No Luck in "Lottery Bowl" <div class="quote_poster">Quote:</div><div class="quote_post">Back-to-back wins will have to wait for at least another few days for the Hawks. And when you've waited an entire season just to have a chance to rid yourself of the worst stigma in the NBA this season --- there's just one team yet to win consecutive games --- what's a few more days? The Hawks prolonged the inevitable for five minutes Monday night but couldn't keep up with the expansion Charlotte Bobcats at Philips Arena, losing 110-105 in overtime. Twice they lost commanding leads, the first a 15-point first-quarter advantage and the second an eight-point cushion with 90 seconds to play in the third quarter. "Our starters came out when it was 78-70 and it was like the momentum immediately swung [Charlotte's] way," Hawks rookie Josh Smith said. "That was the game. We had that eight-point lead and we just gave it up." The Hawks (12-65) will get a second chance at the Bobcats (16-61) Wednesday night in the rematch of the game --- jokingly billed as the "Lottery Bowl" --- between the two teams with the best chance for the No. 1 pick in the June draft. "We're definitely not pleased with how the game ended," said Hawks rookie Josh Childress, who led the way with 20 points and 14 rebounds. "And we definitely want to play them again. They'll be fresh in our minds." They should be. Because after cruising to a 38-25 first-quarter lead, the Hawks' best 12-minute scoring effort of the season, they couldn't shake free of the Bobcats. "This Charlotte team has played hard all season long," Hawks coach Mike Woodson said. "They compete. I've been watching tape of them and they've been down and they just keep fighting and fighting, and they did that [Monday]." </div> Source
I think it's quite clear they're tanking it out. This is why the lottery was employed, to prevent this kind of thing. I hope that they drop, I really do. I hate to see tanking, and this may not be deliberate, but it certainly doesn't seem like they're putting forth their best effort, and I'd hate for that kind of thing to be successful, for the sake of competition - please at least try to some respectable extent! Geez, I understand they need to rebuild but it's getting to the point where it's almost unbearable to watch a team flat-out lose so often - especially in that manner against Charlotte.
It looks like the team's players and coach want to win, but not the GM. It was the GM who made all the moves to get Antoine, then trade him away for almost nothing except a pick. The team is working hard to win games; they just don't have the resources and the talent to.
<div class="quote_poster">Quoting Knicks Analyst:</div><div class="quote_post">I think it's quite clear they're tanking it out. This is why the lottery was employed, to prevent this kind of thing. I hope that they drop, I really do. I hate to see tanking, and this may not be deliberate, but it certainly doesn't seem like they're putting forth their best effort, and I'd hate for that kind of thing to be successful, for the sake of competition - please at least try to some respectable extent! Geez, I understand they need to rebuild but it's getting to the point where it's almost unbearable to watch a team flat-out lose so often - especially in that manner against Charlotte.</div> ??? Uh, no it isn't quite clear they are tanking. They are playing hard, they just simply don't have enough talent.
<div class="quote_poster">Quoting Bobcats:</div><div class="quote_post">??? Uh, no it isn't quite clear they are tanking. They are playing hard, they just simply don't have enough talent.</div> I have watched their past few games, two of them in their entirerty and half of the other, they haven't been playing basketball with a "we must win" mindset at all to put it gently. And here I will employ a quote from shapecity on the matter of Atlanta losing by 30-some odd points: "Losing by 30 points is tough to do if you're competing."
I agree, the Hawks are tanking it big time. They might not be trying to lose games on purpose, but they clearly aren't trying to win any more games. There is no reason they should lose to an expansion team, with less talent, and injuries, by 31 points. Especially when you consider they only lost by 5 points two nights before to the Bobcats, and Prezec even played in that game.
For those of you who think the Hawks are "tanking" the season, who do you think is tanking it? The players or management? Woodsen is playing his young players, which he has been doing since like December...It's not like Woodson is benching Al Harrington (his lone above average vet) and starting Boris Diaw over him. I can understand the management tanking the season, but it's hard to believe that their players want to tank the season. They have young players who in the early stage of their career don't look to "tank" games, because they've been successful all their life in basketball, and don't like losing. I just find it hard to believe that players like Childress, Lue, Smith, Harrington and co. would want to tank a season to get another young player on their squad. If they are tanking it...then I find it really really sad.
