Haters will be haters. All the NBA "prophets" raised the question, "What happens when the Hawks play a REAL playoff team?" Well, they did, and they lost. So What? The Hawks played a tough but excellent game. Let the record show that Atlanta was short a first AND second option for the small forward position. Marvin Williams and Maurice Evans were both on the sidelines because of injuries. Both are solid players, and their speed would have been invaluable against the Suns, who have the fastest offense in the league.
Oh yeah, and the Suns have Steve Nash: a beautiful man. If you don't know Nash, he's a two-time MVP point guard, who may have the best court vision in the league. Basically, he has eyes in a wreath around his head. He also happened to have his best game of the season last night against the Hawks. He made 15 assists and some CLUTCH jump shots as the game came down to the wire.
So the Hawks lost for the first time this season. They are still looking gooooood. Al Horford and Joe Johnson gave all-star performances, both scoring 30+ points, and Josh Smith surpassed Dikembe Mutombo for the second most blocked shots by an Atlanta Hawk. I have a feeling J-Smoove is going to be #1 before too long.
It must also be mentioned that the Hawks were down by as much as 18 points in the third quarter. About a year ago, the Hawks would have rolled over and simply tried to keep the deficit around 20 points, but this new team (I said team, not Joe Johnson by himself), fought back to tie the game at the end of the fourth quarter.
The Atlanta Hawks lost, but they deserve a lot of credit. They will undoubtedly take a lot from their loss to the Phoenix Suns and grow tougher. They clearly like playing for their new coach Larry Drew. They fought back together, as a team, and nearly took this game back from the Suns. The season has just barely begun, but I have very high hopes for the Atlanta Hawks.
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