AJC > Sports > Hawks > Blog > Archives > 2007 > January
January 2007
Should Joe be an All-Star?
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
The All-Star buzz for Joe Johnson has been noticeably absent around these parts. I can’t say I’m surprised, seeing as we’ve had so many other bones to pick over the past few weeks. But I’ve written two stories on the topic in the past three days and there’s been little reaction from you, the most informed portion of the reading public.
So I’m wondering, do you think he’s worthy or not? And for that matter, who are the seven guys you’d put up from the Eastern Conference?
I already made my picks. Joe Johnson might be too humble to tout himself but here’s my shameless self promotion right here.
I know there is nothing specific that puts you in or keeps you out of the All-Star game. It’s up to the coaches who’ve seen a player if a guy can’t get voted on as a starter. I’ve been conflicted just writing the stories, it’s not my job to promote a guy either.
But it is news, whether or not he makes the team. And there is a chance that even if he doesn’t make the coach’s cut, JJ could be placed on the team as an injury replacement (as was Agent 0 Gilbert Arenas last season).
Now, on to a few other tidbits to think about with tonight’s game against Golden State on tap.
The Warriors want to play at a pace that lots of teams aspire to but few have the personnel to execute. I think the Hawks have the right parts (save for the shot-blocking, rebounding big man who can trigger the break), so I’m curious to see if they’ll be tricked into an up-tempo affair and how they’ll react. It should be interesting if nothing else.
Speaking of interesting, raise your hand if you thought Al
Harrington would be on this team by now? I knew that he wanted to play with the Warriors last summer, he said as much on several occasions. But I’ll admit that when the Pacers traded him I was a bit stunned. I talked to him this afternoon and he doesn’t have a drop of hate in him about being moved. But if the Warriors don’t make the playoffs, he’ll have spent three straight years without sniffing the playoffs after going in each of his first six seasons with the Pacers. That would have to eat anybody who’s used to winning alive.Can they go ahead and play the Super Bowl already? I’m tired of the buildup. And people had the nerve to complain about the 50 days off between the regular season and BCS title game. Play the stupid game already (I’m going with the Bears, by the way, got $50 on it with my son, Captain Colts).
I’m curious to see what this Jeremy Richardson can do, but I don’t know that I’d want to inject yet another player into he rotation and risk tinkering with my chemistry again (unless that player is 6-11, 270 and blocks shots or is a healthy, starting PG).
I keep reading (here and everywhere else) how this June’s draft is going to be so deep and how there are all these high quality players to be had. That may be true. But I can’t stop thinking about the fact that LeBron James didn’t even see the playoffs in his first year. Is there anyone in this draft that good? I doubt it. So whoever gets Oden, Durant, Noah or any of these other impact rookies, better realize that it’s going to take a whole lot more than just those guys to make a playoff team.
Permalink | Comments (68) | Post your comment |
It’s a thin line!
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
It only takes one game to remind you how razor thin that line between success and failure (can be and is) in the NBA. The Magic (a Hawks’ victim twice in four days) started the season 13-4, but have dropped 18 of their past 28 games. Scary stuff. (I dare any of you Hawks fans to tell me you wouldn’t take a 23-22 record for the for your team.)
Lose two straight to the Hawks and your whole organization is under fire.
You better believe that whatever good vibrations were emanating from Mickey’s city in November and early December, have since disappeared.
Who’s to blame? They’re picking over everyone’s bones down there, from Magic GM Otis Smith and coach Brian Hill to Atlanta’s own Dwight Howard, who was booed (are those people nuts?) during a home loss to the Hawks last Friday when he missed five free throws down the stretch.
Oddly enough, the Hawks can’t seem to escape our wrath this season, despite being winners of three of their past four games and compiling a 7-7 mark in the first month of ’07. Some people think we’re too harsh here, that we spend so much time roasting people for what’s wrong that we overlook the obvious signs of progress. Maybe. I disagree. I think that, for the most part, we’re as fair and balanced as people can be in a forum like this. There is no censorship (within reason) around these parts. If someone wants to shower a 16-27 team with praise, go ahead. But the critics have earned their right to throw daggers, too (a 3-13 December record justifies the ranting).
But I’m reminded repeatedly that winning and losing is always relative. In Boston last week, the papers didn’t roast the Celtics the morning after the Hawks rallied from an 18-point deficit for a win. Had that happened here, and there been a columnist or two, or three, at the game, it would have gotten ugly. I was expecting raging headlines the next morning calling for the dismantling of the entire operation and the firing of everyone from the coach to the ball boys. But there was nothing of the sort. And rightly so, I imagine, since the folks up there have a much better handle on the situation than someone like myself, who pops in and out of town for a couple days every now and then.
That’s also why I laugh when people criticize the local Atlanta media for being softer than our counterparts in other places (I don’t think we are any more or less critical of the local teams when they’re not doing well).
We can debate the specifics of playing time, in-game decisions, past drafts, free agent signings and just about everything else until we’re all blue in the face. But the one thing that can’t be argued is that winning makes it all look better and losing makes it all look horrendous. (Breaking news this is not, I know).
The only problem with that ebb and flow approach is that the fundamental issues (for any team and specifically the Hawks) stay the same, win or lose. The Hawks aren’t any better this morning at the point or in the paint than they were before Monday’s win over Orlando.
That razor thing line stays the same, too. It’s not going anywhere, never has and hopefully it never will. It’s what makes sports (watching, for fans and the media) the gloriously intriguing, heartbreaking, rewarding and outstanding multi-billion dollar foolishness that none of us can live without.
Win and everyone loves you. Lose and they want your head.
Permalink | Comments (77) | Post your comment |
You’ve got to start somewhere
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
What would you do?
It’s the question that’s asked of me time and time again, not that anyone who owns a team (NBA or otherwise) has called me lately asking for my advice. But it’s a valid question, given my penchant for yapping about all things like I’m the Wizard of NBA OZ. What would you do if you were running the mess that is the Hawks right now? (You asked dap and now I’m going to tell you).
Well, right after I went out and upgraded the house, cars, wifey’s wardrobe and an assortment of other trivial material things to get myself out of the doghouse at the crib in advance (the pay stub would be a bit bigger than my current one, so I’d have to floss a little bit), it’s lock down for me.
Because I’d spend the next two weeks before the trade deadline locked in my office (with my basketball staff, scouts and all) studying not only my team and figuring out who goes and who stays, but also picking the brains of every league contact I had to find out what players would fit into what I have going on here and then figuring out ways to get them here within the constraints of my current situation (the owners have the final say, so whatever I do has to be cleared by them, right?).
Some harsh realities would have to be acknowledged on my part. I’d have to admit to a few mistakes and rectify them immediately. I’d have to come to grips with the fact that no matter how much I want it to be, rookie big men like (Lorenzen Wright, Zaza Pachulia, Shelden Williams, Esteban Batista and Solomon Jones) aren’t going to be capable of playing over their heads on a nightly basis and competing at a high level against the likes of say Dwight Howard and Sam Dalembert, to name just two of the recent higher level big men my team has faced.
But the personnel department is where my changes are coming. Period. I know that the only way to change my team’s fortunes right now is to change my team.
So the real question becomes what would I do to fix this mess under current circumstances?
And that’s where things get real sticky. Because I’m not sure what I could do if there were operating constraints (that haven’t been acknowledged publicly) preventing me from doing whatever I wanted to in an effort to fix things.
Either way, the first thing I’m doing is calling the 29 other GMs in the league, the guys in my division and everywhere else, and trying to work up a list of bigs and point guards that are available via trade.
I’ve talked about the point guards I think would fit perfectly (Luke Ridnour, Anthony Johnson, etc.) on this team. The bigs that interest me change on a nightly basis. I watched Seattle lose to the Clippers last night and realized that even a 17-win Sonics team has a batch of big men (Andre Brown, Nick Collison, Danny Fortson, Johan Petro, Mouhamed Sene and Chris Wilcox - Robert Swift is hurt) that I can only dream of having. With that being the case, there would have to be some way for me to pry a big man away from a team with an overload, because even if their bigs aren’t All-Star caliber, they’d have to be able to help my team in its greatest area of need.
If I don’t add but two guys, two veteran guys that I know can provide instant production, it’s done. Because I can’t wait on the draft and how things might shake down in a few months, and I know can’t just sit around and let this current team simmer in a pool of its own inconsistent juices. It would only erode their collective confidence even more than it has already. They need a boost. And you can get that boost in a number of ways.
But this is where I’d start on Jan. 29. And the job would only get tougher. But I’d have to start somewhere.
Permalink | Comments (69) | Post your comment |
You are on the clock!
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
The craziest and most intriguing fantasy basketball conversation broke out today after the Hawks’ shootaround practice at Amway Center (Yes, the TD Waterhouse Centre has a new name, and it’s that Amway, the monster company headquartered in my hometown of Grand Rapids, Mich.).
Here’s the premise: We’re scrapping the current NBA at midnight, tossing all 431 (give or take a few NBDL call ups) players into a hopper and allowing the 30 teams to draft 1-30 for three rounds. We’re going to go with three rounds of drafting players only, and anyone not drafted is in our free agent pool. The specifics on the first three rounds of our draft include each team picking 1-30 and then we invert the order for the second round and again for the third. So if you get the No. 1 pick, you also 60 and 61. If you get the No. 30 pick you also get No. 31 and 90.
That means each team will have a chance to draft a three-man core and then add free agents as they see fit, with a salary cap, of course. And we’re going to have a coaching draft as well, but that’s a totally different part of the process that we didn’t get around to discussing in detail (hey, there was a limited time to hash through this thing).
And this re-draft isn’t based on what type of player a guy might be in two or three years or what type of player he was two or three years ago. We’re talking about a draft based on a guy’s production as of Jan. 26, 2007.
Naturally, there were all sorts of names tossed around for the No. 1 overall pick. Joe Johnson said he’d take Kevin Garnett. Josh Childress said Dwight Howard. I said I’d take Steve Nash. Other choices for the top pick included Kobe Bryant, LeBron James and Dwyane Wade.
We also debated the merits of building a team - do you want to build an instant winner, with an established and possibly aging superstar? Or do you want to go young, with a budding and potentially dominant young star? There are truly no wrong answers when you’re reconstructing the league, I guess. Calculating a players value on his numbers alone, like we do in fantasy league’s doesn’t work in this scenario either. Because we’re talking about building a that would actually have to play together and not one whose stats are combined and then used in a scoring formula to determine a winner.
The opinions were flying around (me, I’d opt for the compete for a title now approach, hence my choice of Nash as the top pick so I could build the ultimate team around the league’s ultimate point guard). But not everyone was interested in that.
You could go in so many different ways. And I’m not sure there is a consensus on what players comprise the top 30 players in the league anyway, or if you’d even want to go that way once you consider other factors into the selections (such as what players would fit together best and which players would fit the specific system you wanted your team to run).
Not only does the premise intrigue, but the strategy behind it also made for some spirited debate. For example, what pick would you want? If you get the top choice you don’t pick again until 60 and then 61. You’d have to watch a ton of quality players go off the board after that first pick. You also have to take into account what type of team you want to be and keep that in mind while deciding on which players you want to draft.
Anyway, plans are being made to iron out the details before the entire package is fleshed out. But I had to include you. I know many of you are involved in fantasy leagues (aren’t we all). But those rules are much different. (This all sounded simple at the start, ‘gimme the best guy and I’ll worry about the rest later.’ But you don’t have that luxury. You have to really think this entire thing through from the start and then make sure you get it right or risk being the laughingstock of the new NBA). Think about that responsibility, starting a franchise from scratch with what you know right now about all these players and having to get it right. It wouldn’t be easy.
Still, I’m curious what you think. Who makes your top 30? Where do you want to draft? And why?
Permalink | Comments (68) | Post your comment |
Do you see what I see?
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
The revelation came Wednesday night while I was sitting a foot off the baseline at TD Banknorth Garden watching the Hawks and Celtics play what was easily one of the strangest basketball games I’ve seen in years.
And that’s a major statement when you consider I’ve been watching games in person since the late 1970s (Pops is a sports junkie that’s always enjoyed witnessing the action in person, so I had no choice).
As bad as the Hawks were in digging their 18-point hole, the Celtics were just as disastrous in losing that lead and eventually the game. And the sad part is both teams were trying with all their might to win this game.
But what do you expect when the main characters of this play are, for the most part, 22 or younger in most every instance?
Josh Smith, Al Jefferson, Kendrick Perkins, Marvin Williams, Josh Childress, Gerald Green, Sebastian Telfair, Rajon Rondo and the list goes on and on. The bulk of teams in the NBA wouldn’t go as young as these two teams have gone. But there are more headed in this direction (Philadelphia and Memphis are on the way).
Unlike others who toss out youth and inexperience as an excuse, I present it you here as evidence that we’re all fools if we expect today’s NBA to be the glorious game we grew up on.
That’s over folks.
Done.
We’ll have to wait another generational cycle, if ever, to see the game resurrected to its proud former past. USA Basketball and the NBA have joined the reformation movement. But I’m not sure if they can succeed (though I’m pulling for all involved).
There have just been too many crimes against the game, from a grassroots level on up, for it to be saved from the unsavory elements that have stripped it of it’s fundamental greatness (and yes, reading the Big O’s book has definitely colored my view of the game now, because he’s right when he points out that there has always been a division between the way organized basketball is played and the freelanced version that is prevalent on courts where there are no referees and few rules).
I’m figuring we’ve seen the last of the game as many of us knew it. There are just too many youngster, too many unfinished products, too many talented athletes and too few ultra-skilled players to produce the type of games we think we’re entitled to.
(This isn’t PlayStation folks, guys miss shots during the real thing.)
I’ve adjusted my filter now, I’ve realized that the player development that used to take place at lower levels will be played out painfully (and expensively for the people buying tickets) at the NBA level. So if your team is one of these developmental squads, like the Hawks and Celtics, brace yourself.
This is your life, too.
Do you see what I see?
Permalink | Comments (34) | Post your comment |
Do you see what I see?
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
The revelation came Wednesday night while I was sitting a foot off the baseline at TD Banknorth Garden watching the Hawks and Celtics play what was easily one of the strangest basketball games I’ve seen in years.
And that’s a major statement when you consider I’ve been watching games in person since the late 1970s (Pops is a sports junkie that’s always enjoyed witnessing the action in person, so I had no choice).
As bad as the Hawks were in digging their 18-point hole, the Celtics were just as disastrous in losing that lead and eventually the game. And the sad part is both teams were trying with all their might to win this game.
But what do you expect when the main characters of this play are, for the most part, 22 or younger in most every instance?
Josh Smith, Al Jefferson, Kendrick Perkins, Marvin Williams, Josh Childress, Gerald Green, Sebastian Telfair, Rajon Rondo and the list goes on and on. The bulk of teams in the NBA wouldn’t go as young as these two teams have gone. But there are more headed in this direction (Philadelphia and Memphis are on the way).
Unlike others who toss out youth and inexperience as an excuse, I present it to you here as evidence that we’re all fools if we expect today’s NBA to be the glorious game we grew up on.
That’s over folks.
Done.
We’ll have to wait another generational cycle, if ever, to see the game resurrected to its proud former past. USA Basketball and the NBA have joined the reformation movement. But I’m not sure if they can succeed (though I’m pulling for all involved).
There have just been too many crimes against the game, from a grassroots level on up, for it to be saved from the unsavory elements that have stripped it of it’s fundamental greatness (and yes, reading the Big O’s book has definitely colored my view of the game now, because he’s right when he points out that there has always been a division between the way organized basketball is played and the freelanced version that is prevalent on courts where there are no referees and few rules).
I’m figuring we’ve seen the last of the game as many of us knew it. There are just too many youngster, too many unfinished products, too many talented athletes and too few ultra-skilled players to produce the type of games we think we’re entitled to.
(This isn’t PlayStation folks, guys miss shots during the real thing.)
I’ve adjusted my filter now, I’ve realized that the player development that used to take place at lower levels will be played out painfully (and expensively for the people buying tickets) at the NBA level. So if your team is one of these developmental squads, like the Hawks and Celtics, brace yourself.
This is your life, too.
Do you see what I see?
Permalink | Comments (1) | Post your comment |
Help me help you!
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Three games up last week and now three games down, and counting, this week.
The roller coaster ride with the fellas from Hawksville continues people.
(Ten missed free throws at United Center last night didn’t help their plight. The Bulls didn’t play well at all, but they still had enough to hold off the Hawks’ charge. If they bring the same energy tonight against Boston they should have a legitimate shot at ending their three-game slide against the Celtics.)
And if you’re still with us (thanks for those who plan to continue to stick around), you surely understand how crushing all of this has been for the Hawks and their fans.
I’ve been talking to people recently, and not for any professional task but just because I’m a curious sort, about the toll this type of prolonged struggle can have on a team and it’s fan base. I don’t mean a psychologist or a grief counselor or anyone like that. I’ve been canvassing friends, family and acquaintances who have a (for reasons that are foreign to me) hitched their fan wagons to a team, school or organization that has endured its share of struggles over a long period of time. I had to know, how they do it? How do they go on everyday believing the impossible dream?
Being a Michigan fan - FOOTBALL, first, foremost and only - I can’t say that I have any first-hand knowledge about rooting for a downtrodden team. Seriously. There have been some dips here and there, but never anything remotely close to being awful. The fact is, the Wolverines have been a winner since before I was born and continue to be. That’s no me boasting, that’s just real talk (and yeah, I know we’ve stunk it up against Ohio State and in our bowl games the past half decade, but you can’t have it all).
I was curious, though. What must it be like to be a fan of a team that you know has no chance to compete for the ultimate prize (a title), let alone a winning season? How do you persevere through these trying times?
(My older brother is a huge Detroit Lions fan. Always has been and apparently always will be. He and I have had this discussion a million times and he refuses to give up rooting for the Lions, no matter how many times they crush his dreams and force him to endure the taunts and jeers from all the Bears fans he deals with on a daily basis while living in suburban Chicago.)
The paraphrased consensus from the folks I talked to was, “you spend everyday hoping that you’ve already hit rock bottom and the only way to go is up.”
Huh? Bad answer people. Horrible answer.
Me, I can’t operate like that. If my team fell into the type of abyss the Hawks are currently stuck in, I’m not completely sure what my reaction would be. But know what it would NOT be, and that’s the “wishing and hoping” approach that I’ve never seen work.
That’s why I have to applaud you, the extremely vocal few, for voicing your displeasure with things - whether I agree with you or not on the specifics of your complaints and who might bear the bulk of the responsibility for the current state of Hawks affairs (if these coaches and players were sitting around and not working their collective fingers to the bone to fix what’s ailing them I’d be in line with you ready to vote them all off the island. But I’m at practice daily, I’ve seen the relentlessness in them when they’re working away from the glare of the lights and cameras of game night. They don’t want to be 13-26. They just are what they are right now).
But I want to pose the question here, to those of you willing and able to answer without making a mockery of the question or its intent. How do you stay true during times like these?
Permalink | Comments (58) | Post your comment |
Crow and eggs and Dulles!
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
I know it’s not exactly chic for a know-it-all to admit he was wrong. But you’ve probably noticed by now that I don’t always operate with a strict set of rules, here or anywhere else.
And I’m more than willing to admit that after one viewing (interspersed with yet another tour de force episode of 24 - sans my main man Curtis, of course) I could have been wrong about this whole AI and Carmelo Anthony thing working in Denver (this just hit me while I’m waiting for a connection to Chicago at Dulles Aipport).
Sure, it was just one game. I know that.
Let’s see them do it in the playoffs, you’re thinking. Me too.
But you have to admit that they looked pretty dang good running up and down the belly of the Memphis Grizzly(ies) last night. Melo and AI are the perfect yin and yang for each other while also looking like Melo Powers and Mini-Me with their matching cornrows, headbands, tattoos and armbands.
Seriously, though, I can see them making some major noise in the Western Conference. And not just because of those two guys, but also because of the perfect supporting cast they have around them. Marcus Camby, if he can stay healthy, is going to have a major impact.
And the Nuggets have to now rank up there with everyone after Phoenix Dallas as the team most likely to finish atop the Western Conference (I think it’s wide open despite everyone crowning the Suns and Mavs already).
So was I wrong to say that AI wouldn’t fit with the Hawks? I don’t know that I’m ready to admit all that. (There has to be another inside star to pair with JJ. Pau Gasol’s name has come up here, so you all know what I’m talking about).
Back to my crow and eggs breakfast …
I think Melo and AI fit together much better than say Melo and Joe Johnson. But I realize now how that you can never undersell a transcendent player in any sport. AI’s not just a great player, he’s a once in every other generation talent that’s still shining in the twilight of a Hall of Fame career. For me to assume that he would do anything other than create havoc for opposing teams that have to pick their poison when they face the Nuggets. One of the Grizzlies players told Iverson that it’s unfair to have to play a team with that kind of roster and firepower.
If that’s not enough to convince you to get on the Nuggets bandwagon, my boy Marc Spears said that Atlanta’s own Ciara was at the game last night with MTV personality LaLa (who is also Anthony’s fiancé). Ciara (and yes Spears said she was looking “buttery” fine as ever for you old timers) flew into blizzard conditions to see the show. When’s the last time Ciara was spotted at a Hawks game?
I’m guessing that she won’t be the last celeb to make Denver a destination point this season. And I don’t even want to think about a Nuggets-Lakers playoff series (I’m checking into hotel reservations now).
Permalink | Comments (45) | Post your comment |
Bobcats provide big dose of reality
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
No one throws a left hook like reality (sorry Kevin Garnett and Baron Davis).
And after a tumultuous weekend with the folks in Hawksville (watching the Bobcats beat down the Hawks on back-to-back nights as well as bits and pieces of the NFL playoffs and various other programming), I can admit that reality has leveled your boy Blog-Z, and probably quite a few others who pay close attention to what goes on around here.
Some things should be evident by now (those things and several other things collected over the weekend that I felt compelled to share follow):
The Bobcats indeed are better than you. Last season’s 3-1 series win by the formerly expansion Bobcats was no fluke. They’re tougher, deeper, more experienced and simply delight in smacking the Hawks around whenever they can. I think it’s one of those instances where the last two kids picked for a schoolyard game have to play one-on-one to see who should be the last guy. And one of them kicks the stuffing out of the other. TWICE!
My trade scenarios mentioning various point guards the past few weeks need to be amended to include a big man or two (duh!). It’s not like I forgot that the Hawks were soft as puddin’ inside. I just needed Emeka Okafor and Gerald Wallace to remind me just how soft that puddin’ really is. (S-O-F-T).
Before the season we conducted an informal survey about what Hawks player needed to play above and beyond his means this season. I said Zaza Pachulia and several of you dismissed my suggestion that ZP needed to come bag with a few new tricks this season. Vindication is mine (though, in his defense, ZP was working overtime after practice Sunday trying to rekindle that fire he showed time and again last season when the Hawks relied heavily on their young - dude is only 23 - center).
What a treat is must be for Bobcats coach/GM Bernie Bickerstaff to know that he’ll get whatever he asks from his players, 1 through 15, or they’ll be shipped to parts unknown. There’s a reason the Bobcats have a reputation for being the most rugged team in the league and a team that plays harder than anyone else. They’ve got judge and jury in the huddle at all times. It makes a difference folks, believe me.
Josh Smith was wrong for the two finger salute he gave to the fans at Bobcats Arena Saturday night, but no more than the idiot official who called him for a technical for taking off his head band and tossing it to the Hawks bench (and no, he didn’t snatch the thing off and throw it at the bench in protest of the call). I’d go off on a rant about how lousy NBA officials can be when they show up to work with chips already planted on their shoulders. But you’ve heard that one before.
My years of terrorizing Peyton Manning fans and Colts fans, too, are officially over. My son continued to wear his Petyon Manning jersey proudly, even after we moved from Indy to Atlanta. I warned him that he was rolling with a team and a QB that had NEVER won the big game. Well, while he was snoring Sunday night (hey, lil’ dude is in the second grade, bedtime is 8:30, no exceptions), Archie’s second born son was shutting up all the jokers (me first and foremost) that have poked holes in his legacy over the years. I can’t hate anymore. Great game. And a Michigan man (Marlin Jackson) made the game-saving interception (of another Michigan man, Tom Brady).
Once upon a time I was a movie buff of the highest order. Then Hollywood went on this horror flick craze that has sent me back to reading books for stimulating mental entertainment. If you want to read a good sports bio, try Oscar Robertson’s book (Pops got it for me for Christmas). It’s been out for a couple years. But it’s still a great read. It’s full of great basketball insight and tons of great history lessons. And The Big O was truly ahead of his time in terms of the way he played the game.
There are still a few movies that pique my interest. One in particular has me fired up. Have you seen the trailer for 300, the Frank Miller (Sin City) version of the story of the Battle of Thermopylae (all you history nuts know about this one)? Comes out in March. It’s going to be sick. They’re clearly marketing the film to meatheads like me who love football, a good hero flick with swords and lots of crazy battle scenes. If you didn’t see the trailer but just heard the audio, you’d think it was a commercial for a football movie. If you like that sort of stuff, this is one you need to catch.
Now that we’ve ridden the Hawksville roller coaster for the past 10 days (three steps forward, two steps back), who’s got the guts to predict what this week will bring? On the menu: road games at Chicago (Tuesday), at Boston (Wednesday) and at Orlando (Friday). We’re looking at a potentially five-game turnaround from the five-game win-streak I was popping off about before Bobcats-crack-Hawks-I. And yes, I’m getting out of the prediction business (at least where the Hawks and their upcoming schedule are concerned).
Permalink | Comments (50) | Post your comment |
Can winning streak reach five?
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
In case any of you were wondering, I always toss my water bottle in the trash before I go through security. So don’t ever worry about your boy Blog-Z getting caught up at Miami International, Hartsfield, O’Hare, Heathrow or any other airport.
I mean, what kind of … well, let me stop worrying about it. That’s Steve Wyche’s topic to dissect, not mine (this is a juicy one, though, I could yap about the ramifications of 7’s actions all day long. But I won’t).
Let me stick to basketball.
And I say this without any malice or intent to squash the Hawks’ current fantastic voyage through the ’07 schedule, but are we witnessing the Hawks’ first five-game win streak since the last millennium? Seriously. Lenny Wilkens was calling the shots the last time the Boys from Hawksville pulled off a four or five-game stretch like that.
If they can find a way to claw past their divisional nemesis (Charlotte) twice in the next 36 hours, the Hawks will come home Sunday morning as owners of not only the Eastern Conference’s longest win streak but also their best showing at any time in the past two plus years.
It’ll be quite interesting to watch this weekend. And if there was ever a time for the Hawks to snatch a couple more wins it’s now, because the road schedule cranks up in the next couple of weeks before the All-Star break in a major way. The Hawks need to close the gap between wins and losses as quickly as possible or risk falling totally out of the hunt (however futile it might seem) for the eighth and final playoff spot in the East).
Sure, I know it sounds ridiculous at first glance. But with the way teams are shuffling and reshuffling right now in the East, anything is possible. If any team gets on a roll right now they have a chance to make a playoff push.
But you can’t do it from 10 games or more below .500.
I know Ando is in favor of the Hawks tanking the season in order to secure draft position. That’s not going to happen, my man, no matter how much sense it might seem to make on paper (or in the twisted minds of fantasy GM’s such as yourself). It’s not only unrealistic (any coach worth his whistle would never allow that discussion to even take place); it’s impossible when the league is as mediocre as it is right now.
Permalink | Comments (111) | Post your comment |
Despite win streak, let’s make a deal
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Three straight wins playing the style the Hawks envisioned from the start is a bit of an eye-opening experience.
The Hawks’ Fab Four (Joe Johnson, Josh Smith, Josh Childress and Marvin Williams) play together rather well, now that they’re all on the floor at the same time. And Marvin’s not even playing well right now. When he regains his shooting stroke, they could be a really lethal foursome.
But rather than yap all day about what should be obvious to everyone by now (that injury thing wasn’t just a crutch, it really turned this team upside down), I’m going to continue to push my trade theories.
(I promised a Hawks exec I was going to keep on pushing until they do something:)
So Thursday’s deal deluxe is (and this is just me playing with the trade machine and not anything that’s been discussed):
Hawks send Salim Stoudamire and Esteban Batista to Seattle for Luke Ridnour. Salaries work. And I’ve said repeatedly that I’m not juiced about giving up Salim, who I think is playing his role to perfection these days, but you have to give up something to get something. And Ridnour’s an absolute steal at $2.4 million over the next three years.
I also think that inserting a point guard who can excel in the transition game with the Hawks’ Fab Four could be a potentially devastating lineup. Ridnour’s suddenly the odd man out for the Sonics (don’t know why for sure and I really don’t care, since coaches and players get on the wrong side of each other on a regular basis in this league). So if they’re interested in moving him, why not snatch him now and plug him into this thing while the Hawks are still tweaking the chemistry?
I’ll admit, I’ve always appreciated Ridnour’s game and how crafty he is with the ball in his hands. I also like that he’s always been an up-tempo point guard (dating back to his days at Oregon with Fred Jones and Luke Jackson).
Think about it, and tell me what you would do?
Permalink | Comments (92) | Post your comment |
Will Claxton make a speedy return?
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Since I’d never heard of chondromalacia before Tuesday, I’m still trying to figure out what that means for the Hawks and point guard Speedy Claxton.
I’m not sure that anyone else knows what to make of it either. Hawks coach Mike Woodson wants him back in the lineup now but Claxton says he isn’t ready. That means Royal Ivey, the All-State Man, will once again be called upon to fill the void.
I’d push my Anthony Johnson trade theory some more here, but that thing never sprouted legs (though I believe that it remains the Hawks’ best option at the point with the injury history of both Claxton and Tyronn Lue, who had his season and legs burned up by huge minutes early in the year that everyone knew wasn’t good for him).
I liked the way Josh Childress played point guard at times against the Celtics, but I wouldn’t want to burden him with that and take away from his slashing duties and abilities elsewhere throughout the game. The potential defensive mismatches that he causes on one end also become a liability on the other, in certain situations. So he’s not the best long-term solution either. You know, the more I think about it the more it makes sense to keep pushing the Anthony Johnson trade scenario. AJ is a reliable, bigger point guard who can also give a team minutes at shooting guard. He proved his worth the past few seasons in Indiana, when he had to rescue them while Jamaal Tinsley struggled with injuries.
Another bonus is that Johnson is one of the many NBA players who calls Atlanta home (in the offseason). He’s already had one stint with the Hawks and is a guy who worked out on the Hawks’ practice court during informal workouts and pick-up games over the summer.
Why not make a move to get him and shore up an area of obvious need? Because even if you get him back anytime soon, it’s clear that his condition won’t heal 100 percent this season.
I don’t know if Dallas has to be convinced that the deal (Salim Stoudamire and Esteban Batista for Johnson) works for them, or what. But whatever needs to be done to get it going, I’d be doing it.
Two areas in need of clarification from Tuesday’s yapping:
1) Some of us need to learn how to take a joke and realize that I was making fun of my favorite (and only) show (24) yesterday. Of course I’m not going to dump the show over Curtis and the OG President Palmer being killed (does anyone anywhere have a sense of humor anymore? Good gracious).
And if I really wanted to go on some rant about Hollywood’s fetish for offing characters with brown or any other colored skin, I would have done so (You all know me well enough by now to know that I’m hardly afraid of making a good fool of myself whenever the mood arises).
I’d hate to have to start putting disclaimers on top of everything that shows up here so people know what’s done with tongue firmly planted in cheek and what’s not. (I’m still ticked off about Curtis getting capped by Jack, though. Give me at least two more episodes to get over it).
Besides, I’ve been “done” with Michigan football 50 times over the past 25 years and always come back a coupled days later. Give me my 10 minutes to rant and then come back to my senses.
2) My baby sister demanded I print a correction. She is NOT a Beyonce hater. She just said she’s tired of cats like me hyping Beyonce up like she’s the only gorgeous woman on the planet that can actually sing and act. But she is NOT, I repeat IS NOT, a Beyonce hater as I stated yesterday (… whatever).
Showing signs of life
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Not even back-to-back wins for the first time in two months will be enough to pacify the most vocal of Hawks critics (and it shouldn’t). But you have to admit that seeing the Hawks at something closer to decent health makes a world of difference.
They hit the 100-point mark in their win over the Celtics for the first time in 11 games, which is more shocking to me than anything else that has gone on. We’re talking about a team that has six players that average double figures going that long without scoring 100 points. That’s crazy (and largely the result of not having those six guys at once).
But before I go on with all the in-game minutiae, let me take a minute to address several hot button topics from the weekend (in the five things, 2007 version, that I can’t shake):
What’s with all the venom for Jeff Schultz for his criticism of the Hawks and their owners? He wasn’t anywhere near as cold-blooded as some have been around these parts (you know who you are). Just like everyone here weighs in with their thoughts, Shultz is entitled to his opinions. I had no problem with what he said about the state of the Hawks after Friday’s win over the Pistons. He came and surveyed the situation and wrote it the way he saw it. Everyone’s entitled to his or her own opinions.
I’ve raged against NBA players and their situational nonchalance already this season. So let me now praise some guys for poking holes in my theories. If you didn’t watch the motley crew the Celtics showed up with Monday, you missed one of the true feel good stories of the league. They had nine guys, all but Mike Olowokandi were basically NBA neophytes, and they played their guts out. It was fun to watch a game like that and good to see young guys busting it like that. Doc Rivers gets panned coast to coast for being a lousy coach and I’m not sure I understand that criticism. He had these cats ready to go Monday and it showed. I wish every team played that hard all the time. It would make the NBA product so much better.
The people at the Golden Globes, yet another awards show I’ve never watched, saw fit to give everybody from the movie Dreamgirls an award, save for my baby Beyonce. Unbelievable. My baby sister, a Beyonce hater if ever there was one, made sure to call and keep me updated, interrupting my 24 watching twice, laughing at Beyonce the entire time. Well, B, you’re still No. 1 with me. Forget the haters. I saw the movie and Beyonce’s performance was as good as any.
Anyone foolish enough to question Reggie Bush’s toughness better rethink that stance. I saw him take probably the most vicious lick I’ve seen at any level this season and come back like a champ. Deuce McAllister did the bulk of the heavy lifting for the Saints and deserves the praise that comes along with his performance. But Bush is a baller, too.
I’m done with 24 after just two days. I know I’ve been hyping it up for months now. But they did the unthinkable last night and killed my man Curtis off the show. For the record, that’s two major brothers (they clipped the original President Palmer at the start of last season) eliminated in the past year. I love Jack Bauer and the premise of the show. But Hollywood’s fetish with offing brown-skinned characters is out of control. So there goes my TV watching outside of sports-related and hard news programming. I don’t watch anything else on a regular basis. Any suggestions on a new show (I can only handle getting really invested in one show) will be welcomed.
Good. I got that off my chest.
Back to the Hawks and their 2-0 weekend. I would hope that anyone still conflicted about Josh Childress’ value has resolved those issues.
The guy’s been fabulous in whatever role the Hawks have asked him to play. He’s one of the most consistent players I’ve seen in terms of what you get from him in effort, energy and production on a nightly basis.
His block on Gerald Green with three seconds to play Monday was a game-saver. Because I didn’t think Green (who’s a much better player than I initially thought) was on fire.
(For anyone wondering, Childress has averaged 20 points and nine rebounds in his last three outings while shooting 65 percent from the floor.)
As good as Childress was over the weekend, I don’t think anyone could have anticipated the lift Josh Smith’s return would provide. His activity on the defensive end, blocking shots and altering shots, is unmatched by any player his size in the league - and that goes for Ben Wallace and Andrei Kirilenko as well. His trailing block of Green dunk early in the game is one of the best blocks I’ve seen. And he got Al Jefferson, who’s a man-child when he’s playing at his best, twice on the same possession. It’s uncanny what Smith can do when he’s on his game (18 points, 4 rebounds, 7 blocks and 5 steals after his game-clinching block and game-winning shot in the Hawks’ defeat of the Pistons).
The time off seems to have helped Smith focus his efforts on some specific things that will aid the Hawks’ cause in ways few people imagined. His five steals in the Celtics game were huge as the Hawks came up with a season-high 32 points off turnovers.
Finally, along that same train of thought, is the boost the play of the Childress and Smith provides Joe Johnson. The floor seems to open up so much more for him when those two guys (and Marvin Williams, who played well against Detroit but struggled a bit against the Celtics’ smaller and quicker crew) are playing well.
Interesting stuff from a team everyone, myself included, thought was down for the count before Friday night’s game. I still think the Hawks need to be active at the trade deadline. But Hawks fans needed a bit of hope (before word comes down later today on Speedy Claxton’s knee injury).
The cupboard looks bare
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
In an attempt to keep my negative energy from spreading out of control, I plan on taking the weekend off from cracking the Hawks.
(Y’all are taking care of that just fine without me anyway, ha!)
But what I will do is attempt to once again try and help aim the focus on the fervor a bit higher up the Atlanta Spirit food chain, say at the top. And I mean this in all sincerity, but what makes any of you think that the team with the second lowest payroll in the NBA is supposed to do much more than what the Hawks are doing now?
Seriously, ask yourself why it would make any sense for the Hawks to overachieve at a miraculous level when that simply is not based in any sort of reality. (The worst argument I’ve seen here in the past few days is the analogy between what the Falcons did in firing Jim Mora, who had a team with the highest payroll in the league that couldn’t make the playoffs. An owner has every right to pull the plug on a coach, GM or a janitor when he’s spending like that and not getting positive results). In short, pointing fingers at the coaches and players is the easy way out. But it doesn’t speak to the larger problem.
When a situation is in the tatters the Hawks are in right now, there are a few simple questions that need to be asked:
1) Are the coaches and players turning on each other left and right?
2) Has the team been given all the necessary resources to compete at the highest level?
3) Has the owner (or owners in this case) allowed the GM to provide the coach with all that he needs in the way of personnel to put forth a competitive group on a nightly basis?
Chew on those over the weekend and we’ll get back into the great debate after MLK, Jr. Day!
Hawks in crisis mode
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
This must be what crisis mode looks like.
Ground zero. Rock bottom. Or whatever other cliché you can come up with for a team that’s in a complete free-fall, this is it folks.
Much like the Hawks, I’m out of answers right now.
I don’t even have any clever anecdotes or nonsensical rants about college football to offer today.
Seriously. I know I’m usually the King of Yappers around here, always spouting off with this or that. But I was speechless after watching the Hornets roll the Hawks last night.
Speechless.
All I can say is the activity leading up to the Feb. 22 trade deadline needs to be fast and furious around here. The gloves need to come off until changes are made, chemistry is tweaked and the direction altered.
People point to the draft as some sort of cure all. That’s nonsense. Any draft, regardless of how plentiful the talent is supposed to be, is a high-risk lab experiment with the results to come much later.
The only way to improve a team, to alter a team’s course immediately (sans the addition of one of the league’s handful of elite, franchise players), is to make trade deadline changes and witness the results instantly. If you get it right (like Detroit when they bagged Rasheed Wallace from the Hawks and Sacramento last year when they snagged Ron Artest from Indiana) the results are obvious.
When you get it wrong (Philly getting Chris Webber from Sacramento a couple years back) it’s just another chip on the pile of mistakes that have already been made - since your team had little chance of competing for anything significant anyway, no one really cares.
But things can’t go on like this. To a man, the Hawks know it. Even if they don’t want to say it out loud (especially to the media). Everybody knows it by now.
Desperate for help in the paint
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
The scene of the Hawks’ latest crime against basketball was somehow still standing after Tuesday night’s pounding of the Conseco Fieldhouse glass with shots, most of which, never came close to going into the hoop.
If that sounds a bit harsh, it should. I’m writing this moments after the Hawks’ 91-72 loss to the Pacers (and Al Harrington, whose mission in life is now to never lose another game to his beloved Hawks).
People keep asking me how I watch this team struggle night after night like this. And I’ll admit, it’s not always the easiest thing to do. (You trying to come up with 50-60 something ways to say a team lost and not sounds like a broken record). But if I couldn’t see any progress at all, it would be easy to bury these cats every night. I mean, no one expects much from these cats. And there are nights that, as young and impressionable as some of these Hawks are, they let that defeatist attitude engulf them on the floor.
The Pacers, a great team on paper but far from that on the floor, didn’t have Naismith dancing in the sky Tuesday night either (they shot 42 percent from the floor and turned it over three more times than the Hawks did).
The telling stat for me is always points in the paint (it’s not always the tell all stat but most nights it’s the best indicator of what happened). If the Hawks get smashed there, it usually means they got roasted on the scoreboard. And it was 50-24 in the Pacers’ favor Tuesday night.
We spent all of last season talking about it and I mentioned it here in the preseason (to mixed reviews), but I’ll say it again, the Hawks have to get some help inside or they’ll continue to be abused in the paint.
There has to be an inside-out dynamic to a team. There has to be an inside threat. And on the nights when Zaza Pachulia is effective, the results are obvious (he and Joe Johnson were a perfect 1-2 punch in that win over the Clippers).
On the nights when he doesn’t have it going, the Hawks are in for a serious pounding. Jeff Foster (yet another trade piece from our summer conversations, and for all you Einstein’s who blasted me for saying he was what the Hawks needed, dude had 17 rebounds!) was a man amongst boys inside. The Pacers’ All-Star big man, Jermaine O’Neal, had pedestrian numbers (10 points, eight rebounds) and they still rocked the Hawks inside.
I don’t think I’m overstating the obvious here, either. And I certainly don’t understand how anyone could argue that this Hawks team, even at optimum health, could fare much better against the quality teams in the league. Sure, they have some talented young pieces. But not enough of the quality veteran types (Clippers journeyman Aaron Williams looked like another member of the just-what-the-doctor-ordered-for-the-Hawks crew Saturday night) that will help prevent you from being smacked around the way the Hawks were by the Pacers.
More trade talk
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
How about a little more trade scuttlebutt?
Nothing stirs conversation around here like trade talk. The fact that everyone has their own unique take on the particulars of a given deal proves to me that there is truly no blueprint for doing business in the NBA.
So none of us is actually running a team. The point is, if there are 30 guys running NBA teams, you can bet there are 30 different plans for doing it. You can bet there are 30 different opinions about the same player and none of them are EXACTLY the same.
That said, some things should be fairly obvious about the league (Shaq on your roster in June = A much better chance to win a title; Veteran teams win titles while young teams dream about winning titles; There are only about five true franchise players in the league; But no player is totally untouchable - see “Shaq”).
That’s why any trade talk here or anywhere else, however wild it might sound, is always grounded in possibility.
I’m not saying it’s going to happen or that it’s even been floated from one party to another. But it’s always a possibility.
Which is why I’m floating two more trade theories I’ve heard about today:
Hawks trade Salim Stoudamire and Esteban Batista to Dallas for Anthony Johnson. Salaries work, and the fits for both teams would be ideal. Stoudamire is a shooter deluxe and AJ is a combo-guard who helps the Hawks in several ways. This one, like Monday’s deal, makes sense.
Hawks trade Salim Stoudamire, Esteban Batista and Lorenzen Wright to Boston for Wally Szczerbiak. Money works. I don’t like the idea of this one as much as the others that have been tossed about here. I don’t understand it much, either, for either team. Sure, Szczerbiak would be a potent second scorer for the Hawks, a guy who could play the 2 or the 3. But his arrival (and at his price) would muddy the development situation for Josh Childress, Josh Smith and Marvin Williams.
Speaking of those guys, keep in mind that whatever happens, the Hawks have to be prepared to extend the contracts of all three of these young guys after this season. And contrary to popular opinion, I’d be intent on keeping all three of these guys. That’s right. I wouldn’t be interested in losing any of these guys (unless it was for an asset of equal value, which is hard to get with the way the salary scale is structured).
But that is a topic we’ll dissect in more detail another day. Today we’re talking trades.
Some trade scuttlebutt
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
It’s that time of year again. You know, when the fun and foolishness of trade rumors dominate the NBA landscape more than any game or actual real life event possibly could (the trade deadline is like a tractor beam for insanity, any and everybody in the league will be involved in at least one wild rumor between now and the Feb. 22 deadline).
Normally, I try and steer clear of all the trade bluster (mostly because the “real” deals aren’t rumored about before they happen. Look no further than the Falcons’ hiring of Bobby Petrino. Dude’s name never came up during the process and now he’s the new coach).
But I’ve been hearing all sorts of interesting things regarding the Hawks (and that $8 million in cap space) and the interest teams have in dealing with them or trying to enlist their help in getting a deal done.
The best one sent my way over the weekend: a three-team deal involving the Hawks, Portland and Washington. How does this one grab you. The Blazers send Jamaal Magloire to Washington, the Wizards send Brendan Haywood and Jarvis Hayes to the Hawks and the Hawks send Salim Stoudamire, Esteban Batista and Lorenzen Wright to the Blazers?
Just play along here.
The salaries work (go ahead and check to see if it works, I already did. That ESPN.com trade machine is the best cheating tool ever). And each team gets something they desperately need, though the Hawks would have to give up assets to get a deal done, but Haywood is that shot-blocking big the Hawks are in desperate need of and Hayes, injury prone as he is, is a nice sized shooting threat and solid roster addition.
Admittedly, I wouldn’t be wild about losing a long-range bomber like Stoudamire, who could flourish under the right circumstances. Wright’s been a huge influence in the Hawks’ locker room. And Batista is arguably the Hawks’ most fearless (and feared for his rugged ways) player.
But you always have to give up something (well, in most cases) to get something in return.
Would you do the deal? Would you pull the trigger and make this deal happen or would you hold out for something else? Something better?
Demanding all-out effort
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
I don’t subscribe to this theory of the “must-win” game (the phrase Hawks point guard Speedy Claxton used to describe tonight’s crucial game against Toronto at Air Canada Centre).
No disrespect to Speedy or anyone else who believes in that cliché, but isn’t every game a “must-win” game?
Now I don’t believe in the Easter Bunny, Santa Claus, the Tooth Fairy, Evil Spirits or Bed Bugs either. In most instances, my quest is to be a realist (sometimes it works and sometimes it doesn’t).
What I do believe is that when competing - be it playing basketball, coaching basketball or any other game or goal-oriented activity - it has to be done with a ferocity and urgency that can’t be matched by a casual participant.
It’s the one advantage certain teams bring to the floor, field or court with them that can mean the difference between winning and losing, success and failure. (I’m convinced that it’s the one thing that separates the NBA’s elite from the rest of the pack).
And more than anything, it’s the one thing I find lacking most nights during NBA games. I’m also convinced it’s not a deliberate thing. I just don’t know that some guys (some who’ve gone to college and some who have not) have learned the precious lesson about going hard all the time.
Don’t get me wrong, I love NBA the game. But if I have one gripe, it’s that there is a preoccupation, by some players on some teams (no one in particular, and for you junior sleuths out there this diatribe isn’t directed at the Hawks or any specific player or team) with nonchalance that drives me nuts.
It has nothing to do with how much money guys make (many of the hardest working players are the highest paid), and everything to do with the foundation guys received when they were learning the game.
That one possession a guy takes off every four minutes is the one that gets him beat. You can’t rest in a hyper-charged environment filled with many of the world’s most graceful and impressive athletes. You just can’t.
Try that in college, in any sport, and you’ll never play (a coach’s livelihood depends on him or her being able to get the most out of the talent they have recruited). Try it in football, at any level, and you’ll leave the field on a stretcher. You can’t lose focus, not even for a minute. My pops has a saying (“Keep your head on a swivel”) that he uses in life that best illustrates what is at the root of this problem for me.
And don’t think for a second that this is just some daily ranting for me. Half-cocked efforts in any competition has ticked me off for years (particularly when the half-cocked effort is from someone on one of the teams I root for.)
It’s been one of my pet peeves since the fourth grade when I was blocking, tackling and running for daylight for the St. Stephen-St. Paul Trojans of East Grand Rapids, Mich. (we had a combo-team coached by the late great Joe Lauria).
We were fourth graders mind you, but Coach Lauria made it perfectly clear to us, even at that young age, that there would be only one way to play for him - like every snap was your last.
It was a successful system (we played for the championship, and won several, in all but one year that I played under him) that translated into every other sport and every other activity. We learned how to be aggressive, and unfortunately for our teachers and parents, sometimes we were too aggressive. Ha.
But the bigger lesson learned was how to compete. How to set aside whatever issues were outstanding for the purpose of taking care of the job at hand. You had to compete at the highest level every time out. And I can’t see how there could be any exceptions to that rule for professional competitors (athletes, whatever).
I know you’re probably laughing by now at the thought of a pint-sized Blog-Z running student body left in one of those old Bike helmets with the skinny, double-bars across the face (and my pops hit me with a dynamite X-Mas surprise - a team picture from like 1985 or something that I’ll have to share when I get back to the U.S. of A). But those memories, like so many others, don’t fade. When you live in a world littered with sports (the way many of us do and certainly the way I have the past 30 years).
Or maybe I’m just getting old(er) and more nostalgic now that we’ve crossed over into 2007.
What makes a great coach?
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
The past few weeks I’ve been embroiled in the great coaching debate with several friends and colleagues (yes, you all are included) from around the globe. And we’ve all agreed to disagree about what onus for a team’’ success rests on the shoulders of the coach (yet another topic that I know has legs around here, since Mike Woodson’s name remains the most tossed about 11 letters in this space).
My argument is that it always depends on the circumstances of a particular situation – Mike Fratello’s is far different from Mike Woodson’s just like Jim Mora’s is far different from Dennis Green’s just like Glenn Mason’s is far different from Lloyd Carr’s (I know, you don’t want me to go there. But there are places some of you go everyday that I don’t hate on, so roll with your boy for a minute).
Fans, media and casual observers like us evaluate coaching performances on a game-by-game basis (basically, what have you done for me lately). Owners, GMs and decision makers clearly judge them differently. So the application of our theories compared to the people pulling the strings on who gets hired, who stays and who gets fired will remain a painfully fruitless exercise.
Follow me now.
My continued complaints (whether you or I think they are valid or not) about what I perceive to be an inept coaching job being turned in by the guy at the helm of my favorite team mean nothing. Same for you and your complaints.
One of my very best friends is a basketball coach. Has done it on the high school, college and professional level (in Europe). He knows his stuff. We’ve always had raging debates about who we both feel are the good and bad coaches, the guys who know their stuff and they guys who know how to pry the very best out of the talented and temperamental individuals they work with.
One of the few things we’ve ever been able to agree upon is that it’s a complex mix of things that factor into a team’s ultimate success – everything from the chemistry between the players to the relative maintenance of health to the lucky bounces that have to bounce a team’s way at the crucial moments. The specifics are endless.
I say it’s more important that a coach hold guys accountable and treat them all the same than it is for him or her to be a fountain of information about the technicalities of a specific game. It always helps to have a technical genius but I’ll take a coach with the proper people and communication skills every day over one without.
But I also say the best coaches are flexible and willing to examine their own theories and beliefs on a continual basis if it means his team responds to what he’s trying to cajole them into doing. I’d take a leader over a dictator. A charismatic manipulator over a bully. A Jim Boeheim type over a Bobby Knight type (and both those guys, for example, are excellent coaches who get great results but by using quite different methods).
Because of the limitations of control that exist for so many coaches at the professional level, some have complete say-so in regard to the talent they have to work with while others do not, the standards change depending on the situation.
Player uprisings are much more likely at the pro level than they are at any other (One of the most egregious mutinies in recent memory remains the New Jersey Nets’ revolt against Byron Scott, who coached them to back-to-back trips to the NBA Finals. And no, they haven’t so much sniffed that rarified are since.)
Again, this is what makes the great coaching debate so intriguing to so many people. Cases can be made for and against keeping or firing just about every coach that isn’t contending and winning titles on a regular basis. And even some of those guys (Larry Brown comes to mind) find ways to get run out of town.
The debate rages on and on and on …
Stats tell the story
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Twenty-nine games into this Hawks season should be a solid enough statistical sample to evaluate players right? That’s what I was thinking this morning as I scanned the stats and notes package tossed in my lap during practice Tuesday.
That’s basically a third of the season, though injuries have whittled down those 29 games to the teens for some of the Hawks’ key performers. But it’s a viable sample nonetheless, and one that will serve us well today, as we scan the wreckage that has become the Hawks’ 9-20 season so far.
If someone told you before the season that the Hawks would have six players averaging 12.4 points or better, would you have guessed they’d be 11 games under .500 at this point? Didn’t think so.
If you knew that the trio of Josh Childress, Josh Smith and Marvin Williams were all averaging at least 12 points and 4-plus rebounds per game, you’d have been dancing in the aisles at Philips Arena thinking a playoff berth was imminent.
But the raw numbers alone don’t tell the whole story, as has become painfully clear in Hawksville over the past 2-plus years. The Hawks haven’t had better scoring balance under Mike Woodson but they’ve also never had this type of roster dysfunction either (that stockpile of like players is now dragging the Hawks into a mismatched abyss on most nights).
Here’s a closer look at the raw numbers of the Hawks’ top six performers (a combination of minutes, scoring average and several other key statistics), with a little commentary regarding each guy’s prospects for the remainder of the season:
Joe Johnson, 41.6 minutes, 26.1 points, 4.4 rebounds, 3.8 assists, 3.6 turnovers, .483 FG%, .376 3PT%, .728 FT% (25 games played): It’s hard to argue his production. And it’s even harder if you’ve watched the Hawks every night and realize what kind of burden he’s carrying in terms of the constant shadowing by multiple defenders on offense. The only gripe someone could make is regarding his free throw shooting (he never shot below .750 before this season). Some of that no doubt has to do with fatigue. And as honorable as it is to represent your country on the national team, Johnson should think long and hard about skipping Las Vegas this summer in an effort to save himself for the Hawks next season. An All-Star lock early in the year, it’ll take some work now that the Hawks have slid predictability in the won-loss department.
Tyronn Lue, 30.5 minutes, 14.7 points, 3.7 assists, 2.5 rebounds, 1.82 turnovers, .434 FG%, .354 3PT%, .866 FT% (22 games played): Before the extended minutes caught up to his body, Lue was playing like a man having an out-of-body experience. An executive I respect called him “one of the best drift shooters in the league,” which I believe is something like being a fantastic rhythm shooter. Lue’s assist to turnover ratio is also good for a backup point guard. But much like Johnson, fatigue began to take a toll. Having to overcompensate for Speedy Claxton’s uneven start by playing big minutes, Lue’s effectiveness waned in the few games before he was injured. When he’s back and close to 100 percent health (I don’t think that any player is every 100 percent once the season starts), the Hawks will have their most potent weapon off the bench at their disposal. But he must get healthy.
Josh Childress, 36.7 minutes, 13.9 points, 6.3 rebounds, 1.1 assists, 1.2 turnovers, 1.2 blocks, .560 FG%, .267 3PT%, .852 FT%, (10 games played): If not for the hairline fracture in his left foot that torpedoed his season for more than a month, Childress would be a strong contender for the NBA’s Sixth-Man award. Instead, he’s just trying to find that same cosmic niche he had carved out for himself before his injury. Anyone debating his value as a slasher and role player deluxe just doesn’t get it. You’ve got to have guys like this on a team if you have any chance of being successful (and before anyone brings it up, the numbers for he and Luol Deng and Andre Iguodala are a wash). His shot stroke might make you cringe but his results are what count, his shooting percentage is tops on the team and he’s one of the best free throw shooters as well. It’s crucial that he stays injury free the rest of the way.
Zaza Pachulia, 30.8 minutes, 13.0 points, 7.3 rebounds, 1.6 assists, 2.56 turnovers, .462 FG%, .761 FT%, (27 games played): What’s not to like about Pachulia? His numbers are holding steady from last season and he’s been the healthiest of all the Hawks’ regulars this season. But, as he would tell you, Pachulia is struggling in a major way this year. At his age (23) and just four years into his NBA career, his numbers should be rising not leveling off. For a guy who’s as active on the offensive glass as he is, Pachulia isn’t finishing around the basket the way you’d expect for a 6-11, 260-pound guy. His shooting percentage should be in the same neighborhood as Childress. The most perplexing issue regarding Pachulia’s game is that he’s not a better shot-blocker (career 0.4 and 0.6 this season). He doesn’t even contest many shots around the basket, which is one reason the Hawks are routinely worked over in the paint. He has to be more active on the defensive end if the Hawks want to turn that around.
Josh Smith, 37.0 minutes, 12.9 points, 8.3 rebounds, 3.4 assists, 2.72 turnovers, 2.48 blocks, .424 FG%, .271 3PT%, .682 FT%, (25 games played): The ongoing roller coaster that is Josh Smith’s career development is on hiatus until the end of the month (hernia surgery). Still, no player intrigues or infuriates the masses more than this physical wunderkind. When he’s at his best (active on both ends of the floor, working from the weak side to contest, alter and block shots on defense and taking the ball to the basket on offense), he’s a joy to watch. But when he’s parked at the 3-point line and determined to jack up shots from deep, it’s a painful viewing experience. He should be shooting 60 percent from the floor and averaging 18 points per game. But Smith still hasn’t decided to become the undersized power forward that he’s destined to be. Because he has a chance be one of the league’s most versatile players if he can wrap his arms around the idea of being that type of player.
Marvin Williams, 32.3 points, 12.4 points, 4.2 rebounds, 1.3 assists, 2.67 turnovers, .395 FG%, .286 3PT%, .789 FT% (12 games played): A 12-game sample isn’t much to work with here. And the fractured finger suffered on the eve of the regular season has no doubt thrown a hiccup into the development of the talent that MUST become one of the Hawks’ pillars. Everyone’s still waiting for Williams to take off, and his numbers aren’t shabby. They’re just not dominant (and realistically should not be at this stage of his career), and that’s what they’ll need to be if he is going to assume the role that’s been cast for him. His shot selection so far has been spotty (hence the sub-.400 percentage). He’s not rebounding as well as he should and his fouls and turnovers are a bit high. Again, much of that can be attributed to his late start to the season and the fact that he, more than anyone, is still trying to find a rhythm – not only in the playing rotation and scheme, but also in his own body. The hope has to be that he continues to get better and better as the season goes on, because all the tools are in place for a breakout second half.
Some New Year ramblings
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
So much to say. Where do I begin?
I’d start with the Rose Bowl, but I’m still in hide out and recovery mode from yet another West Coast letdown by my Wolverines (the plan was to go to bed Monday night and wake up today and do Jan. 1 all over again. Didn’t work. 2007 stinks like dirty gym socks already, @#$@ !#@^# Lloyd #%#$%Q! Carr).
The better coached and better prepared team whacked us for the second straight game, so we deserved what we got (a 32-18 visit to the LA woodshed for those of you who slept through the New Year after partying like it was 1999 on Sunday night). I wonder what it would take to lure Boise State’s coach away, because there is a man who coaches the way it should be done. They played like that game was the only game on earth and their lives depended on winning it. Their performance, as well as my Wolverines’ inept showing, is a stark reminder that there needs to be a playoff for Division I-A college football. There’s no excuse.
But I’m done with that, for now (I promised I wouldn’t internalize these things in ’07 but going 11-0 and then finishing 0-2-tailwhoopins is hard to swallow folks. Nobody likes to talk smack like I do about my Wolverines and now I have to shut my yapper for another year).
I had high hopes for 2007 in general, but they were dashed a few hours in when I heard that Broncos cornerback Darrent Williams had been shot and killed. Sports, guns and death are always intertwined these days and it’s unsettling. It makes you (or at least me) wonder, is it just a confluence of the usual suspects in these sorts of incidents (late nights, clubs and alcohol-fueled bravado) or what? I wouldn’t dare tell anyone where to spend his or her own time. But I can see leaving the clubs alone in ’07, just because.
The end of 2006 was not picnic for the boys from Hawksville. Seven straight losses to end the year, surely you’ve read about it by now. Seven straight. … And they’ve been as ugly as that sounds, everything from blown leads (Chicago and Utah) to wire to wire blowouts (Houston) and feeble attempts at competitiveness (Detroit, Cleveland and San Antonio). It’s like watching the scrawny kid on the bus get smacked around by the school bully every day and knowing that there’s basically nothing anyone can do to stop it, until the scrawny kid decides to bow up and swing back.
The Hawks seem like they’re still deciding if they want to fight back (and yeah, I’m talking about the players, because in the absence of reinforcements –- which don’t appear to be on the way any time soon — it’s up these guys to do something about what’s going on). Their effort against the Spurs Sunday was valiant, if not futile.
But again, I’m wondering about some things as 2007 begins:
— How much more of this will Joe Johnson take before he blows up on a teammate, a coach or a Hawks executive about having to carry the entire load? (I know, nobody has to feel sorry for him on payday and all that noise. But just because you sign for the big bucks doesn’t mean you sign up to be ground into dust in the prime of your career because there isn’t adequate support around you).
— Who else might be ready to explode now that the good vibrations of early November have subsided? No one likes losing for prolonged periods of time. No one.
— Who is the bonehead that decided to give New York (from that diabolically stereotypical VH1 nonsense Flava of Love) her own show? The TV viewing public is just twisted, because we all love train wreck TV. Just another reason I’ll wait to watch until 24 returns to watch anything on TV (besides sporting events and the Food Network, of course).
— I can’t stop thinking about the differences in coaching that were on display during these Jan. 1 bowls (I lied, I’m not done with it). How could any team expect to show up after a month and a half layoff and not bring something new to the table? Don’t you learn from your mistakes Lloyd Carr? Did you think USC tossed the Ohio State game tape in the trash and decided to guess what you were going to do? Just like training techniques, coaching has to be something that evolves with the times, something that adapts to the personnel and something that is tailored to a specific opponent. Lloyd Carr’s arrogance (“We’re going to run the ball, I don’t care how many people they have stacked on the line to stop us.”) has resulted in yet another west coast/big game debacle. I’m going to be one grumpy joker for the foreseeable future based on what transpired in Pasadena last night.
— What do I do now that my fantasy team is shot, at least through All-Star Weekend (Chris Paul and Yao Ming are down and Nenad Krstic is done for the year)? I waived Krstic and picked up Chris Duhon, to help ease the loss of Paul for a few weeks. But I still feel like I need to make some more moves to energize my crew –- I’m 4-5 with an outbreak of outrageous injuries and bad luck (I inadvertently kept Kevin Martin on my bench the first two weeks of the season, losing all of his best early games). Since I’m a fantasy league rookie, I’m relying on one of you vets for some advice.
— How many do you think Allen Iverson is going to put on the 76ers tonight in Denver? I’m guessing at least 40!
— If Florida knocks off Ohio State and Boise State ends up being the only undefeated team in the country, who says the (whatever their mascot is) shouldn’t be touted as the “true” national champs?
— Now that he’s out for about a month, how much are you missing Josh Smith (on-court warts and all)?
— Nick Saban’s a scoundrel, whether he leaves the Miami Dolphins for Alabama or not. He left Michigan State hanging and LSU in much the same way (swearing he wasn’t leaving when it was clear that he was), but at least he left both of those places on a winning note. His professional coaching tail will be between his legs if he runs from South Beach after a 6-10 season. The Crimson Tide and Saban seem to deserve each other.
And finally, in case you have to make a flying trip any time soon, remember to carry your bag on with you. I broke from a season-long tradition over the weekend and checked a bag to both Houston and San Antonio. Big mistake. Huge. It took me over an hour in Houston to get from the plane, get my bag, get my rental car and then get to my hotel -– AT THE AIRPORT! In San Antonio there were already hundreds of bags surrounding all the carousels (courtesy of the nasty weather in Denver and supposedly in the Southeast), so we ended up having to wait 90 minutes for the bags to finally come out. CARRY ON BABY, CARRY ON!
Services »
