Atlanta Hawks Create 'Petition' To Ban Using The Backboard On Game Winning Shot Attempts

Hey @cavs, Will you sign this with us? http://t.co/4kQElbA6io pic.twitter.com/CaryMS3tMt

— Atlanta Hawks (@ATLHawks) May 10, 2015

Listen, I get that this was done in jest (at least I would hope so). I guess my bigger issue is that this is the first place that the collective mind of the Atlanta Hawks and their fan base went when they lost game 3 to the Washington Wizards. If you don't want Paul Pierce to go glass to shatter your spirit how about not being down to a team that's missing it's starting point guard, and best player, in the first place. Yes, it was a hell of a 4th quarter comeback, but don't let that cloud the fact that you were down 20+ to a John Wall-less Wizards team. Stop being so Atlanta, Atlanta. You lost. It was game 3. Buckle up your bootstraps and try to build on the 4th quarter that ended so poorly. The NBA isn't going to put some ridiculous stipulation in because your franchise isn't used to the up's and down's of actually being a contender in the NBA playoffs. The mere thought of that is softer than a white 3 point specialist being your 'go-to' player. No wonder the pundits had no faith in your championship potential despite winning 60 games the season.

The real takeaway here is that Paul Pierce, while also being a Hall of Fame caliber basketball player, might just be the greatest cerebral assassin of all time. First Drake and the entire city of Toronto and now this? Expert opinion? This series is over. Doesn't even matter that Atlanta has a better team. Doesn't matter that John Wall's wrist is so broken that it's swollen up to the size of one of those of this foam finger hands. You don't come back from "I called GAME", you just don't. If we could peer into the heads of the Atlanta Hawks it would just be a bunch of keebler elf sized Paul Pierce's running around yelling "I called GAME". That comment is like one of those bullets that explodes on impact. Sure, it's painful when it first breaks skin, but it's the after affects that really kill you. Well, shots fired. And Paul Pierce is quite marksman. By my accounts the Hawks are a broken team that's ripe for an early exit. Nothing screams lack of confidence like the loser of a sporting event screaming "rule book, rule book!". However, if they can't overcome a 37 year old's bank shot, despite having everything else in their favor, they didn't stand a chance to begin with.