The last time the Atlanta Hawks faced the Orlando Magic in the postseason, the results were downright embarrassing.
Dwight Howard owned the floor. Joe Johnson struggled and openly questioned the less-than-polite Atlanta fans. And the Hawks were quickly swept out of the playoffs.
Atlanta never really had a chance against an Orlando team that coasted into the second round of the playoffs after sweeping the Charlotte Bobcats in the first round. The Hawks, on the other hand, had trouble getting out of the first round barely outlasting the Milwaukee Bucks in seven.
Orlando, of course, was one of the hottest teams in the NBA at the time. Including the Atlanta series, the Magic won 14 in a row and an astounding 28 of 31 games dating back to March 1.
The Hawks really could not get anything going in the series, dropping the first game by 43, the second by 14, the third by 30 at home and the fourth by 14.
By the time the final buzzer sounded, Atlanta's average margin of defeat of 25.3 points per game was the most lopsided four-game sweep in the history of the NBA playoffs according to Stats, LLC. The Philips Arena crowd lustily booed a Hawks team that just plain didn't show up for the series.
Johnson's response?
"That doesn't bother me," the then-free agent to be shooting guard said. "I could care less if they showed up or not."
Nevertheless, Johnson, who averaged just 12.8 points per game while finishing -72 in the series, was rewarded with a max contract in the offseason. The only real casualty of Atlanta's epic loss to the Magic was coach Mike Woodson, who did not have his contract renewed.
He was replaced by Larry Drew, who hopes to reverse the trend when the Hawks take on the Magic in the first round this year.