Hawks/Heat, Game 1

I had the privelege of covering Game 1 of the Atlanta Hawks/ Miami Heat first round playoff series. Here's the recap.

One extremely impressive win does not define this season. One win does not guarantee this series. In the grand scheme of things this wins means very little. It is a means to an end. Advancing to the next round is the goal. This victory is merely a stepping stone.

The leaders of this Atlanta Hawks team are cautious. They understand that while the victory is huge, Game Two presents a different set of challenges. The mood following Atlanta’s 90 – 64 thrashing of the Miami Heat was a reserved one. It is clear to this bunch that there is still plenty of work to be done.

I asked Coach Mike Woodson to talk about the Game 1 performance.

Jerold Wells, TSF: “You couldn’t have had a better start to this series. Talk about your performance offensively and defensively. What did you see in practice and on film that made you and your team so confident?”

Head Coach Mike Woodson: “We expected to play well but I didn’t know it would turn out this well. Our focus was there tonight. Our defense was there. We shared the ball and made shots.” (In reference to preparation and team confidence) “We have guys that are hungry. They are playing for something. The Boston series last year taught us how to play playoff basketball. I told the guys that if we give consistent defensive effort and don’t take possessions off that we’d give ourselves a chance to win.”

Atlanta executed their offensive and defensive plans to perfection in the first half. Offensively, the Hawks practically lived in the paint and scored on a variety of lay ups, dunks, short jumpers and put backs. Joe Johnson (15 points) and Mike Bibby (10 points, 9 assists) facilitated the offensive sets effectively and the Hawks transition game was nothing short of spectacular. Josh Smith (23 points, 10 rebounds) was especially effective in transition, scoring on a variety of alley-oop dunks, put back dunks and fastbreak jams.

I posed the same question to Josh Smith as I did to Coach Woodson but I added a 2nd part about the team’s hot start, the contributions of Marvin Williams specifically, and their aggressiveness offensively to start the game.

Josh Smith: “Marvin means alot to this team. Having him makes us better and you could see that tonight. He was aggressive and it definately spread through the whole team.” (In reference to gameplan and focus for this game.) “We were definately focused tonight. We still feel as though nobody is giving us a shot to win. We just focused on leaving all the distractions behind and ignoring the critics. We feel that if we play together we can beat anybody.”

Neither team looked terribly interested in playing any defense in the early going. The 7:30 mark of the 2nd quarter proved to be a key moment for the Hawks defensive momentum. Marvin Williams forced a Daequan Cook turnover off of an attempted inbounds pass and the proverbial flood gates were opened. Atlanta used the spark from that play to stifle the Heat and essentially put the game out of reach in the first half.

The home team was also successful when it came to slowing down Dwyane Wade. The MVP candidate finished with 19 points on 8-21 shooting. He also contributed 5 rebounds and 5 assists but his 8 turnovers were the most telling sign of the Hawks defensive effectiveness. Wade never really found a groove in this game and without his normal input the Heat lacked the firepower to compete.

I also asked Coach Woodson about that impressive accomplishment.

JW: “Talk a little about the defensive job you did on Dwyane Wade.”

MW: “Our gameplan was to keep bodies in front of him at all times. We focused on getting back in transition and keeping a wall of bodies in front of him at all times. Our personnel also allows us to switch when he’s in pick and roll situations. I told the guys to take pride in defending when you’re on the ball. I think they did that tonight.”

Game 2 of this series should be much more competitive. Atlanta will look to carry over their positives and defend home court. Miami will look to bounce back from a disappointing showing.

I asked Miami Head Coach Eric Spoelstra what went wrong and how they would improve for the next contest.

JW: “How was Atlanta able to bottle up your offense tonight?”

ES: “Atlanta’s athleticism and size bothered us tonight. Also, we didn’t show the patience to get the results we wanted offensively. Our energy wasn’t there and our spacing on offense wasn’t consistently where it needed to be.”

JW: “Wade didn’t have a good game but I think we’re all pretty sure he’ll bounce back. Where will you look for scoring outside of Wade going forward?”

ES: “We’ll look the same places we did all year. Our 3 point shooting will have to improve (the Heat shot 4-23 for the game) and we’ll need some inside scoring as well from Jermaine (5 points), Udonis (6 points) and Michael (10 points). Also, a faster pace and more energy will help us a lot as well.”

Whatever the case, we should anticipate two teams with something to prove. We should be certain tha neither squad will be thinking about this contest. The next game is simply the opportunity to move closer to the ultimate goal.