Game 3 redemption in the A

Game 3

Hawks: 105

Knicks: 94

That felt good.

The series was brought back to Atlanta last night after two games rising tension between these two teams. Both Knicks fans and players have been talking a lot of smack with not very much to show for it. I think these New Yorkers just don't know how to handle themselves when they get to play in games beyond the month of April. So, they start spitting on people, weird hair guy on the Knicks gets his twitter fingers going, Spike Lee starts wearing the same outfit as my grandma, and the whole Knicks team (Minus D Rose) absolutely forgets how to play. You got ONE WIN New York. Maybe that's all they really need to feel accomplished. I mean it has been almost a decade since they had made the playoffs so perhaps getting one win in the first round is all they need. Well congrats guys! I'm honestly happy Spike Lee got a night to rest his legs, he was pacing courtside at MSG for the first two games but there wasn't much to stand for last night. Nothing made me happier than seeing Spike curled up in his seat last night, with literally every other person in the arena on their feet going nuts for the Hawks.

After the first two minutes of weird technical difficulties and random whistles being blown, Game 3 was electric. Smack talk from the jump, Clint Capella rejecting nearly every shot, Trae Young was on fire as usual, Lou Will provide a huge boost, Bogdan shot one of his threes before he even caught the pass, Gallinari finally hit some shots....I could keep going but to sum it up: This is what the Hawks look like when everyone is playing their best. Trae scored his fewest amount of points in the series but this was his best game I'd say. That's because he didn't need to do ALL of the scoring. Our offense is at it's best when everyone else is doing their part. Trae can get the ball to whoever he wants whenever he wants so all they have to do is finish the play, and that's what they did last night.

As amazing as our offense was, our defense continued to dominate as well. Julius Randle and RJ Barret combined had a grand total of 4 field goals in the entire game. The only bright spot for the Knicks was Derrick Rose who put up 30 points. I'll give it to him. D Rose deserves nothing but respect for what he's had to go through during his career, and its incredible that he's made this comeback and putting up these numbers. But he can only do so much for this team. He's had absolutely no help from anybody else, and that's because of the amazing lockdown defense that our guys have been playing through these first three games.

One thing I have to say that doesn't have anything to do with the actual game though is about the ESPN broadcasting. YOU GUYS ARE THE WORST. The Atlanta Hawks get about 2 nationally broadcasted games a year, so Im always really excited to see those games. But when they finally come around, I'm always reminded of how appallingly boring ESPN announcers are. The entire broadcast in general is trash. It feels like I'm playing NBA 2K and the crown noise is turned all the way down, but the commentary noise is through the roof but they're whispering at the same time. On top of that, the only things I do hear them say are how much they love the Knicks. The bias that these people have, and the non laughable jokes they tell should get them fired. They aren't cool. I don't know why NBA on ESPN gets so much credit. TNT isn't as bad so I enjoy seeing the Hawks play on TNT every now and then but Im going to stay true to my roots from now on and stick with Dominique Wilkins and Bob Rathbun commentating for the Hawks on the local channel I've been watching games on since I was 5 years old.

Anyway, Game 3 was electric and we NEED to keep this same energy. Unlike the Knicks, the Hawks players, fans, and coaches are level headed enough to keep the momentum but also stay focused on one game at a time. We've got a day off to prepare and rest for tomorrow. When I saw "WE have a day off", I would love to be a part of that day off. Im getting paid 10 bucks an hour to made protein shakes for dudes who allmostttt made it to the NBA, so that's what Im doing from 9-5. But as long as the Hawks are getting time to rejuvenate for another dub tomorrow, my mind is at ease.

Game 4 at 1:00 ET on ABC (Bally Sports South for me). G0 Hawks.

peacenlove