--General manager Billy Knight has stepped down after six years in that role with the Hawks. Knight said that he it was time to "take a break" and that he left the team "in much better shape than it was in when I took over."

"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," said Knight's statement to the press. "My passion for the franchise has never wavered."

Hawks co-owner Michael Gearon said that Knight's decision was his own, and it will not affect the team's decision regarding coach Mike Woodson.

"You cannot tie the two together," Gearon told The Associated Press. "Frankly, this was not a decision by (Hawks' ownership), it was a decision by Billy."

--Sunday's game marked coach Mike Woodson's final outing under contract with the Hawks. His contract ends June 30 and while much has been made of his status, there has been no official word on whether or not he'll receive a new contract.

And Woodson refused to discuss his job status during the post-game media session.

Hawks captain and All-Star Joe Johnson is firmly entrenched in the Woodson camp, though.

"I hope he comes back," Johnson said after Sunday's game. "I hope we're able to bring him and his entire coaching staff back. That was one of the main attractions for me coming here (from Phoenix three years ago), so I would definitely love to see him come back.

"I've learned a lot from all of those guys. They've taught us all a lot. I would definitely love toe see them come back."

--The Hawks couldn't agree on whether or not the Celtics looked like a championship team after this series.

Rookie center Al Horford saw enough of Kevin Garnett, Kendrick Perkins, Leon Powe and Glen Davis to know that there's plenty of ammunition to get it done.

"We really gave them all they could handle," he said. "But I do feel like they can get it done. They certainly have a good enough team to do it."

Johnson, on the other hand, isn't nearly as sold on the Celtics as his young teammate.

"I don't know if they're going to win it," he said. "(The media) has got them picked to win it. I had us picked to win it, but I guess I'm out of luck."

When asked if the Celtics are as good as everyone thinks, Johnson didn't retreat a bit.

"No," he said. "They're probably not as good as everyone thought. We didn't show that here in Boston, but we showed it in Atlanta."

--Perhaps a bad sign for the day was the struggles of the bus drivers that carried the Hawks to and from their nearby hotel.

The bus crashed into the loading dock door twice Sunday, delivering equipment early and players and Hawks' staffers later.

"There wasn't a single problem before any of the other games we played here," said Johnson, who was on the bus during the second crash, said with a smile, "and then before Game 7, they can't drive. That's crazy. It's a good thing nobody got hurt."

--Woodson said his shaved head is here to stay, as in forever.

He made the deal with his team that if they made the playoff field he'd shave his head. And he kept his promise. Now, he claims he'll never grow his hair back.

"I'm not going to ever grow it back," Woodson said. "It's convenient. I don't have to comb my hair. When they bury me, they're going to bury me bald-headed. Besides, I think it's just become a part of me."

QUOTE TO NOTE
"We're so inexperienced and we showed that every game in Boston. We had no chance of winning a game here. None. I guess some of these guys thought we were just going to be able to come out and play hard and have fun. There's more to it than that. Four games here and we got run ragged all four times. You would think in Game 7, you would have a (expletive) clue. We didn't have a clue as to what was going on out there." -- Hawks captain Joe Johnson, on his team's futile plight in Boston.

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