AJC > Sports > Hawks > Blog > Archives > 2006 > October
October 2006
Ready for tip-off
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
I’m curious to know what you guys thought of our Hawks and NBA preview that was in today’s paper. We worked hard on it and tried to cover a little bit of everything.
Aside from that, I spent part of the afternoon at the Hawks’ final practice (before Wednesday’s season opener in Philadelphia). The mood wasn’t what I expected. After weeks and weeks of hard driving by the coaching staff, it was a more laid back atmosphere. Better yet, it was a more “you-know-it’s-time-for-business” atmosphere.
I didn’t think there was anything else to be said. But Woodson and his coaching staff found plenty to talk about. Woodson gave an interesting end of practice speech about the Hawks needing to remember to have each other’s back and the fact that they had to crank their intensity up to new levels for the regular season.
Hawk assistant coach Larry Drew talked about them needing to adopt a “Road Warriors” mentality for not only this first road trip of the season but the entire season. They’ll go into this first game without their most feared Warrior (veteran Lorenzen Wright will miss the trip to serve his one-game uspension from an exhibition scuffle in Memphis). They’ll also be without Marvin Williams.
But as Wright put it, “Do you think Philly cares about any of that?”
This Hawks team operates with a much bigger chip on its shoulder (courtesy of the past two years of struggles), which I can see people admiring as this season wears on. I don’t know if that “Us against the world” mantra has always been my choice. But I can see where it fits with this bunch, which has basically been written off by most everyone but the die-hard Hawks fans.
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Let the Hawks W-L predix begin!
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Now we can toss out the exhibition record (5-3, the best ‘round these parts in a little over a decade) and start to focus on the numbers that really matter. I know everybody else will be waiting until Tuesday morning to forecast their big predictions about this season and what will become of the boys in Hawksville.
But I can’t wait. I say we do it today. Let’s get on with the fearless forecasts (and the explanations) for this Hawks team in the 2006-07 season.
I’ve been back and forth the past two days trying to figure out what I think and what seems realistic and what seems possible. I’ve stated 35-40 wins consistently since mid-summer and that range still sounds good to me. But with the injury factor now more than just a theory (Speedy Claxton’s injury didn’t bother me as much as Marvin Williams’ because I knew Speedy would be back in time for Wednesday’s season opener), I’m trying to come up with a more specific number.
So here goes.
36 wins. I really went out on a limb there, huh? A 10-win improvement from a year ago shouldn’t be totally out of the question if you’ve gotten better and filled in your holes, to an extent, with free agents and draft picks.
Too high? Too low? Realistic? Unrealistic? When you’re caught up in the training camp matrix it’s hard to know left from right. Teams always look so much different in October than they do in, say, December or March. Who knows what will happen between now and then?
Tell me what you think and give me your own prediction.
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Some perspective, people
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
For you Hawks fans who think you have it bad with starters going down with injuries that will keep them out six to eight weeks, I’ve got some sobering news for you. It could be much, much worse. Marvin Williams said the same thing to me three times Thursday. But it didn’t register until Friday morning. Waking up and scanning the paper, ajc.com and the morning news shows for some of the other unbelievable things that go on in our world, however, can force you to gain a different perspective on things.
In a span of 10 minutes Friday morning I either read about or watched:
— A Dallas Cowboys assistant coach suing McDonald’s because he claims there was a dead rat in a salad. Huh? A dead rat in a salad. If it wasn’t an episode of Punk’d, I’d be suing, too.
— A woman in New York was repeatedly beaten senseless by her husband who, and I still can’t believe this, made his son video tape the entire thing. And he’s explaining to his son while he’s doing it that he has to treat his mother the same despicable way. I wouldn’t have believed it either if I hadn’t seen it with my own eyes.
— Four firefighters in Southern California died while battling a fire authorities believe was deliberately set near Palm Springs. A fifth was in critical condition. Deliberately set, are you kidding me? Who does this kind of stuff?
— Some genius at an exhibition game between the Orlando Magic and Houston Rockets allegedly decides it would be cute to hurl racist slurs at former Hawks center Dikembe Mutombo. Deke, of course, did not appreciate the gesture and made it clear that he wasn’t going to put up with it. The fan was tossed by arena security and Mutombo remains incensed that he was subjected to such nonsense. Can you blame him?
Think about it for a minute. Some guy is watching you work and starts tossing racial slurs your way. Sounds like a great way to spend a Thursday night doesn’t it? Unbelievable.
That’s why Marvin Williams handling the news of his broken hand Thursday with a relative calm you wouldn’t expect from a 20-year-old is really a bit startling. While it seemed like the absolute end of the world to a lot of other people (and please believe that it is indeed a blow for the Hawks on the floor and whatever plans they had to get off to a good start), Williams realized that it was just a broken hand.
“It could be a whole lot worse than this,” Williams said. “It could have been my knee or my ankle. Tear a ligament in your knee or something like that and then you’re talking about missing serious time, an entire season. It’s actually a good thing that I broke my finger and didn’t sprain it, which would have forced me to miss even more time. But I’ll be fine. This will heal and I’ll just keep working and try and come back better than I am right now. This isn’t the end of the world.”
Perspective.
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The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
For you Hawks fans who think you have it bad with starters going down with injuries that will keep them out six to eight weeks, I’ve got some sobering news for you. It could be much, much worse. Marvin Williams said the same thing to me three times Thursday. But it didn’t register until Friday morning. Waking up and scanning the paper, ajc.com and the morning news shows for some of the other unbelievable things that go on in our world, however, can force you to gain a different perspective on things.
In a span of 10 minutes Friday morning I either read about or watched:
— A Dallas Cowboys assistant coach suing McDonald’s because he claims there was a dead rat in a salad. Huh? A dead rat in a salad. If it wasn’t an episode of Punk’d, I’d be suing, too.
— A woman in New York was repeatedly beaten senseless by her husband who, and I still can’t believe this, made his son video tape the entire thing. And he’s explaining to his son while he’s doing it that he has to treat his mother the same despicable way. I wouldn’t have believed it either if I hadn’t seen it with my own eyes.
— Four firefighters in Southern California died while battling a fire authorities believe was deliberately set near Palm Springs. A fifth was in critical condition. Deliberately set, are you kidding me? Who does this kind of stuff?
— Some genius at an exhibition game between the Orlando Magic and Houston Rockets allegedly decides it would be cute to hurl racist slurs at former Hawks center Dikembe Mutombo. Deke, of course, did not appreciate the gesture and made it clear that he wasn’t going to put up with it. The fan was tossed by arena security and Mutombo remains incensed that he was subjected to such nonsense. Can you blame him? Think about it for a minute. Some guy is watching you work and starts tossing racial slurs your way. Sounds like a great way to spend a Thursday night doesn’t it? Unbelievable.
That’s why Marvin Williams handling the news of his broken hand Thursday with a relative calm you wouldn’t expect from a 20-year-old is really a bit startling. While it seemed like the absolute end of the world to a lot of other people (and please believe that it is indeed a blow for the Hawks on the floor and whatever plans they had to get off to a good start), Williams realized that it was just a broken hand.
“It could be a whole lot worse than this,” Williams said. “It could have been my knee or my ankle. Tear a ligament in your knee or something like that and then you’re talking about missing serious time, an entire season. It’s actually a good thing that I broke my finger and didn’t sprain it, which would have forced me to miss even more time. But I’ll be fine. This will heal and I’ll just keep working and try and come back better than I am right now. This isn’t the end of the world.”
Perspective.
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A big emotional setback
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Marvin Williams breaking his hand today is as much an emotional setback as it is a physical and logistical one for the Hawks. A jarring injury like this at the end of training camp hurts far more than the one Speedy Claxton suffered five weeks ago, before training camp began. Speedy had training camp to heal while Marvin will have to miss the first month of the season, if not more, before he can get back to business.
It’s beyond bad luck that these things keep happening to the Hawks. I’m starting to wonder if the dooms day crowd that talks about curses and bad karma might be on to something. How else to explain this spate of bad luck?
There is no silver lining here, either. I’ll be the first to admit that. Sure, Shelden Williams moves into a starting role and Josh Smith moves to small forward. One of the training camp invitees might stick around a bit longer (Cedric Bozeman and Matt Freije made the cut by the way, and not Andre Brown or Andreas Glyniadakis), at least to help fill out the playing rotation in Marvin’s absence.
Other than seeing what Shelden or the camper can do early, though, this remains a damaging blow for the Hawks. They certainly won’t be able to play as fast as they would have liked without Marvin and Josh on the floor together for long periods of time. And I expect Marvin to be fine once he heals. Guys suffer injuries all the time and return from them without issue. But the mental blow for this team early will have to be managed. But it changes the way you play not having him for the first month.
To his credit, Marvin’s spirits this afternoon were better than anyone’s. I think the shock of it all will hit him tonight, after he spends the night in Chapel Hill and wakes up tomorrow and realizes that he won’t be able to play in Friday night’s game at the Dean Dome – a game he’s been looking forward to for months.
But at least he’ll recover. I don’t know if I can say the same about the egos of both Brown and Glyniadakis, two guys who had to leave the premises Thursday knowing they played well enough to make this Hawks team. But sometimes, playing well enough (without a guaranteed contract) isn’t good enough to stay employed. It happens all the time in training camps around the league. But I’ve never seen it this bad, where the campers distanced themselves from several incumbents the way these guys did.
That’s just my opinion, of course. Perhaps the people making decisions felt differently (clearly they did). Maybe they saw some things that I did not. Or maybe they know it, too, but were hamstrung by the financial constraints we keep being told are not in place (clearly they, are if a team isn’t willing to eat a minimum contract or two in an effort to get better).
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A new and improved team
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
I’ve spent so much time talking about the free agent campers lately, I seemed to have neglected to provide updates on some of the veterans and rookies who have guaranteed contracts.
So in an effort to be both fair and balanced, let me provide a few observations about those guys in today’s Jenny Craig-sized serving of the five things we know right now:
Solomon Jones is back at practice and if you’re not careful, he’ll dunk on you, too. This has to be the longest human being this side of Dikembe Mutombo. I mean, he’s all arms and legs right now. But once he catches up to his body, look out. And did I mention that he’s a dunking machine?
Lorenzen Wright is worth every penny the Hawks are paying him. One of our most trusted FOB’s (Friends of the Blog) “The Mad VP” gave him an excellent nickname – The Vice President of Pain - after LoWright clobbered LeBron James on a drive to the basket during Saturday night’s game in Ohio. I love the toughness he adds to this team.
Marvin Williams and Josh Smith are still just 20 years old. I have to remind myself of this every time I begin to criticize these young guys. Studying their stat lines alone isn’t enough. It’s what they do during crunch times during games this season that will be the best gauge of their growth. That’s something I think we all have to remember. They’re going to have their struggles this season.
Speedy Claxton’s performance the past two days should calm any uneasiness you might have about the Hawks’ status at the point guard position. Trust me when I tell you that this guy is better than you think. He’s a much better passer than I thought. I wasn’t sure what he added to this team until after watching him practice the past two days. It should be very interesting to see how the rest of these guys feed off of his energy.
Josh Childress is immune to the AJC jinx. After I wrote about Andreas Glyniadakis last week he didn’t touch the floor in the very next exhibition game. Since writing about Childress from Birmingham last week he seems to have come alive (it has everything to do with his hamstrings finally healing and not anything that was written). But that won’t stop me from taking a little credit. Ha.
Don’t forget to check out Thursday’s paper for the Speedy feature I mentioned the other day. And stay tuned for more information on who will and will not make the opening day roster. As soon as I know, I’ll let you all know.
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‘Tough love’ at practice
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Thank you Mother Nature for slapping us all in the face with reality this morning. Freezing temps and the heater blaring is a reminder to us all that the joys of summer and fall will soon come to an end around these parts.
The changing of the season also signals something else: the start of the NBA season, which is just days away. After sitting through an exhausting (even for those of us just watching) Tuesday morning practice, I don’t think I can take too many more of these training camp grinders. We need game time to get here already.
Tuesday’s version of the five things we know right now:
Speedy Claxton’s as quick and shifty as advertised. Watching him work through his first full practice of the season was enlightening. Like so many players that you have to see on a daily basis to truly appreciate what they bring to the table, I had no idea how smooth an operator Claxton was. Keep in mind that his conditioning is nowhere near where he wants or the Hawks need it to be right now, and he was still able to do whatever he wanted to during the scrimmage work at the end of the practice. Stay tuned to the daily paper all this week for a more detailed feature about Speedy.
The NBDL must be doing something right. – I don’t want to be a shill for the league or anything, but after watching Matt Freije and Andreas Glyniadakis for the better part of the past four weeks, it’s clear to me that someone messing with the D-League knows a little something about basketball. These guys are polished and work hard, as do fellow free agent campers Cedric Bozeman and Andre Brown. They’re the best free agent campers the Hawks have had in years, according to several camp observers I’ve spoken to in the past few weeks.
Accountability is the name of the game this season in Hawksville. Having missed Monday night’s game (thanks Karen Rosen for a great job pinch-hitting) I wasn’t privy to the less than acceptable effort the coaches were hounding the players about at practice. They were called up to the middle of the floor more than once and told by not just head coach Mike Woodson but assistants Larry Drew and Bob Bender that those types of performances are a thing of the past. It simply won’t be tolerated. Tough love baby. Tough love.
If you think I’m dropping hints about something you’re probably on to something. I’ve refrained from making too many comments about which guys I think will and will not be on the opening day roster for the Hawks for good reason. I know that some tough decisions will have to be made in terms of who is kept and who is not. I also understand that the coaching staff might be in favor of this guy or that guy, but that those decisions are often made above the head of the coach and his staff. That said, every player on a training camp roster without a guaranteed contract knows that he’s rolling the dice with his immediate future. So there need not be any sympathy dished out for anyone who is let go.
Finally, and totally off the subject, but are we really supposed to believe that Kenny Rogers had dirt on his hand? I just couldn’t help but clown this idea that he had dirt that looked like motor oil conveniently slathered on the palm of his pitching hand. What are we, idiots? And now people have the nerve to debate the integrity of the game of baseball. This is comical. As John McEnroe said, “You cannot be serious.”
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Weekend in Buckeye-ville
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Since I’ve got an overload of observations and points to make from a long weekend, I won’t subject you to my usual lead-in blabber here. Without further ado, here is Monday’s saucy version of the five things we know right now:
1. Kaniel Dickens and Lionel Chalmers we hardly knew ye!
After almost four full weeks, you knew someone was going to be sent packing from training camp. I’ve done my best over the years not to get attached to these guys, these journeyman pros who logic tells us won’t be around come opening night of the regular season. But so often they’re the biggest cynics, and therefore the guys most likely to understand that while most of the guys in camp with guaranteed contracts treat every day like a job, to others it’s literally about putting food on the table.
Dickens is a seasoned pro, a guy who knows that in a perfect world he’d be judged simply on whether or not he knew how to play the game and not whether or not he was a first-round draft pick or a summer leaguer who happened to catch someone’s eye long enough to snag a ticket to veteran’s camp. Chalmers never had a chance, not after that high ankle sprain snatched his early (and quite positive) momentum.
Who knows, much like Anthony Grundy a year ago, we’ll hear from these guys later on this season. The four training camp survivors — Andreas Glyniadakis, Cedric Bozeman, Matt Freije and Andre Brown — will continue to do battle for one of those open roster spots.
Anything is possible, people. Anything.
2. Someone in charge of scheduling at the NBA hideout has a great sense of humor.
How else to explain sending yours truly to Columbus, Ohio, for a weekend exhibition game? You don’t know mental anguish until you spend a couple days in the lair of your most despised enemy. I know those are strong words. But when it comes to me and the humans that call themselves fans of The Ohio State University, that’s the way it has to be.
I’d root for Lucifer’s All-Stars against the Buckeyes. For real. Not only did I have to contribute to the Columbus economy this weekend, I even trudged into the Horseshoe for a couple hours to view the Buckeyes’ demolition of Indiana (and yes, to all of you SEC lovers, you’ve got the rest of the country smoked when it comes to game-day atmosphere; that was the quietest 100,000-plus I’ve seen this side of Ann Arbor).
Lazy atmosphere aside, there should be no doubt that the best-looking football team not playing in the NFL resides in Columbus. The Buckeyes are monstrous and just as fleet-footed where it matters most. Now I need you all to cross your fingers twice for my Wolverines, ‘cause we’re going to need all the good mojo we can muster on Nov. 18 when we invade the Horseshoe. I got the ball rolling by shouting “Go Blue” as often as possible on my way in and out of the stadium. And you better believe I engaged anyone I could in a spirited debate about what’s going to happen on Nov. 18.
3. The best scene of the weekend.
Aside from the fantastic game between the Hawks and Cavs Saturday night, it had to be seeing the Hawks coaching staff out at a local restaurant Friday night while the Ohio State coaching staff sat a table over entertaining a recruit and his family. Without fail the Buckeyes coaches trotted out uber-recruit Greg Oden, sling and all, to greet the recruit. Little did Thad Matta and his crew know that an NBA coaching staff would be at Brownstone on Main (one of the finest soul food joints I’ve dined at in a while).
Hawks coach Mike Woodson is an Indianapolis native like Oden, so when they shook hands it was hilarious seeing Matta, with a smile a mile-wide on his face, gesture for the Hawks coaches to stay away from his prized freshman big man. If you’ve never seen Oden, think David Robinson at 18 or 19 but with a beard and perhaps even longer limbs. Oden’s a massive young man.
Hawks assistant coach Greg Ballard is no little fella himself — I believe he was listed at 6-foot-8 during his title-winning days as an NBA player. Oden is tall enough to eat a dish peach cobbler off the top of Ballard’s dome. As you’ve seen and read elsewhere, he’s already in possession of the NBA goods, from a physical standpoint. And if he’s one year and done in Columbus, he’s an absolute no-brainer for the No. 1 pick in next June’s draft.
4. Back to that Hawks-Cavs game.
So long as the teams involved are willing to go after each other the way these guys did Saturday night, charging fans full price for exhibition games isn’t a total rip-off.
When you’re best players log regular season minutes, it’s no exhibition game. And when both teams are acting like they’re playing for a playoff bid and not just to entertain the folks in a non-NBA city, it’s clear that there is more at stake than just pride.
I think the Hawks and Cavs were both trying to send a message. The Hawks want to show everyone they’re not going to be the doormat of the East, as some have predicted. And the Cavs were trying to show that they’re a legitimate East contender and not just a paper contender.
Cavs showman Damon Jones had a great line during one sequence in the second quarter when he ran by the Hawks bench and said, “I know [expletive] well we’re not losing like this to the Hawks.”
They were. And they can thank Joe Johnson and his crew for the loss. In trying to explain why Joe Johnson is such a special player, I offer his performance Saturday night as proof. Even on a night when his shot wasn’t falling early, he finds a way to impact the game (he finished with 10 assists and would have had several more had his teammates converted a couple more). Someone asked recently what I expect from Johnson this year? How about an All-Star caliber season.
5. Finally, it’s cutting time around the league.
I think the Hawks (and any team) would be wise to keep one eye on the waiver wire to see who might be floating around out there. The Nets have already let Jay Williams go and the rumblings in Boston are that Luke Jackson, formerly of Cleveland, could be a casualty because of the Celtics’ overload at his position.
My point is there are going to be several intriguing players who are simply caught in the numbers game elsewhere that cause me to take a hard look, were I the one making roster decisions.
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The kids not stepping up
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Never has the need for veterans been more obvious than it was Thursday night in Birmingham. Without Joe Johnson, Tyronn Lue, Zaza Pachulia (and the still injured Speedy Claxton) the Hawks looked like the Junior Hawks while being taken to pieces by the Magic.
I know the folks of Birmingham were expecting to see JJ, Lue and Zaza. But trust me when I tell you that the Hawks needed to give those guys a break more than they needed not to. But it’s a whole different mess without them on the floor. The point guard situation without them is dang near tragic. And the inside game is much like last year’s, making the added depth there arguably the most important offseason move made by any franchise in the league.
Now, for Friday’s edition of the five things we know right now:
— Boris Diaw has nine million reasons per year these days to thank Joe Johnson for wanting out of Phoenix. Sure, JJ got his cash. But Boris is about to get his now with a five year, $45 million deal from the Suns.
And Boris is my poster child for never judging a player too harshly before he comes into his own.
— Speaking of dough, four years and $40 million for Josh Howard. Sounds fair to me. A good friend of mine said he wouldn’t have given Howard that kind of money. But I watched Howard all last season and particularly close in the playoffs and NBA Finals. The Mavs don’t have a better or more crucial player, and that includes Dirk Nowitzki and Jason Terry.
— It’s cutting season for NBA teams and their free agent campers. The Hawks will head to Columbus (Ohio) for Saturday’s game with Cleveland with all 18 of the guys they started camp with. But I suspect by Monday they’ll be a down to 16 or fewer players. Cedric Bozeman, Andreas Glyniadakis and Matt Freije have seen the most minutes of the free agents, so I wouldn’t expect any of those guys to be released by then.
— There will be another round of cuts later, and one I think will be extremely difficult for the Hawks to make. They have to decide if they want to eat a guaranteed contract in order to keep one of these free agents. Bozeman, the Big Greek and Freije (who turned in an impressive 5-for-7 shooting performance in junk time against the Magic Thursday night).
Sports Illustrated isn’t nearly as high on these Hawks as the Buzzards were hoping they’d be. The Hawks are picked dead last in the Eastern Conference in SI’s NBA preview. And there was even a needless shot taken at the Hawks in the preview’s main feature about the NBA hitching its marketing wagon to Dwyane Wade, LeBron James and Carmelo Anthony.
Where is the love SI, where is the love?
Players on the “watch” list
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
This isn’t a cop out from the usual ‘five things we know right now’ format, but a left turn to another topic that someone raised to me earlier that I think is quite pertinent. An NBA writer buddy of mine was picking my brain about the Hawks for a preview he’s working on and asked, “Who is the one player they have that must play above his head in order for them to exceed [the already low] expectations people have for them?”
What struck me is how long I had to think about this before answering. I don’t want to tell you the name of the guy I identified as “that guy.” But I will tell you that my buddy was quite surprised that I didn’t say Joe Johnson, Josh Smith, Tyronn Lue or Lorenzen Wright. That leaves the rest of the roster as possibilities.
Before I reveal my pick (I’ll do it at halftime of tonight’s game in Birmingham here on the blog) I’m wondering which player you think needs to provide that Herculean effort for the Hawks to exceed expectations this year?
Joe Johnson sets the pace
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Have you gone from reading the points, rebounds, assists and blocks columns of these exhibition stat sheets to reading the minutes played column and analyzing that and only that?
I know I have. When I realized Joe Johnson logged 32 minutes Tuesday night against Orlando, I cringed. Why so many minutes for a guy who is clearly going to be counted on to deliver much more important half hour stretches for the next seven months?
But Johnson assured me that he’s fine. And that he’s taking the necessary precautions to preserve his energy and his body during training camp and this preseason. So if he’s not worried, and Dennis Green isn’t hollering anymore, I’ll stop worrying.
Wednesday’s version of the five things we know right now:
Beware of Dwight Howard this year. Dude is a nightmare for opposing big men and anyone foolish enough to get in his way when he wants a rebound or a dunk. Seriously, this could be the year he ascends to his rightful place as Shaq’s successor as the league’s most dominant inside presence (Sorry Yao Ming, Amare Stoudemire and all the rest of you contenders). And with Darko Milicic feeding him from the high post, Howard could have a monster year on the offensive end, too.
Shelden Williams continues to go about his business. He had 12 points and 10 rebounds in just 22 minutes against the Magic. Solid stuff from a rookie that none of was sure would be able to deliver these things consistently. He floored Milicic Tuesday night on a layup attempt, making it clear that even when he’s at a clear size disadvantage he won’t back down. I like it.
The most impressive thing I saw Tuesday night was Lorenzen Wright barking instructions for his younger teammates in the second half when the game got tight and both teams had reinserted their starters in an effort to pull the game out. Wright made sure that his young teammates understood what was going on and what needed to be done. If Wright knows anything, it’s how to play the game after 10 years of toiling against the best big men of his era.
I owe Andreas Glyniadakis an apology. The minute I write a feature about the training camp invitee and how impressive he’s been, he gets a DNP-CD (Did Not Play – Coach’s Decision). My bad big fella. I didn’t meant to slow your mojo. I still think he’s got a chance to make the roster, though.
Those of you worried about Josh Smith and his play this year need not worry. I still have people come up to me and tell me how they’re still not “sold on him” or they still aren’t sure “he gets it yet.” But when the Hawks needed an energy boost Tuesday night, there he was. He blocked a Howard dunk attempt on one end of the floor raced to the other for a driving layup and made it clear that Howard wasn’t the only “freak of nature” on the floor. If the Hawks have a chance this year, everyone is going to have to live through the ups and downs of Smith’s ongoing development process.
The perils of road trips
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
I didn’t realize this until late last night (or was it early this morning when my delayed flight finally arrived in Orlando three hours late), but we’ve been wasting our time the past 14 months trying to fix the Hawks on this blog. We’ve done a great job analyzing, and in most cases over-analyzing, the issues of such a small group of people that quite honestly doesn’t want our help.
With our collective energy, will and obvious whit, we could be of service to so many more. And I think we should start with the geniuses at airports across the country that have turned commercial flying into a task as tedious as obtaining your license or registering for college classes before the Internet age.
It’s probably easier to sneak into this country illegally than it is to make it from the check-in kiosk through airport security and to your gate in under an hour at places like Hartsfield-Jackson. And don’t even think about getting to your destination at the scheduled time. OK, that was a bit extreme, but hopefully you understand my point.
And before you assume that this is one of my own personal travel rants (and please believe that there will be many this season. I’ve already had drama twice and we’re a week into the preseason schedule) I want you to know that it’s not. I’m ranting on behalf of all the people that are subject to the cruel nature of the airline industry and their ‘you’re at our mercy so deal with it’ attitude toward their paying customers.
Just like we’ve proposed sweeping changes to the operational procedures for the Hawks, we need to come up with a new plan for the airlines and airports around the country. Technology should have streamlined this process long ago and instead the process seems to be going backwards. It’s crazy.
Sorry for the Lou Dobbs routine. Airline travel has a way of making you go off on tangents. Let’s get back to basketball. And to steal from Monday’s blog and numerous other places, I’ll offer up Tuesday’s list of the five things we know right now:
Tonight’s exhibition game against Orlando offers the first glimpse of this new season at what could be the new millennium version of the Twin Towers. Dwight Howard and Darko Milicic could be trouble for the rest of the NBA for years to come.
Speaking of big men. How about my homeboy Chris Kaman (we’re both former residents and sons of Grand Rapids, Mich.) getting that $50 million extension offer from the LA Clippers? Good for him. And once again a team stuns me with their math. I’m done guessing what a player is worth because it never makes sense. I imagined Kaman would get a nice offer but nothing in the $50 million neighborhood. Let’s just hope he remembers where he came from and spreads the wealth to the rest of the NBA’s GR contingent! (Kidding, of course). But Zaza Pachulia has to be the steal of the century, as far as starting NBA centers are concerned.
Speedy Claxton is on his way back. He went through some light work during practice Monday and two of my practice moles have informed me that he’s targeting the final two preseason games to make his Hawks debut. That’s huge for the rest of his teammates if he can get back and get some game work with them before the regular season begins.
So let me get this straight: players from Miami and Florida International brawl on the field and one of the announcers gets fired? I was at the brawl between the Pacers and fans in Detroit a couple years ago and made a few comments that probably would have gotten me fired if they were broadcast on radio or TV. Thank Buddha for newspapers.
While we’re venting, who’s the Einstein behind the NBA’s preseason schedule? The Hawks and Magic play tonight and then again two days later? Why not allow fans to see someone different in all eight preseason games? The Hawks and Magic play enough during the regular season anyway. I’d love to see the Lakers or Suns during this part of the year. And I’d even suffer the airport for road trips to either place, if necessary.
5 points worth considering
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Now that the exhibition season has officially been rendered meaningless (in terms of wins and losses and what they mean), it’s time for us to move on to more pressing issues.
Who makes the playoffs… can the Heat win the title again…Michigan football … (Sorry, but I couldn’t resist that last one; 7-0 and rollin’ baby. My Wolverines are trouble for anybody looking for it, and that includes these SEC teams that everyone around these parts assume can’t be touched by anyone other than another SEC team.)
Actually, we’re still 16 days away from knowing all we need to know about these Hawks. The jury is still out on several fronts. Speedy Claxton still hasn’t played. We don’t know how well Josh Smith will fare at power forward night in and night out and we don’t even know if he and Marvin Williams will remain the starting twosome at forward. But let’s make a quick list of what we do as of right now:
1: These Hawks are much further along in the development process than the past two years. Even with their ugly showing in Little Rock, it should be clear to everyone that this team has a sharper focus (they rebounded Saturday night in impressive fashion, without Josh Smith).
2: Tyronn Lue’s knocked by many (I’m always arguing about people about this guy) but name another backup point guard who has filled in more admirably the past two years. Lue isn’t particularly flashy but he’s always there when the Hawks need him. Sure, he’s not 6-3 and unlike so many others, he’s well aware of what he can and cannot do, which makes him that much more effective.
3: Billy Knight’s decision to draft Josh Smith and Marvin Williams in successive years isn’t as easy to knock these days now that Williams is playing with the confidence that was lacking this time a year ago. No one has mentioned Chris Paul more than we have. But give it up to Marvin. He’s put in the work and appears to be on the cusp of big, big things.
4: All that said, there are going to be some tough choices to make in the next 12 months regarding which of these young guys are here for the long haul and which ones are moved to balance the roster. It’s an inevitable thing. No team can go on year after year with this type of imbalance. And the best value usually comes from a player you already have under contract, meaning the Hawks are going to have to part ways with one of their promising young talents (be reasonable here and understand that we’re not talking about a starter) to get one in return.
5: It’s time to get this thing started, and I mean the regular season. I’m tired of games not counting and long practices. The rhythm of the regular season is much easier to follow than the choppy nature of a preseason where games are spread from here to Paris.
Just let Stoudamire shoot
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Is this a joke? This conversation about getting rid of Salim Stoudamire? Surely, somebody has been drinking the Friday the 13th Kool-Aid.
I witnessed Salim’s struggles at the point first hand Wednesday night in Memphis. But breaking news: Salim is not a point guard folks. I know he’s 6-1 and looks the part. But dude is a sniper. He needs to be shooting the ball and not worrying about handling it. And this notion that he’s somehow expendable is crazy to me.
Now there are people that will argue that his size limitations dictate he plays some point guard. But I don’t see why, not with a roster that defies all other conventional wisdom. There are roughly nine players who are all about the same size and without any clearly defined positions. Let the man do what he does best and shoot the ball.
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.
Focus on Josh Smith, Shelden Williams vs. Grizzlies
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
The starting five is settled, for now. Tyronn Lue, Joe Johnson, Marvin Williams, Josh Smith and Zaza Pachulia will be the first five on the floor tonight against the Grizzlies.
The two guys that bear watching are obviously Williams and Smith. Tonight will be our first live glimpse of how these two young guys play together. Without Pau Gasol (big fella is out with a foot injury), it’ll be hard to gauge what kind of defensive issues the Hawks might have with Smith at power forward. But at least the whole thing will be under the big lights.
If there is a major concern, it’s that Smith will be plagued by early foul trouble because he’s guarding guys who on most nights are going to be bigger than he is. And if his technique isn’t sound (fronting guys in the post and relying on his help rather than playing behind guys and using his athleticism to challenge shots all the time) he’ll spend more time next to Hawks coach Mike Woodson than he wants to.
Making things even more interesting is the way Shelden Williams has been surging. During Tuesday’s scrimmage Williams was a terror, diving for loose balls and banging around the basket like he was back at Cameron Indoor. It’ll be interesting to see what kind of impact he’ll have off the bench tonight as well.
Claxton comes highly recommended
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
I know the consensus around here is that I have this great job. And for all the things we all disagree about here, that’s one I can’t dispute.
I spend many of my days at basketball practice or at games. And while the deadline pressure and occasional travel snafus take some of the fun out of the job, I can’t say the same about practice. There’s nothing like being able to watch practices and notice work habits and the little things that lead up to what happens on the floor come game night.
Let me also admit now to cheating a little bit. I don’t sit alone at practice and wonder what’s going on. I usually sit next to a visiting coach, a Hawks executive or staffer or someone else with an extensive background in basketball. My favorite practice partner is former Hawks star and current TV analyst Steve Smith, who knows plenty about the game and playing it at the highest level.
I’m constantly picking his brain for insights about what he knows about players, Hawks and others, and what the impressions are of coaches and players on other teams about the Hawks. He knows someone on every team in the league and can’t show up to any arena without being greeted by dozens of people; everyone from ushers to team presidents and in between. And despite his [Michigan State] Spartan roots, I’ve come to value his opinion about all things when it pertains to basketball because Smitty shoots straight about everything. He never holds his tongue and gives you his honest assessment of guys, whether they are friends of his or not.
That’s why a recent conversation we had was particularly interesting.
Remembering that he played on that Spurs championship team with Speedy Claxton (who got his cast off Tuesday and appears to be on schedule for a return right about the start of the regular season), I asked what he remembered about Speedy’s game and how effective he thought he’d be running the show for the Hawks?
Smitty (don’t bother calling him Steve if you ever run into him) said, and I’m paraphrasing here, that “Speedy and Stephen Jackson won that championship for us, they gave us that edge we needed to handle Jersey.” Strong words and ones that I couldn’t let pass without further explanation.
Claxton was playing behind Tony Parker then, when the fantastic Frenchmen was having his troubles with Jason Kidd. Smitty said that Speedy’s fearlessness in playing Kidd, on both ends of the floor, made a huge difference in the series. I know that’s a concern of many; that Speedy is undersized and will struggle to defend bigger point guards. Smitty’s not convinced that’s as big an issue. Not with Speedy’s quickness and relentless attitude.
Smitty is convinced Claxton is the difference maker the Hawks needed at the point, and coupled with Tyronn Lue a player that gives the Hawks a nasty (albeit short) 1-2 punch at a position they’ve struggled at in the past two years.
We’ll have to wait a while longer to see it in action. But I’m willing to buy the hype about Speedy if Smitty is selling it.
Feeling better about Shelden
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
After further review, that trepidation we all had about Shelden Williams contributing big things as a rookie might have been misguided. I’ll admit to my part, especially after watching him struggle a bit during summer league.
But Hawks coach Mike Woodson said something to me then that didn’t totally make sense until I watched the Hawks scrimmage Saturday morning at Woodward Academy. Woodson said “Shelden will show up better when he’s out there with better competition.”
Now I don’t think he was cracking the guys who were on all those summer league teams in Utah. I think he was speaking more about the fact that a guy who is as well versed in the nuances of the game and his position the way Williams appears to be, simply looks better when there are lots of good players sharing the same space.
Williams bumps defenders on screens, knows how and when to rotate on defense, and isn’t afraid to get his hands dirty, no matter who he’s battling for the ball or low post position. With so little structure in summer league competition, it was hard to see all those subtle things he does well. But with a week of training camp in the books, it’s easy to see why the coaching staff has been so much more positive than the rest of us about what Williams might be able to contribute.
Initially, it was his size that had me concerned. Williams wasn’t 6-10 and 250 pounds, which, for some unknown reason, I thought were his dimensions. He’s about the same height as Marvin Williams and Josh Smith. And only a few pounds heavier than either of those guys. But he plays a lot bigger than his listed size. Much like one of those “undersized” running backs, Shelden Williams is the one guy who doesn’t seem overly concerned with size, or lack thereof.
It will be interesting to see what toll a bruising NBA season will take on him - and please believe that the length of the season will get him at some point, it gets everyone eventually. Still, I’ll have to admit to being pleasantly surprised at what I’ve seen from Williams thus far. Those early reviews of him were probably a bit harsh and premature.
And for those of you who love to read a headline here and assume that’s what I said about something, I didn’t make any Rookie of the Year predictions. I’m simply saying that many people have made hasty decisions about what type of player we thought Williams was and that was probably something we shouldn’t have done.
The ‘Indy incident’ won’t happen here
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Tell me you didn’t cringe when you heard about the four Indiana Pacers players who were involved in the disturbance at an Indianapolis gentlemen’s club early this morning? It could have been four players on any other team in the league, and given Atlanta’s reputation for fine gentlemen’s clubs (I wouldn’t know, I’m getting older and usually counting sheep by midnight), no one would have been surprised if that story had come from here.
But that’s one of the good things about this Hawks team and Billy Knight’s desire to fill his roster with “good character” guys. I know it might sound corny, and you can crush Knight for whatever else you want, but there are some benefits to having good character guys on your team (and yeah, it always helps if they happen to be great players as well).
This Pacers story has all the ingredients we seem to find in sordid stories involving athletes these days – guns, drugs, strippers, a hit and run, and, of course, the perfect villain. Former Hawk Stephen Jackson is the man caught up in the middle of this public relations nightmare for the Pacers.
And in light of the recent stories out of Indy regarding all the changes he’s made in his approach and attitude, this story is even more damaging. (And before you even go there, I asked the same questions – what in the world are these guys doing out at 3 a.m. during training camp? Why in the world are they carrying weapons? And are the training camp workouts in Indy so easy that the players have the energy to hit the clubs until the wee hours?)
I saw where some of you here were knocking Hawks coach Mike Woodson for driving his players hard during the first week of training camp. Not me. You establish your foundation, your identity and your work ethic on these first few days. If players know that it’s all business from the start, the chances of silliness like what went on in Indy are slim to none.
Limping through training camp
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
The Hawks haven’t made it out of the first week of training camp and there’s another guy hurt. Rookie Solomon Jones is out for perhaps the next two weeks with a sprained ankle. He can now join Speedy Claxton and Zaza Pachulia, both starters, on the Hawks’ walking wounded list.
I saw him limping around after Wednesday morning’s practice but Hawks coach Mike Woodson was hopeful that it wasn’t an injury that would cause Jones to miss significant time. Two weeks isn’t ideal but it’s better than a month.
None of these scrapes are long term, even Claxton’s fractured finger should be fully healed before the start of the regular season. But every single hit during camp makes it harder for the Hawks to develop good chemistry among the core rotation of players.
Jones, who has been impressive during workouts throughout the summer, didn’t need a setback like this so early in the season. And the Hawks can only hope that this is the last of the nagging injuries for a while. They need to maintain a decent level of healthy contributors in order to take advantage of their early seasons schedule.
Emphasis on ‘D’ is serious
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
After just three practice sessions the tone for business in Hawksville this season has already been established.
Competitiveness -– up.
Attention to defensive detail -– way up.
Overall intensity -– way, way up.
Hawks coach Mike Woodson and his staff designed it this way. Woodson said after Wednesday morning’s workout that he’s had to do much less teaching (now that his roster only slightly resembles that of a Division I program) this year as compared to the last two.
The extra emphasis on defensive intensity shouldn’t surprise anyone. The Hawks were one of the league’s most accommodating defensive units last year, negating all the positives that usually come from putting up 102 points per game of their own.
Without the benefit of any scrimmage action thus far, it’s extra hard to tell which players have made the biggest improvements in their specific games. But if the frantic nature of the drills I’ve been allowed to watch are any indication, the scrimmages should be plenty entertaining. Guys are going to be going after each other in an effort to earn the starting jobs and minutes that are available.
And for anyone who wants to see what I’m talking about, the Hawks are holding a scrimmage open to the public Saturday at Woodward Academy in College Park. The doors open at 9 a.m. and the session runs from 10 a.m. to noon.
Since they won’t start scrimmaging until Friday at the earliest, I’m expecting Saturday’s workout to be a pretty good show.
Finally, blood’s been spilled
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
I was joking with another NBA writer over the weekend about what I needed to see at Hawks training camp to convince me that they were ready to take that next step, and I told him that I needed to see some blood. I needed a good fight or something to let me know that these guys were serious about climbing out of the NBA basement. (I hadn’t witnessed so much as a shoving match since I’ve covered these Hawks, nice guys all of them but no one strikes me as particularly rowdy or nasty).
Well, it didn’t take long for some blood to be shed. While pulling into the parking lot for practice this morning I spot Hawks equipment man Zach Walsh rolling past me with Zaza Pachulia in the passenger seat holding a bag of ice wrapped in a towel over his eye. Turns out Zaza caught an inadvertent elbow to the dome from Lorenzen Wright during a defensive drill. He missed the rest of the morning session but was expected back for the night session, with 20 or so stitches to close up the gash above his eye.
I know it wasn’t Hearns-Hagler or Tyson-Holyfield. It wasn’t even a skirmish. But blood has been spilled. And even when it’s accidental, it sets a certain tone for the way things are going to be. Wright is a veteran who has been in his fair share of scrapes during his 10 years in the league. So even if he didn’t mean to split Zaza’s skull open a little bit, what’s done is done. And now everyone knows they better watch out. I know this puts Zaza’s dreams of gracing the cover of GQ in serious doubt, for the time being at least. But it’s like one Hawks staffer told me during practice this morning, “welcome to the NPA - No Punks Allowed.” I kind of like the way that sounds.
Early chemistry a key
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
The real show doesn’t start until Tuesday. That’s when the Hawks hit the court for two-a-day practices and we all find out just what kind of chemistry this team will have this season. Aside from the obvious — keeping the main characters off the injury list — I don’t know that there is a more important issue for this or any team in the NBA.
The Hawks didn’t find the right chemistry mix until two months into the season a year ago, their 2-16 record during the first 18 games proof that the right balance eluded them until then. No one wanted to use Jason Collier’s death as an excuse, but to this day I believe that the traumatic impact of Oct. 16, 2005, was never acknowledged for the devastation it wrought throughout the organization.
It almost felt like the Hawks had to hit rock bottom last year (the hot seat was blazing for the coaching staff by then; the owners had to either give Mike Woodson a vote of confidence or give him the boot — they made the right choice by the way) before they could rise from the ashes that was all their early season tumult.
It took weeks for Joe Johnson to find his comfort zone with his new teammates (remember, his deal didn’t get done until late August) and then Marvin Williams and Salim Stoudamire had to be incorporated into the playing rotation.
I say all that to make this point, aside from Speedy Claxton’s hopefully speedy (sorry, couldn’t resist) recovery from his broken hand, the Hawks shouldn’t have any other speed bumps to slow them down this season. At least none that are obvious right now.
So let’s study the first 18 games on the schedule for this season. And yes, I know we’ve got the preseason schedule to deal with. But that’s just an extended training camp. I’m talking about the game that actually count.
Let’s look 18-deep right now and guess where these guys could be by then. Keep in mind that for the first time in years that first month won’t include an extended trip through the Western Conference, where the most promising of seasons can be derailed in a matter of days.
The Hawks play 14 games before having to worry about that Western Conference trip. And by then, we should have a pretty good idea of what type of team these guys are capable of becoming and what type of season they can put together with a roster that is finally two-deep (legitimately two-deep) at every position.
Now I’m not even a fan of preseason predictions for a season (I know, I know, that’s not what it looked like in Sunday’s paper), let alone first month predictions. But as far as I can tell, the Hawks’ first 18 games shape as their most important of the season. If they get off to a good start the possibilities are endless. If not …
Playing .500 ball or even better through 18 games would be off the charts for the Hawks. But if the Hawks can stay anywhere within three games of .500 through the first 18 games, they have a chance to rid themselves of some of those early season demons from years past.
Some people might think that 6-12 is selling a team short. But after 39 wins and 125 losses the past two seasons, I think these guys have to crawl a little bit before they walk. Feel free to tell me if I’m crazy (you always do anyway).
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