AJC > Sports > Hawks > Blog > Archives > 2006 > November
November 2006
Which All-Star bumped for JJ?
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Fine. If no one else wants to start this argument I will. Which usual suspect do you leave off the list to put Joe Johnson on your All-Star team?
Come on now. You know he’s playing like an All-Star. You know he’s deserving, certainly thus far he is. So who stays home from Vegas (working anyway) to make room for JJ? The field is going to be awfully crowded in the Eastern Conference.
You’re talking about Dwyane Wade and Allen Iverson being the front runners for the starting nods in the backcourt. That leaves a group including (Joe, of course) Chauncey Billups, Gilbert Arenas, Jason Kidd, Rip Hamilton, Mike Redd, Grant Hill, Paul Pierce, and probably Quentin Richardson (another guy putting up All-Star numbers this season). And those are just the guys I can think of off the top of my chemically influenced (I’m under house arrest today, by order of the lady of the house) dome. (And by the way, thanks for the all the suggestions yesterday, I’ve got some Airborne and will start popping those tablets in the a.m.).
I think solid cases can be made for just about every single guy on this list. But I’m wondering, who has put together a more All-Star worthy first month than JJ?
Now, on to Thursday’s five things (I gotta say before the ‘if-you-don’t-stop-coughing-i’m-driving-you-to-the-hospital’ police comes in here and makes me get back in the bed):
— 1. I remember someone here saying Solomon Jones had a chance to make an impact this season. Did you catch young fella’s performance last night?
He was good and active in the first half against the Bobcats, though not nearly as exciting as he was in defeat Saturday night in Orlando with his five blocks. What I like about him is that he’s shown no fear in mixing it up around the basket, despite being the slimmest man in the building most nights.
— 2. When in the world is someone (other than Lorenzen Wright) going to set a teeth-rattling screen to help get Joe Johnson, Tyronn Lue or Salim Stoudamire open for a shot? I’ve been waiting nearly a month to see if someone’s going to follow Lorenzen’s example. And I’m still waiting. JJ would have gone for 60 last night if he’d have had some help getting open after halftime. When the defense kicks up, as it did last night, someone has to assist JJ in getting open. Do that and there’s a good chance the ball comes back to them for all the easy shots they could ask for.
— 3. I understand the AJC was the victim of some drive-by-hating on local radio this morning. The classy thing to do would be to ignore it and keep it moving. The grimy thing to do would be to retaliate against any perpetrators with some venom-laced verbal tirade fit for a blog. Since I have Sirius Satellite Radio in my ride (highly recommended) and very little energy for the latter, I’m willing to forgive and forget.
Besides, clearly I can take a playful jab a bit better than most. But the next time someone attacks the home team baby, Blog Z won’t be this diplomatic.
— 4. Salim Stoudamire might not be pleased with his 0-4 shooting performance last night. But I saw plenty to like. He was active on defense and was a perfect fit when the Bobcats decided to play small ball (with Brevin Knight and Ray Felton on one side the Hawks countered with Tyronn Lue, Speedy Claxton and Salim. I don’t remember seeing that many 6-foot or shorter cats on an NBA floor at the same time before, it was interesting). Salim’s role is coming around on this team and I think he’s shown his value, even when he isn’t nailing shots.
— 5. Much like the All-Star campaign for Joe Johnson needs to get going, someone needs to start the Tyronn Lue Sixth Man of the Year project as well. T. Lue’s been a victim on this blog, unjustly I might add, many a times. And each time I remember trying to explain to the doubters that this guy’s value goes far beyond the court. But he’s getting it done on and off the floor these days and making it possible for Speedy Claxton to work his way back into game shape. If he keeps this up, he should be a serious candidate for the Sixth Man honor.
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Are expectations unrealistic?
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
If you’re like me, you’re way too caught up in what goes on every night in Hawksville. I don’t have an excuse, I have to do it or we don’t eat chicken and waffles at my house. Neither do you, as fans. We can’t help ourselves.
After a late night chat session –- of chopping up the Hawks’ latest loss -– with a couple of in-the-know cats who cover the Wizards (at a place called Clyde’s in Chinatown next to the Verizon Center in D.C., check it out next time you’re there), I realized that we are not alone. It’s the same there with the Wizards.
The Wizards won last night but the general mood was that they are um … basically a disaster. The feeling (from outsiders) about your Hawks, however, might surprise you. Everyone who has seen them this year thinks they’re on the rise. Really. They’re impressed with the way they’re playing and how well they are competing with what is generally regarded as the weakest roster (still) in the league and without several key guys playing at full strength, or at all.
I don’t know why I am repeatedly surprised by this assessment of this team (maybe I read and agree with Ando’s posts too often to look on the brighter side of things). But I am.
I see the same things, but in much slower increments. I’ve never been accused of being an optimist. Never.
Maybe it’s us people. Maybe we’re the problem. Maybe there is something wrong with the expectations we’ve placed on these guys (not on the franchise to turn this thing around but on THESE PLAYERS and how well equipped we think they are or should be to make that happen. Because I think the fan pressure on the franchise to turn things around immediately is not only justified by warranted. Who else is going to hold a franchise, any franchise, to the fire to produce a winner if the fans don’t?).
Now, enough of my daily rambling. Let’s get on to the hump day version of the five things (I can type in between coughing bouts at the laptop here):
— 1. I can’t believe I’m saying this about a guy who was supposed to be deficient on the offensive end of the floor, but maybe Shelden Williams could be the ideal weapon to unleash on unsuspecting teams? He’s certainly seemed to take opposing teams by surprise early in games recently. He scored seven quick points against the Wizards Tuesday night that had the entire arena buzzing – and the Wizards looking at each other with that look of “that’s wasn’t on the scouting report.” Why not take advantage of the element of surprise more often? (Dude only took two more shots the rest of the night).
— 2. Josh Smith and Zaza Pachulia have to make up their minds to get to the basket or their shooting struggles (they were a combined 6-for-26 from the floor against the Wiz) will continue. It’s not that they’re taking bad shots all the time. But the best way to boost your confidence on the more difficult shots is to start games off with the easy ones. Both these guys are still young enough that their play is based largely on what they’re doing offensively (even if they don’t realize it, that’s what’s going on). So if they’re making shots early they play differently than they do when they’re not in a good offensive flow early. It’s up to them to make the necessary tweaks in their games to combat their shooting woes.
— 3. Joe Johnson’s second half stat line was the kind of night most guys wish they could have. I know he missed the shot that could have won the game but if you’re going to give any guy a break, this is the man who deserves it. He was 9-for-16 from the floor, 2-for-5 from the beyond the 3-point line, had four rebounds, four assists and just two turnovers. The only real glitches he had were missing yet another free throw he needed (he’s as puzzled as anyone by his spotty free throw shooting) and his touch foul on Caron Butler on what turned out to be the game-winning three-point play (he should have made sure Butler never got that shot off).
— 4. This is off the subject, but for you frequent (or not so frequent) fliers out there, what do you use when you’re congested and in the skies? I’m not a big medicine man but with the west coast trip coming and the sinuses wearing me out, I need suggestions on how to manage on this five-game stretch. Someone told me that this Airborne stuff is the way to go. Anyone with first-hand knowledge feel free to give me a review on the blog tonight. I’ll take home remedies, too. Nothing is too crazy when it comes to me getting my nap on the plane (and getting boozed up won’t work because my body is my temple and I will not … ha, I just don’t drink and fly). Help me out folks, please.
— 5. Finally, could there be a more intriguing matchup than the Hawks and Bobcats? Don’t laugh. You know you want to see what the Hawks’ Southeast Division competition is up to as much as I do. The win over the Nets Tuesday night certainly got my attention (I don’t care if the Nets are struggling right now). Like it or not, the Bobcats remain the team the Hawks have to deal with in terms of the pecking order in the division. They struggled mightily with Bernie Bickerstaff’s bunch last year and I’ll be curious to see if those match up problems continue tonight. The Bobcats are solid at the point (with Ray Felton and Brevin Knight), while the Hawks are still struggling to find their way. If they get outplayed their big time tonight, it could be trouble.
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Kobe vs. LeBron: The debate
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Lately I’ve been getting away from talking strictly basketball here. I can’t help it sometimes, the mind tends to wander to a bit. But I’m back on ball today. Really. Someone asked me a great question that’s totally off base from tonight’s Hawks-Wizards game (a must-win road game for the Hawks, who are running out of reasonable chances to knock teams off on the road before heading west this weekend. Have I mentioned how huge this upcoming road swing is? It’s going to determine the tone of the Hawks’ season for quit some time thereafter. Play well and you go into the New Year with momentum. Get buried and you’ll spend the next two months trying to dig out of the hole. Huge, huge trip coming up for the folks from Hawksville).
I was having a discussion with a good friend about the league, players and the like. He’s a sportswriter in another state that covers college football. He’s probably been to two NBA games in his life but loves NBA basketball and really knows the game. He was asking me if I had a choice between Kobe and LeBron who would I take? (He’s a Kobe guy, loves making that ridiculous comparison between the Black Jack Bauer – Kobe’s new No. 24 – and MJ. Me, I don’t bother with that kind of trivial foolishness). I balked at the question. Refused to pick until we specified what we were looking for. I tried to explain to him that it’s a hard choice to make if you’re deciding who you want to start a team with or who you want in a one-on-one game.
When you watch the NBA on TV (as I did before I started covering the league) your appreciation for players isn’t what it is when you start watching guys in person, day after day. I always assumed certain things about the league prior to covering the league (my favorite theory, and I’m serious when I tell you this, was that it was just one big production, ballet in high tops with the refs, players and everyone else in on the game. Like the WWF without the body slams and chairs across the back. How ridiculous was that?). I know better, now, of course. But just like your perception from afar can be colored by what something looks like on TV or through the lens of someone else (like yours truly), an up-close view of something can be tainted as well. Sometimes you’re too close. So close that you can’t step back and see the bigger picture.
For example, no one scrutinizes the play of the Hawks the way we do. I can’t tell you how many writers from other cities who have commented to me this season about how good Joe Johnson is. It’s almost as if they were waiting to see if last year was a fluke before deciding that “yeah man, he’s good.”
So back to the question that was asked. Kobe or LeBron? I still don’t know which guy I’d pick. But I’ve got an even better question, at least I think I do. And since we’re in to playing fantasy GM around here all the time, I thought it most appropriate here. What player would you choose if you were starting your team today, on Nov. 28, 2006?
You can choose from any player in the league right now. But they have to be current NBA players. And we’re not talking about what they might be in three or four years or what they might have been in their prime. We’re talking about right now.
Who would you want? And make a case for the guy, not one against someone else.
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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.
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Getting on the boards
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
I don’t know about you but there are plenty of Thanksgiving leftovers around here. Here’s a few extra mental scraps leftover from the road trip to Detroit that seemed like it never wanted to end (fog and a baggage handlers strike/mess in Minneapolis made getting out of Detroit on time Thanksgiving day darn near impossible for me and any of the other unlucky souls trying to get where we were going for Turkey Day).
My day after Thanksgiving version of the five things (well, today it’s just the five things):
— Shelden Williams makes it awful hard to pan him as the fifth pick when he posts numbers like he did against the Pistons (20 point on 7-for-12 shooting and 13 rebounds in 40 minutes). If nothing else the guy has been consistent. He’s battled inside and done his job. The scoring is a bonus. Now, if the Hawks could only get someone else to help him on the glass -– and I mean really go after rebounds and make it a priority on both ends of the floor -– they might be on to something.
— Let’s see, the Hawks shoot 43 percent from the floor, 54 percent from beyond the 3-point line and 83 percent from the free throw line and lose the rebounding battle by just five points and still lose? Hard to imagine huh? Well, the only numbers that mattered against the Pistons were the season-high 18 offensive rebounds the Hawks allowed their hosts and the 27 points they delivered off their 18 turnovers.
It’s one of the reasons it’s hard to study NBA box scores for clues to why a team won or lost. On most nights there isn’t that one stat that you can point to in other sports (turnovers or rushing yards in football for example) as the one pivotal stat that determines who wins or loses. (The Pistons, one of the league’s most experienced teams, had just eight turnovers, one from each starter and three from the bench).
— While sitting in Detroit Metro Airport (all freakin’ day Thursday) I had time to evaluate all sorts of things about these Hawks. I have to admit that I’ve become an advocate of increased roles for all the bench players. When the Hawks were streaking through that 4-1 stretch no one could make a case to me for tinkering with the rotation. But now, with opposing teams clearly figuring out what the Hawks are trying to do and making every effort to limit Joe Johnson’s effectiveness, it’s clear to me that alternative offensive options are needed (someone else gets paid to come up with those, not me). And that’s where the lack of another 6-5 to 6-7 playmaker that can handle the ball and create scoring opportunities not only for himself but others becomes an issue.
Marvin Williams is the only player on the Hawks roster other teams are worried about in that vein, and he’s still not ready to play. But the Hawks need their second unit to really become just that, a point-scoring, game-changing unit. They need to come into games and change the pace and tempo the way they did at times late last year with Tyronn Lue leading the way.
— Who knew losing Josh Childress would hurt this bad? I had a bad feeling when I saw him at practice last week and he said his foot was bothering him and he might be out a while. I understand that players of his ilk (role players who do an assortment of things really well and can do them without ever being a focal point of the offense) make the difference between winning and losing much more often than they are given credit for. But the Hawks need him back in the worst way.
— We talked a while back about the schedule and how well it set up if the Hawks could play .500 or better basketball early. Well, they’re 4-5 and have nine of their next 13 games on the road. That smells like trouble to me, especially if the Hawks don’t find a way to stop this losing skid and steal a game or two on the road before going west Dec. 3.
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First look at misfiring Pistons
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Forgive whatever comes below, for I am in a Claritin-induced haze right now that I’ll be lucky to shake by halftime of tonight’s Hawks-Pistons game. Seriously, though, I’ve been looking forward to this game for several reasons.
I’m more than curious to see what kind of energy the Hawks start the game with. Their sluggish starts in their past three games/losses had to serve as the proper wake up call. The Pistons, who are playing better of late, will bury them if they come out slow again.
Speaking of the Pistons, they’re actually the team that has me most interested about tonight’s game. This is my first eye-balling of these guys sans Big Ben (Wallace). Before the season began I was sure they’d be able to handle things just fine without him.
But their demeanor without him has certainly changed. They’re not the same intimidating force they were when Big Ben was patrolling the middle (on both ends of the floor). No one had delusions about Nazr Mohammed being any sort of upgrade over Big Ben, except maybe on the offensive end of the floor. But he’s led the Pistons in rebounding just once so far and his numbers (6.6 points, 5.6 rebounds and 1.4 blocks and 20 minutes a night) are pedestrian, at best. That puts the rest of the load on the Pistons’ three other All-Stars — Rasheed Wallace, Rip Hamilton, Chauncey Billups — and Tayshaun Prince, the guy who probably should have been an All-Star last season.
A 6-5 record at this stage of the season is probably not what the Pistons had in mind. But their losses have come to Milwaukee, at Utah, at Sacramento and at Golden State and at home to a quality New Orleans Hornets squad. They’ve beaten Boston, Memphis, the Lakers, Washington, Houston and Philadelphia. So it’s hard to gauge what type of team Detroit really has right now.
The Hawks presented them with matchup nightmares last season, despite losing the season series 1-3. That was with Big Ben. It remains to be seen how they’ll match up against them now. But if the Hawks play the way they’ve shown they can earlier this season, a quality showing or win tonight would tell me omething about what type of team they might have the potential to become.
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Let Hawks play first, ask questions later
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
The question was asked of me and after thinking about it, I figure it’s only fair to share it with you all (since we share just about everything else these days). Are we jumping to conclusions a bit early when it comes to this Hawks team? In the line of work I’m in, we’re prone to jump to premature conclusions and pass judgment before the time for such an action might be appropriate. And to an extent, I think that’s the way of the world.
But there I was this morning, in set 12D (yeah baby, I got my usual aisle seat in the exit row this time) with a nice lady peaking over my shoulder as I was studying the Hawks’ stats package and jotting down a few notes. She asked what I was looking at and naturally the conversation took off from there. (Hey, it’s a two-hour flight to Detroit. It was either take a nap or make a new airport friend. I chose the latter.) She knows her stuff, too. Knows players and stats and said she watches pro basketball and football with her fiancé (lucky dog).
She asked why I was trying to figure this team out after so few games in a sport where there are so many games (funny, several of the Hawks asked me the same thing when I questioned them about their hot start and current spiral downward). I tried explaining the concept of every day and every game being up for intense scrutiny. But she wasn’t biting on that.
I tried explaining to her all the factors involved and how a team’s start, good or bad, can dramatically impact the rest of its season (start fast and you can build on it the rest of the way or start slow and spend the rest of the season trying to make up for it). Still, she didn’t grasp the idea of analyzing the Hawks or any other team with so little data to work with.
(Mentioning how we analyzed the roster all summer, before it was even completed, seemed like another wrinkle that would have only served to make the theory of what I was doing now even more ridiculous to her).
Her point is well taken, though. Maybe we are overreacting after just eight games. Perhaps we need to let a little more time pass, let the Hawks fold injured players back into the rotation and see how they look at full strength before making any lasting judgments about this team. I know it sounds crazy. I spend every day trying to figure this team out, trying to see if I can understand them any better on Tuesday than I did on Monday, trying to see if there’s a method to any of the madness that involves a group of people that are charged with reaching a common goal using 14 different methods.
But I’m willing to listen and learn. And the truth is, sometimes people that are totally detached from something have the best perspective.
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Hawks’ third straight loss the worst
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
My personal outrage at the world on Saturday night was much greater than it is right now. Everything seemed worse than it really was. It all started with me spilling baked beans all over my shirt during the first quarter of the Michigan-Ohio State game (more on that shortly), a culinary transgression that was solved when Z-DUB extended the courtesy of washing my shirt for me and then allowing me to iron it again in the bowels of Philips Arena.
But I swear things went downhill from there.
The game I watched included the worst shooting display I’d ever seen (the Heat and Hawks barely shot 50 percent from the field combined).
The cold I felt upon leaving Philips Arena after the Hawks’ third straight loss (in a game they appeared to have in hand late in the process) was the worst ever.
The traffic on the downtown streets was the worst I’d ever seen for that time of night (fine - some of the worst).
The AM sports stations I tried to tune to (satellite radio is in the car) had the worst static I’ve ever heard.
And the late-night (diet) snack at the diner I stopped at with one of my boys was the worst tasting food of all time.
OK, I’m being a bit melodramatic here. But Michigan losing to Ohio State has a way of souring my mood in ways that only the people who have known me longest would understand. (And let me make it clear that Ohio State gave it to us Saturday night. Troy Smith is a monster, Jim Tressel owns Lloyd Carr and I have no choice but to give it up to the No. 1 team in the country.)
But after thinking it over all day Sunday, my thoughts on the Hawks’ struggles seemed on point. I understand that everyone has a theory about the offense not being right and the shot selection of certain players being flawed and that the playing rotation needs to be tweaked or changed. That’s all fine, but the fundamental problem is deeper than that.
Because the Hawks’ deficiencies two weeks ago are the same ones that are costing them victories now. Their struggles have nothing to do with the specifics being tossed around here and everywhere else and everything to do with the one and only thing that the players can actually change: personal accountability.
They’re not on each other during the course of games to make sure each other is doing what they’re supposed to be doing to assure a chance at success.
Film sessions and going over it in practice (and believe me when I tell you that the Hawks’ practices after these last three games have been full of identification and correction of what’s gone wrong during these games).
But I’ll point to the end of regulation against the Heat as the most glaring proof of the lack of personal accountability. The Heat had four chances to win the game, FOUR, because they rebounded long misses. The Heat didn’t win the game then because they misfired on all those shots, not because of the Hawks’ sticky defense. Do you know what the Hawks (players) said to each other as the walked to the bench after that? NOTHING. Not a word. They were as stunned as the sellout crowd that they didn’t get one of those rebounds.
So forget the rotation, the offense and all that other minutia (that always deserves scrutiny and could always stand tweaking). Until the Hawks hold each other accountable for their actions, or lack thereof in certain instances, they’ll continue to struggle.
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Hawks, Heat building projects
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Talk about your polar opposites. Could there be two more contrasting styles (of roster building) than the Hawks and Heat? The Hawks are the youngest team in the league (roughly 23 and a half years old) while the Heat, with Shaq, Gary Payton and Alonzo Mourning, couldn’t get any older.
But it’s also an interesting dilemma both these teams will face from this point on. Miami will have to figure out how to rebuild around a great young talent in Dwyane Wade, while the Hawks have to figure out how to build to the Heat’s current (championship) level around a great young talent in Joe Johnson. I’m not sure which task is more daunting, going from where the Hawks are now to where the Heat is or trying to replenish and maintain a championship roster like the Heat has now?
I’m not sure which I think is more feasible – although I can’t see why anyone wouldn’t want to play with Wade in a city like Miami, and in Johnson the Hawks have a fabulously selfless leader who is only going to get better over the next three years. Which project would you rather be on? Would you want to have the task of building the Hawks into a playoff contender and, eventually, a title contender? Or would want to have to try and rebuild A.S. (after Shaq)?
As the folks in LA can attest, life after Shaq isn’t paradise. But as you all know, a seven-year playoff drought (and counting) feels like an eternity.
Nasty doesn’t come easy
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
If there’s a better place to steal a little insight into a team it’s watching them practice. I don’t know that it’s the indicator of future success or failure that some people might have you believe (you know how football coaches love to profess after games that they knew in practice they would or would not play the way they did). But if nothing else, it gives you a glimpse into the tendencies and habits of a particular group.
Hence, Thursday’s version of the five things we already know (practice style):
After 10 years of crashing into other gigantic people for a living everyday, Lorenzen Wright still practices like an eager rookie. It’s one of the more refreshing things I’ve seen out of a veteran in all the years I’ve covered the NBA and sports in general. By general standards Wright is still quite young (30). In the NBA, though, he’s darn near a relic. Yet he’s as active as anyone in drills and scrimmages and the most vocal of any Hawks player when it comes to setting the tone of how things should be done. I can see him getting into coaching when he’s done playing.
Confidence is a funny thing. After six inspired minutes in Tuesday night’s loss to Milwaukee, Salim Stoudamire seems like a totally different player. He admitted to struggling with his confidence after rough outings during the exhibition season. But all he needed was a taste of that game confidence. I expect to see him more and more as his confidence continues to grow. And that can only be a good thing for a team in need of another dead-eye outside shooter.
Nastiness is a learned trait. Sure, some off you might think people are born with it. I disagree. I think you can be born with an aggressive nature. Nastiness is something different. But if you’ve never been a true “banger” (Josh Smith and Zaza Pachulia come to mind) and you’re being asked to develop that type of attitude, that type of nastiness, it’s going to take some time. There’s a mental strength as well as a physical toughness that has to be fortified before you can assume that role on the regular. And it takes time. But it’s one of those lessons that has to be learned the hard way.
The Hawks aren’t the only team plagued with this issue. I watch NBA games every night (I know, get a life huh?) and almost every team in the league struggles with this. Even the supposed powerhouse teams struggle with it at times. The Hawks are grappling with it now as a team. They’re working on it daily. And I think it’s something that really has to be adopted collectively before it can counted on regularly.
Finally, we’re just a couple of days away from THE GAME – and I’m not talking about the Hawks and Heat – and I’m sick with anticipation. I’ve held my tongue on the Michigan-Ohio State game for good reason (I don’t want to be a sore winner and in the event that Michigan loses, I’m going to need all the help I can get in disappearing for about six months). But what does it say about what’s going in Hawksville that we can sneak a Joe Johnson feature on the front of the paper today during this time of year?
Where’s the defense?
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
I know I got all parental and preachy yesterday. I’d apologize and try and make amends if it was in me - it’s not. And anyone who’s ever dealt with me knows it’s not. So without further ado, and anymore bellyaching, let’s get back to the matter at hand – and that would be the goings on in Hawksville.
Two heartbreakers by a total of three points and the Hawks have no one to blame but the men in the mirror.
Which leads us to the hump-day version of the five things we already know (aka the five things that should have been painfully obvious to the Hawks during Wednesday’s film session):
No. 1: Anytime you give up 58 points in the paint to anyone, your chances of winning decrease tremendously.
It wasn’t just the Milwaukee big men that had their way inside, their guards slashed their way to the basket repeatedly without being cold-cocked by the Hawks’ big men. All five Bucks starters scored in double figures and as a team they made just 4-of-11 3-pointers. You do the math.
No. 2: Don’t be fooled by the Hawks’ rebounding edge (45-33) in the game.
You can thank Shelden Williams (15), Lorenzen Wright (eight) and Josh Childress (seven) for the margin. But as nice as it looks, the Hawks didn’t get the ones they needed at crucial moments in the game. The Bucks’ starting backcourt of Michael Redd and Mo Williams outrebounded the entire Hawks backcourt rotation 11-6. Not good.
No. 3 You can’t squander a home game when Joe Johnson, Tyronn Lue and Josh Childress shoot a combined 29-for-48 from the floor.
You just can’t. And all three had their moments when they were downright ridiculous. Childress was sensational in the second quarter. Lue in the third. And Johnson, who battled early foul trouble, sprinkled his in throughout the night (per usual). That’s two straight games with three 20-point scorers and two straight losses. It doesn’t make sense.
No. 4: Someone other than Joe Johnson has to make it their mission to become the Hawks’ defensive stopper on the perimeter.
Is it asking too much of Johnson to not only serve as the Hawks’ offensive catalyst but also their lockdown man on the other end of the floor? Well, his counterparts in both Seattle and Milwaukee have the luxury of not having to handle the ball (Luke Ridnour and Mo Williams have those duties) and Damien Wilkins and Ruben Patterson, respectively, can handle the dirty work of guarding the opposition’s best scorer on the end of the floor. But burning Johnson at both ends during games is dangerous (but a necessity for the Hawks because they don’t have that backcourt defensive ace and role player on the roster. Or do they?).
No. 5: The starting unit has to carry its weight every night, or else.
The starting frontcourt of Josh Smith (check Wednesday’s paper for a more detailed item there), Shelden Williams and Zaza Pachulia were offensive no-shows Tuesday night, marring a 56-point effort from the bench with their combined 16-point showing. That’s largely because the Hawks starters didn’t attack the basket, something that was repeated over and over again after the game and again at practice Wednesday. Each of those guys player more than 26 minutes yet they shot just six free throws combined. They have to go on the attack inside if they want to impact games. Jump shots won’t cut it.
Knight must be stopped
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
We all know that Taye Diggs’ new show “Day Break” starts tomorrow – and don’t tell me you haven’t seen the commercial about the guy who wakes up and relives the same terrible day over and over again because it comes on 24 times a day. But tell me if you didn’t feel like his character this morning when you saw that Bobby Knight had yet another incident where he’s putting his hands on a player?
Seriously, how many times does this have to happen for someone to say enough is enough. Anybody wanting to argue that it was “no big deal” or “just a tap.” I’m more inclined to side with those who believe it was yet another inappropriate move by a guy who’s destroyed a Hall of Fame legacy with a series of those moves.
In an era where there’s outrage (and rightfully so) when Little League parents snap and fight with coaches and game officials, and often each other, how could anyone dismiss Knight’s lick as no biggie? I heard a who’s who of talking heads explain it away on the radio this morning. And that’s junk.
But I wonder if they’d have the same reaction if that kid Knight smacked had lifted his head, reared back and flattened Knight with a right cross? What happens when Knight puts his hands on somebody that hits back? Is the kid a bigger villain than a coach?
There’s a level of civility that should be involved in the process that seems to be missing here. Gene Keady made some ridiculous comment along the lines of “if parents would do what Knight did at home coach Knight wouldn’t have to.” There’s a genius theory if ever I’ve heard one. Keady’s another of the coaching profession’s dinosaurs who simply doesn’t get it in this case. There is no need to put your hands on someone else’s child. None.
Blog-Z’s Monday five facts
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
We got our answers about the resiliency of this Hawks team Saturday night. And I would have to believe that they were answers that pleased many.
Sure, the Hawks lost. But a 113-112 overtime loss to a game Seattle team isn’t anything to hang your head about. And I said going into the weekend that we’d learn some things about this team after Saturday’s game. (Four hundred and 41 minutes of good basketball in two nights should not be dismissed because they lost the back end of the back-to-back).
If not for Ray Allen’s circus shot, the Hawks are 5-1 today with the know-it-alls still scratching their heads trying to figure out how it happened. Joe Johnson would be the NBA’s Eastern Conference Player of the Week (wait a minute, he was named Player of the Week today) and the Hawks would be leading the Eastern Conference (that’s right, they were leading the East as of Monday morning).
Listen, this isn’t the Twilight Zone people. The Hawks, for whatever it’s worth after six games, are a viable team in a league that I think is being greatly ravaged by parity. That’s a good thing, too, when the teams everyone expected to be bad play well early and the teams everyone expected to dominate struggle a bit early. It means teams are getting better. It means no one stands still during the offseason. If you don’t believe me, venture out to Philips Arena Tuesday night and see how formidable a 2-5 team Milwaukee is right now.
It also means preseason predictions have become even more nonsensical than ever. Instead of changing my preseason prediction of a 30-win season for the Hawks, I’ll just prepare to be dead wrong if they continue to play with the level of confidence they’ve shown thus far.
Now, for Blog-Z’s Monday version of the five things we already know (and if you didn’t, now you do):
1. Barring a surprise, Speedy Claxton will return to action by this time next week, if not sooner.
His sore knee is what’s kept him out of action, not any of the conspiracy theories that have been floated here and elsewhere. That said, I recognize that the skepticism will be rampant when Speedy and injury are mentioned in the same sentence, mostly because of his history of injury. But how about the job Cedric Bozeman has done in his absence?
2. Don’t think for a minute Josh Smith doesn’t hear it from the coaching staff when he opts for 3-pointers instead of driving to the basket for easier shots and ultimately free throws.
A perfect example came in practice today, when Matt Freije closed out on Smith during a drill and Smith hoisted a 3-pointer that bounced off the rim. Hawks coach Mike Woodson drove home the point that there’s nothing wrong with a pump fake from the 3-point line and then a drive to get a better shot. Smith concurred. And the very next time they ran the drill, which was all done live, Smith pump faked and drove to the basket where he drew contact, rebounded his own miss and dunked over two players to finish the play.
3. The All-Star ballots are out and the Hawks have three players on the list.
Joe Johnson, Speedy Claxton and Zaza Pachulia made it. Now, before you go screaming about Smith not being on there, understand that the league determines which names will go on the ballots and the way guys are playing (or if they are playing) in the first week of the season isn’t factored in. It’s safe to assume that these things are printed up weeks, if not months, in advance.
4. It’s apparently going take more than a cast to keep Marvin Williams from certain drills. Williams ran through an extended shooting drill at practice today with one hand.
Yup. He went through the entire drill, which consists of players running full court and finishing with either dunks, layups or jumpers, using just his right hand. Woodson yelled at him once or twice to “get out of there” but Williams kept on.
It’s not anything that will harm his recovery from his broken finger. It’s not a contact drill. But I think it shows just how eager Williams is to get back to action. And despite all these worries to the contrary, his return will do nothing but help the Hawks. Anyone that thinks another quality player will disrupt a team’s chemistry hasn’t paid attention to what’s been going on around here.
5. Joe Johnson’s Eastern Conference Player of the Week nod will be the first of many accolades to come his way this season.
I’m going to go ahead and state the obvious right now: If the dude keeps this (or anything close to it) up, he’s headed for Las Vegas in February. And not for a spot in the 3-point shooting contest.
His first All-Star nod will depend largely on how the Hawks are playing as the season goes on. But his early buzz is strong and most people who know the game realize that this guy’s got a complete basketball package that few other players in the league have. It’ll be interesting to follow this saga and see where it goes this season.
First real test this weekend
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
If I had pearls of wisdom for the Hawks tonight in Toronto, I’d offer them up here. Right now. But I’m tapped out. (I don’t even have any disastrous tales from the airport to relay). I exhausted all my good stuff before the Cleveland game (no one mentioned that I was basically five-for-five Tuesday).
While I’m never one to dismiss any game’s significance, I’m far more interested in how the Hawks respond at home on Saturday night against Seattle. The way they play after their first back-to-back set of the regular season will tell me much more than anything that happens at Air Canada Centre.
We’ll have a better feeling Saturday night about the Hawks’ newfound depth (figment of our collective imagination or reality?). We’ll also find out how they fare against teams with two drastically different styles in a 24-hour span.
We’ve been talking for weeks now about how important it was for the Hawks to take advantage of their friendly early-season schedule. This weekend is a prime example. After the Sonics game, they’re staring at a week that serves up two home games over a five-day period, against Milwaukee and Miami.
There is a chance for a ridiculously good start — IF the Hawks are prepared to take advantage of it.
Looking around the NBA
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Enough with the Hawks already. I feel like we’re analyzing these guys to death right now and we’ve only got four games to analyze.
It’s time to turn our analytical eye elsewhere. How about the rest of the league? I don’t only watch the Hawks. I’ve got League Pass. I watch a little bit of everybody (guess that doesn’t say much about my social life).
I was scanning the standings this morning (yes, the same ones that have the Hawks chillin’ at the top of the Southeast Division) and tried to get a handle on what’s going on.
So in the pre-Canada version of the five things we already know, it’s time to take a tour around the league to figure out what some of these other teams DON’T already know:
— To our friends in Denver, the regular season has started. These aren’t exhibition games anymore. They count. You have to start playing for real. I feel worst for Carmelo Anthony, who will be forever (or at least until he finds his way out of Denver or the Nuggets ship off some of his coaches, teammates, etc.) maligned by the dysfunctional operation around him. But the parts don’t appear to fit very well in Denver (I know it’s early but 0-3? Come on).
— To our friends in Dallas, it’s OK to demolish the competition early in the season. You don’t have to wait until March to crank it up like San Antonio usually does. In their defense, and they don’t need me apologizing for them, the Mavs are working in several new faces (Anthony Johnson, Austin Croshere, Greg Buckner) and playing without one key player (Josh Howard). But I can guarantee you 0-4 is now what anyone in Dallas had in mind for the start of the season. Something’s not right down there.
— To our friends in Detroit, Ben Wallace really is gone. I’ll admit I didn’t think the Pistons would miss Big Ben this much. I was wrong. I watched them against Sacramento late Wednesday night and it’s almost like they’re expecting Ben to come flying out of nowhere to block shots and grab rebounds. They’re playing a step slower than their competition on defense and it’s costing them.
— To our friends in Phoenix, did you really think the rest of the league was going sit back and allow you guys to run over them for another season? Of course they didn’t. The reality is that several of the Suns look like they’re still working their way back into game shape (Amare has an excuse, our guy Boris does not). Success has a way of reshaping your hunger. Some guys have success and crave more so they go overboard to reach the next level. Some guys have success and think they’ve arrived and forget what got them there. Steve Nash is going to need more help than he’s getting right now.
— To all our friends in the Central Division, good luck fighting your way through that mess. The winner of the Central might not be decided until the last week of the season. It’s that deep and that competitive. Any of the five teams – Indiana, Chicago, Cleveland, Milwaukee or Detroit -– can win it. And there’s a good chance all five teams could make the playoffs, for the second year in a row.
Anything is possible
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Raise your hand if you thought the Hawks would start the season 3-1. I didn’t think so. Not even the die-hardest of the die-hards could have seen this coming. And certainly when Marvin Williams broke his finger the idea of a hot start disappeared for some.
But it’s time to give the boys in Hawksville a little credit for just being gritty enough to dig out some tough games, games that on paper they have no business winning.
But that’s the reality-TV beauty of sports. Anything can happen once the game starts. The team that isn’t supposed to win can win. The guy that isn’t supposed to be the hero makes the big play. And the coach everyone’s been cranking on for the past two years suddenly is being talked about like a coach of the year candidate (and I mean that, three different reporters in the press room in Cleveland mentioned Mike Woodson in that context after Tuesday night’s game).
I know, I know. It’s early still. November’s darlings can be old news by Christmas. But you have to admit it’ll be interesting to see how the Hawks’ 2006-07 season progresses. Admit it, they’ve piqued your interest after these first four games. They’ve made you wonder if you missed something along the way, made you wonder if you underestimated them, made you wonder if you’re overestimating them now. Anything is possible when you’re 4-1, right?
I love the drama. I love that no one is sure what to make of this team, particularly those outside of this city who don’t pay close attention to the Hawks on a daily basis the way we do.
What will be even more interesting will be the national reaction if the Hawks keep up their winning ways (as much as you’re embracing the winning right now, be prepared for the inevitable struggles, as it’s only reasonable during a season that spans nearly seven months).
Now, without further ado here is hump-day’s version of the five things we already know (actually, five things gleaned from Tuesday night’s stat sheet):
All the Josh Childress haters have gone into hiding. And for good reason. Outside of Joe Johnson no player on the roster has been as consistently effective through four games as Childress, whose four-point, five-rebound, three-block, two-assist effort might not look like much statistically. But you have to factor in the lift he gives you with his energy and length off the bench. He’s playing his role to perfection right now. And it doesn’t matter if he’s scoring points or not. He’s doing exactly what his team needs him to do.
Ced Bozeman and Matt Freije are here to stay. Any doubts about either of these free agent pick-ups should be silenced by now. Bozeman continues to provide quality minutes (dude does not play like a rookie at all) and Freije is the spot-up shooting big man the Hawks never had last season. They’re not spectacular but they’re solid NBA role players, the kind of guys some teams pay the mid-level exception without realizing that’s all they’re getting. They combined for 10 points, four rebounds and about 28 minutes of prime relief for the starters.
Josh Smith will do more. How quickly everyone forgets the contributions this guy made late last year. He was solid as a rock Tuesday night with 15 points, seven rebounds and three assists. He had just one turnover and spent much of his night trying to contain LeBron James, one of the few 6-9 guys in the league that actually makes Smith seem tiny. His defensive work on James was about all you can hope for, given the calls the King is afforded these days. Smith’s still certainly a work in progress, but at his age I’d rather there still be plenty of room to grow as opposed to him being a finished product.
Marvin Williams will be much needed when he returns. Anyone worrying about how Marvin will fit into the rotation when he returns need only peek at the heavy minutes currently being logged by Joe Johnson, Childress, Smith and Tyronn Lue. The minutes will always be there. It’s just a matter of how to break them down. Marvin’s return and Speedy Claxton’s eventual return to health will allow everyone to play fewer minutes as the season progresses. It’s called depth, something the Hawks haven’t had in recent seasons and still have issues with.
Speaking of Speedy, it would be wise to allow the guy time to get back into game condition before passing judgment on his play (basically, it might be wise to calm down before you go calling for the guy’s head). I can’t tell you how many people have asked me if the “Hawks blew it with this guy.” Are you serious? The season is four games old. Claxton missed so much time during training camp that his body hasn’t been able to bounce back like it would if he were say, 20 or 21. He’ll need time. And with Lue and Johnson playing as well as they are, he might get the time he needs to get back into the condition he’s accustomed to.
Cavs can be beat
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
In honor of arguably my favorite political ads of all time, I bring you today’s election day Sonny-Do list for the Hawks (in the form of the five things we know right now, of course). Yesterday we asked and answered a few questions. Today, we’ll break down the things that will lead to the Hawks winning, or losing, at Cleveland tonight.
Don’t get bludgeoned inside. Never will the Hawks’ lack of size and depth in the frontcourt be more obvious than it will be against the Cavs. As good as LeBron James and Larry Hughes are, the people that will give the Hawks the most trouble are Cleveland’s big men. They’re deep and they can hurt you in a variety of ways (Ilgauskas, Gooden and Varejao inside and Donyell Marshall outside). Josh Smith, Shelden Williams and Lorenzen Wright have to really pick up the pace on defense and rebound the ball for the Hawks to have a good chance to win.
Give Joe Johnson a hand. Someone other than JJ has to have a big scoring night. I’m sure Hawks coach Mike Woodson will welcome another 30-point game. But on the road someone else will need to go off a bit, too. Zaza would appear to be the obvious choice for scorer No. 2. But if Speedy Claxton or Tyronn Lue off the bench, could find a way to explode for a few extra points, that would take some of the pressure off of Johnson (who is sure to see some schemes designed to slow him down). Balanced scoring on the road may be more important than anything else, other than playing sound defense.
Treat Quicken Loans Arena like it’s Philips Arena. The league’s best teams find ways to turn the one glaring advantage for the opposition against them. If the Hawks get off to a big start (something like the one they had against the Cavs during their exhibition win in Columbus) it’ll take the starch out of a pro-Cavs crowd that probably expects the home team to have an easy time with the Hawks. NBA road atmospheres this time of year aren’t particularly daunting, not with 79 more games on the schedule. A hot start is always a good way to maintain the relative silence.
Continue to swarm on defense. Aside from Johnson’s improved confidence, the most noticeable difference between this Hawks team and last year’s crew is their attention to detail on defense. Even in their loss to the 76ers the Hawks defended well. They were at their best in the late stages against both the Knicks and Magic. The reserves came in and swarmed to the ball, providing a much needed lift for the starters when it was desperately needed. When you’re undersized, swarming is the best policy.
Forget you’re 2-1. Being underestimated is usually the best motivation for a team like the Hawks. Instead of going into feel-good mode about being 2-1 the Hawks need to keep reminding themselves that they’ve done nothing yet. They need to continue to show up to work with the proverbial chip on their shoulders. The coaching staff keeps driving the point home that the Hawks can’t spit in the face of their progress by regressing, by forgetting that they’ve put in the proper work to have some success. It’s some of the best advice around.
Return of the 5 questions
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
The Hawks are on top of the Southeast Division, The 76ers are on top of the Atlantic. Cleveland is atop the Central.
In the Western Conference, the Hornets lead the Southwest Division, the Jazz the Northwest and the Lakers the Pacific.
What in the name of Naismith is going on in the NBA? Either the pundits don’t know what they’re talking about or it’s the first few days of the season.
It’s the latter, of course. But I’m not sure anyone could say they expected those six teams to be on top at any time this season. If they’re still rolling like this in January, February or March, then we’ve got something to talk about.
In the meantime, there are a few things on the mind of Blog Z (If Jigga gets to be the “Michael Jordan of recording” why can’t I be Blog Z?). That’s why the five (questions) things we know right now is making a Monday morning comeback:
1. Why is anyone worried about the quality of your team’s wins in the NBA?
There is no strength of schedule component in the NBA. The schedule is set months in advance and no one cares if you’re rolling over the best in the league or the worst. The Heat struggled a year ago against the league’s power elite. When the Pistons won 64 regular season games last year no one cared about who they beat.
This isn’t the BCS or some ridiculous poll generated by washed up and/or retired coaches. The formula in the NBA is much easier to solve. Win half your games (at least in the East) and you’re all but guaranteed a playoff berth. So this idea that a win over the Knicks isn’t a “quality win” is even more hilarious from Hawks fans. After the colossal struggles the past few years, is there really any need to overanalyze success?
2. What’s more surprising, that the new faces (Bozeman, Freije and Solomon Jones) are making an early impact or the disappearance from the rotation of returnees like Salim Stoudamire, Roy Ivey and Esteban Batista?
Outside of Salim Stoudamire not playing the past two games, none of it surprises me. Stoudamire isn’t in the doghouse (yes, I’ve asked). It’s just a struggle to get he and Ivey minutes with Speedy Claxton, Tyronn Lue and Joe Johnson all piling up the minutes there.
Bozeman’s emergence has been a bit of a surprise, but he’s such a good defender that it shouldn’t surprise anyone that the coaching staff likes to use him in spot duty. He was on the floor for several good defensive possessions against the Magic Sunday. The addition of Lorenzen Wright and the fact that Jones is longer and more athletic makes it tough to justify keeping Batista on the active list.
With injuries and the way NBA seasons usually go, the Hawks will need all of these guys before the year is done.
3. Why does the Big Greek fit in Seattle and not with the Hawks?
Robert Swift’s torn ACL forced the Sonics to hunt for another big body to solidify the playing rotation and Andreas Glyniadakis was their guy. I still think he could have done the same things for the Hawks, but the decision was made to let him go.
That said, he might not have played much with the Hawks and might not with the Sonics. But when you’re as big as he is, can shoot it like he can and are willing to mix it up the way he did during camp, it isn’t surprising to see him get picked up.
Who knows? He might even get on the floor Saturday night when the Sonics come to Philips Arena. Or he might spend all his time with the Sonics in a suit on the end of the bench. Or he might not last on the roster until Thanksgiving. You never know.
4. Have you ever seen someone smile less than Hawks rookie Shelden Williams?
Someone asked me that at the game Sunday and I had to admit they were on to something. This dude has the best poker face I’ve seen.
His locker is next to Tyronn Lue’s and I dare anyone to spend that much time next to the funniest player in the NBA and keep a straight face. Somehow Shelden does it. He got his fist bucket Sunday, too. The same person was worried that he might be headed for Jacque Vaughn-ville (you remember when the one-time Hawk missed his first 27 shots to start a season and ESPN had a field day with him the night he finally scored a basket).
5. Why is that the only things that work properly at a 7-year-old arena are the flamethrowers on the backs of the baskets?
Philips Arena has to have the NBA record for scoreboard outages in the first two weeks of the season. And if we include all of last year’s scoreboard snafus, they’d be in the Guinness Book of World Records.
The Hawks new video intro is without a doubt one of the better ones I’ve seen. And the drum line continues to add a nice little twist to the start of games.
But how an arena with Philips plastered all over it can’t seem to get the scoreboards and shot clocks to work is beyond me. And if someone could turn down the heat on those flamethrowers just a bit I’d be grateful.
Time to get electric
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
I could bore you with more of my travel-related horror stories (and trust me when I tell you I have plenty), but that wouldn’t be fair to anyone. Not with the Hawks’ home opener on tap tonight at Philips Arena against the Knicks being the much more pressing issue for the Hawksville faithful.
You’re all wondering the same things I think many of these Hawks are: when is all the hard work we’ve put in going to pay off?
Because these guys know they’ve put in the work required to have some success. But it didn’t translate at Wachovia center Wednesday night.
The Hawks learned the same lesson Mike Woodson has been trying to make clear to them for two years and running. If you don’t play every second like it’s your last, you’re toast. If you don’t strangle every ounce of energy out of yourself on every possession, you’re done. It’s not just coach speak people, it’s true.
It might not ring as true if the Hawks were more talented than their opponents. But there isn’t a night this season, barring injuries, that they’ll take the floor as the more talented team. Or the more experienced team either, for that matter.
That’s why more than strategy, schemes, voodoo or anything else, the Hawks have to find ways to outwork the opposition. It doesn’t matter how many guys they have injured, how tired they might be or whatever else they’re dealing with. They have to become the team that routinely outworks the opposition, much like Utah and Charlotte do on a nightly basis. They don’t always win. But they leave it all on the floor, so to speak, which affords them the opportunity to compete at a higher level than their talent might dictate.
Playing like that is the only chance those teams have to win consistently. Let’s be honest about what we’re dealing with here. This Hawks team has to regularly overachieve to compete (which is something I’ve written regularly here and in the paper for a while now) against the rest of the league. Their roster dictates as much.
An excuse? No. More like the cold, hard truth.
That’s why, for the Hawks sake, Philips better be on fire tonight. This near sellout that’s been talked about needs to be a vocal, electric and raucous near sellout. Because the margin of error for these Hawks is razor thin. They need every conceivable edge, in addition to operating at peak performance.
APB for Speedy, Smith and Shelden
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
If the Hawks have any chance of winning games this season, they’ll have to get more out of Speedy Claxton, Josh Smith and Shelden Williams than they got in the season opener. They were a combined 2-for-17 from the floor and finished with just eight points. But more importantly, they were hardly a factor in a game that was still in the balance with 10 minutes to play.
Claxton, obviously still rusty after just four live practices, never got into a flow. He knows better than anyone that his play is vital to the Hawks’ chances of knocking off teams like the 76ers, who certainly didn’t play a great game Wednesday night. He knows that performances from three starters like the ones Wednesday night will keep these Hawks from doing anything other than struggling.
“There’s no question it was frustrating,” he said after Thursday’s workout at Philips Arena. “Defensively we played a good enough game to win. But offensively we were [terribly]. And I’ve definitely got to put that on myself. I can do a whole lot more for this team. A whole lot more.”
Smith said Thursday morning’s film session was a rather enlightening. Sure, he lived through the struggles against the 76ers. But seeing them played back the morning after drove home the point the coaching staff has tried to make to him for weeks.
“I promise you I’ll be going to work inside from now on,” he said. “The inside game has to open up the outside game for me. And that’s just the way it has to be. We got some great open looks and just didn’t knock them down. But those aren’t high percentage shots. A lot of times it’s the easier shot to take and you get lulled into taking them. But you have to learn from your struggles and I promise you I have.”
Williams struggled mightily after playing so well in the exhibition season. Some of his problems Wednesday night can be traced to the typical opening night jitters for a rookie. But his ability to get into a good flow most nights will depend on how guys like Claxton and Joe Johnson play, mostly because he’ll be dependent on their play to find his niche.
“We came out as a team and didn’t shoot the ball as well as we normally do,” he said. “But we bounced back a bit in the second half. So it’s all really a learning experience. I just have to make sure and get better every game and learn from the mistakes that have been made. But it’s a process, you know, and I’m not going to sweat it anymore than that. It’s one game and one you have to learn from and move on.”
Anxious to get started
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Whoever said that a two-hour flight from Atlanta to Philly was a good time to catch up on some work and take care of other business on a laptop surely isn’t two honey-soaked biscuits shy of 240 pounds and sitting in seat 43A (the window seat) next to Lex Luger’s twin brother.
Because that’s where I was Wednesday morning. And Buddha knows I needed to get on my computer and take care of some business (this blog being one of the main priorities). But it never happened. My arms were folded like a couple of chicken wings and Luger was elbowing me (accidentally, of course) with every oversized man-mountain breath he took. Had I done the reasonable thing and checked in on-line from the house and made sure I snagged my usual, aisle seat in an exit row, none of this would be pertinent now.
But I was struggling this morning, and I mean 45 minutes later than my target departure from the house struggling. For this I blame the folks at TNT. They kicked off the NBA season Tuesday night with two games I had to see. I missed all but the final seconds of the first one. And too bad for the Miami Heat everyone didn’t miss that performance. A 42-point whopper on ring night? Unbelievable. I can’t imagine what Pat Riley’s practice was like today. It had to be ugly.
The second game, however, was exactly what I was looking for (and, in addition to the crazy fly Halloween carnival at our church, the reason Tuesday night ended on Wednesday morning for me). I watched the Lakers get down by 19 in the first quarter and just assumed it was business as usual for the Suns, who don’t ever seem to stop running and gunning. But the Lakers showed me some stuff. As statements go, they made a huge one rallying for a win without Kobe Bryant the way they did.
And before any of you remind me about my comments about Andrew Bynum from the summer, remember that I said he hadn’t shown anything yet. It’s just one game, but he showed me some goods last night. He’s physical and has a nice feel for the game. I can see why the Lakers are feeling pretty good about what they have in he and Kwame Brown and Chris Mihm.
All that said, the thing that really stood out to me from the game was Amare Stoudemire’s struggles. Early on I just assumed he was going to be up to his old tricks. He looked like had some bounce and was as aggressive as ever. But that was the highlight of his night. And it looks clear to me that the Suns are going to have the same problem they’ve had the past three years. When they face a team that’s bigger and stronger than they are on the frontline, they’re going to struggle. I don’t care if it’s one game or the first or second round of the playoffs. They’ll struggle. And it’s one of the reasons I didn’t pick them to come out of the Western Conference this season.
I know they’re the chic pick for some. And I totally understand why (I love the style they play, too). But I’m just not sure it’s going to win any championships just yet.
So, with last night’s warm up acts already in the can, I’m more than ready to see what the Hawks and 76ers have in store for us tonight. I’m expecting the back and forth between Allen Iverson and Speedy Claxton to be the most interesting individual match-up of the night. But the Bulls and Lakers set the tone last night, for me at least. That’s how you kick a season off. You better show people what you’re made of on opening night. Make a statement.
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