A good night's sleep down, and it was back to the drawing board today for the Hawks. We didn't get back to the hotel last night until after midnight, and the bus for practice left this morning at 9:45 (I realize that doesn't seem that short of a rest, but trust me, it took some time to wind down from the game, and I didn't even participate).

Talking to the guys before practice this morning, I didn't get the sense that their confidence was down. They felt mostly the way I felt after Game 1 - namely, that the game was closer than the score would indicate, and that if they can find their stroke, maybe things will be different next time around.

Josh Smith admitted the atmosphere surrounding his first playoff game affected him, but that shouldn't be a surprise. The TD BankNorth Center (can we please just call it the Garden?) was electric last night - it was far and away the loudest arena I've ever been in. Say what you want about Boston fans, but they know how to give their teams a homecourt advantage. But the Hawks have seen it now, and hopefully they will adjust going forward.

One player who didn't seem affected by the noise was Al Horford, who seems impervious to distractions. According to Hawks sideline reporter James Verrett, Horford became only the third rookie in NBA history to put up a double-double in his first playoff game. I'm going to see if I can look that up, because that's pretty impressive - and I am curious if any of them had 20 points as well.

I'll be back later on with some thoughts about where we need to head in order to get this series squared away.

The Hawks make their way into the Garden for practice

Joe gets taped before practice

Al Horford talks with the media about his performance in Game 1

At this stage in the season, almost everyone needs some sort of treatment

The Garden floor, empty save for the AJC's Sekou Smith