AJC > Sports > Hawks > Blog > Archives > 2006 > October > 12
Thursday, October 12, 2006
Tone more impressive than win
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
The score honestly wouldn’t have mattered to me, since it was an exhibition game and teams often run up big leads and then let the training camp invitees and reserves decide the final outcome. I was looking for something more last night at FedEx Forum. I wanted to see if the little things had changed.
(Anyone worrying about world domination against that Grizzlies team last night needs to readjust their priorities anyway, since the exhibition season is only a dress rehearsal for the real thing. As Lorenzen Wright likes to say, “We’ll see what happens when the popcorn starts popping.”)
It was the tone of things that I was monitoring. I wanted to see if the Hawks had some bite to back up their cautiously optimistic bark from an offseason and first 10 days of training camp that certainly struck many as being more intense than the past two years.
All that said, it’s not like the Grizzlies wanted to get run out of their own building. No team with any pride does, whether it’s exhibition season or the playoffs. And sure, Pau Gasol was in street clothes, as was Stromile Swift. But the Grizzlies couldn’t have stopped the bleeding against that Hawks first unit even if they wanted to. They were overwhelmed at the point of attack.
There are signs that this whole thing could finally be taking the shape the Hawks have hoped for. Granted, they are just signs at this point (the much-improved offensive flow; the belief from 1-to-18 that defense is their only salvation; the understanding of roles and how integral each one is to the collective success; and the faith in each other that things will get done the right way if everyone does his job). But the alternative would be clear indications the that the ills of the Hawks’ recent past have not been cured. And nothing could have been worse than that.
When Eddie Jones headed across the court at the end of the game to shake hands with Hawks players and coaches, he walked up to Josh Smith and gave him a nod approval and said a few words (I’m no expert lip reader but the rough translation was something about, “That’s how you have to bring it every night young, fella”). To borrow a phrase, “game recognize game.”
I think there was some acknowledgment late last season that if this same young Hawks team put in work over the summer and came back with the right attitude, there was a chance they could move up the league’s food chain. They might not be in store for a quantum leap (I still stand by my prediction that this is a 36-40 win team), but any movement up is a positive one.
Make what you will from the individual performances — Shelden, the Big Greek and Ced Bozeman all made good first impressions, as did the entire returning regular rotation of players. Just don’t get caught up in the numbers. It was evident late last season that the numbers for this team, particularly on the offensive end, will be respectable.
It was the defensive focus and the recognition of things that they’ve been coached on that struck me. The role-playing, of sorts, that kept my head on a swivel as I watched the floor and then the bench reaction to what was transpiring.
Making sure they maintain the type of intensity and flow for the next eight months is the real charge of this Hawks team (from the coaching staff on down). That’s where the true measure of this team and their growth will show itself.
In the meantime, we’ll continue to dissect the details.
