Rugged road test vs. Cavs, James
By Sekou Smith
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Saturday, March 21, 2009
Cleveland —- Confidence is a funny thing in the NBA.
When a team has it, there’s nothing that seems impossible. When it doesn’t, even the smallest of tasks seem impossible.
The Hawks blew into Cleveland on Friday afternoon on a cosmic high, the result of winning seven consecutive home games.
But today they face Cleveland, the only other team in the league playing as well as the Hawks over the past two weeks.
“Somebody’s seven-game win streak ends [today],” Hawks forward Josh Smith said. “You know they don’t expect it to be them. Not with the way they’ve played at home all season, and especially after winning the way they have been lately.
“But our confidence right now is as high as it’s been all season. We didn’t come all this way for nothing.”
For all the strides they’ve made this season —- the Hawks (41-28) have made plenty —- they have yet to solve their issues on the road.
They’ve already surpassed last season’s victory total (12) away from Philips Arena by two games, but they’ve struggled against the league’s top-tier teams. Their best road victories came in the first week against Orlando and New Orleans.
“That’s why I tell people it’s too early to start tossing confetti and acting like we’ve already finished this season off,” Hawks captain Joe Johnson said. “We’ve still got a lot of work left to do, and it starts with taking care of some business on the road. Because everybody knows we’ve been a great team at home. Now we have to see what we’re made of when we don’t have home court as our friend.”
The Cavaliers have lost at home once this season, on Feb. 8 against Kobe Bryant and the Los Angeles Lakers.
Riding the wave of one of the league’s most raucous atmospheres, the Cavaliers have turned home games into playoff-intensity roasts, complete with LeBron James and his teammates snapping imaginary pictures of each other in the moments before the opening tip.
“We know we’re stepping into the pit,” Hawks swingman Mo Evans said. “When only one team all year has been able to walk off that floor a winner, everybody in the league recognizes what Cleveland has going on and just how well they’ve played.
“But that’s why we have been trying to clean up what we do and make sure that when we hit the road we’re the same efficient, defensive-minded team that we are at home.
“That’s the key to winning on the road in this league, doing the same things that bring you success at home on the road.”
Hawks coach Mike Woodson loves that his team’s confidence is sky-high heading into the final 13 games —- seven at home, six on the road.
“It’s playoff time,” Woodson said. “The good teams in our league, the legitimate teams, always find ways to raise their level of play this time of year. This is what we’ve been working for all year, to have our fate in our own hands.”
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