Quitting Time

Today in Atlanta, the very worst seven-game series ever ended, with the home-court Hawks getting by the visiting Heat... and I wrote this lede with 4 minutes left in the second quarter, and didn't have to modify it at all. Hey, why should I work any harder than the losing team did? The Hawks shot 39% in the first half and led by 13. That's damn near impossible to do, really. It was 20 after three, and I confess, I barely looked up twice at it after the half. I posted this in the fourth, with absolute confidence that nothing would change late in the game.

I've never seen a series where the team that falls behind by double digits was more interested in packing it in. Today it was the Heat's turn, with lots of hurt looks towards the refs whenever a call didn't come, flopping on contact, and disgusted looks at each other when defensive rotations failed, leaving people like Mike Bibby wide open behind the arc. (Hint: You might want to cover him there, seeing how it's the only place on the basketball court where he still resembles a quality point guard.)

I don't mean to denigrate the Hawks' accomplishment -- OK, well, I do -- but at least they got something out of Joe Johnson in this one. He's going to have to play the series of his life if they are going to beat the odds and make the Cavs sweat. The fact that he didn't against the Heat, and a lesser player in Dwayne Wades, does not bode well for their chances. But on the plus side, the long series and the hard foul injuries have left the survivors especially weak when facing the eventual NBA champion Cavs.

As for the Heat, they do have a lot of young guys who should have NBA careers, and Wade's relatively short year does hold out hope that he's going to stay upright in the '09-'10 season. If Michael Beasley and Mario Chalmers can take the next step, or they somehow get a decent year out of Jermaine O'Neal, they'll win 45+ games and be right back in this situation next year. Let's just say that I don't like your chances of not ending next year by quitting, when you end this year by...