Hawks fly high in the Heat of Miami
They. Will. Not. Be. Denied. The Atlanta Hawks defeated the Miami Heat 115-106 on the road Tuesday night.
Even though they won, Trae Young and the boys are breaking my heart. Let’s talk about the game first before I cry writing the rest of it.
Jimmy Butler guaranteed a win on the night, but just like the 2020 NBA Finals, he just couldn’t finish the job. Charles Barkley told Shaq that he would give him $1 billion if the Hawks beat the Heat. All 17 ESPN “experts” predicted that the Heat would claim the no. 7 seed in the East. But you know who didn’t listen?
The Hawks.
The boys from the A came out hot, getting out to an early 36-27 lead after one quarter of play. Trae Young and Wilt Chamberlain’s cousin, Clint Capela, led the way for the Hawks. Young had five points and five assists, and Capela had five rebounds. Although scoring ten points, Jimmy Butler started out rough. Shooting three-of-nine from the field and turning the ball over twice, Butler was showing signs of things to come.
Meanwhile, I was restfully sleeping in my bed, by accident, due to chronic sleep loss and lack of love from my parents.
Just kidding mom and dad, I love you guys.
The second quarter saw the Hawks build a wall around their lead, pushing it to double digits with a score of 65-50. This is where the best point guard in the game made his presence felt. Kyle… Lowry? Lowry, who had seven points in the first quarter, scored 12 more in the second quarter to push his point total to 19. Meanwhile Butler’s struggles continued as he only scored one point in the second quarter.
The Heat’s inability to get things going was truly the story of the game, but the Hawks’ bench made a strong case to be the talking point. Saddiq Bey, Bogdan Bogdanovic, Onyeka Okongwu and Jalen Johnson all put together a strong first half, combining for 35 of the Hawks’ 65 points.
This is when I woke up. I was very happy to find out that the Hawks were doing exactly what I said they would, but pissed because I missed it.
The third quarter saw the Heat go on a 16-6 run in the first few minutes, but the Hawks were able to pick it up and rebuild the lead. By the end of the quarter, you would have had no idea that the Heat even made a comeback if you didn’t watch.
Which I didn’t either. Does that make me a fake fan? I was scrambling to pick up the pieces before rushing to the Iyaz concert in the CSU Ballroom. I also wrote a story on that one, you should check it out. Haha.
ANYWAYS. And yes, it’s anyways, I don’t want to hear it Ali. If you edit this out I will quit my job and not write any SportsZone stories. ANYWAYS, all the Hawks had to do was waste time in the fourth quarter, which they did. Every time Miami seemed to have something going, the Hawks had an answer. With the final score of 115-106, “my” Atlanta hawks secured the seven seed and the rights to get their asses handed to them by the Boston Celtics. Great.
Whatever, I will cross that bridge when it comes time. But despite their win, the Hawks’ front office made sure that no Hawks fan could actually stay happy.
On Monday, the Ringer dropped an article saying the Hawks’ front office has the green light from ownership to consider trading Trae Young. After the game, Young was asked about that article and responded with “It could be false, it could be true, you never know.”
😐
After reading more about it, I started to feel less bad about it. Because at the end of the day, Young hasn’t (yet) expressed that he doesn’t want to be with the team. He is just a player, and if the front office wants to trade him, that’s out of his control. Whether these rumors or if Young actually wants to be traded is true, I don’t know. But hearing these things isn’t exactly encouraging, and I don’t know what to do.
I’m not exactly tied to Atlanta because, shocker, I wasn’t born there, but at the same time, they have really grown on me. But the reason I am a Hawks fan is because of Trae Young, so I think that I’ll just have to be a fan of whatever team he goes to. Unless it’s the Knicks. That would be probably the worst possible outcome for this situation.
Decisions. Well, for now I’ll just enjoy what I have while I have it, but I know that the day of reckoning is near. Skol.
Write to Hayden Lee at Hayden.Lee@my.smsu.edu
Header Photo: Atlanta Hawks guard Trae Young (11) works his way through the defense of Miami Heat guard Max Strus (31) and guard Kyle Lowry. (Rebecca Blackwell/The Associated Press)