| 29 December 2011
There seems to be a theme for the Hawks first week of the season - easy. It's like a new song just waiting to be written, Don't Ya Wish Your Schedule Was Cake Like This. Let's not get carried away though.
The Hawks definitely got an easy ride in the first week of the season. Nets, Wizards, Nets, Rockets. I mean come on, if that's not cake I don't know what is. It's almost too easy to get lulled into a false sense of believing that this kind of performance will go on against the Heat next week. Sure, I think the Hawks can beat the Heat, but it won't be easy and it definitely won't be cake.
This week though is like a giant, fluffy, sweet piece of cake. It's a confidence builder no doubt. It's a chance to run all the new schemes and lineups you want because it's not like you're going to lose the game. It's a time to gain some momentum for when you have to face an actual competitive team. What it is not is a time to think that the Hawks can keep up this torrid pace and absolute beating down of opponents come next week.
Yes, fans I do believe the Hawks can beat any team on any given day but I don't think their wins this week are indicative of much outside of the fact that they are playing some truly abysmal teams. Yes, we have been able to see some new schemes and lineups with our new players, especially the bench guys but it really says little about how the team will perform against the likes of the Heat. We won't be able to know that until it actually happens next week.
In the meantime, let them eat cake. Once again, the Hawks rolled over a team from start to finish. They led the game from beginning to end. They were able to score almost at will and once again came out with a big one-sided win. Even still, coach Drew said that there were times in the game that the team lacked defensive intensity. I am not sure the Wizards would agree. I am not sure I would agree with both Josh Smith and Al Horford grabbing 10 boards.
The Hawks had 11 offensive rebounds. They were about 43% from the floor, only 39% on threes and another 80% from the charity stripe. Joe Johnson led all Hawks scorers with 18 and Jeff Teague led with 5 assists. Marvin Williams stayed hot with 17 points and 8 rebounds on the night. The Hawks had 6 players in double digit points. The Hawks bench put in 29 points with Stackhouse and Collins not playing at all. Tracy McGrady contributed again to a win for the Hawks with 11 points. The Hawks had 8 steals and 5 blocked shots but they also committed 14 turnovers on the game.
In this shortened season, a win is a win be it cake or otherwise. The Hawks have been feasting on cake so far this week but eventually the cake is gone. We all need to enjoy it while we can. Let's go Hawks!!
