It’s been a tough last decade cheering for the Hawks. And after this year’s playoff run, I grabbed onto some hope that maybe there was a good future in store for Atlanta.

Then free agency comes, where the 3,000 different Hawks owners said they were “going to do everything possible to sign the Joshes.” The Joshes, that is, being Josh Childress, top reserve from last year, and Josh Smith, one of our best young players.

Well, scratch Childress off the list. It’s not that another NBA team got him, but a team in Greee has given him an offer he can’t say no to. The offer is for three years, and is worth $20 million in guaranteed money. At the end of any year, he’s able to opt out of his contract.

“It’s obviously a bit different, being the first player to do something like this,” Childress said on a conference call. “But I think it’s a great opportunity, and it’s going to be a great experience for me.”

“I was in a situation that I really didn’t know what my answer would be when I got to Athens,” he said. “But it’s a great city and a great team, and they did everything to make me feel at home.”

Way to go, Atlanta Hawks. One glimmer of hope, and now you’re looking to throw away the next five years. Memo: Having just Joe Johnson (this is under the assumption they let Josh Smith go, and then probably let Al Horford go in two years) isn’t going to win any games. It just isn’t.

It was the first time since the playoffs started that the Celtics didn’t require seven games to move on, and the fans and players in Boston are plenty happy about that. After last night’s 89-81 victory over the Pistons, the Celtics have advanced to the Finals for the first time since 1987.

“It’s kind of surreal,” Garnett said. “Probably hasn’t even hit me yet because we haven’t slept in about four days, going on five days now. Going to the Finals, I’m just hoping to get some sleep.”

Kevin Garnett only had 16 points and 6 rebounds, but the slack was picked up by Paul Pierce, who dropped 27 points on 8-12 shooting. What won the game, though, was the Celtics D, who suffocated Detroit’s offense, holding Tayshaun Prince to 10 points on 3-10 shooting, and Rasheed Wallace to 4 points on 2-12 shooting.

I hate to be the Atlanta Homer fan right now, but given that the Hawks took the Celtics to seven, and won all of their home games, rather than one of their home games, would it be fair to say that, maybe, just maybe, the Hawks are better than the Pistons?

Don’t answer that.

Anyway, Game 1 of the Finals is about two months away (starts on Thursday, really). It’s Kobe Bryant vs. the World, and while I want to say the Lakers win, I feel without homecourt advantage, and with the Celtics seeming to gather some momentum, the C’s will take this thing in 7.

Well, for starters, football. But since we don’t have football, I guess figuring out the NBA Lotto and figuring out if Boston can lose at home will have to make due.

Tonight features Detroit on the road against Boston, where the Pistons will try and exploit all of Boston’s many weaknesses that, unfortunately, Atlanta and Cleveland weren’t able to exploit (or at least exploit enough). My prediction last night was off — I said Hornets by 8 — and tonight I’m going out on a limb, saying Detroit not only covers, but Detroit wins.

Boston has got to be worn out with 14 games already played in this year’s playoffs, and Detroit has cruised through. Some people will say that makes Boston battle tested, but I think that makes them pretty weak. I mean, Atlanta? I’m from Atlanta, I’m a Hawks fan, and I still think they’re pretty bad.

Say what you will about Cleveland, but they’re a one man team, and if KG is a legitimate MVP, and Paul Pierce is all he’s suddenly been cracked up to be, and Ray Allen is that other guy in the Big Three, then they should have mopped the floor with the Cavs.

That said, they didn’t, and tonight features the first game where a team has about as much talent as them. And if the game isn’t all it’s cracked up to be, then we at least get to watch the NBA Lotto at halftime, where we can see just how easily David Stern rigs everything to make sure players end up in big markets where he wants them. Miami has the best shot at No. 1, but don’t be too shocked to see it head to New York, where they’ll take Derrick Rose and rid themselves of Stephon Marbury.

I watched Game 1 of the Spurs/Suns series, and I figured I was in for one of the better series of all time. With that game pretty much kicking off the playoffs, and with Atlanta taking Boston to seven, I figured I was in for one of the better NBA Playoffs of all time.

We’re halfway through the second round now, and all we’ve got is a bunch of teams that can’t lose at home and can’t win on the road. I’m waiting for something to change — you know, something that will maybe make this thing exciting — but I’m not holding my breath.

Utah visits LA tonight and Cleveland visits Boston. If I had to choose an upset and pick a road team to actually win, I’d say Cleveland by four points, only because I feel like Boston is starting to unravel a bit. Of course, I thought this against Atlanta, and the games weren’t even close at home.

If I was a betting man — wait, I am — I’d say every one of these series will go the distance, with seven games needed to decide the winner. And the real winner in all this? Detroit, who idly awaits, getting some much needed rest for an injured bunch.

Mike D’Antoni, former coach of the great Suns and current coach of the sorry Knicks, has officially entered purgatory, as he was announced as the Knicks coach today.

“I will adapt what I do. Now I like to play fast, move the ball and all that stuff, and we’ll try to do that as best as we can,” D’Antoni said Tuesday. “Obviously you’re going to be a little slower than [the Suns], but at the same time there’s no reason why you can’t run, be exciting and have good ball movement.

“There’s 30 teams out there all with the same goal in the off-season, and that’s to make the playoffs. And I can’t think of a better team to be with than the Knicks.”

You can’t think of one, Mike? Let me help: San Antonio, Golden State, the Lakers — hell, the Clippers — the Heat, the Hawks, the Celtics, the Bucks, the Cavs, the Bobcats, the Grizzlies, Duke, Alabama, the Bruins. . . .

Boston Celtics 77, Cleveland Cavaliers 88: It’s hard to say Boston’s the best team in the NBA when they’re now 0-5 on the road in the playoffs, and three of those losses were against the Hawks, but at the same time, it seems that everyone who plays on the road is incapable of putting together some sort of winning effort. Take away Detroit’s win — a win in which they had to come back from 15 down against a team that pretty much choked it away — and the second round home teams would be 16-0 (as of now, they’re 15-1).

LeBron James scored 21 points, but was only 7-20 from the line, and continues to struggle with his jump shot and three. He did have a nasty dunk on KG, and his mom did get involved when Paul Pierce decided it best to grab his entire body and bring him into the crowd to prevent him from an open dunk.

Kevin Garnett, Ray Allen and Rajon Rando led the Celtics with 15 points, and Paul Pierce put in 13 on a bad shooting night. The Celtics are now winless on the road, and you have to wonder how many series they can really win without taking one away from home. If Cleveland can win Game 5, you may be able to wrap this thing up.

The Spurs visit the Hornets tonight, and the Jazz head back to LA. I’ve got a hunch — just a hunch — that the home teams will probably be 2-0 tonight.

Cleveland Cavaliers 73, Boston Celtics 89: Don’t let this score fool you. The Cavs jumped out to a 21-11 lead, and never did anything after that. At one point, the lead for the Celtics was as high as 26 points, and there was no one holding their breath in this one.

And one thing that has to be going through every Cavs fan’s head right now: What in the hell is going on with LeBron James? I’ve always been “that guy” who’s said he’s a bit overrated — I’m not saying he’s not great; that said, I don’t think he’s the second coming of Michael Jordan — and even I’m perplexed right now with what’s going on. LeBron did play better than his first game, but that’s like getting drunk, hooking up with a girl that’s a three, then bragging that you bagged one the next night that’s a five. He scored 21 points, a dramatic increase from Game 1, but was only 6-24 from the field, couldn’t hit a three to save his life, and had more turnovers than he had field goals. Boston used an all-around arsenal to kill the Cavs, who are now down 0-2 and look like the Atlanta team before them — incapable of making this thing even close on the road.

New Orleans Hornets 99, San Antonio Spurs 110: Something tells me you’re going to see a lot of home winning in this one, which doesn’t bode well for the Spurs, given they have less home games. Chris Paul had 35 points and 9 assists in the losing effort. Tony Parker and Manu Ginobli showed that you don’t have to be American to win this game, going for 31 a piece, also combining for 17 assists. Tim Duncan had 16 points and 13 rebounds, helping the Spurs make this thing competitive again. The next game will be Sunday, giving the two teams three days of rest before they tangle again.

Billy Knight, the Hawks GM of more than six years, has decided to call it quits only days after the Hawks exodus from the 2008 NBA Playoffs.

Knight, 55, rebuilt the roster with younger players. The Hawks were 37-45 in the regular season in earning the No. 8 playoff seed in the Eastern Conference.

“I am tremendously pleased with what we were able to accomplish this season in reaching the postseason, as the Hawks’ return to the playoffs energized the city and our franchise,” Knight said in a statement Wednesday. “My passion for the franchise has never wavered.”

Knight was often criticized for his draft picks, and though this year’s pick (Al Horford) was an absolute gem, he also took some very quesitonable picks way too early. Sheldon Williams was taken fourth, when almost all experts said that was too high, and — though he’s turned out to be a solid player — Marvin Williams was drafted ahead of Chris Paul and Deron Williams, both of whom are budding stars.

ESPN is reporting that the Bulls are in talks, and it appears the Suns are splitting ways. It wouldn’t be a bad fit, given that the Bulls are a young, energetic squad that would fit well with D’Antoni’s style of play, and the Bulls, young and energetic as they were this year, also stunk.

I hardly doubt he’ll be able to turn Kirk Hinrich into Steve Nash, but the Suns weren’t the Suns until he took over. He’ll get to work closely with Tyrus Thomas, Ben Gordon, Joahkim Noah and Luol Deng, just to name a few. And in the East, as the Hawks have shown, all it takes is 37 wins to make a little noise come May.

Today marked the end of the Hawks season, which started tragically and nearly ended triumphantly. I told myself if we won a single game against Boston, I’d be happy. Here I sit, after losing by more than 30 points and managing just over 60, and I’m upset. We went to Game 7. We almost did it. We came just short (only after watching today’s game, it feels almost as if we were never in this series).

There’s a lot of people that feel Boston’s going to be in trouble against the Cavs, but I feel it’s a similar matchup as the Hawks, who they absolutely destroyed at home. You’re going to see a lot of double teams on LeBron, and it’s going to be up to the rest of the Cleveland players to step up and try and win one. The Hawks did just that at home, and just the opposite on the road.

Congrats, Atlanta. I can truly say for the first time in nine years that I’m proud to be a Hawk. Our main focus now is re-signing Josh Smith, and then hopefully getting Childress as well, though I think it’s unlikely; he’ll probably want way too much, and you can only justify giving so many dollars to a guy that’s gonna be your sixth man.