AJC > Sports > Hawks > Blog > Archives > 2006 > April > 13
Thursday, April 13, 2006
Fast, furious would suit ATL
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
And you thought you had it bad, Hawks fans. Ha. I stayed up after last night’s game (Bulls 96, Hawks 90) and watched the NBA’s saddest playoff story knock off the Dallas Mavericks.
It’s a bit jarring when you hear it said aloud. “The Golden State Warriors haven’t been to the playoffs in 12 years.” Wow. Hawks fans are in year seven of the postseason drought. If we’re still cranking on the Hawks here in five years, then we’ll all need therapy (for still waiting for the resurrection).
But I actually wanted to talk about the Warriors. You talk about a team with some promising young talent. Ike Diogu, Monta Ellis, Andris Bierdins, just to name three of their pups. Why everyone passed over Ellis in last year’s draft remains a mystery to me; I wish we could check the blogs from last spring before the draft when people were asking about Ellis and Louis Williams and I was touting Ellis as one of the five best PGs available. Anyway. I love what they’re doing at this late stage of the season. It might seem useless to some people but those kids are worth keeping an eye on. You wonder, though, how long a team that’s missed the playoffs for over a decade will be able to let that team mature before chasing another quick fix and trying to scramble its way into the postseason.
Same goes for the Hawks.
And speaking of the Hawks, they dropped a nasty one to the Bulls Wednesday. And I have to admit, I love the way the Bulls play. I know Josh Childress might not agree, but that fury and relentlessness that the Bulls play with is fabulous to watch. Young teams in the NBA still trying to find their way would be wise to try and craft a furious style of their own. It’s the best way to combat their obvious deficiencies.
I wonder if that goal of 26 wins is out of the question? I know how important it is to the players (they’ve been talking about it for weeks now) and the coaches as well (they never talk about a specific number of wins). But they’ve let so many opportunities slip through their fingers with their inability to take care of the ball (20 turnovers became 20 points for the Bulls in a six-point loss; you do the math) and their inability to defend the basket (38 points in the paint for the Bulls).
But at least they’re getting a taste of rough stuff. Last year this time, it was like teams felt sorry for knocking the Hawks silly late in the season. These days they have to try and bury them because they fear being the Hawks’ latest victim (like the Wizards were last Friday).
A Chicago writer in the press room after the game told me that he hadn’t seen a Hawks team this feisty this late in the season in years. And I think that’s a growing sentiment around the league, among teams and everyone else.
