So I'm sitting at the Panthers game today enjoying some football with my Dad and wondering how some people still have the nerve to even wear a Delhomme jersey?

The Hawks Collapse

I said the gap was smaller, but it is evident that the Hawks still have some growing up. Catching Orlando on a back to back and losing this way is unacceptable. 22 points in the entire second half and none by Joe Johnson in the 4th quarter. Orlando has completely taken over and shown more energy in the 2nd half than the Hawks have and they had 3 days off. Unacceptable.

Joe Johnson Part 2

Uh oh, Orlando is making the push that championship contendors do to teams in the 4th quarter and the Hawks need a savior. Guess who that is going to have to be? Joe if you want more than $60 mil this is the game, on national tv, against the Magic, where you are going to have to be the man for your team. Wade, 16 pts in the 4th quarter against this same Magic team last night. Obviously the Hawks have more offensive weapons than the Heat, but you all get my point.

Joe Johnson

Kobe has by far the most moves of any player in the league and Wade and LeBron may be more complete players, but there is no other player in the league, outside of Kobe, with more moves than Joe Johnson. I've counted at least 6 different moves this dude has made and we are just entering the 4th quarter. I told my boys before the season started that if you are bold enough to turn down 60 million, you have to believe you have something in store for the rest of the league.

3rd quarter

Whew, the Hawks are frigid this quarter, but it's a reason why and that is they have stopped moving the ball. Joe Johnson's going with too much one on one right now and this has allowed a more energetic Magic team to get back in the game. Howard is much more active in the 2nd half and Lewis is going to the rim more giving Howard much more opportunity to crash the offensive boards. The Magic have also started to double team the Hawks pick and roll as I said they would and they have created a couple turnovers off bad passes from the Hawks. I'm should be paid to scout teams. This is too easy.

Real Talk Halftime

Orlando needs to move the ball. They are sorely missing Jameer Nelson tonight and probably will miss him for awhile. I haven't seen the ball move side to side at all allowing the Hawks defense to continually be set and ready to help throughout a 24 sec possession. They need to move Dwight Howard around as well. Put him in some positions to screen for some of these shooters and get the wings from the Hawks moving on defense. Right now they look very stagnant.
Defensively, Josh Smith hasn't been able to attack Rashard Lewis as effectively as the Hawks thought he could. It's obvious this was Woodson's plan in the first half. But what has happened is that the Magic's rotations out of their doubles have left their guards with a dilemma of covering either Joe Johnson or Mike Bibby, a pick your poison choice. I wouldnt be surprised to see Van Gundy start to double the pick and rolls and get the ball out of Bibby and Johnson's hands and make Smith, Williams, and Horford have to make a play in the 2nd half.

The Gap

The Celtics, the Magic, and the Cavaliers all at the top of the food chain. The Hawks were an afterthought this season. But they are 7-0 at home this season, but most importantly they are winning on the road thus far, something they haven't been able to do over the past couple seasons since their epic series against Boston in the playoffs. And now that they can win on the road some, that gap has shrunk significantly. Boston thus far looks their age, the Magic are ultimately still a jumpshooting team (most of them do not win titles), and the Cavs are still a one man show. The Eastern Conference playoffs should be fun again finally

The Hawks Bench

This is one thing I definitely missed when I thought of the Hawks and how good they could be this season, but their bench is so much better than last year. Not only the addition of Crawford, but Zaza is a better player. Put this with the addition of Joe Smith and they still have Mo Evans and this is a group that can hold it's own, just like it did against the famed Orlando bench tonight. If Jeff Teague ever becomes consistent at the backup pg spot, this group could be one of the top 3 or 4 bench groups in the league.

Woodson

Wow, what a terrible coaching move. The Hawks were rolling offensively and for some reason Woodson pulls most of his starters, they lose their entire offensive rhythm and allow the Magic back into the game. The Magic are not shooting the ball well and yet are only down 2 points because of all the turnovers by the Hawks once the bench came in the game. Why wouldn't you go to the bench later in the quarter, not at the 4 min mark? Their lead should be much larger than 2 points. Bad move Coach Woodson.

Hawks - Magic

Its kind of sad watching Vince be a straight jumpshooter, but at least he is on fire tonight. The Hawks move the ball very well, no wonder they are playing good ball. It's going from side to side and they are really making the Magic work to get in position on their rotations. The Magic on the other hand are trying to feed Howard, but his game is still limited offensively. His problem is not the offensive firepower around him, it's the lack of firepower in his offensive repertoire.