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Ten Games At A Time - The Homestand

Posted by: Micah Hart on December 14, 2008 at 2:39PM EST

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Time for another award-winning installment* of Ten Games At A Time, in which I make predictions on how the Hawks will perform in the next ten games while taking a look back to see how I did on the previous ten-game forecast.

Note: This was written on the plane home Friday night, but I was unable to post it until today. So you will notice that I predicted the Hawks to lose Saturday's game against Cleveland, which I am happy to report they did not.

* - not really

When we last looked, the Hawks were starting yet another brutal stretch of 11 games (if you are just joining us, I am dividing the season into 8 ten-game segments, but there are 82 games, which ended up meaning that I arbitrarily decided to do 11-game blocks right off the bat - it's 10 from here on out), during which they played 7 on the road and only 4 at home. How'd they do?

Looking Back: Can The Hawks Mess With Texas?
Home games: Charlotte, Milwaukee, Memphis, New York
Road games: Cleveland, Toronto, Washington, Dallas, Houston, San Antonio, Miami

What happened: Unfortunately the Hawks couldn't quite mess with Texas, though they came closer than they have in a while. The team lost all three games in the Texas Triangle, but they were all close, showing if nothing else that Atlanta has closed the gap considerably with those teams. Maybe one more year? The Hawks did get two road wins, at Washington and Miami, and were perfect at home with wins in all four contests. Overall, I predicted the team would go 7-4, but they instead went 6-5.

Injury report: Josh Smith came back and was rusty for a few games, but appears to be rounding back into shape. Al Horford continues to be bothered by an injured ankle, which caused him to sit out the loss in Dallas. Everyone else is mostly healthy.

In Summary: Overall, you have to be pretty happy with the way things turned out. The trip through Texas was frustrating, but the Hawks still managed to go 6-5 in a stretch that saw only 4 of 11 games in home territory. In particular, the fact that the Hawks are playing so well at home is particularly promising.

Looking Ahead: The Home Stand
Home games: Cleveland, Charlotte, Boston, Golden State, Detroit, Oklahoma City, Chicago, Denver
Road games: Indiana, New Jersey

Expectations going in: After playing 14 of the first 22 on the road, the Hawks come home for a nearly unheard of 8 straight home games. It's a mixture of good teams and bad teams, and my feeling is that if the Hawks can continue taking care of business at home the way they have, this could be a terrific stretch for us. Charlotte, Golden State, and Oklahoma City are already playing for lottery positioning, while Detroit and Chicago continue to struggle. Really only Cleveland, Boston, and Denver are playing well right now. As far as road games, the Hawks have already lost at Indiana and New Jersey. The Nets have continued to play well since then, the Pacers have not.

Predicted Record: I won't go crazy and predict 8-0 or anything on the homestand, but I'll say that we get wins over Charlotte, Boston (that's right KG, we're coming for you!), Golden State, Detroit, Oklahoma City, and Chicago, while losing to Cleveland (currently destroying everyone in their path) and Denver. As for the two road games, I think we'll get a win in Indiana, but continue to be flummoxed by Devin Harris and the Nets and fall in New Jersey. I see 7-3. NOTE: As predicted, this would mean we'd win six straight games during the home stand, which feels like a bit much to me (at least for a prediction). So while I think we will go 7-3, I'd say it's quite possible my ordering could be messed up.

If the Hawks hit that 7-3 mark, that would put them at 20-12 through 32 games, and would put the team in terrific position in the race for the fourth seed in the Eastern Conference.

(9) Comments

Posted by: Hawksgirl on December 14, 2008 6:23PM EST

Hmmm. I believe otherwise but then again i have to be practical. as you said they won a game everyone thought they would lose so im stuck right now. I guess i will have to watch and see what will unfold.

Posted by: HAWKS FAN FROM DAY ONE on December 14, 2008 10:28PM EST

I can't make any predictions at this point, either. However, we cannot go into New Jersey and lose again. Those tiebreaker situations tend to come back to haunt us in the end.

Posted by: Anonymous on December 15, 2008 9:11AM EST

Hawk fan from day one I agree the hawks have to take care of business in New Jersey that team right now thinks they can handle them and that's not good they need to close them out. The hawks mission should be any team they lose to on the road take care of them at home close out the Bobcats and then focus on Boston this game is the one that will truly send a message out and also set the tone for Olando,Detriot and New Jersey and payback for the Texas teams. Good Luck Hawks and focus one at a time.

Posted by: Hawks in 08-09/Number One Lady Fan on December 15, 2008 12:15PM EST

Still riding high off the win against Lebron James and the Cavs. Don't want to come down so I'm hoping the team puts another game in the win column tonight against Charlotte. Phillips was rocking at the end of the game, can't say that for the beginning though. It felt good singing hit the road jack and don't you come back no more but reality check the Cavs are coming back in March.

Glad Niq decided to rate J Smoove's dunk on the Dunk o Meter instead of Lebron's because Josh's dunk came first and he's the one wearing a Hawks jersey. I get a lil peeved when the player of the game or play of the game or anything is given to a player on the other team, for the simple fact that I thought that I was watching the Hawks' channel. Or does the player of the game have to come from the winning team? It all started with that Celtics game when Princess Pierce hit the winning shot and they gave him player of the game.

Enjoyed the way Lebron tried to make a good play when any Hawk player made a good play. Josh dunked, I'm gonna dunk, Joe made a beautiful turn around shot, oh let me make a turn around shot.

Looking forward to the game against the C's (okay that Luda performance is an added bonus). A WIN AGAINST THE CHUMPS IS WHAT I LOOKING FORWARD TO THE MOST. YES SIR.

Never made a prediction before, I would like 10-0, I predict 6-4 at the least but 8-2 at the most. PROVE ME WRONG HAWKS AND GO 10-0. :-)

HAWKS IN 08-09!

Posted by: Hawks in 08-09/Number One Lady Fan on December 15, 2008 12:33PM EST

Loving the blog roundtable especial Coco from the vent:"The Hawks have already proven they will not be intimidated by KG’s chest pounding or his potty mouth. That kind of thing might scare Glenn Davis, but it does nothing to the Hawks. Nor will they be intimidated by Kendrick Perkins scowl and not just because it’s contrived, but because it’s simply not scary. The Celtics are on a hot streak right now and I’m sure the Hawks would love nothing more than to put an end to it. These two teams don’t hate each other, but if Paul Pierce got a paper cut and Al Horford had the last band aid on the planet he probably wouldn’t give it to him."

HAHAHA,LOL, GIGGLY GIGGLY!!!!! I CAN'T STOP LAUGHING.

OKAY! Miss Coco hit the nail on the head or the hammer on the head or however the saying goes. Anyway gotta agree! KG knows there's a rivalry and it has been going on since Bob Petit and Dominique played for the Hawks. I'll bet Doc Rivers the Celtic's coach knows from the days he sported a Hawks jersey.

PAYBACK! YEAH THAT'S THE TICKET! AND I CAN'T WAIT TO WITNESS IT WEDNESDAY NIGHT!

HAWKS IN 08-09! LETS GO HAWKS!

Posted by: Hawks in 08-09/Number One Lady Fan on December 15, 2008 12:41PM EST

Oh yeah, someone told me that the Hawks started Cleveland's winning streak. If so, it's fitting that they ended it.

YOU KNOW FINISH WHAT YOU START! OR END WHAT YOU BEGIN!

HAWKS LETS END ANOTHER WINNING STREAK ON WEDNESDAY!

Anyone know if Charlotte is on a winning streak, if so then HAWKS END THEIR WINNING STREAK TOO!

AS A MATTER OF FACT OR OPINION PUT EVERYONE YOU PLAY THIS MONTH ON A LOSING STREAK!

HAWKS IN 08-09!!!

Posted by: Hawks in 08-09/Number One Lady Fan on December 15, 2008 1:03PM EST

"I’m fairly certain that at no point in our history have the Celtics considered us rivals. Maybe worthy opponents (and that Bird-Nique era would surely fall into that category), but not rivals. I’d say that the 76ers, Knicks, Pistons, and Lakers would lay claim to being a rival of the Celtics at some point, so the focus for this season and all future seasons should be – MAKE BOSTON RESPECT US ENOUGH TO CONSIDER US RIVALS. One way to go about that would be a blowout and copious amounts of JSmoove alley oops on KG’s head."

"So, if there is any pride in Hawksville – KG’s statement still sounds like fightin’ words to me, so whether we take it or earn it – let’s get some respect this Wednesday. Nothing would make me happier than to consider the Hawks and Celtics rivals, but for now – I’ll settle for a split in the season series. Let’s go Hawks!!!!! "
Larry from Hawks Str8talk

RIGHT ON, LARRY! KG, the Celtics, and the rest of the world feel that the Hawks are not worthy to be called rivals. And it will stay that way probably until the Hawks are able hang a championship banner in the Phillips Arena.

WHATEVER, ALL THINGS CONSIDERED. IT'S A RIVALRY!

Posted by: Jonny b on December 17, 2008 2:18AM EST

The cavs took a loss to the hawks, but remember, that was the end of 4 games in 5 days for them and on the road, and are very shorthanded right now due to injuries. To keep it fair the hawks are a much improved team from last year and are a true playoff contender, but the fact of the matter is they caught the cavs on their worst night and still won by a narrow margin. Honestly if both teams are healthy i pick the cavs by double figures everytime.

Posted by: Hawks in 08-09/Number One Lady Fan on December 17, 2008 11:31AM EST

Ah, excuses, excuses Jonny b. yadda, yadda, yadda, blah, blah, blah. The Hawks still won and that's all that counts. THE WIN! ( I thought Lebron was the whole team anyway! He certainly thinks so!)