A loss that says a lot about the Hawks

ON BASKETBALL

Typically, I'm not a proponent of writing about NBA teams and their fortunes in November. Or December or January, for that matter.

The season is too long, beginning in mid-fall and lasting until the beginning of summer. Entire buildings are constructed, entire pregnancies are survived, the world is sailed around during NBA seasons.

So, obviously, a lot can change during the course of the 82-game regular-season grind, followed by the protracted, made-for-TV playoffs. But, just two weeks into the 2008-09 season, I've got some bold predictions for you:

1. The Atlanta Hawks will make a strong run at winning the Southeast Division, battling the Orlando Magic to the end. Heck, scratch that last statement (I'm feeling really bold). And forget what my recent NBA preview said:

The Hawks will win the Southeast. Yep, you heard it here first.

2. The Atlanta Hawks will not be a "sleeper" in the playoffs. Rather, they'll be a contender. They will likely win one series and maybe two. And don't discount them when putting together your list of teams that can make a run at the defending-champion Boston Celtics.

Why am I writing this manifesto, here on Nov. 13, when half of America doesn't even know basketball season is underway? Well, let's just say the Hawks have made a stronger-than-Whiskey statement with their first seven games, including the only one they lost.

That happened last night, when they visited the last venue in which they lost a game with any meaning. Back on May 4, a Sunday afternoon, Atlanta traveled to Boston for a grand opportunity: a chance to knock off the heavily favored Celtics in Game 7 of the first round and advance in the playoffs.

It laid an egg, playing like the young team it was — immature, impatient, unfocused.

The Hawks were great at home during the series, winning all three games in HotLanta, making basketball relevant in the city for the first time since Dominique Wilkins routinely threw down thunderous putback dunks. But when it came to winning on Boston's home court, it was clear that the team still had to grow up, still had to find that steely focus that championship contenders maintain regardless of their next game's venue.

Well, I have no idea what most members of the Hawks did this summer — although I read an article that said Marvin Williams came back to Chapel Hill to work toward his degree, which shows his tremendous dedication, considering he spent just a single year playing for the Tar Heels. But whatever the players did, the came to training camp this fall a much-improved team both physically and mentally.

A lot was made of Josh Childress' departure for the great fortunes of basketball in Greece. Pundits thought the loss of their consistent sixth man would greatly hurt the Hawks. That hasn't been close to the case. Ronald "Flip" Murray and Maurice Evans have filled in admirable (although they're a fantasy owner's nightmare because they basically exchange having good games).

And the starting lineup has been one of basketball's best, as it showed in Boston Wednesday night. In the best game of the young season, the Hawks battled the Celtics down to the final seconds.

Williams, not known for his outside shooting, knocked down a 3-pointer — after the team's leading scorer, Joe Johnson, was double-teamed while driving down the baseline — and the Hawks took a one-point lead with 7 seconds remaining.

Of course the Celtics being the Celtics, Paul Pierce came back to make a difficult fadeaway jumper with 0.5 seconds remaining, giving Boston a thrilling 103-102 victory and ending Atlanta's perfect season.

But at 6-1, the Hawks have to be just as excited as Boston's fans were after watching their Celtics improve to 8-1. In two-weeks time, they have shown the NBA world that they definitely weren't a one-year fluke and that they definitely have the nucleus to maintain this type of play throughout the season.

At this point, I'd still rate Boston, Cleveland and Detroit — in that order — as the East's top trio of teams. But after them, it's a crap shoot. Philly has been disappointing this far, the Magic still don't play much defense and the Raptors are solid, but I still don't see championship potential there.

I'd make Atlanta my fourth-best team in the East right now. After making such a statement, I guess I owe you a few reasons:

1. In case you haven't noticed, Johnson is one of the NBA's best scorers. There's no doubt about it. Every night he's the focus of the opponent's defense, and every night he finds ways to score. He's a great shooter, he's a strong slasher, and he showed his passing ability by finding Williams for the go-ahead 3-pointer. He's a great lead-by-example guy.

2. Mike Bibby is the veteran presence the team needs. He's been through the playoff battles before (with Sacramento) and knows what it takes to win games like Wednesday's. And he plays the most important position, so when things start to slip, he can quickly get everyone back on track.

3. Al Horford will only get better. In just his second season, the Hawks' center is showing his potential. Just Tuesday, he scored 27 points and grabbed 17 rebounds. With Horford on my fantasy team, I was about to plan a party until I realized I was still losing. But in all seriousness, Horford has quickly proven that he's a legitimate starting center. And as we saw against Boston last season, he doesn't back down from anybody.

So there you go. Three reasons I'm not calling the fast start a fluke. Atlanta has the dogs to keep winning. Not at this pace, no, but at a good enough clip to win its division and get homecourt advantage in the first round of the postseason.

As it showed during this trip to Boston, basically the same group of players from last spring is now just as talented, just as hungry for success, more focused and certainly not intimidated by any opponent or any arena.

And that, to me, is enough to write such a glowing NBA column before even watching a full NBA game.

Hawks lay an egg in do-or-die Game 7

ON BASKETBALL

Mike Woodson should be upset with his players.

Not because they got obliterated by Boston in Game 7 of their first-round series.

Not because their season is over.

Not because they won't be able to play another game in front of their boisterous, rejuvenated fans.

No, the Atlanta coach should be furious because his team quit. Simple as that. As the Celtics' lead increased in front of their home crowd, the Hawks played with none of the attributes that created an unlikely Game 7.

No hustle.

No aggression.

No on-court communication.

No swagger.

Nope. The Hawks played their part Sunday, helping the Celtics recreate the Memorial Day Massacre.

The Celtics have played in hundreds of playoff games. But they have never given up as few as 24 first-half points. That's what they did.

The fact that I'm writing this before the start of the fourth quarter — and the Celtics lead by 36 points — speaks to how lopsided the game has been.

From the opening tip, there was no doubt who wanted to win this game more.

The Hawks' young players acted like they were lost. Josh Smith, 22, played as if he didn't sleep last night, fumbling the ball as often as a middle-school running back. Al Horford, the runner-up in rookie of the year voting, looked slow on both ends of the floor.

Atlanta is the more athletic of the two teams, but Boston snagged every loose ball, grabbed every 50-50 rebound. Even Boston's aging guards, such as Ray Allen, beat out Smith and Horford for rebounds.

Woodson and company should be embarrassed. Sure, nobody expected them to get this far, but at least play hard, at least compete.

It's sad when your strongest play of the game comes on a flagrant foul. That's what happened when Marvin Williams took down Rajon Rondo during Boston's huge third quarter, resulting in Williams getting thrown out of the game. The contest was so out of control by that point, the Celtics didn't even bother getting in Williams' face.

He exited the court ... and the massacre continued — with the back-on-his-feet Rondo leading the way.

Even if the Hawks had come out ready to play, they wouldn't have won. Boston was too good, too on top of its game. But things might have been a little more interesting. Maybe I could have held off on writing this until the game was actually over.

(By the way, another Boston missed shot just slipped through an Atlanta player's hands into those of a Celtic.)

It's amazing to me how bad the Hawks were on the road in this series. I know they're a young, inexperienced team. But a game is a game. The court remains 94 feet long, the ball is the same, the refs are pretty fair.

The series exposed just how immature the Hawks are. They were great at feeding off the energy of their home crowd, using its exuberance to come back several times and win all three of their home games. But when no one was rooting for them, they forgot how to play basketball.

And, sadly, on Sunday they forgot how to compete. This was exemplified several times when they didn't even attempt to chase down Boston fastbreaks.

What they need is a leader, a Kevin Garnett-type player who will get in Smith's face when he plays in a coma, who will tell Horford to stop being lazy and go after every missed shot. Veteran point guard Mike Bibby would seem like the man for the job, but he didn't show an ounce of leadership Sunday. Neither did leading scorer Joe Johnson.

That needs to be addressed before next season. A team can't go an entire 89 games with 12 road wins and expect to advance in the playoffs.

No one can question Atlanta's blend of natural talent and athleticism. It has the players to improve next year and make some noise in the playoffs.

But before any X's or O's are addressed, Woodson — if retained as coach — needs to sit down with his players and address a very simply matter:

That of showing up ready to compete in every game.

(And in case you're interested, Boston leads 91-55 with 5 minutes, 24 seconds remaining.)