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

by **ixcuincle** on Wed May 24, 2006 11:27 am

Game 2 - 2007 Eastern Conference Finals
Atlanta 104 - Detroit 95
Series Tied 1-1

The Atlanta Hawks may have found the Achilles' heel for the defending champs.

After a blowout loss to the Pistons in game 1 , the Hawks responded in the 3rd quarter with an 11-2 run to tilt Game 2 in their favor , and held on for a crucial win.

"It would have been devastating to fall behind 2-0 going to their house" , shooting guard Rodney Tian said after the game.

Before the game , Coach Woodson tweaked his starting offense a bit , putting point guard Rodney Tian in for a struggling Sarunas Jasikevicius.

The Pistons would continue to dominate the Hawks with their starting lineups , but the Hawks would keep close to the Pistons in the 3rd , and tie it at one point 59-59.

When Pistons starters began to get tired and were sent to the bench , the Hawks took advantage. While Billups sat on the bench the Hawks took full advantage , harassing his rookie replacement O. Hammond into turnovers. Soon the Hawks were on an 11-2 run , and led the defending champions by 10. Billups was quickly called back in to try to stop the Hawks , but the Hawks would maintain control and hold on to win game 2.

"They have one of the best starting lineups in the NBA , no question." , Woodson said. "That's why we attack and take advantage of their subpar bench."

More pictures @ http://www.tidalwaveclan.com/zargotelc/ ... und3game2/

by **HonorGlow** on Wed May 24, 2006 5:34 pm

Hey ixcuincle Good to see that you're still going strong! Good luck on the playoff run! Please please, once you win the title

(or when your playoff run ends) please, send me your pstat AND tstat file, so I can compute your playoff PER - Hollinger-style ...that project should be in motion this weekend so I'm hoping to get more data wherever possible.

KILL DETROIT!

by **ixcuincle** on Thu May 25, 2006 4:02 am

HonorGlow wrote:Hey ixcuincle Good to see that you're still going strong! Good luck on the playoff run! Please please, once you win the title (or when your playoff run ends) please, send me your pstat AND tstat file, so I can compute your playoff PER - Hollinger-style ...that project should be in motion this weekend so I'm hoping to get more data wherever possible.

KILL DETROIT!

Ok , I'll send you the files once the playoff run ends.

Game 3 - 2007 Eastern Conference Finals
Atlanta 98 - Detroit 81
Atlanta leads series 2-1

The Hawks played like the #1 seed in the East today as they quickly disposed of the defending champions , 98-81.

While 3 Pistons scored in double figures , 6 Hawks scored in double figures as they went on an offensive explosion , leading at times by 20 over the Pistons.

"That was a mistake...the Palace is our house" , guard Chauncey Billups responded after the loss. "No one comes into the Palace and pounds us like that."

The Pistons took an early lead but as in game 2 the Hawks would keep close and wait for Pistons starters to take the bench. Then , they attacked when the Pistons were weak , harassing Detroit into 15 turnovers and hitting three-pointers to pull away. The lead would swell to 20 until Detroit made a small run to make the score more respectable , but the Hawks had done their job. They refused to be bullied around , and they are no longer frightened of the defending champions. They have shown they are capable of beating the Pistons , a team which used to instill fear in the young Hawks team.

"We aren't scared of them , and they are scared of us now." , rookie forward J.T. Foreman declared. "Now we wait and see if they respond Game 4."

by **Marquis** on Thu May 25, 2006 5:34 am

Your team looks crappy if you look at player's overalls, but they all are playing very well. Beat Detroit

by **ixcuincle** on Fri May 26, 2006 10:34 am

Game 4 - 2007 Eastern Conference Finals
Detroit 111 - Atlanta 101
Series Tied 2-2

The Pistons avenged a Game 3 blowout at the Palace and won by 10 today against the Atlanta Hawks to tie their series at 2 apiece.

The game was close in the 1st quarter , but in the 2nd quarter the Hawks began to get tired and the Pistons seized the opportunity to take a 10 point lead around halftime. The Hawks played very poorly in the first half of Game 4 as no player scored double digits at the half. In the 3rd quarter the Hawks fell behind by as much as 18 until trying to fight their way back into the game. But the Hawks would constantly be frustrated by Pistons forward Rasheed Wallace , who would power his way through Hawks defenders. Wallace would often be fouled on his drives and hit the 3rd free throw to frustrate the Hawks attempts to get back in the game.

The Hawks would close the gap to 7 in the late 4th quarter but the Pistons would immediately go on a 5-0 run to practically end any hope of a Hawks comeback.

by **ixcuincle** on Sat May 27, 2006 12:11 pm

Game 5 - 2007 Eastern Conference Finals
Detroit 97 - Atlanta 93
Detroit leads series 3-2

The defending champions have pushed the Hawks to the brink of elimination.

Led by Chauncey Billups and Richard Hamilton , the Pistons were never seriously in doubt until the late 4th , and controlled the pace of the game , at some points leading by 18 in the 2nd quarter.

Detroit started off on an 11-4 run and didn't look back as Atlanta's offense failed to show up. Atlanta three-point shooters never really got their shot going until the late 4th quarter , when a furious rally would cut a 10 point deficit to 2 with less than 7 seconds in the game. However , Tayshawn Prince was fouled and hit both his free throws , and Rodney Tian missed a 3 pointer which would have cut the lead to one.

"The point is , no one played well tonight" , Tian said after the game. "It was a horrible performance by our offense."

The Hawks continue to have no answer for Rasheed Wallace , who just bullies his way past unaware defenders. By the time defenders realize Wallace has passed them , he is already at the rim finishing a dunk. The whole Hawks defense , in particular , is extremely slow and unable to stop speeding Pistons players.

The whole philosophy the Hawks offense is set up on is starting to collapse , forcing the Hawks to adapt to new systems on the fly. The Hawks typically take advantage of Pistons mistakes on fast break points , but if the Pistons rarely commit turnovers it is cleary more difficult for Hawks players to run their offense. Even when the Pistons commit a mistake , the Hawks were often unable to capitalize. Usually the Hawks follow an opponent's turnover by a quick 3 , or an alley oop to the guy near the hoop. Neither of these worked today as Hawks three-point shooters missed crucial shots after turnovers , and their alley-oop plays to wide open teammates near the hoop were far astray from their intended target.

"We need to improve our three-point shooting , and we definitely cannot fall behind by double-digits again." , Hawks coach Mike Woodson said after the game. "Or else...it's all over."

No images were recorded for this game because of an error in the program used to take screenshots.

by **Its_asdf** on Sat May 27, 2006 12:37 pm

Uh oh spaghettio... It looks like your in a pickle now... you have to win or go home.

Is that Doug Christie on your team? Didn't he shrivel up and die in Orlando while being strangled to death by his wife?

by **ixcuincle** on Sat May 27, 2006 5:35 pm

Yes but apparently at the beginning of season 2 he was one of the people on the free agent list. Since his contract didn't cost a lot of money he was signed to a short term 1 year deal or something like that.

Game 6 - Eastern Conference Finals
Atlanta 101 - Detroit 90
Series tied 3-3

The Hawks managed to survive an intense game 6 and look forward to playing the series-deciding game 7 tommorow in their home court.

Starting game 6 , the Hawks made a change to their starting lineups as they substituted struggling Sarunas Jasikevicius with point guard Rodney Tian , in hopes that Tians' and Payton's offensive outbursts combined would help the team beat Detroit. The strategy was moderately effective as the Hawks would stay close to the Pistons and not let things go out of control like the previous 2 games. In the previous 2 games , Pistons leads swelled from 5 to 18 when the Pistons gathered momentum off rushed Hawks shots. Since the Hawks were rushing and missing shots , Coach Woodson decided to slow down the offense temporarily. After the Pistons took a 5 point lead , Woodson did not holler , scream and implore his team to hit a 3 that would most likely fall short and give the Pistons more momentum. Instead , he implored better decision making from point guard Rodney Tian. The patience and slowed style of play helped as Tian no longer rushed a 3 but dribbled around and made smart decisions to go inside to other players who stepped up and contributed.

The return of Sarunas Jasikevicius as point guard for the first time since last season also played a critical role , and may have been the deciding factor in an otherwise close game. With the Pistons up 68-67 at the end of the 3rd , the Hawks put Sarunas Jasikevicius in as point guard , since both point guards Rodney Tian and Gary Payton had played the third quarter. Jasikevicius contributed immediately by stealing the ball several times from rookie O. Drummond , or hitting a clutch three-pointer in the 4th to help the Hawks pull away.

After the game , Coach Woodson announced a new starting lineup where Jasikevicius would take his original starting point guard position that he held last season. "He's struggled mightily in his shooting guard role with the team , so that experiment's over." , Woodson said. "After tonight , what he's shown us...he'll play point guard again." It is unknown who will play shooting guard for game 7.

by **Marquis** on Sat May 27, 2006 5:42 pm

Yes, good that you placed Sarunas as PG, he is not SG.
Good luck at the 7th game

by **ixcuincle** on Sat May 27, 2006 11:57 pm

Game 7 - 2007 Eastern Conference Finals
Atlanta 88 - Detroit 81
Atlanta wins series 4-3

The Hawks season was on the line , down by 10 in the 3rd quarter against one of the best teams in the East in the Pistons. But in the end , the Hawks would prevail as they took control of the game in the final minute and ended any chance of a Pistons return to the finals.

No team had a whopping advantage in the 1st quarter , but sloppy Hawks play would result in an 8 point deficit at halftime. The Hawks fell behind by 10 in the 3rd quarter , forcing Mike Woodson to bring back the strategy used in game 6. Slow the game down , and stop rushing shots. After a timeout , Jasikevicius rushed to the 3 point line and nailed a 3 pointer to cut the lead to 7 , but the offense would slow down after that point as the Hawks looked to go inside to Stojakovich. Stojakovich , who had 6 in the 1st half, would take over , scoring 27 in the second half. Despite this outburst , the game remained close until the final minute , where the Pistons refused to foul for over 20 seconds , allowing Atlanta to run down clock. When the Pistons finally fouled it was too late , as both free throws were hit and they had a 86-81 lead with 15 seconds left , too much for the defending champions to overcome.

Atlanta will face Dallas in the NBA finals. Dallas won their series against Denver 4-2. In the season series , Atlanta and Dallas both won 1 game out of 2 played.

by **Its_asdf** on Sun May 28, 2006 7:47 am

Haha. Atlanta winning the 2007 championship. Who would've knew? Nice comeback after going down 3-2.

by **hammertime23** on Sun May 28, 2006 7:58 am

yea thats very odd but great job.

by **ixcuincle** on Sun May 28, 2006 1:26 pm

Here are the links to the images taken of Games 4 , 6 , and 7 of the Eastern Conference Finals.

Game 4 - http://www.tidalwaveclan.com/zargotelc/ ... und3game4/
Game 6 - http://www.tidalwaveclan.com/zargotelc/ ... und3game6/
Game 7 - http://www.tidalwaveclan.com/zargotelc/ ... und3game7/

Previous regular season meetings between Dallas & Atlanta

by **ixcuincle** on Tue May 30, 2006 12:32 am

Game 1 - 2007 NBA Finals
Atlanta 98 - Dallas 97
Atlanta leads series 1-0

The Hawks came back from an 5 point deficit with less than a minute left to steal Game 1 from the Dallas Mavericks in shocking fashion.

With less than 5 seconds left and down by 2, Atlanta had missed a shot and thrown the ball out of bounds. On the Dallas inbound , Steven Hunter somehow ended up stealing the inbounding pass , giving Atlanta a possession to tie or win the game in the final seconds.

"To be honest with you , I didn't see the steal." , Coach Mike Woodson said after the game. "It all happened so fast , I was unaware the ball was even ours."

When Atlanta inbounded the ball , Devean George grabbed the ball and scored on a layup , and was fouled. George hit a free throw to give the Hawks the 98-97 lead with 3 seconds left , and Dallas called timeout. Coming out of their timeout , Dallas tried to hit a game winning 3 but the shot was fired from near midcourt , and fell short. Atlanta had come back from an 5-point deficit with less than a minute to win in Dallas , and shock the Mavericks.

The game had remained close for 3 quarters , but in the 4th Dallas started to pull away from a tired and fatigued Hawks team. Dallas would take an 8 point lead , and the Hawks began to lose confidence. "I thought the game was over" , the coach would later say. "They kept answering the points we scored , and we kept commiting stupid mistakes."

With 33.8 seconds left , Dallas was up by 5 , and the Hawks inbounded the ball and hit a three to cut the lead to 2. Eric Dampier was immediately fouled and hit both of his free throws to increase the lead to 4. The Hawks made another 3 , and Dallas made one of 2 free throws. Atlanta tried to tie the game but a jumper fell short , went out of bounds, and Dallas took possesion. On the inbound , Steven Hunter would then steal the ball , setting up the game winning shot.

Images

Statistics

by **ixcuincle** on Sat Jun 03, 2006 11:34 am

Constant computer overheating problems have made it very difficult to play the NBA finals. The original Game 1 was played with the Hawks blowing out their opponent until the laptop mysteriously overheated , and shut down , losing everything in the process. In Game 2 , images could not be taken due to an error in the program used to take pictures. And , in game 3 , a 110-106 Atlanta lead with less than 3 minutes in OT was obliterated and taken off the record when yet another overheating problem caused the laptop to shut down , nullifying a very good game.

Game 3 was simulated by computer and the results were favorable :

Regardless of the computer overheating , the Hawks still won and are 1 win away from an NBA championship.

by **ixcuincle** on Sat Jun 03, 2006 11:35 pm

Game 4 - 2007 NBA Finals & Postseason Analysis
Hawks win 139 - 136 (OT)
Hawks win series 4-0

The Hawks managed to sweep the NBA Finals and Dallas' monumental comeback fell just short , giving the Hawks their first known NBA title.

The final minutes of this game thrilled fans in the seats as the Hawks , with a 7 point lead in overtime , tried to hold off a Dallas team that desperately wanted to extend its season. With 1.5 seconds left Dirk Nowitzki hit a three to tie the game up at 136 each in the overtime period , and it was looking like the Hawks would not sweep the series today.

In the coach's huddle , Mike Woodson said , "We have to end this series now. We are so close , don't let them win now." Coming out of the timeout , the ball was inbounded to Sarunas Jasikevicius who quickly jumped behind the three point line and hit a three at the buzzer to give the Hawks the NBA championship.

The Hawks were lucky to even be playing an overtime period , and had to rely on a final-second Rodney Tian shot in regulation with 1 second left to send the game to overtime.

Promptly after the game , it was announced Peja Stojakovic would be series MVP. He averaged 18.8 points per game during the series , and was a crucial factor in the NBA finals.

The off-season started a few moments later. The Hawks bid farewell to their shooting guard , Doug Christie , and their point guard , Gary Payton. Both winning their first championships , they decided to go out on top , retiring.

2 contracts were set to expire this offseason. Peja Stojakovic was able to extend his Hawks tenure by 6 years , after days of negotiating. The team refused to extend center Steven Hunter's contract though , and he went on the free agent market.

"It's been a fun few months with the Hawks" , Hunter said. "I had a wonderful time."

During the NBA draft the Hawks decided to draft a center to replace Hunter , and a shooting guard. As was the case last season , the Hawks reluctance to use their scout hurt them , as the scouting board was filled with question marks. Regardless , the Hawks ended up drafting two players ranked in the 60's.

The Hawks signed shooting guard Boris Diaw to replace Doug Christie. Diaw was a Hawk before leaving for Phoenix , apparently he was on the free agent market again and the Hawks didn't hesitate at all : they signed him back. He would be the most significant player the Hawks would sign , as due to the salary cap the Hawks could not afford to spend heavily. Other significant free agent signings include guard Steve Blake.

Before the regular season started , the Hawks released Donyell Marshall for roster reasons , and a point guard they signed in free agency. "Marshall has been great off the bench for us , but he wanted more playing time and that's something we couldn't offer him. We are sad to see him go , and wish him luck in the future." , general manager Ixcuincle said in a press statement.

The 2007-2008 Hawks begin this season against Boston. After their elimination by Atlanta , the Celtics refused to resign Paul Pierce , and Pierce ended up being the most prized free agent on the market this offseason. Minnesota ended up signing him.

by **Marquis** on Sat Jun 03, 2006 11:50 pm

WOW Jasikevicius hitting the game winner shot

Congrats on the winning Championship. A little crazy that Hawks win it.
And I see perhaps the 5th Dynasty which has Diaw on the team, including mine 8-)

by **ixcuincle** on Mon Jun 05, 2006 6:02 am

Season 3 Game 1
Atlanta 95 - Boston 78

The Hawks started off Season 3 with a bang as they blew out the Boston Celtics 95-78. Rookie D. Oxford led all Hawks scorers with 23 points.

The hyped-up return of Boris Diaw to Atlanta was not as exciting as expected , as Diaw started the game for the Hawks but only scored 4 points. He was taken out in the 3rd quarter due to a leg injury , and his status is not known for tommorow's game.

The Hawks did not need Boris Diaw for today's game , since rookie shooting guard D. Oxford would step up and take over , scoring 23 points to help the Hawks pull away and blow out the Celtics.

Both Andrew Bogut and Marvin Williams looked good in the season debut as they scored 10 and 18 points , respectively. Bogut and Williams , after an intensive offseason workout program with trainers , improved their rankings. Stojakovic , 2007 Finals MVP , scored only 2 points.

Images

Diaw hurts his leg in the 3rd quarter. He would be out the rest of the game.

Rookie D. Oxford with 2 of his 23 points.

Hawks Rosters as of Game 1

Box Score

by **ixcuincle** on Thu Jun 22, 2006 11:30 am

Brief Update:

The franchise took a few days off after the Hawks won the championship and played their first game , but the Hawks at this point are 1-2 , losing to both Washington and Charlotte. The Hawks lost to the Wizards in the final minutes , and Charlotte completely blew out the Hawks by 13 , showing that they were capable of beating the division champions.

The Hawks play the Miami Heat next , who are 1-0.

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

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