CHICAGO — Game 1 was sweet, but let's not repeat what happened in the Orlando series. That is the sentiment from the Hawks locker room Wednesday morning.
In their opening round series against Orlando, the Hawks won Game 1 thanks to 25 points, 5 rebounds and 5 assists from Joe Johnson. They shot 51 percent from the floor and stole home court advantage.
In the Game 2 loss against Orlando, Johnson scored 14 and the team made less than 40 percent of their shots.
In Game 1 of the Eastern Conference semi-finals against the Bulls, Johnson poured in a game high 34, while the team once again shot 51 percent.
"We understand and know what is at stake," Josh Smith said Wednesday morning before shoot around. "We did something special. We stole the first game up here, but we are not satisfied. We are trying to get two and we understand we have to come focused for a full 48 minutes and be able to stay in the game or it could be a blowout."
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Head Coach Larry Drew expects a different Bulls team to come out Wednesday night. "It's no fluke they won 62 games. To come out here and not expect them to give us their best effort is totally ridiculous. We have to come out here and be ready to play for 48 minutes."
Drew believes having gone through the exact same situation in Orlando (winning Game 1 on the road) will only help his ball club. "Now that we've experienced a similar situation, there is no excuse to not come out here and play with consistency and play with the poise we need to play with. We know this team does not want to go back to Atlanta down 2-0. We have to expect their best punch tonight and if we expect anything less we are kidding ourselves."
The two teams have now split the four games played this season and when Derrick Rose is aggressive and gets to the free throw line, the Bulls win. In the two Chicago victories this season, Rose is a combined 20-23 from the free throw line. In the two losses, he's 2-3 and all three of those attempts came on March 2.
"I expect him to try to go to the basket a little more," said Jeff Teague who once again has the daunting task of trying to guard Rose. "You can't lay back off him as he's fast and too strong and he's just going to run by you. You have to contest all of his shots and hope the guys behind you have your back."
No one gave the Hawks a chance against the Magic in the first round. All 12 NBA "experts" on ESPN.com picked Orlando, however, the Hawks went on to beat a higher-seeded team for the first time since knocking out Indiana (3-2) in the opening round in 1996.
Winning game 1 Monday night cracked open the door for those to jump on the Hawks wagon. A win Wednesday night in Chicago, against a team that lost just five games at home during the regular season and now features the coach of the year and the league's MVP? Well, the wagon would be close to capacity, but I'm sure the team could find room for one or two of the experts to sit.
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