Hawks Head to Cleveland Down 2-0 in the Series

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Though they did not emerge victorious in Game 1 of the series, Atlanta held their own against the Cavs. Many felt that if not for a huge night from beyond the arc for J.R. Smith that the Hawks could have won that game. Game 2 was a different story. The Hawks came out in the old-school uniforms and had the city fired up representing them, but left their crowd disappointed. The 12-point loss was never that close. Lebron James led the way with 30 points, 11 assists and 9 rebounds. Even without Kyrie Irving, the Hawks just had no answer. They simply could not score. Dennis Schröder was our leading scorer with just 13 points. At times we looked like the Joe Johnson era Hawks, running isolations instead of running plays. Kyle Korver also had to leave the game with a sprained right ankle. The Hawks are unhealthy, out of sync, and have a huge uphill battle ahead as they travel to Cleveland for two games. We saw how the Rockets came back from a 3-1 series deficit to defeat the Clippers, but comebacks like these in a seven game series are rare. Lebron James is an all-time great and sometimes you have to just sit back and respect his talent, but we also know that this is not the best basketball this team is capable of playing. Sure, all five starters have been banged up this postseason. We lost Thabo Sefolosha, who would have been a huge asset in the playoffs. But this team seemingly has lost it’s unity. If we play the way we did in January, this Cleveland Cavaliers team without Kyrie Irving or Kevin Love would have no shot at beating us. Kent Bazemore himself stated that “I still think we’re the better team.” Hawks players, the city of Atlanta wants you to prove it. This year has been a great ride and an Eastern Conference Finals birth is incredible for this franchise. But this is a city that has been disappointed year in and year out by talented teams and is seeking it’s first championship in over 20 years. Even as a one-seed, we all know that a series sweep will have the media deeming us “the same old Hawks” once again. I’m declaring Game 3 a must-win game. Never in NBA history has a team recovered from a 0-3 deficit and and gone on to win a series. We can only hope we see a different team on the court come Sunday night.