Boston Massacre

I wanted to be the first person to type in the above title. It is ten minutes till three in the afternoon and the score of Game 7 between Atlanta and Boston is:

Boston 72 Atlanta 37

There is two and a half minutes left in the third quarter. The game is essentially finished and I suspect that there will be even more blood letting in the next few minutes. Marvin Williams was run out of the game earlier for slamming Rajon Rondo to the court in an obvious attempt to injure under the guise of stopping an easy lay-up. This marked the end of the game, the series, and the season. Atlanta at that point had been shooting under thirty percent from the field and only had been on the free throw line for four shots. The Hawks had completely done the exact opposite of what worked in Game 6. They played one on one. They took too many perimeter shots. They allowed the Celtics to man-handle them throughout the game. They lost their composure. They played like youngsters.

I can't be too hard on this team though. I'd like to, but I simply can't. Though this loss is embarrassing to say the least. The Hawks have left their mark on the first round of the play-offs. They have left their mark on the Celtics by providing the blue-print for possibly the Cavs and the Pistons to knock them off. They have left their mark on their fans.

The Hawks played in Boston ten years ago in an epic Game 7 match-up. Doc Rivers was the point guard for the Hawks. The Celtics were led by their Big 3 of Bird, McHale, and Parrish. The Hawks had the "Human Highlight Reel" Dominique Wilkins. What people may not remember is that the Hawks had been up 3-2 in the series and played Game 6 in Atlanta. They lost Game 6 in Atlanta and despite Dominique's 47 points lost a bitter kick to the knee Game 7 to the Celtics in Boston. The Hawks, at that moment, were at their zenith with the city of Atlanta and their fans. They sold out nearly every game in the Omni (a horrible but cute arena) and there was a buzz about them all over town. After Game 7, it was all gone. Nine straight years of losing records, diminishing crowds, changes in ownership, and two uniform changes followed. The ownership group is one of the most inept and disorganized in all of sports. Coach Woodson and GM Billy Knight (no relation to a chair throwing psychopath of a coach by the same name) don't talk to each other despite their life-long friendship. The GM is one of the worst in the history of sports. Taking Sheldon Williams over Chris Paul in the draft two years ago should be enough to convince anyone that GM Knight has been terrible and should be sent to Siberia with Isiah Thomas and the Siberian Ice Queen. Sorry, I can't let that one go.

This series despite it's seventeen total technicals should be the coming of age for this young team. Despite looking terrible, jittery, and in awe in Games 1,2, (and 7) they played with energy, chemistry, heart, and courage by standing up against absurd odds to a more talented and more experienced team and took them all the way to the edge. They played with composure and unselfishness. They stood up from the mat when it mattered. They came together. They showed how talented and young they are. A nucleus of Williams, Josh Smith, JJ, Horford, and Law has shown to have huge up-side potential as seen in this play-off run. The team is full of talent and fierce athleticism. The fans were energized by the young Hawks run. A buzz fell onto the city of Atlanta about the Hawks for the first time in ten years. It would be an absolute shame and travesty for the ownership group to continue their pattern of gross malpractice and misconduct by breaking the team apart. Let's hope that despite the ownership's basic instinct to make irrational business moves that they can stay together to build on their enormous progress and potential. I am convinced that the GM needs to go before the next draft in the hopes that someone else will be picking the next first and second round draft choices. This may mean that Woodson may have to go as well. However, there are a number of top coaches out there for the taking with huge potential to turn the Hawks into a more cogent, organized, and more disciplined squad. The fans are now back on the team's bandwagon (Bibby's comments about Boston's fans also hold true for Atlanta fans times 300). There is now too much potential that it would be horrible to see it go down the tubes now.

Just like in 1988.