rd half led to multiple fast break points , and a once close game swelled to a 17 point Hawks advantage. From there it was only a matter of holding on , and Portland never got any closer than 8.

The Hawks have won 5 straight. They face 12-7 New Jersey next.

Atlanta 113 - Cleveland 103

In a well-hyped matchup between 2 of the top 5 teams in the NBA , this one was no contest as Atlanta shook off a rough start , and blew out their rival Cleveland Cavaliers today , 113 - 103. The Hawks avenged an earlier loss to the Cavaliers where a controversial last-second call cost them the game.

"We didn't want a repeat of last time" , point guard Gary Payton said. He scored 27 in the win.

The Hawks appeared rusty in the first quarter as Cleveland pressured the Hawks into foolish turnovers. In the 2nd quarter however , the Hawks substituted Peja Stojakovich into the game. Peja promptly helped the Hawks get back into the game with several 3-point shots. Eventually the Hawks seized the lead in the 3rd quarter and never looked back as the lead ballooned to , at one point , 18. At the beginning of the 4th quarter , with the Hawks up by 10 , Coach Mike Woodson benched the entire starting lineup , proud with their effort , and put the reserves in. The reserves did their job , held onto the lead , and the Hawks beat the team with the best record in the NBA.

Things do not get any easier for the Hawks as they must face several possible contenders in Philadelphia (16-11) , New Jersey , and Golden State. All 3 are above .500 and are possible teams that can beat the Hawks.

"We just got to go out there , and give it our all every night. We're on a winning streak right now , we can't lose mo" , reserve power forward Josh Childress said.

Nice Win, Love The Recap But Why Would U Trade Peja For Smith, That Wasn't A Good Idea, But Im Sure Ull Manage with gary the glove payton

Tian Time
Rookie scores 27 in 4th quarter ; brings Hawks back from 10-pt deficit

Atlanta 97 - New Jersey 88

The first 3 quarters looked gloomy for the 18-9 Atlanta Hawks. In a well-anticipated matchup between two 18-9 juggernauts in the East , the game , at least in the first 3 quarters , was not as advertised. The Nets dominated early , and their defense shut down Atlanta , who made only 1 three point shot and struggled offensively. At the end of the 3rd quarter Mike Woodson was agitated as his point guard Gary Payton, who had averaged 20+ points per game on a red-hot scoring streak , was shut down to 2 points. Eventually Woodson lost it as Payton's threes continued to bounce off the rim and fall short. He would make a key decision that would help the Hawks win the game.

Rodney Tian entered the game in the beginning of the 4th quarter as the Hawks trailed by 10. With the team feeling down and worried about their 6 game winning streak coming to an end , Tian was a major factor in turning the game completely around. He started off with a steal and a layup , then Doug Christie got into the action with another steal and a pass to Tian. He had 4 points and the Hawks were clicking. Soon , the Hawks defense woke up and blocked the Nets field goal attempts. Then , Tian started one of what would be 3 clutch three pointers to pull the Hawks back into the game. The Nets would pull within 2 at one point , at 83-81 , but from that point on it would be clear sailing for the Hawks as Tian's presence turned around a once-grim situation.

The win over New Jersey was important for another reason. With this win , the Hawks improved to 19-9 and 3rd place in the NBA standings.

"It's obviously something to be very proud of." , Coach Mike Woodson said after the game. "We've played hard this season and our team is starting to get it together now."

Philadelphia 104 - Atlanta 88
Team gives sub-par effort in blowout loss

With their 7 game winning streak intact , the Hawks were hoping for a win over the Philadelphia 76ers , who had gotten cold of late. A team that had gotten off to a great 13-0 start had fallen to 16-11 , but that same 16-11 team managed to beat one of the hottest teams of the NBA in the Hawks , and put their 7 game winning streak to a screeching halt.

The game started off horribly for the Hawks as they found themselves down 9-2 early. They would get back into the game at 11-9 but eventually Payton's constant missed shots would cost them any chance of winning the game. The Hawks would only score 2 points for the rest of the period , and after the 1st it was 23-11. Things only got worse as the Sixers increased their lead to 51-28 at the half , and 80-59 after 3. At one point the Hawks trailed by more than 30. Gary Payton and Peja Stojakovich continued to struggle from the field , and the Hawks looked sluggish and slow compared to a fast , quick , Sixers team that often slam dunked the ball while Hawks defenders simply looked in awe , slow to react.

In the Hawk's defense , though , they were playing a game the day after a 10-point comeback against New Jersey. Apparently they were out of gas.

27points in 5 minutes for Tian! Insane!!!

Yeah...he was fouled a lot in the final minute and he doesn't miss free throws so at least 12 points came off that.

As for the Peja - Josh Smith trade , it benefited the Hawks since Peja Stojakovich averages 20 or more points per game in his time as an Atlanta Hawk , while Josh Smith only averaged 8 points per game. Peja can hit the 3 better and is a more prolific scorer while all Josh Smith could do was dunk.

Atlanta 112 - Philadelphia 78
Team avenges blowout loss

There is a lot of bad blood between Philadelphia and Atlanta. Philadelphia eliminated the Hawks last season in an epic 7-game showdown , and blew out the Hawks earlier this season. So one would expect the Hawks to relish today's blowout victory against another 20-win team.

"It's obviously a very good win. We both got 20 wins and they didn't show up...and we were just playing on all cylinders today" , point guard Gary Payton said. He had 27 points and 5 assists in the win.

The Hawks never trailed from the start and the closest the game was came in the first quarter , where the score was tied 2-2. It never got any closer than that as Atlanta's lead swelled to 10 at 14-4 , and eventually reached 40 points.

The Philadelphia crowd was extremely disappointed in their Sixers effort. Fans could be seen heading for the exits in the late 3rd quarter with the outcome already decided. Some fans , angered by the blowout , threw debris onto the court and the game was delayed for a few minutes.

Coach Mike Woodson later announced that , due to Payton's phenomenal effort today coming off the bench , he would return Payton to his starting point guard spot. At one time during a Philadelphia timeout , Payton joked to point guard Rodney Tian , "I guess I'll be getting my job back" to which Tian laughed.

The Hawks play 8-win New York next.

Atlanta 127 - San Antonio 120 (OT)
Team holds on to defeat West powerhouse

At one point the Hawks were up 15 in the 4th , and a win over the San Antonio Spurs was looking imminent. However , the Spurs made it a game with a thrilling comeback to force overtime. Eventually , though , the Hawks would end up on top after overcoming a poor start in overtime.

The Hawks , who had lost 5 of their last 6 and were on a 4 game losing streak , started off strongly in this game and took an early advantage. Eventually they pulled away off steals and Peja Stojakovich's contributions.

"It felt good to score again" , Peja said after his cold shooting nights in the losing streak.

The Hawks had their way in the 3rd , extending their lead to 15 until the Spurs defense finally shut down the Hawks. Tony Parker completed the comeback with a game-tying 3 with 30 seconds left in the game. The Hawks had a chance to win the game in regulation , but a Gary Payton jumper fell short , and the game went to overtime.

In overtime it would be the Spurs with the hot start as they scored 5 straight points and looked to be on the way to winning the game. But Atlanta wasn't done yet. They managed to play defense which was absent during the losing streak , and held off the Spurs , 127 - 120.

brief update

since nlsc forums were down for a couple of days I was unable to post (after it happened) one of the greatest comebacks in the 1+ seasons of franchise. The Hawks overcame a 20 point deficit to the Detroit Pistons to win at home. Tian came off the bench and scored 24 points including 4 three pointers as the Hawks beat the team with the NBA's best record. However , the next game the Hawks were bested by the Memphis Grizzlies in double overtime.

box score

Midseason Report

At the halfway point of this season , the Hawks find themselves 35-17 and 3rd in the NBA , 2nd in the East. The team has flourished under general manager Ixcuincle's roster management and coach Mike Woodson's offense.

At the beginning of this offseason , Ixcuincle realized that his team would have to make some moves to be any threat in the NBA this year. Knowing this , he released shooting guard Nick Van Exel and Donta Smith , in addition to others. Replacing these players were others who were willing to take a pay cut to join the Hawks. The Hawks avoided signing any superstars with gigantic contracts and instead focused on signing talent that was underpriced. For instance , small forward Devean George was signed to a 3 year , 5.26 million per year deal. This was cheaper than the rest of the market which demanded exorbitant contracts of 30 or 40 million per year. Gary Payton , the key point guard many attribute to the Hawk's success this year , also accepted a 1 year , 5.12 million dollar deal in the offseason.

"These are players that are cleary very good , we take advantage of their ability to accept less pay to play for a possible playoff contender" , Ixcuincle said. "We don't have the money to play with the big boys , but that doesn't mean we can't compete with them."

This season's play has been characterized by the great play of Gary Payton , who often has double-digits in assists at game's end. Rookie Rodney Tian has also had a great rookie season , averaging 12.4 points per game at the midway point.

One slight disappointment has been Peja Stojakovich , who has been inconsistent in Hawks uniform. At times , Peja will have a brilliant game where he scores 40 points but then goes on cold streaks where he will often go ignored and score 10 points. Stojakovich , however , points out that it's simply because he's not getting the ball. Since the Hawks don't believe in egos and are completely unselfish , Stojakovich is okay with being ignored at times. "They can ignore me all they want , not pass the ball to me , and that's fine." , Stojakovich said with a grin on his face. "As long as we win , it's all good."

go ATL get that NUMBER 1 SPOT

End-Of-Month Report

The Hawks seized first place in the NBA and are on track to be the #1 seed in the East as they went 9-3 in March. Near the end of the month , point guard Gary Payton began to cool down and was replaced by Rodney Tian.

The Hawks play great offense and , when they want to , great defense. The only problem is whether they show up or not. The Hawks defense is more consistent but has a bad game every now and then where Hawks defensive players stand by and watch while opponents drive past them for a layup.

"It's clearly a glaring hole" , Coach Mike Woodson said. "It doesn't help us out , for sure."

Another weakness in this team has been Woodson's reluctance to call in backups at times until it's too late. During the recent loss against Phoenix , Woodson had Jasikevicius continue to play even though he was severely fatigued. As the Hawks tried to hit three pointers to inch closer to the Suns , Jasikevicius' threes bounced off the rim. Irate , Woodson realized he should have substituted earlier. It was too late for the Hawks , and a barrage of Tian three-pointers was not enough as Suns guard Barbarosa hit all of his free throws during the final minute to escape Phillips Arena with a hard-earned win.

9 and 3 not bad, congrats on being #1 in the east, obviously going to make it to the playoffs, good luck on the future games.

if it is strange, then why bother making it realistic.

its unique and cool this way.

this franchise has been postponed until my laptop comes back from repair

Franchise is reoperational

Atlanta 89 - Portland 84

The Hawks managed to best a resilient Portland team in the final minutes as they won their third straight.