AJC > Sports > Hawks > Blog > Archives > 2006 > November > 27
Monday, November 27, 2006
Keeping it real matters
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
I don’t know about you, but it recently realized that I spend the majority of my time reading. Newspapers (hard copies and on the Web), magazines, books, instructions — you name it and I’m reading it.
Sometimes it’s work-related and often times it’s not. Sometimes, though, I’ll come across something profound during my leisurely reading that addresses an issue that is work-related.
Sunday night was one of those times.
I was reading a story about an entertainer whom the author said takes himself so seriously that it, “borders on the absurd.”
I loved the way that sounded. As I often do when I’m reading something that sparks a different train of thought, I either underline it or write it down for later reference. I wouldn’t normally share this on the blog but the comment about such a guy seems appropriate when you read about all the turmoil currently eating teams alive in the NBA. For example:
*In Chicago, Ben Wallace and Scott Skiles are beefing over headbands, music in the locker room and other trivial things as the Bulls struggle to live up to their summer hype as the new bully on the block in the Eastern Conference.
*In Seattle, Sonics coach Bob Hill is taking shots at his bench crew while the bench crew is venting its frustrations right back, all of it being done through the three newspapers that regularly cover the team.
*In New York, Stephon Marbury’s story continues to unravel in the pages of the daily newspapers — his confusion about what his role is and what his coach wants from him being the latest issues taxing the Big Apple native.
*In Philadelphia, Chris Webber is upset with his diminishing role in the playing rotation. The local press, notorious for its ability to pan local stars, is having a field day making fun of him.
*In Boston, not a day goes by without some rumor about the Celtics dumping Doc Rivers as coach or the organization trading away half their roster for Kevin Garnett or Allen Iverson or whomever the superstar of the day might be.
It should come as no surprise that as of Monday morning these teams had a combined record of 25-44 (and not a single one of them is even close to .500).
My point is, some of the issues involved above, if taken too seriously, border on the absurd. The teams that learn how to live through all the personality quirks involved, particularly when you have so many oversized egos sharing the same work space, are the teams that eventually thrive. If not, they’ll self-destruct.
Follow me now.
If the Hawks wanted to, they could let this current rash of injuries and subsequent on-the-court struggles fracture the locker room and whatever sense of unity they’ve built up over the course of training camp. But they haven’t. And I commend them for holding it together without several crucial players available.
It sounds like nothing, I know. But think about how easy it would be to let something like this fester and eventually become the issue that serves to split your team and locker room in half. Petty players and coaches, in all sports, have allowed it to happen before.
The Denver Nuggets’ situation this season is an even better example, and Naismith knows the Nuggets had their issues last season with George Karl and Kenyon Martin, among others. But the Nuggets didn’t let an 0-3 start destroy their chemistry and turn their locker room upside down. They’ve rebounded and responded with some pretty good basketball.
It remains to be seen if the situations in Chicago, Seattle, New York, Philly and Boston will turn out that way. I’m just a believer, from way back, in a certain way of operating in a team environment. No matter what my individual wants and needs might be, nothing trumps the wants and needs of the team.
If we were talking about boxing or some other individual sport, I could understand the drama. But on a team, the foolishness can’t be allowed to continue if you have any chance of winning.
