One of the more senior jokes in ESPN's Daily Dime Live is NTTH: Never Trust the Hawks. Well, it isn't really a joke; it's more of a law of life that must be upheld by all humanity, as dire results await those who oppose it.
However, there may finally be a chance for NTTH to shatter into little basketball pieces.
In this series against the Celtics, practically no one picked the Hawks. It was all about the Big 3 + Rondo, and whether or not they could possibly upset Chicago in then next round. Then, after Derrick Rose's tragic ACL injury, it because about a Miami-Boston Eastern Conference Finals.
ECF? The Celtics hadn't even played a game in the playoffs yet! And they didn't even have homecourt in the first round! Why is it that they had such a clear path to the conference finals? Well, obviously, because you couldn't trust that Hawks to utilize homecourt advantage. Compound that with both Zaza Pachulia and Al Horford, and it could appear as if it would be a walkover for the Celtics.
But, of course, you couldn't trust the Hawks to lose either, even with the clear disadvantages. So, appropriately, the Hawks won game one and had complete control for most of the game. And now, with Rondo suspended for game two due because of his chest bump, Atlanta has a decisive advantage over Boston and could take an important 2-0 in the series with a victory.
Naturally, this is the game they would usually discover a new way to lose. However, I actually have confidence that they will pull this one out and begin to quell NTTH for good. Seriously, stop laughing and here me out on this.
NTTH really reached its height in the two previous seasons. Two years ago, the three-seeded Hawks won 53 games, but even then still had problems handling teams like Golden State and Charlotte. Come playoff time, they struggled against an ailing Milwaukee team, then proceeded to get swept by the Magic in blowout fashion.
Exit Mike Woodson and enter Larry Drew. Of course, let's fire our head coach that makes the players battle with him and hire his assistant who is wanted by the players. The result? A reduction of nine wins to 44, a breakout of Josh Smith jumpers all over the court, and a continuation of the idea that Mike Bibby and Jamal Crawford were point guards. However, NTTH reversed in the playoffs, and the Hawks were able to get by the Magic in six, and take the Chicago Bulls to six behind Jeff Teague's breakout performance.
This year, NTTH has started to break down, even though the phrase had begun to rise in notoriety. Sure, the 3OT loss against Miami, who was playing without LeBron James and Dwyane Wade, is one of the most classic moments of this basketball law. Sure, the Hawks lost to Toronto at home when they were extremely shorthanded and playing with a group of D-Leaguers. However, despite that, what are the team's other severe deficiencies this season? The team went 40-26 without Horford for 55 games, without Joe Johnson and Zaza Pachulia for seven games a piece, and with Josh Smith deciding to continue his Reggie Miller jumpshooting impression. The bench is no longer a one man show and can actually make-up for one or two guys having an off game. This team has just seemed... different.
So, back to tonight's game two. The "underdog" Hawks have turned into the favorite after Rondo's suspension. Atlanta is at home, in Philips Arena, where they have never lost to the Celtics in the playoffs. Essentially, it's the perfect time to see whether or not the Hawks have truly started to grow into a team that can play with consistency, or one that is still marred by mental roadblocks.
Did I mention that winning this game could give the Hawks a track to their first Eastern Conference Finals appearance since... ever? Yeah, this is the perfect test.
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