Stayin' Alive ...

It's put up or shut up time for the Atlanta Hawks tonight in Game 6 of their Eastern Conference playoff series with the Indiana Pacers.

And since Wed 1 May, all the Hawks have pretty much done is shut-up ... or maybe a better way to phrase it is shut down.

After their embarrassing 23-point loss to the Pacers Wednesday at Indiana, the Hawks have done very little together in preparation for Friday's game. Their coach, Larry Drew, not only canceled his team's film session after the Wednesday loss (Great call! How many times do you think Bill Buckner has actually watched his folly in the '86 series?), but he also canceled practice Thursday. He's hoping the strategy of separation will get his team's mind right for Friday.

I'm thinking it will. If not that, there's the fact that the Hawks are back home, a place where they played well all season. But not only was Atlanta nine games above .500 at Phillips Arena -- at 25-16 -- their rivalry with the Pacers over the past years has been 'peachy' when playing in Georgia. As you can see with our Bovada data tool provided on the Home page,  the Hawks have won every home game with the Pacers that you'll see listed. In fact, they have won 13 straight over Indiana when playing at home, including a pair of double-digit victories in this series.

That's what I will be banking on tonight as Atlanta tries to force a decisive Game 7 Sun 5 May in Indiana. A thirteen-year skid is plenty of favorable history to hang my hat on. The Hawks also got thumped quite handily in Indiana in Games 1 and 2, only to bounce back and win two straight in convincing fashion themselves.  

There's also more than just the series on the line for the Hawks, namely pride, especially in front of the home crowd. I think the Hawks have that pride, will play with it, and will win and cover the thin Bovada margin of 1½.

My pick: Atlanta Hawks     -1.5

---

UPDATE:

Result ... Indiana 81 Atlanta 73     Pacers cover