Cavaliers VS Hawks (Game 4)

Cavaliers Win 4-0

Get out your brooms because it's a.... sorry Hawks fans. Anyways, this game was entertaining and while I wish the Hawks got a clean look at a shot, that just wasn't how the game played out.

The Hawks seemed to think that the Cavs would just stop making 3-pointers. They just didn't understand that if you get an open shot from 3, it's almost like a 3-pointer. Somehow, Kevin Love shot just 36% from the field while he shot 53.3% from 3-point on 8-15 shooting from deep. Kevin Love was literally wide open from 3-point range, and the defense never adjusted. If a guy is making 3s, you get out on him!

I thought that the defense at the end of the game from the Hawks was the worst defense from any team this playoffs. This was from a great defensive team. They allowed LeBron to get a wide open pass right underneath the hoop and they watched him put up 3 or 4 shots in 1 possession. Then, towards the very end of the game when they needed a stop, Paul Millsap, instead of cutting off LeBron, he let's LeBron catch a pass towards the hoop. Millsap trails him thinking he could just get up there and block it. Of course, this ends up being called a goaltend! All of this could have been prevented if the players made the right defensive play.

You could say the Hawks lost because of their poor 3-point shooting and shots just weren't falling. You could say that the Cavs hit lucky shots. But the fact of the matter is, the Hawks defense was brutal at the end of the game. The will to win wasn't there. There was no want from the players. They didn't want to play defense and this lost them the series. 

Cavaliers VS Hawks (Game 3)

Cavaliers Lead Series 3-0

This was a must-win game for the Hawks, and they lost. This series doesn't look good for them. Game 4 could be a closer for the Cavs.

The Hawks had the lead in the 4th quarter but ended up playing really careless. They had 4 turnovers in the 4th. They also played very poor defense. Kyrie got tons of open looks. He had 12 points in the 4th. Channing Frye had 11 in the 4th as he made all of his shots in the quarter. The Hawks offense was scrambling and they could not get any shots to fall.

The Hawks need more production, they just can't match the Cavs. The Hawks need much more production from their bench but they can't seem to get enough. The Cavs are shooting the lights out from deep which is really hurting them. They have such a deep roster, it's hard to compete with.

This was the Hawks chance to win, they just were sloppy towards the end of the game. They need to take care of the ball and play better defense. They need to be the Hawks.

Cavaliers VS Hawks (Game 2)

Cavaliers Lead Series 2-0

There was no stopping the Cavs last night. They couldn't seem to miss a shot. Let's just take a look at just how well they played.

The Cavs shot 25-45 from 3-point range. This is truly amazing simply because it's never been done before. Even LeBron James, who has struggled from 3, made 4 of them. All but 3 players on the Cavs team made a 3. It was clear that the Cavs couldn't be stopped.

However, the defense from the Hawks didn't help. Cleveland had 29 point off turnovers and most of those points were 3 pointers. The Hawks also did a very poor job contesting shots. They did a horrible job as there were more uncontested shots that the Cavs took that contested. It usually is the other way around. Their defense was just out of whack. They just didn't get back in transition and left guys open. The fact that Cleveland only had 24 points in the paint tells you that the Hawks didn't even try to force the Cavs to drive. They let them take the 3.

While this was an amazing site to see before my eyes, I was very discouraged in the Hawks effort. They really need to catch a break from the Cavs and they better hope they've cooled down by then. The Hawks need to get their big men involved and really play good defense. They must start out strong. 

Cavaliers VS Hawks (Game 1)

Cavaliers Lead Series 1-0

The Cavs played good overall, but this was not what the Hawks can do. They had a very poor performance. I really was surprised on just how poorly the Hawks played.

The Hawks shot just 37.9% from the field. Not something that they are known for at all. Some people might argue that the Cavs defense was great, but I have to disagree. The Hawks shot more uncontested shots than contested shots. The problem was, they weren't hitting their open shots. In fact, they hit just 37.5 of their uncontested shots. They shot 48 of them! It seemed like Horford and Millsap just couldn't hit a post shot. They did a great job; they just couldn't get the shots to fall.

Dennis Schroder kept the Hawks in the game. He finished with 27 points in the game, leading points for both teams. They could really use another good performance from him in game 2. The Hawks need their starters to produce more though. Teague finished with just 8 points. Korver had 3 points in 37 minutes. Horford had 10. The Hawks just need to hit more shots.

The Cavs were very tough to defend in the game. Everyone was hitting 3's with really spaced the floor. J.R. Smith, Kyrie, Richard Jefferson, and Kevin Love were all hitting 3's. This really opened up the paint for LeBron. It really helped that LeBron was hitting outside shots as well. This forced the defense to guard him at the 3-point line which enabled him to get into the paint easily.

The Hawks really just need to hit shots. They didn't in this game. I expect them to heat up and the Cavs to cool down. If this happens, we will have some close games that might make this the series we've been waiting for.

Hawks VS Celtics (Game 6)

Hawks Win Series 4-2

The Hawks closed out the series last night. They played great and look like they are looking forward to their match up vs the Cavs. Let's just take a look at what the Hawks did this game that they must carry over to next series.

This Hawks team played great defense. They had amazing defensive rotations and were very, very sound defensively. They had the Celtics shooting just 36.2% from the field. They were contesting tons of shots, not allowing any easy points from the Celtics. This defense was so great. I can see them really pressuring LeBron next series when he tries to drive and they might let him take outside shots as well. The Hawks seem like they can handle the Cavs defensively, but what about offensively?

The Hawks were great offensively. 6 players had at least 10 points. Horford was back on track as he had 15 points. Millsap had 17. The team shot 51.4% from 3. They were getting off great shots as well. They shot very well in the paint, in fact, they had 48 points in the paint. They are going to need to cut down the turnovers because they had 18 of them on the night. If the Hawks are going to win next round, Horford and Millsap are going to have to take over in the post. Millsap needs to just destroy Love. I think that the Cavs would be smart to start Mozgov on Horford for a better defensive matchup. If the Hawks can make shots like they did last night, they will be in the position to win against them.

I really enjoyed watching this series. It was nice that they had a couple of games that were close and 1 even went into overtime. The Hawks now most prepare for their next series, because they have a tough road ahead of them. If anyone can do it, it's the Hawks!

Hawks VS Celtics (Game 5)

Hawks Lead Series 3-2

When Isaiah Thomas scores only 7 points for the Celtics, you have to find other options. The Hawks played great defense as they surrounded Isaiah Thomas. They wouldn't let the guard get a shot off. Since nobody else was willing to make plays, the Hawks just continued to swarm Thomas. While Thomas suffered from an ankle injury, he said that he will play in game 6.

As for the Hawks offense. It was great. 5 players had at least 10 points. 12 players had at least 2 points. They shared the ball so well as they ended with 30 assists on the night. They also won the rebounding and defensively, they forced 20 turnovers on the Celtics. They had 19 fastbreak points as well. The Celtics defense was scrambled, which was odd because the Celtics are a great defensive team. They destroyed the Celtics

The Hawks just need to keep up this intensity going into Boston. If they can keep it up, they should be looking at a win. On the other hand, the Celtics are looking at elimination next game. But I have confidence that Brad Stevens will find a way to stop the Hawks and get points up on the board. He always seems to be able to do it.

Hawks VS Celtics (Game 4)

Series Tied 2-2

This was a crazy game. There were a lot of plays that you could say decided the game. Let's take a look at them.

This game was an amazing win for the Celtics. Amir Johnson was amazing defensively. He really kept Al Horford quiet. Horford only had 5 points on the night. Starting Amir at the 5 has lead to 2 Celtic wins and 0 losses this postseason. The whole team really did a great job defending. The Hawks shot just 37% from the field and 27.9% from long range. The Celtics really let the Hawks take tons of mid-range shots. The Hawks didn't make many of them either.

The Celtics offense was great. Most of the shots they took were either open 3's or open looks in the paint. Jonas Jerebko really took some pressure off Thomas as he had 16 points shooting very well from 3. Marcus Smart also played well. He had 20 points while also dishing out 6 assists off the bench. The Celtics moved the ball so well it helped get their players wide open looks.

If the Celtics played so well, then why was this such a close game? Well, Paul Millsap really carried the team. He had 45 points, 13 rebounds, 3 assists, 4 blocks, and 2 steals. The Atlanta Hawks relied on him to make plays. However, towards the end of the game in OT, Paul Millsap wasn't looking to score. Since he wasn't aggressive, this ultimately lead to the Hawks downfall.


The Hawks made some weird plays down the stretch. Something that I noticed was that Korver closed out hard on Jae Crowder at the 3-point line, a guy that shot 2-9 from 3 in the game and really bad from 3 in the series. Crowder blew by Korver, kicked it to Turner, who threw it out to Jonas Jerebko who was wide open from 3. He decided to shoot the ball and he ended up making it. So why did they close out so hard on Jae Crowder but left the guy who was shooting 50% from 3 in the game wide open. Jerebko is one of the Celtics best 3-point shooter and Jae Crowder is struggling. This was towards the end of the 4th quarter too.

I was also confused on how Jeff Teague went into isolation and with 3 seconds left had another player kind of interfere with the play so Jeff Teague had to put a 3-pointer, but didn't even put it up. But I can't really blame this loss on Teague because he is the reason the game went into OT.

While there were some slip ups, this was an amazing game to watch and I really hope the rest of the series is just like this.

Hawks VS Celtics (Game 3)

Hawks Lead Series 2-1

Last night was Isaiah's night. Isaiah Thomas came out and won the game as he finished with 42 points. The Hawks couldn't seem to match it, but could've they won the game?

The Hawks were brutal from 3-point range. They couldn't get a 3-pointer to fall. They were 2-17 in the1st half. That was their big problem, they wouldn't stop shooting them. They took 36 threes and only made 9 of them. And it wasn't like they were taking a lot of open shots either, they took a lot of contested ones, which was very strange for this Hawks team. When the 3 isn't falling you have to take it inside.

Atlanta Hawks - 3-point Shot Chart - www.nba.com/stats

They Hawks did a great job fixing this in the second half though. They finished the game with 52 points in the paint which is how they made their comeback.

Evan Turner was a big reason for the Hawks win. He had 17 points, 7 assists, and 5 steals as he filled the starting role for Avery Bradley in the game. But that wasn't the only lineup change that really lead to the Celtics win. They also put Jae Crowder at the 4 to guard Millsap and Amir Johnson at the 5 to guard Al Horford. This proved to be a great move as Millsap and Horford had a combined total of 16 points. They really took away the Hawks advantage that they had over the Celtics. The defensive effort really lead to the Celtics win.

Overall, Isaiah Thomas just had a really good night. He was very aggressive, realizing that his team needed him to produce. This ultimately lead to the a Celtics win. The combination of the defense and offense from the Celtics was just too much for the Hawks and you have to really credit Brad Stevens and the great job he on making changes.

Hawks VS Celtics (Game 2)

Hawks Lead Series 2-0

The Boston Celtics dropped game 2. They had a lot of mistake, but they still can come back in the series. Let's take a look at what needs to happen for this team to win though.

The loss of Avery Bradley is a very devastating one. He is a knock down shooter, a very great perimeter defender, a great team player, and a guy who delivers at the end of games. If you remember last years match up in the Eastern Semi-conference finals between the Hawks and the Wizards, Bradley Beal had pressured Kyle Korver a lot. He forced Korver to put up tough shots and shoot uncharacteristically low from 3. That was Avery Bradley in this series. Kyle Korver shot very, very bad in game 1. In game 2 without Bradley, Kyle Korver shot 5-7 from 3-point range. Without Bradley, Korver is a big threat. They have to change that and have Marcus Smart chase him around the whole game unfortunately. Marcus Smart just needs to get up on him.

That leads me to my next point. Marcus Smart shot horribly from the field. He was 1-11 from the field and 1-6 from 3. He finished the game with 3 points. That is not filling the role of Avery Bradley at all. Without his production, they need someone to fill that in.

Speaking of bad shooting. The whole Celtics team shot poorly. Jae Crowder has not looked good at all since his knee injury. Game 1 he shot bad, and game 2 he shot 1-9 from the field and 0-4 from deep. He was wonderful defensively but was very rough offensively. Isaiah Thomas was just 4-15 from the field. They couldn't hit open shots. They shot just 28.6% on uncontested field goals. They got great looks, they just couldn't make them. You can have great defense, but you won't win if you're shooting 31.8% from the field as a team.

Boston Celtics - Shot Chart - www.nba.com/stats

One thing that was clear was that Amir Johnson deserves to start for this Celtics team. Johnson held Paul Millsap to just 1-12 shooting. Johnson also had 14 points and forced Millsap to turn the ball over 5 times. However, despite Johnson's defensive play, the Celtics can't put him on both Millsap and Horford at the same time. Horford ended the game with 17 points. The Celtics just don't stand much of a chance in the post.

The Celtics need to play much better on offense if they are to win this series. You need your top 2 players to perform, which they didn't do in game 2.

Hawks VS Celtics (Game 1)

Hawks Lead Series 1-0

This game was a tale of 2 halves. Boston lost the first half, Atlanta lost the second. After watching this whole game, I realized that this was going to be an interesting series.

If you take a look at the first half, the Celtics played very poorly. Jae Crowder shot just 1-10 from the floor and Isaiah Thomas shot just 2-8. The team shot just 23.1% from the field, 12.5% from 3, and ended the half with just 34 points. They also had no fastbreak points! Defensively, the Celtics seemed late on every defensive rotation, the help side was always late, and they gave up 26 points in the paint.

Boston's 1st half - shot chart - www.nba.com/stats

As for the Hawks, their big men dominated. Horford, Millsap, and Bazemore had a combined 31 points. Boston's big men were just too slow to react to the guards and the bigs of the Hawks. Jeff Teague was doing a wonderful job of making the extra pass to find the big man off the high pick and roll that Millsap and Horford thrive in. The Hawks were doing great.

The second half came around and the Celtics did a great job of defending the pick and roll. Everyone was on the same page. Crowder and Thomas stepped up their game and the Celtics picked up their percentages. They shot 50% from the field and 47.4% from deep in the second half. The big thing that brought them back into the game was transition. The Celtics went from having no fastbreak points in the 1st half to having 15 in the 2nd.

As for the Hawks, their bench couldn't convert in the second half and Korver was just brutal. He has 0-7 from 3 on the game. They were well defended, but the Hawks just didn't get back in transition. What won the Hawks the game was their late game defense. They made sure that every shot was contested and defended the ball handler really well. They executed in the last few minutes which got them the win.

While the Celtics lost, if they had a different 1st half, it could've been a much different game. I am very excited for this series as it continues and I think this could come down down to an amazing game 7. It will really depend on who wins, Atlanta's frontcourt or Boston's backcourt.

3-0 One More to Go!

Well, this Conference Finals hasn't been that great so far. We have seen 2 teams dominate while the other 2 are left in the dust. The Golden State Warriors and the Cleveland Cavaliers have a 3-0 lead against their opposing teams. Notice what the teams have done so well this series.

The Warriors have been great. They have done a great job of using guys like Andrew Bogut and Draymond Green. They make sure that James Harden is the only one scoring by keeping him out of the paint. When you keep him out, he is forced to take jumpers and he isn't able to kick the ball to a wide open player spacing out. The Rockets could really use a guy like Montiejunas or Beverley but they are both out with injury which is very unfortunate for a team like the Rockets. Stephen Curry has done a great job spacing the floor and they are doing a great job of getting it in the paint. When they get it in the paint, they either score or kick it out for a 3 pointer. The Rockets haven't played bad, they just haven't finished out in 4th quarters, leaving the Warriors up 3-0, with One more to go.

The Cavaliers are up because of one reason. The Hawks have played horribly. Maybe they are playing bad because the Cavs are playing great defense. Maybe it's cause the Hawks are playing horrible defense. Maybe it's cause the Hawks don't have a star player to carry them. Or maybe it's because of injuries like the Thabo Sefolosha incident. All of these things contribute to it. The Hawks are just not like the Hawks. If this was the Warriors against this injured Cavs team without Love or Irving, the Warriors would be up 3-0. Honestly, If your the Hawks, you have to realize that this roster won't win you a championship. They desperately need a star player. They have no one to rely on to make big shots at the end of game. Who shot those last shots in the game, was it Mack or someone like that. I don't even really know who it was. They are depending on some random bench player to make shots. Sure, I like getting everyone involved, but there is a point where you need someone to take over. But instead, the Cavs are up 3-0 with One more to go.

How the NYPD Ruined the Hawks Post-Season

 

When Police are tackling you, you have to cooperate. But cops should explain why they are tackling you and give some assurance. Now I don't really know what happened, all I know is that Thabo Sefolosha was injured and was out for the rest of the playoffs.

After the incident, the Hawks just lost confidence. They had no bench player who had major playoff experience. Take a look at this guy.

• 1 Steals per game (playoffs career)
• 4.6 PPG (playoff career)
• 78 Playoff games
• 67 Playoff starts

As you can see, this is a great veteran to have in the playoffs. After he was injured, the Hawks just didn't look like the Hawks. They haven't shot well, they haven't played well, they haven't been the Hawks. Korver Hasn't even been Korver as the Hawks were taken out of rhythm. They could barley beat the Wizards. Now they are struggling against the Cavaliers. I think the main problem is the Hawks defense. If they had Sefolosha, they would be a much better defensively. Thabo is a great defensive player and would be suited to play help defense and the team would be so much better.

I don't know. I just think that the absence of Sefolosha just threw the Hawks off. They can't even beat the Cavs without Kyrie Irving and Kevin Love. I think if they had Thabo, they would be so much better right now. Just think, this was all because of the NYPD. They are supposed to help people, but they hurt the Hawks.

Hawks VS Cavaliers (game 1)

Final Score: Cavs win 97-89



Cavaliers lead series 1-0

This was a really weird game. The Hawks build up a lead. Then the Cavs catch up. J.R. Smith knocks down a bunch of shots. The Hawks fall way behind. DaMarre Carroll gets injured. Then the Hawks fall behind a lot but catch up a little. The Cavs ended up winning in the end. Really odd game and a lot happened. Let's take a look.

• 1st Quarter: The Hawks played great in the first quarter. They had a 26-20 lead at the end of the first quarter. They limited LeBron to just 1-3 shooting and he had just 2 points. At that point though, the Cavs lead the rebound advantage 15-6. Jeff Teague had 9 points in the quarter. Kyrie Irving had 2 threes and Tristan Thompson and Timofey Mozgov had a combined total of 11 rebounds.
• 2nd Quarter: This quarter was a little different. By the end of the quarter the game was tied and the Cavs had scored 31 points in the quarter. LeBron shot 7-9 in that quarter and had 14 points. J.R. Smith had 3 threes in the quarter and shot only 4. Only 4 Cavs players scored in this quarter. Matthew Dellavedova missed all 4 shots he took including 3 three pointers. Jeff Teague had 8 points in the quarter. Kyle Korver didn't even take a shot as he was the only one that didn't score on the Hawks that quarter. The Hawks had a total of 5 turnovers in that quarter.
• 3rd Quarter: In this quarter, the Hawks only made 4 shots. 4 shots! They shot 23% from the floor. What saved them? Paul Millsap's free throws of course. He was 5-6 from the free throw line. The team was 7-8. The Hawks were outscored 23-16 in that quarter. The Hawks also had 5 turnover in the quarter again. They did do a better job on LeBron as he had shot just 1-5 in the quarter but LeBron shot 4-4 from the free throw line. J.R. Smith had 8 points in that quarter.
• 4th Quarter: Now this was just a disaster for the Hawks. DeMarre Carroll ended up getting injured. Then Paul Millsap was just getting sick of LeBron and could not guard him. Millsap ended up getting a technical for arguing. The Hawks only made 1-8 from the 3 point line in the quarter. And J.R. Smith hit 3 threes in the quarter. Again, only 4 Cavs players scored in that quarter. LeBron had 9 points. The Hawks ended up loosing the game.

The Hawks just have to play LeBron better. I think the main thing is just that they have to get Kyle Korver involved in the game more. Also, they can't have 10 turnovers in 2 consecutive quarters. That kills them. They also just need to shoot better. They need Korver to just take shots. The Hawks can't be shooting 4-23 from 3 point range. Hopefully Carroll recovers fast and the Hawks can have a better game.

The Conference Finals!

In this post we are going to look at both of the series in the conference finals and see what all 4 teams have to do in order to win. Let's start off with the West.

Warriors VS Rockets: This is going to be a tough series for the Rockets. They not only have to match the Warriors offense but they have to play great defense. This is probably the best they can do for defensive match-ups.

Jason Terry on Stephen Curry
Trevor Ariza on Klay Thompson
James Harden on Harrison Barnes
Josh Smith on Draymond Green
Dwight Howard on Andrew Bogut.

I think that you will have to start Josh Smith again against this Warriors team. You will also see Corey Brewer get a lot of minutes. He will probably be placed on Klay and chase him around alot.

For the Warriors, the best thing to do is probably put Draymond Green on James Harden to start and see how that plays out. Harrison Barnes isn't going to play that great on defense guarding Harden. I think the best way to go is to put Klay Thompson on Harden so you can have Barnes on Ariza. Klay is a great defender.

The Warriors need to keep the Rockets out of the paint which they can do with 2 top inside defenders. And this is where the Rockets might want to start Jones to space out Green so the paint is more cleared out. If the Rockets get into the paint, they are hard to stop


Hawks VS Cavaliers: After seeing the Hawks vs the Wizards, I don't think the Hawks have much of a chance. They really have to use Kyle Korver in this one. I honestly think that if you are the Cavs, you almost have to start Shumpert just to keep Korver contained. If Korver gets going, then the Hawks are tough to beat. J.R. Smith would have a tough time on Korver if he started to make some shots.

The Hawks are going to have to put Carroll on LeBron. Carroll is going to have to back off of LeBron and let him take jump shots. He can't let him drive though. LeBron gets most of his points in the paint so he has to keep him out of there. I have faith that Jeff Teague will do his job on guarding Kyrie. And with Love gone, Paul Millsap will be able to double team and have an easier time on defense. Al Horford is going to have to really do a great job hedging screens as there will be a lot with him guarding Mozgof.

The Cavs have to rely on there bench to produce because you know that the Hawks bench will produce. The Cavs bench will have to match that. Since the Hawks don't rely on one person, you know they will score with everybody, and you have to play great defense because everyone's a treat. I would look for this Cavs team to switch on a lot of screens since the Hawks bigs are undersized.


Well, that's my breakdown of the Conference Finals. Remember, I will keep you updated on all NBA playoff action. Feel free to comment below.

Hawks VS Wizards (game 5 YouTube Breakdown)

Hawks win 82-81



Hawks lead series 3-2

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Hawks VS Wizards (game 5)

Final Score: Hawks win 82-81



Hawks lead series 3-2

Horford Traveled. That's the first thing I yelled when I saw that play. I waited for the call. It never came. I left the room so mad, not because the Hawks won, but because the NBA rules and the refs let the team win the game illegally. You can't replay this and fix it and all 3 refs missed the travel. However, the Wizards made some mistakes themselves, let's take a look.

The Wizards need to do better with help defense. they don't help and then the wrong people help and then others don't cover the people they should have been covering. It was just a mess. I looked at every defensive play that the Hawks scored on and over half of them had problems with help defense. This is a problem that needs to be addressed. They really need to fix this problem. Next, Gortat doesn't read what the defense is doing. If he is double teamed he puts up a shot and if he has a lane, he doesn't take it. They did a good job of finding the open guy on the weak side though. They also have situations where they need to do better on screens. There was poor communication and that needs to be addressed. They sometimes need to switch and sometimes need to get back on their man. The defense for the Wizards was just horrible.

The Hawks played good overall. They did have streaks where they missed shots and committed a lot of turnovers at once. They had 23 turnovers total. They also need to get back on their man and stop double teaming people. They really need to cut down on that. Jeff Teague looked lost on defense a lot of times. He just looked like he didn't know what was happening, he would walk away from his man. Someone else would guard him and he would just stand there and not find someone. He was really lazy and it just wasn't Teague. I don't know if he was tired or whatever, but he needs to play better defense. Mike Muscala played great defense and did a great job setting screens. He slipped a couple of the screens which got him great open looks. He also did a great job of using pump fakes and pass fakes. The Hawks need to win 1 of their next 2 games. Can they do it? Well, they have some mistakes to fix first.

Hawks VS Wizards (game 4)

Final Score: 106-101



Series tied 2-2

This was a crucial game. A must win for the Hawks. They needed to win or else, elimination could have been right around the corner. How did they win, and what do they need to do next game. Let's take a look.

Jeff Teague hit a very clutch 3 pointer. Teague just had a great game. You could tell, he didn't want to lose. He hit shots, but he also found his teammates open in the lane and on the perimeter. Dennis Schroder did a great job of attacking the rim. I was very impressed with that. This Hawks team needs to play better perimeter defense as they are allowing too much on the inside and from 3. The Hawks had a total of 30 assists and it wasn't just one person contributing to that. 3 people had at least 6 assists. One thing that they should do is try to get Kyle Korver involved in the offense more. He has been horrible this series and they need to get him going. The thing I loved the most was how they got Horford involved in the offense. Horford had a total of 70 touches and he got off 18 shots.

The Wizards are suffering without John Wall. They miss the passing effect he has had on the game. If someone was open, he would get them the ball. Without him, it's tough. Ramon Sessions doesn't have nearly the offensive or defensive game that Wall has. Players have stepped up though. Will Bynum has played great and he had 10 points off the bench in the last game. Bradley Beal played a great game but he couldn't carry his team. He 34 points, 6 rebounds, 7 assists, and a big block on Schroder. He needs others to make shots though. Without John Wall, that's hard to do. Can they win without John Wall? Tell me what you think.

Hawks VS Wizards (game 3)

Final score: Wizards win 103-101



Wizards lead series 2-1

Paul Pierce wanted to win more than anybody else. He wanted to make that shot. He had to fade-away just to get up a shot. And he made it. Pierce lied on the floor as Marcin Gortat and Bradley Beal came running toward him full speed. Of course, the Hawks made a great run to get the game tied up. Let's take a look how they managed to do that.

The Hawks had a great 4th quarter. Dennis Schroder had 16 points in just the fourth quarter. Al Horford, Paul Millsap, and DeMarre Carroll didn't really even play in that quarter. They relied on their bench for the whole 4th. In the first 3 quarters the Hawks only scored 66 points. In the 4th they had 35. A big factor was that they shot just 25% from 3 in the first 3 quarters. Kyle Korver made just 2 shots in the entire game and he ended with 6 points. That can't happen. He needs to get into the game more. Jeff Teague shot 33% from the floor and missed both the 3's he attempted. Their starters just did play well. They played bad transition defense and didn't close out. They need to change a lot and get off to a great start next game.

The Wizards had an extraordinary game. They had great ball movement and had a total of 340 passes as the Hawks only had 270 passes. You know your passing well if you out pass the Hawks. Bradley Beal did great on offense having 17 points and also 8 assists! Otto Porter had 17 points, 9 rebounds, and 4 assists off the bench. After having no field goals in the first 2 games, Nene had 17 points shooting 7-9 from the floor. Will Bynum had a great game as he shot 2 very important free throws and made them both. He also knocked down a three and had a nice layup in transiton as it was an and-1 opportunity. Paul Pierce. Well, he just won the game, that's all. Marcin Gortat had 13 points, 8 rebounds, 3 assists, 1 steal, and 3 blocks as he shot 6-7 from the field. This team had great individual and a great team performance. If they keep this up, they have a good shot of moving on to the next round. The only thing that they need to work on is transition defense. They didn't do too great and really need to just get back. A casual jog isn't good enough. You need to beat your opponent back on defense. Otto Porter really went after the ball and went for everything. He had great hustle at both ends. Like I said, the Wizards have a great shot at making it to the next round. Let's see what they can do.

Hawks VS Wizards (game 2)

Final Score: Hawks win 106-90



Series tied 1-1

John Wall was out. There was really no leader for the Wizards. The Hawks really did take control of the game. Let's take a look at what the Wizards need to improve on as they go back home.

The Wizards need John Wall. Simple as that. This guy averages over 10 assists per game. He runs the offense. He is like a Ricky Rubio that can score better. When he is on the floor, everyone plays so much better. Take a look at this, the Wizards took more contested shots than uncontested shots. That is a sign of lack of ball movement. Next, Nene and Gortat only had a combined 12 points. Wall's ability to get it low to the posts is better than anyone else in the league. Wall is like Chris Paul dishing to DeAndre Jordan and Blake Griffin or Rubio dishing to Kevin Love or Pekovic (throwback to last year). When you take away Chris Paul and Ricky Rubio, what do you have, 2 bigs having to try really hard just to touch the ball. What did they do great of? Ramon Sessions played great. He had a great second half. Paul Pierce shot great from the three point line. In fact the whole team shot 54.5% from deep, which is very impressive for a team like the Wizards. Last, they contained Jeff Teague to only 9 points.

The Hawks played a great overall game. They had 10 turnovers but made them all up with 10 steals. Everybody went for every loose ball and played their hardest. They had great ball movement and wanted to get everyone involved. One thing they could do better is get Kyle Korver some more touches. This guy only had 14 points off of only 40 touches. He needs the ball more. His usage was the lowest on his team at 13.2%! That is unacceptable. Other than that they look like they are in great shape for the next game as long as they play the same in game 3.

On to the Next Round: The Semi-Conference Finals

On to the next one. I can't believe the first round is over. It is so shocking and I can't believe it. All the great match-ups we have, and I will breakdown all of them for you.

Warriors VS Grizzlies: This is an easy one for me. I think that the Warriors will win and have an easy time is Conley isn't back. Stephen Curry (your MVP) will have an easy time with Nick Calthes and Ben Udrih. It should be easy for this Warriors team. Marc Gasol will have a tougher time with top notch defender, Andrew Bogut, guarding him. And Zach Randolph will have a really tough time with Draymond Green guarding him.

Hawks VS Wizards: Oh man, this one is tough. I think that the Hawks will win just because they have had more success this season. The only thing is that the Wizards have won a lot of late and you think that must give them more of a chance to win. John Wall is going to have to play great against Teague like he played against Lowry. Bradley Beal vs. Kyle Korver is the main match-up I will be looking at though. I think that these two teams have great match-ups with teh starting line-ups which is what makes it such a tough one to predict. Everyone is so evenly matched and no-one has an advantage.

Rockets VS Clippers: I think that the Clippers will win. The transition and inside game for the Clippers is way too good for the Rockets to handle. J.J. Redick will have to pick up his defense but I honestly think that Matt Barnes should guard James Harden for most of the series. I think that for any wins for the Rockets James Harden will do most of the "heavy lifting".

Cavaliers VS Bulls: I think that this is pretty much unpredictable. The whole Chicago Bulls roster is unpredictable. The Bulls I think could win this though. They are a great team and the Cavs will not have Kevin Love for the series and J.R. Smith for 2 games. It will be tough for this Cavaliers team. I think that Derrick Rose will have to do a lot and kind of keep Kyrie contained. The real question is, who will guard LeBron.

I am so sorry by the way. I was in Canada. I just want everyone to know, Winnipeg is a great place to go to. I got to wear a Wizards shirt without anyone being able to make fun of me and it is defiantly a friendly place to go to. Do not stay at the Days Inn there though. I give it a half a star. I had to change rooms because the doors didn't work, the TV remote didn't work, there was nasty stuff all over the bathroom floor, the AC was way too loud and barley could cool down the room (it would make random noises in the middle of the night), the Wi-Fi was the worst ever, and the TV just shut off right in the middle of Dr. Phil. It was getting intense. This lady was about to find out if her "boyfriend" was real. I felt like we could have jsut have gotten to bad rooms, but this kid name Calvin had the same problem with his room doors. So if you do go there, try pushing on the doors to open them and see if you need the key to open them. If it pushes open, you got room 209.