| 03 May 2009
Finally, this series is over! Maybe I became spoiled from watching the Celtics/Bulls series but seeing these teams go at it for 7 games really made me appreciate the better teams in the league. Once again, the team that played terribly the previous game was much better the following game. Hence, the Hawks were horrific in Miami on Friday and struggled to score points; so naturally, they were excellent (comparatively) today. Though, the reasons the Hawks won are pretty elementary. They made three's, the Heat didn't. Atlanta didn't turn the ball over, Miami did. Atlanta shot a good % from the floor, Miami didn't. The Hawks made defensive stops, the Heat didn't. Atlanta distributed the ball well, the Heat did not. Simple as that. Though, the biggest factor to the Hawks win really was on the three-point end; Atlanta made 11 three's and Miami only 4. The Hawks were lucky that Joe Johnson decided he wanted to play tonight which really sparked the entire Atlanta team and crowd. If the Hawks are going to have a shot at winning at games against Cleveland, they are going to need the 2008 playoff version of Joe Johnson.
Why the Hawks won
Joe Johnson remembered that he is an all-star. Ultimately, this sparked the entire Atlanta team and got the crowd finally into the game. Josh Smith bounced back from a poor last couple games doing a little bit of everything today; 21 points, 9 rebounds, 3 assists, 2 steals, and 1 ridiculous dunk. Though, watching this Hawks team consistently over the past couple of weeks, I've come to appreciate Zaza Pachulia much more than I would have ever anticipated. Truthfully, he is probably the most underrated player on this Hawks team. Though he doesn't score a lot, there is so much he does for this team that goes unnoticed; he rebounds well, gets key defensive stops, and aggravates the other team. Much like Anderson Varejao, his energy is contagious for Atlanta and they'll need that coming off the bench. Flip Murray was also solid off the bench hitting several three's. All in all, it wasn't like Atlanta played a game that convinced everyone they are for real. It was more of the Heat looking terrible and, frankly, it's amazing that they took this series to 7 games.
Why the Heat lost
How can anyone expect to win when only three players on their team scored more than 6 points? As mentioned in previous recaps, the Heat have no chance to win if they don't make close to 10 three pointers in a game; well, they only made 4 today. Dwyane Wade did his best to try and revive this seemingly lifeless Heat team scoring 31 points and dishing out a team high 4 assists (ouch). Though, he missed 7 three's while his counterpart, Joe Johnson, made 6. For the first time this series, Joe Johnson was the better 2 guard. Michael Beasley and Dwayne Wade combined for 17 of the Heat's 26 made field goals; though, this only translated to a measly 78 points. It's really not that Atlanta's defense was that stellar; the Heat had plenty of open shots. They just didn't make enough. This topic will be talked about endlessly, but unless the Heat get Wade more help he is undoubtedly gone in 2010.
Heading into the next series, what to look for
Look for Cleveland to be rested. Look for Lebron James to completely dominate. Look for the Hawks to struggle scoring 85 points every game. Look for the Hawks to be fishing, golfing, and resting in a mere couple of weeks. We'll preview the series shortly.
Prediction for next series
Sorry Atlanta. After 5 games, you'll be out.
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