Schuster: How Much Fight Do Hawks Have Left?
By David Schuster--
With the Bulls winning the last two games (including Friday night in Atlanta), are the Hawks on the verge of quitting? Derrick Rose and his teammates don't think so but I disagree. I sure didn't see much fight out of the Hawks last night. In fact, I saw a lot of bickering on the court and heard it afterwards from some of their players. Joe Johnson went as far to say that he might have to junk the offense and start hoisting them up. That's the kind of mentality that will get his team blown off the court which is something that has happened to the Hawks numerous times.
Rose, Joakim Noah and Luol Deng wouldn't come right out and say so, but it appears that the Bulls have now imposed their will on the Hawks, both physically and mentally. This happens all the time in basketball when one team knows that the other is just plain better. Yes, the Hawks will come out with a better effort to start Game 4 on Sunday night. But, much like a boxer, the Bulls will have to take the other guy's best punch and then start counter attacking. And if the Bulls then open a lead, watch the Hawks fold like a cheap suit.
The Bulls seemingly have regained their focus and are only zeroing in on Game 4. Noah said the temptations of Atlanta are many, but that he was planning on getting to bed early. And Deng said the team will gather together Saturday night to watch the Manny Pacquaio-Shane Mosley fight. That bout should be a war, but something tells me the basketball game Sunday night will be more of a skirmish, with the Bulls again prevailing.
