Another Blow-out Moves Hawks Forward

↵Dwyane Wade’s supporting cast played unremarkably enough in Game 7 that sometime in third quarter a nation admitted sitting through another Heat playoff series would be too painful, even with the potential of LeBron vs. Wade fireworks. So we clap our hands for the Atlanta Hawks, second round entrants for the first time in a decade.
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↵Joe Johnson, long Atlanta’s best man, proved the killer in the end. Joe Cool nailed six of eight triple attempts with nary a jersey pop, scowl, or drunken Bibby crab walk. Pardon the tangent, but you’d think given mainstream punditry’s obsession with clean-cut professionalism, J.J. would get more pub in that realm. Instead, he’s a hero of the underground while the talking heads slurp the Big Three (LeBron, Kobe, Wade). Maybe we’re all guilty of Superstar Obsession (see next paragraph), but still -- you’d think a cat like Joe Johnson could get a Fave Five list on ABC or something.
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↵Meanwhile, Wade’s story looks toward July. He’s in between LeBron and Bosh on the matter of “will he or won’t he?” -- with an opportunity to re-up long-term this summer, Wade needs to decide if Miami’s on the path to contention or whether Michael Beasley just isn’t enough by himself.
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↵(Addendum: at the end of her post-game interview of J.J., Doris Burke told him “it’s OK to smile.” J.J. obliged. I wish he would have scowled in her face. His heart scowled, I bet.)↵