NBA Fans Deserved Better

After watching the Atlanta Hawks be decimated in the Eastern Conference Semis and the performance of the Cleveland Cavaliers last night, don't you think the NBA fans got the shaft?

Woodson deserved better from his team.

In the case of the Hawks, they fought back from a 3-2 deficit to win the seven game series against the Milwaukee Bucks. The Atlanta fans showed up for Games 3 and 4 and, once again, their team didn't. Game 4 was the best showing of the series for Atlanta, but the Orlando Magic basically had no opponent in steamrolling the Hawks to a 4-0 series victory.

Just in case you're curious, here's some telling stats about the Hawks during the regular season against their stats in the Orlando series. All the players listed here averaged double figures in scoring.

• Joe Johnson: reg. season - 21.3 pts, 4.9 asst, .458 FG%; vs. Magic - 12.8 pts, 3.8 asst, .298 FG%
• Jamal Crawford: reg. season - 18.0 pts, .449 FG%; vs. Magic - 17.0 pts, .333 FG%
• Josh Smith: reg. season - 15.7 pts, .505 FG%; vs. Magic - 15.8 pts, .441 FG%
• Al Horford: reg. season - 14.2 pts, 9.9 reb, .551 FG%; vs. Magic - 13.0 pts, 7.5 reb, .454 FG%
• Marvin Williams: reg. season - 10.1 pts, .455 FG%; 6.3 pts, .300 FG%

For the entire series, the Hawks defense was also non-existent allowing 107.3 points a game while they only averaged 82.0 a contest for a difference of 25.3 points a game, an NBA record. For the season, Atlanta averaged 101.7 points per while allowing only 97.0 a game. That makes Orlando's performance look even better. They shut down the Hawks scoring and exposed weaknesses in not only the defense, but in the team's chemistry. Not a confident performance from the conference's #3 seed.

So, what do you do with these Hawks? I have a feeling the team will be disassembled (the kindest way I can put it). Joe Johnson will be a free agent and after his remarks about the Atlanta fans, he might not be welcomed back. It's been speculated that Johnson could demand a max deal. It's also speculated that the series against Orlando could diminish those chances.

Head coach Mike Woodson doesn't have a deal either, and that's unfortunate because Woodson can coach despite the showing from his team. He took a job nobody wanted and turned the Hawks into a quality team. Woodson claims the Hawks are almost there, but after six seasons, this may be Woodson's ticket out of Atlanta. Maybe time has run its course for Woodson, but he will latch on elsewhere. Six seasons. Not many front offices and owners would have that much patience.

James' stunned look says it all.

And what was the deal with the Cleveland Cavaliers last night? Or shall I say what was with LeBron? Call it disinterested or disengaged, LBJ did not even appear to be into this game at all. He wasn't the only Cavs player in that mode either. Outside of Shaq, only James (15) and Anthony Parker (14) cracked double digits in scoring. For the game, Cleveland shot 41.2% from the floor while Boston hit on 55.0% of their shots. Isn't one of Cleveland's strengths defense? Couldn't see that last night either.

James has already taken huge hits for his performance last night. Cleveland never resembled the #1 overall seed and if this is LeBron's team, he must step forward instead of blowing it off like he did in the post game presser. Just look at the pic. That tells you everything you need to know.

And how does Cavs head coach Mike Brown play into all of this? A ton, but I will defend Brown on this account. After a woeful Game 2 performance, Brown's post game comments couldn't have been more correct. Brown displayed the emotion that his team needs. He's not getting that emotion and maybe that's because his team's not buying into it anymore. After that Game 2 loss, a lot of Cleveland's player were a little too cavalier (pun totally intended) about their status in this series. Brown should not have to ignite a fire under their butts every time the outlook is bleak. Wasn't there a phrase "win a ring for the king"? Where's that attitude now?

And don't take anything away from the Celtics. They played their best game of the series by far. Paul Pierce got going with a 21 point, 11 board effort. Pierce added 7 assists along with Rajon Rondo's 7. Ray Allen was 6-9 from 3-point range and led all scorers with 25 points. Glen Davis added 15 and the Celtics had a total of 30 bench points for the game.

This series could easily end tomorrow night. If it does, all the talk will be about LeBron's next residence.