Caption for photo Atlanta Hawks' Joe Johnson shoots during an NBA basketball game against the Boston Celtics Friday, Jan. 29, 2010 in Atlanta. (AP Photo/John Bazemore)
A few weeks ago the Atlanta Hawks completed a 4-0 season sweep against their rivals, the Boston Celtics, and with that victory many questions were raised. How good are the Hawks? Can they make it to the Eastern conference finals? Can they beat the Cleveland Cavaliers in seven games? The answers to these questions are they are alright, no and don't be ridiculous.
I think the Hawks are gonna go just as far as they did last year with the only difference being that they don't get swept in the second round, I think they can win a few games. The reason why is simple, match ups. The Hawks victory over the Celtics was a bit misleading in the fact that the Celtics are a very good match up for the Hawks. Ray Allen is too old and he can't keep up with Joe Johnson or Jamal Crawford on the defensive end. On the offensive end Johnson and Crawford's size bothered Ray Allen as he shot .389 from the field while averaging a mere 12.5ppg in the four losses to the Hawks.
Neither Paul Pierce or Tony Allen could defend Joe Johnson that night either but the very next game the Hawks were blown out by the Magic 104. The Hawks are 0-3 versus the Magic and while we are at they are 0-2 versus the Cavs.
The Hawks run a lot of isolation plays for Joe Johnson and Jamal Crawford which will work against aging former all-stars but against the Cavs and the Magic, isolation plays won't work because Mike Brown and Stan Van Gundy can throw out Lebron James and Matt Barnes, respectively, to get under their skin.
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