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March 2007
April Fools?
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
What a way to wake up to a beautiful Thursday morning in Hawksville. You’ve got the same number of wins you had over a week ago (27) and it turns out that nightmare you thought you were having about being ravaged repeatedly by the expansion Charlotte Bobcats is no nightmare at all. It was real. Every drip drop of it was real.
When the question comes up for the Hawks in the future - the question being Who’s your daddy? - the answer is easy. It’s the Bobcats. They’ve managed to pimp-slap the Hawks on nine of the last 12 occasions they’ve shared the same floor, which is staggering when you consider that one of these franchises existed four years ago and the other did not.
It’s also no coincidence that the Hawks and Bobcats share space in the Southeast Division basement, with the Hawks currently sleeping on the bottom bunk since they have one more loss. They’re also holding hands in the back of the NBA payroll line, the Bobcats are there by rule and the Hawks by choice.
Whew. The Hawks sure know how to put the smack down a pretty day. It’s actually a good thing Curtis Bunn pinch-hit for me last night in Charlotte (and he’s as good as they come, seeing how he was covering the league when I was still rocking that high-top fade with my uniform at St. Stephen’s Catholic School in seventh grade), because the grim reaper in me would have been sharpening the tools. (I watched the Bobcats game on TV but didn’t need to see it to know what was going to happen. The Bobcats have the Hawks on lock. There’s no sense in watching.)
I predicted a 30-win season for this team but a couple weeks ago this team appeared to be on the verge of blowing that number away. Now I’m having a hard time seeing how they get there with nine games to play.
Seriously. With five of their remaining games coming against teams with postseason business to tend to, the Hawks have a narrow window here to escape the season with a shred of dignity.
I’d tell you that it’s a good thing the Hawks don’t play again until April 1, but that is April Fool’s Day. Instead of an April run that sends them into the offseason on a roll, the Hawks could be in for a cruel finish to an already humbling season. Their losing streak sits at five as of right now. And if they’re not careful that number could snowball in a major way.
Don’t think I spent my entire day off dwelling on all things Hawks. I also spent some time watching the McDonald’s All-American Game (didn’t see anyone, OJ Mayo included, that I think could have an immediate impact in the NBA after a year of school). I tried watching games on League Pass last night, but most of what I saw was dreadful (can we start the *#%! playoffs already?).
The Final Four might be the only thing that can snap us out of this current hoops funk. If we can just get these teams to play compelling games that go down to the wire the way they did in getting here, we’ll be good to go. I don’t know about you, but I’m in dire need of basketball that actually means something to somebody wearing a uniform.
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How much do you love your own?
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
How much do you love your own?
It’s probably the greatest dilemma facing any NBA team, having to decide which of your young players is a part of your future (and which ones are not)?
That issue was at the heart of the story about Josh Smith that hit the paper and ajc.com today. How much do you pay to keep your own assets? And how do you decide which ones to keep?
The Hawks will have some tough choices to make over the next three years. Smith and Josh Childress are eligible for extensions this summer. Marvin Williams is eligible next summer. Conventional wisdom says you can’t keep them all. Not with Joe Johnson eating up minutes at the same positions as at least two of those guys.
You’d you have to part with one of them knowing full well that they could blossom into the player you imagined elsewhere. But when you have other needs that need to be addressed (young PG and a quality big man), needs that you might not be able to address through the draft or free agency, then you have to trade away someone valuable to get someone valuable in return. (The risk you run in building a team through the draft is that these young talents you draft and cultivate could see their best basketball elsewhere, strictly for financial reasons. And feel free to use Joe Johnson’s departure from Phoenix as Exhibit A.)
I’ve haggled over this with people I respect(it’s all hypothetical anyway since someone else is going to make the call) and we never seem to agree on who stays and who goes. Were it me making the call, I’d be partial to all of these young guys for different reasons.
Smith can do things the other two (and just about anybody else his size in the league) cannot do. He’s a physical freak. He’s also a hometown kid and is one of the most exciting players in the league with a legitimate chance to be an All-Star.
Childress is the blue-collar guy who does all those little things that don’t show up on the stat sheet. And he’s the one guy who you already know can fit into whatever system you play and be effective as a role player or starter.
Williams is the best pure shooter of the bunch and at 20 and a year behind the other two, has more room to grow. He could wind up being the best player of the bunch. Right now you just don’t know because he’s so young and so inexperienced.
You can’t afford to pay all of them what the market will demand (and believe me when I say that there is a market demand for all three of these guys). So you’ll almost be forced to deal one of them so you don’t have all of your available salary tied up in the same positions.
Play GM for a minute (we all do it everyday anyway). Who stays and who goes (and remember that your payroll goes through the roof the minute you start handing out extensions)? Feel free to explain your thinking. We’ve got all the room in the world to accommodate you.
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Failing to register with people
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Sorry it took me so long to get back here from Miami. But my postgame routine Monday took a detour to Ocean Drive (no, I wasn’t frolicking on South Beach until the wee hours with all those wanna-be model types, though they were swarming all over the place. I was taking in a late-night gabfest with a couple of friends who are connected with the Heat and Hawks.
We were having a gloves-off conversation about all things basketball when one of them said something that made my jaw drop. She was asking about the Hawks and what I thought was wrong with them (you don’t have the time to read it all and I’d need a six-month sabbatical to write it all) and I uttered the phrase, “since they lost Joe,” and she interrupted me by asking, “Joe who?”
Now she argued immediately that it was a temporary mental glitch on her part. She was quite embarrassed and insisted I didn’t use her name (so I won’t). She said that she had just totally blanked on the Hawks’ lone All-Star and captain, leading scorer and best player. And that’s entirely possible.
But it dawned on me that her overlooking of Joe is part of a much more significant issue around the league (one that we’ve all discussed here incessantly).
The Hawks just don’t register with people.
They lack a universal identity, a public persona and a real bonafide face of the franchise that people recognize. It’s actually pretty sad when you consider all the hard work that Joe Johnson has put in (All-Star, Team USA, etc.) to raise not only his own profile but that of his team. But being a controversy-free and relatively laid-back, quiet guy doesn’t excite many people in this “look at me,” Bling Bling world.
That’s not a knock on anyone involved, the basketball public or JJ, it’s just the truth. And I didn’t really start to analyze it until about 1:45 a.m. with the wind slapping my napkin up in my pineapple juice and all over my shirt (only I could find a way to muck up a late night trip to South Beach).
So as I was preparing to leave Miami this morning (and outside of LA, Miami is the hardest road trip to finish because you’re hoping for anything to cause you to spend at least another 24 hours in that spot), I couldn’t stop thinking about my friend forgetting Joe was even a member of the Hawks.
And to be clear about the person who did this, she’s as well-versed in the inner-workings of the league (from all sides, having worked in high levels within the league and for teams and even on other side of the business) as a person could be. So this wasn’t some basketball novice doing this. She knows this stuff inside and out, from a perspective most of us could only dream of having.
And that brings me to my final thought and the only tangible solution I can see to this thing.
The Hawks have entered that nasty netherworld reserved for only the most futile of organizations in professional sports. They’re working on their eighth straight season without a visit to the postseason (and there’s no NIT for the NBA). If Golden State finds its way to the playoffs this year, the Hawks will be the owners of the league’s longest playoff drought, which is instant fame for all the wrong reasons.
The only way they can cure this thing is to move heaven and earth (and perhaps a few unwanted and/or redundant pieces on the roster and within the organization) to make themselves a legitimate playoff team. Not a playoff contender but a team that from the start of training camp until the middle of April is playoff bound. I know that’s easier said than done (and if I knew exactly how to make it happen I wouldn’t be writing this, I’d be somewhere botching drafts, cuddling up to Kevin Durant’s mother at the Big 12 Tournament and jetting off to Europe to scout players I knew couldn’t change the fortunes of my franchise).
Admitting you have a problem is the first step in recovery, or something like that. And too many of these teams refuse to admit the obvious; that in order to be a postseason player decision makers have to have the guts to make the big moves that can improve a franchise now rather than waiting and trying, in vain, to do it over the span of time. That over time approach usually involves compound mistakes that set a franchise back more than it pushes it forward. If it works out, that’s fantastic for the franchise bold enough to take that chance. And so what if it doesn’t work out. The rest of us are going to pick your bones anyway, so you might as well go out swinging.
Nearly the entire league sat on its hands at the trade deadline this year, in an embarrassingly uneventful scenario in which no team truly changed it’s immediate future. That can’t happen again this summer, not if a team like the Hawks wants to be relevant again, here in the city of Atlanta and beyond.
Now, I’m done preaching (to the choir), at least for today. Leave your money in the basket.
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Michael Graham’s revenge
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Georgetown in the Final Four? What’s next, the rebirth of Jolt Cola, Parachute pants and that brown box slide box for the cable?
Seriously, though. This is a great day for quite a few people I know. (And I can’t say that I have any complaints about this group of teams that will be in town for the Final Four. Good stuff for hoops junkies like all of us.)
This is a moment that must be savored for old school Georgetown watchers like myself. Guys who cried the night Fred Brown ran that 32-Belly-Option-Dive with James Worthy and blew that game against North Carolina in the 1982 Final (judging by the awesome combination of f-bombs and four letter charms my pops was dropping, I’d say Fred Brown cost him a couple hundred bucks and me a few more packs of my beloved pineapple Now and Laters … anyway).
Now I’m a Fab Five guy (for better or worse, they’re my guys, always have been and always will be, regardless of the scandal, horror and everything else), you understand. But as cultural icons go, nothing tops John Thompson’s Georgetown teams of the 1980s. They weren’t just a basketball team, they were a movement. I have the pictures of me wearing a HOYAS Starter jacket with the matching HOYAS Nikes to prove it.
We lived and breathed that stuff at my house (particularly with a brother, four years older than me who remains the world’s foremost authority on all things basketball, giving the orders to do so). While the 2007 Hoyas were storming back against North Carolina Sunday evening, we were on the phone reminiscing about our favorite Georgetown player of all time - Michael Graham. And we came to the conclusion that Sunday’s game was without a doubt Michael Graham’s revenge.
You true hoops heads out there know what I’m talking about (and if you don’t know who he is, nothing I can say will do him justice).
Now, on to some other observations from a weekend filled with (more hapless Hawks) basketball, bees, baboons and pizza, among other things (we’re going long today so roll with me):
The Hawks proved once again that no lead is safe, whether it’s their own (they squandered a 15-point cushion and loss to Portland Friday) or that of an opponent (they erased a 23-point spread and actually took a lead on the Mavericks Sunday before bowing out gracefully down the stretch). It’s the most ridiculous thing I’ve seen, the Hawks ability to step in the same pothole night after night. For the love of goodness, the repetitive nature of the Hawks’ ineptitude is hard to watch every night. Teams know they’ll fold one way or another, provided you keep the pressure on no matter what.
Speaking of the Trail Blazers, I argued with someone after Friday’s game about their makeup compared to the Hawks’ build. And I think the Blazers are a much more sound group, with their talented young guys having clearly defined positions (as opposed to stacks of talented but similar players at the same spots). Those rookies are special, too. LaMarcus Aldridge is showing signs of the player most people thought he could become. And Brandon Roy is the truth. If the front office folks up there don’t panic, they could have nice team on their hands in no time. (I’m typing this while listening to the ESPN tournament wrap up show and I’ve heard just about enough of these ridiculous one-liners from Rick Majerus, or as my brother calls him “Majerus the Hut.” Dude is terrible.) But it’s hard to trust those folks. They’re so often prone to irrational behavior come draft time and the free agent frenzy. And I’m not saying they’ve got a perfect situation (who does?). I just think they have an extremely sound foundation.
Ohio State’s Greg Oden and Georgetown’s Roy Hibbert matching up in the Final Four should be fun to watch. It’ll be their first and last dance in college, though. Because if they’re both still in school by August, I’ll be shocked. I also hope and pray that the Foot Locker boys (game officials) allow them to go at it a little bit this weekend. Neither guy has been able to really let loose with all the lousy fouls being called. As for Georgetown’s Jeff Green, his run reminds me of Dwyane Wade’s tourney run at Marquette a few years back. I can’t imagine this guy not being heck of a pro.
The rematch in the other bracket of the Final Four will be just as intriguing. Someone’s going home a game short of destiny and that will sting. I didn’t think UCLA could beat Florida last year and I don’t see anything to make me think they’ll do it this time. But Kansas posed the same set of problems for the Bruins and they handled them.
Did Zoo Atlanta with the family this weekend. But the experience started before we actually made it inside. The 40 or so people waiting in line to get in (yeah, my crew was in that mix) endured 20 minutes of being swarmed by prehistoric-sized Queen bees as we did the wedding dance toward the ticket booth. I can think of better ways to spend a Saturday afternoon. It didn’t hit me later that I’ve never (EVER) heard anyone mention a word about Zoo Atlanta being some must-see destination. Let’s just say now I know why (Panda tickets were gone by noon, tiger exhibit was “out of order” and the parking is a #$@%@ joke. But who’s mad? Not me.)
We hit Savage Pizza in Little Five Points after that and made up for a less than stellar performance from the zoo crew. It was highly recommended and delivered with excellent grub and a nice patio table that allows for some world- class people watching. Like the Governator said, “I’ll be back.” (Forgive me but I’m still learning this city two years later).
Kobe Bryant. Five Games and 268 points. You do the math. Ridiculous.
Back to the Blazers for a minute. How about this little post-game nugget from the infamous rumor mill. The word is the Blazers love former Tech star Jarrett Jack, but think Brandon Roy is really a PG (and they have ample insurance in promising rookie Sergio Rodriguez), and might be willing to part with Jack for a much-needed small forward … can you think of a team loaded with small forwards that is in dire need of a young point guard? Jack is solid. His only real weakness right now is his outside stroke, which is streaky at best. But he can run a team, knows how to take charge late in games and is the ultimate facilitator for NBA teams because his ego is already in check (he’s not busy trying to show he’s the man all the time, which is the curse of some young PGs).
Hawks in Miami tonight. I’m not sure what they have left. But like most of you, I want to see these cats cut loose and play with some of the reckless abandon they showed Friday - sort of like the way North Carolina played against Georgetown Sunday. Even in defeat the Tar Heels let it all hang out, they just clanged too many shots at the end of regulation and overtime. They went out like a Roy Williams-coached team usually does, wild and crazy and with Williams doing his sob-filled post mortem with the media. It’s scintillating TV without a doubt.
And it’s past the time when Solomon Jones and these other guys (Salim Stoudamire, Esteban Batista and others) need to be playing major minutes. There’s no reason for these guys to finish games without a good lather. It’s long overdue.
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I come in peace
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
In an effort to avoid a nasty fight, I decided against making any comments here Thursday. It’ll probably cost me a day of blog pay (you’d be stunned to know what they’re giving us for these daily ramblings), but I was taught a long time ago that if you don’t have anything but fighting words in you, keep your big yapper shut. And I wanted to battle everybody Thursday (it started with death-dodging commute, which was 98 minutes long thanks to traffic snarls everywhere and snowballed from there. But I’ll spare you the idiotic details).
Thursday night gave way to the one thing that soothes me (not spring football at Michigan, though it is in full swing). I’m talking about hoops and more and more hoops.
Kobe went bonkers again (more in a minute), the NCAA Tourney games were sick, and a late night call from Tyronn Lue has forced me to rethink my MVP stance.
So I’m going to address a couple things here and let you fire back all weekend:
I was working on a little Sunday stuff that’s draft related and had to study up on the 2004 draft - http://thedraftreview.com/history/drafted2004/index.htm - and the number of misses compared to the number of hits is downright frightening, especially where the international crop of players is concerned. I don’t know if it’s miscommunication between scouts who watch these guys all the time and the GMs and team presidents that make the final decisions, but now I see why so many of them were in favor of age limit rule. They need the help. Don’t forget to check Sunday’s paper and ajc.com for my Sunday package and feature on Josh Smith, it’s interesting.
Greg Oden plays 18 minutes, thanks to some of the most ridiculous foul calls I’ve seen since I last watched a game officiated by Sean Corbin. I’d want my cash back if I was buying ads during the NCAA Tournament coverage. Shouldn’t someone be responsible for making sure we the fans get what we want. No offense to rest of the kids out there last night, but the tournament is a time for the stars to shine. As much as it pains me to say this, I need the Buckeyes to survive and advance one more time so I can peep Oden’s game here next weekend in the Final Four. Maybe then they’ll let the guy play a little bit. But I can’t argue with anyone about the excitement of the tourney. All these close games make it impossible to channel surf. You could miss the best parts of the game.
Whoever suggested I take a look at those Kansas guards, you were right. They’ve got a loaded squad. There isn’t a player they stuck in the game against Southern Illinois that I didn’t like. Julian Wright and Brandon Rush are the sure-fire pros. But the rest of those kids have a chance, too. Both the starting guards, Mario Chalmers and Russell Robinson, are nice, too. And that Darrell Arthur has a chance to be a nice power forward in the Al Horford mode. I’d love to see them get here for next weekend as well.
If you ever get into a philosophical debate about basketball, don’t do battle Hawks guard Tyronn Lue. We started a pre-game locker room debate about Kobe Bryant two years ago and he’s still killing me about to this day. Last night after Kobe dropped 60 funky ones on Memphis, my phone rings and it’s T. Lue clowning about his boy “Jigga” going off for the third straight game (for those of you counting Kobe has now scored roughly 436 points in his last three games). I made the mistake of questioning Kobe’s legitimacy as candidate a candidate for MVP when Steve Nash won his first award. And T. Lue has been arguing me down ever since. And while it’s taken me a while, I’ve come around to his side of this debate. He argues that since the MVP criterion has always been subjective, how could anyone deny the unquestioned best player in the league a trophy? And need we argue anymore about who the best player in the league is? I didn’t think so. I’ve never spoken to anyone, coach, GM, fellow player, who has argued against Kobe. It’s about the only thing everyone seems to agree on. Yet Kobe’s lucky to finish in the top three. It doesn’t make sense.
Someone suggested here a while back that one or two players would kick off the avalanche of underclassmen declaring for the June draft. And here it comes. Big Baby Davis and Josh McRoberts are the latest two “name” players to take the plunge. Both should have entered last year’s draft, they might have saved a few teams from reaching for seniors with much less talent. Unfortunately, they’ll both be picked later than they would have been a year ago. I’ve next to both of these guys (at the Dome last year when LSU bounced Duke from the tournament) and they’ve got the size and talent needed to play. I’m just not sure the opportunity they might have had last year will be there this time around. Too bad. (That said, I disagree with this idea that either of them would benefit from another year in college if that’s not what they want). You’ll hear that a lot between now and the draft about guys like this. But what good is another year in school if the player won’t surrender himself to the process, the entire process, of honing his skills via college?)
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All or nothing, baby …
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Two months from now is officially D-Day for the Hawks. Forget the final results of the ownership dispute or how they finish the regular season.
The real make or break day for the Hawks is May 22 - draft lottery day.
You know it.
I know it.
The Hawks (no matter how many folks in Hawksville avoid discussing it) know it.
If the ping pong balls bounce right that day, the Hawks could stand to be the biggest player in what is being billed as one of the best drafts in recent years. If they bounce wrong, that funky smell cooking in the Jersey swamplands will find its way all the way to A-Town.
The scenario is rather simple. The Hawks potentially have two picks awaiting them. Or none. (Since people have been asking, it’s time we set the record straight and then move on to the rumormongering about what they might do with said picks.)
The Hawks owe the Suns a pick from the Joe Johnson deal. But if said pick lands in the top three of the lottery, they keep it. If it’s 4 or anything higher, they lose it. As for the pick they’ll receive from Indiana, if it lands anywhere outside of the top 10 the Hawks get it. If not, the Pacers keep it.
So the bottom line is the Hawks could have not only a top three pick but also another somewhere between 11 and 22. (The Hawks could also end up with one or the other of those picks, which is tolerable as well, and you always want the higher pick. But two picks would be nuts.) Or if the Naismith and the rest of the basketball spirits are still angry with the Hawks for past transgressions (and there are many), they could end up with nothing. And I mean zilch-o.
I know where I’d go (hypothetically speaking of course, since we don’t know who’s coming out or where the picks end up) in both instances, were I making the call on draft lottery night. My top three pick would be used on one of only three people (Greg Oden, Kevin Durant and Joakim Noah - and yeah, while everyone else has convinced themselves that Noah’s not a player I’m not buying it). That other pick would be earmarked for the best backcourt player available, preferably a combo guard like Acie Law but if he’s already gone I’d need someone who could swing between both positions or a young PG whose star is on the rise like Ty Lawson from North Carolina or even Scottie Reynolds from Villanova (neither of whom has given any hint as to if they’ll enter this draft).
I also know where I’d go if the Hawks end up with nothing, and I was stuck in that chair at NBA studios in Jersey when the ping pong balls stop bouncing. I’d get a one way ticket to the same place Redd Foxx, Tupac and anyone else that’s needed to escape the wrath (of Hawks fans in this case) has found permanent shelter in the past. Because it’s all or nothing for the Hawks. And there will be no explaining this one away if the Hawks end up with nothing.
Where would you go with the picks? And where would you go if you get nothing?
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Shock-free Tuesday
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Shock and outrage is what I expected. Neither showed up after Hawks coach Mike Woodson pulled Josh Smith late in Monday’s game when he was a point shy of the first triple double of his career.
It was a pleasant surprise, for sure. But totally unexpected as well. I was counting on an avalanche of complaints about Woodson ruining the guy’s chances for a milestone. I was so sure that it was coming that I spent time this morning hashing out the pros and cons with several people on my drive from the house to practice.
The bottom line is this: Smith had his chances, and said as much after shooting 4-for-14 from the floor and 1-for-4 from the foul line, including two late misses that, had he made either one of them, would have sealed the triple double. And he blew it. He said as much.
His teammates were more hurt than Smith was about not getting there: “I was so mad. A triple-double, that’s something I dream about. He was so close. He’s the type of player that will get it again. He can dot hat. I’m looking forward to seeing him get tons of those as the years go by,” Josh Childress said.
And he’s right. Smith will have plenty of opportunities. But that didn’t stop people from chatting about it after the game. I can understand not leaving Smith out there to chase it. What if he’d sprained an ankle or sustained a serious knee injury trying to scramble for that final point? Woodson would be cursed today for doing something foolish.
The win was the most important thing Monday (the Hawks snapped a seven-game losing streak to that strange Kings team and got a little payback with their 23-point shellacking after taking an ugly loss at Arco Arena, also without Joe Johnson, earlier this season).
Another side note from Monday’s game that I neglected to mention is that the Hawks officially passed their win total from last season. They have a chance to really put some distance between last season’s mark and this season’s. But they’ll have some serious work to do to accomplish that - starting with the still hot Heat Wednesday night at Philips Arena.
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Reality check (as if you needed another one)
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Reality is no friend to the Hawks. Every single time they get on a dreamy stretch and start winning some games, reality comes back to kick them square in the pants.
Losing to a Boston team that’s going through a dreamy stretch of its own (they did upset the Spurs in San Antonio the other day) is one thing. But being taken to pieces by an Indiana team that hadn’t won since Valentine’s Day (fine, Feb. 21) is about as unacceptable as any loss the Hawks have endured this season.
The Hawks just don’t have that “Time to make the donuts” attitude necessary to sustain a consistent level of play, good or bad, for extended stretches. It’s probably their best and worst trait at this point; that they don’t stay down forever anymore but can’t keep a good rhythm going for more than about a week.
Reality tells me several things about the Hawks that we must remember on their good nights and bad nights:
The Hawks still don’t have a consistent threat at point guard (duh, I know I’m stating the obvious, but the truth is the truth). Anthony Johnson’s a healthy upgrade over what the Hawks have had all season. But until they come up with a vibrant, younger alternative at the position, that spot will remain one of the Hawks’ greatest deficiencies.
They have similar issues at center, where Zaza Pachulia and Lorenzen Wright have done what they can, but haven’t been able to provide the consistent high level of play needed. I’ve been arguing about this since before the season. Without at least a nightly presence in the middle, the pressure put on the forwards and also the shooting guard to make up for the lack of force in the middle is simply too much to overcome. Hawks coach Mike Woodson was down on his young trio of Josh Smith, Marvin Williams and Josh Childress after the Indiana game, and perhaps rightfully so. But they got little support inside, what with Solomon Jones having to try and pick up the slack when Zaza (whose numbers actually appear respectable) wasn’t able to take advantage of Jermaine O’Neal’s off night.
Despite how smitten folks were during that four-game stretch without Joe Johnson, it should be clear by now that without him the Hawks are without a true night in and night out threat that other teams have to worry about. One scout from an Eastern Conference power that sat behind me in Indiana Saturday night was full of praise for the Hawks before the game. He went on and on about how well they had played without JJ. Then after the game he reminded me of the points I made above, as if I needed to be reminded after watching this team deal with the exact same issues for the past two and half years. But it was good to hear someone else say it (do you have any idea how ridiculous it feels to write and talk about the exact same thing over and over again, day after day, season after season? … well, of course you do. Ha.)
I guess there’s always May 22 (draft lottery day) to look forward to … or not.
Speaking of the draft, I did eyeball a couple more college players that intrigue me. Julian Wright from Kansas looks like the type of player NBA types love. I dig his game. He’s active and does so many of the little things that the good players do. He and his teammate Brandon Rush look like solid future pros. The Georgetown big boys (Roy Hibbert and the vastly underrated Jeff Green) look like safe picks to me as well, with Green working his way up most mock drafts into the top five or six picks. And I know that most everyone seems convinced that Tyler Hansbrough is not going to be a standout NBA player. But I can’t get over the fact that my man brings it night after night and outworks whoever is guarding him every time. I know what he “supposedly cannot” do (scouts love to tag him the dreaded Mark Madsen comparison) and I still like him.
And what will become of Randolph Morris? I wonder what’s going through his mind right now. He could help fill out the frontcourt rotation for some team (Josh Smith is always talking him up, having played with him during their teenage years). He can pick and choose his spot, which should make for a very interesting decision-making process for the Atlanta native.
I still haven’t seen any college point guards that make me get excited about their pro potential (though, Acie Law from Texas A&M looks to me like he could be a steal if he drops out of the lottery and into the mid to late teens and Florida’s Taurean Green is growing on me with his clutch shooting and pick-and-roll ability).
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Studying the game
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Poor Shelden Williams.
In addition to being an NBA rookie and the target of plenty of pranks already, now he’s got to put up with at least a weekend’s worth of lame Duke jokes from his Hawks teammates now that Coach K’s crew has become the first victim of the hoops plague known as March Madness.
If you read the headline on this blog your probably assumed that this was going to be another place where someone spends an inordinate amount of time cracking the Dukies for falling to VCU. You were wrong.
I saw something else in that defeat last night. I realized two very strange things: 1) Just how much Shelden Williams and JJ Redick carried those cats the last few seasons. And 2) How much the parity that has gripped basketball on the international stage in recent years is spreading, to the NBA, college ranks and beyond.
And after a little over 24 hours of game watching I want to reiterate my point from a few blogs ago when I said I don’t see an abundance of potential impact players in the college game right now.
Don’t get me wrong, I’ve seen some nice players. I’ve seen some guys that, with some serious work on their games, could someday be solid NBA players. But stars, and potential superstars, outside of Greg Oden and Kevin Durant, I’m still searching.
The reason I bring all this up is because the element of surprise that we’ve had in every draft (save for last year’s) since Kevin Garnett broke through is no longer there. With no high school players being allowed in the draft pool, the chance of a Dwight Howard or Josh Smith (to name a couple of native sons) popping up in June is not possible.
(And for those of you who believe in this longstanding myth that more college somehow means results in a more seasoned and skilled player, I offer one of my longstanding arguments against that position. With the time constraints placed on college programs in regards to how many hours per week they can spend working with their players, the only place for true skill advancement to be done is in the NBA, where there is no false pretense like the “student-athlete” claim most college programs love to toss around.)
Outside of a relatively weak class of international prospect that are expected to be included, we’ve already seen what this draft has to offer. I just haven’t seen enough to get overly excited.
The freshman class was supposed to be star studded, and they’ve been solid overall but hardly spectacular as a whole. I still say too many of these young talents are subject to the psychotic whims of myopic college coaches bent on proving that they are the show and not their hot shot recruits (how else to explain the complete misuse of some of these serious talents - and talent is only part of the equation when you’re talking about the evolution of any player).
Among other things, the NBA’s age limit rule was supposed to eliminate some of the wild guessing and projecting that teams were doing in evaluating teenage draft prospects. I don’t know that it’s done that at all. The misadventures of the draft process will continue regardless of the rules.
An instant classic and more
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
BOSTON - It’s already an instant classic, not Wednesday’s hand-over-the-eyes affair between the Hawks and Celtics. I’m talking about the Suns-Mavs double overtime thriller in Dallas (I missed all but the final two minutes of regulation but caught everything after that).
It was the kind of game that reaffirms my faith in the people that orchestrate, play and coach the pro game. When it’s played right, there are few things more beautiful to watch than high quality NBA basketball. Granted, it’s not often we get to see two teams that fantastic battle like they did last night. But with March Madness in full bloom, it’s nice to see the NBA get on board with some compelling action of its own.
That Suns-Mavs game was the perfect lead in for the frenzied college action that kicks off today and runs through the weekend. I don’t have a bracket filled out, rarely have and probably won’t do another one anytime soon (I don’t care to predict who might win, I’d rather just watch and enjoy).
Now, some notes, quotes and an opinion or two about what’s been going on around Hawksville and the rest of the basketball world:
Strange days in the NBA this week with Bernie Bickerstaff being bounced as coach of the Bobcats (expected) and Terry Stotts also getting the ax (surprise). They won’t be the last NBA coaches to be shown the door. But announcing it now, in Bickerstaff’s case, and doing it now, in Stotts’ case, seems awful unnecessary.
The Magic knocked off Utah last night playing through Dwight Howard. Hmmm. Seems to me like that would be a wise approach every night. But not everyone down there agrees. “How could you play any other way?” a scout said to me Wednesday.
Once again the Hawks’ big men were knocked silly by another team’s aggressive young group of bigs. Al Jefferson and Kendrick Perkins are young talents but allowing them to beast you the way the Hawks did is truly unacceptable. I’ve said it all season long and I’ll say it again, without an above average performance from Zaza Pachulia (or someone else that plays that spot), the Hawks will struggle. They need Zaza to play consistently well to have a chance.
Speaking of the Hawks, they won’t admit it but their nasty travel snafu on the way to Boston played a role in their uneven performance. Hawks coach Mike Woodson dismissed it, as did several players, but let’s just say it didn’t help. The real test for these Hawks comes Saturday in Indiana. We’ll see how they respond from the loss after a couple of days of practice in Indy.
Reality has set in for Hawks rookie Solomon Jones. Dude isn’t strong enough to man the paint most nights. I know we’ve all been clamoring for him to play more. But this is why he doesn’t. Life is tougher in the paint for a rookie than it is anywhere else. He’s still playing good minutes. But he won’t be nearly as effective now as he will be in the future.
You cannot be serious …
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
BOSTON - Now you want to trade Joe Johnson?
Four wins without him and he’s all of a sudden expendable?
This is why it’s so hard to take seriously most anything written here (by myself and the rest of you). Sure, we’re all prone to irrational thoughts and down right foolishness. But now you’re ready to trade your franchise player because his teammates bowed up and won four games without him? (They won 22 with him, so do the rest of these cats have 18 more to go?)
You cannot be serious.
If anything, this run without JJ should illustrate to everyone (in Hawksville and in fan world and beyond) that the emphasis on team should always be first and foremost on the minds of us all.
This happens every season when a big time player on a given team goes down with an injury. People realize that there is strength in numbers and that Naismith intended for this game to be played by groups of five and not one on one.
No one can deny the obvious surge in play by the Hawks minus-JJ. But to assume that because of said surge JJ is no longer needed, well, let’s just say that’s the type of thinking that leads to the type of foolishness that led the Hawks to this valley in franchise history in the first place.
Now is the time to find out who you can trust for the future, which players are capable of moving their games to that next level (did someone say Josh Smith?) in the very near future, who is willing to accept a challenge and meet it head on with the season on the line.
All those things are becoming more and more clear with each passing game. The keepers have already been identified. The fat can be trimmed in the summer, either on draft night or later on when free agency begins. But the root of what’s going on here, the building blocks for this franchise, are on display right now. You know what you have in JJ, a proven commodity and one of the league’s elite wing players. Now you’re getting a chance to see what you have to go with him.
Josh Smith’s play since he returned from hernia surgery has been a revelation. He’s confirmed all your greatest hopes about what type of player he could become, and he’s still nowhere near a finished product at 21 and in his third season (and yes, someone will have to dust off the pocket book to pay this man before the start of next season or risk losing him to a league full of vultures that would love to pounce on one of the most exciting talents in the league).
But there are 17 more games to go. So let’s finish this thing off and see where it goes before we start overacting.
Wake me up
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
This day started with a massive head shaking on my part, much needed after the double-shot of allergy medicine I swallowed before retiring to count sheep Monday night.
The real head shaking began a few minutes later, when I realized that the Hawks and 76ers were going to face off tonight with one team’s winning streak being the victim of the matchup. In late December had someone told you that these two also-rans would end up elbowing each other out of the way in the March race for that eighth and final Eastern Conference playoff spot, you would have spit up your morning coffee.
But here we are. Both teams playing without the stars they began the season with (Philly traded AI while Joe Johnson’s still on crutches with a bruised right calf). NBA basketball is totally unpredictable. A week from now, and perhaps a few losses in a row, and one of these teams will be completely forgotten. But late tonight, the winner will be the talk of the conference. If the Hawks win they’ll have officially become the scariest team on the schedule for most of the remaining teams they face (the playoffs still a long shot). If the 76ers win, well, they’ve got a chance to really make a push since they play in the awful Atlantic Division.
Either way, in a season that looked lost a little over a week ago, things are once against getting mighty interesting for the Hawks. I’m not telling anyone to dust off the cash box you have hidden under the bed earmarked for Hawks playoff tickets (I’m in a chemical induced fog, I’m not crazy). But I think the world will get a whole lot more interesting in Hawksville if they win four straight (while also matching last season’s 26-game win total) without Joe Johnson.
I’ll meet you all back here after the game for some post game back and forth about what we saw. And hopefully, my head will have cleared up a bit by then (back to draft talk on Wednesday).
With my own eyes
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Rather than accepting the word of NBA scouts (love ‘em but they’re not always the most objective guys and they’re most often ignored by GMs and other decision makers come draft night) and other talking head like myself, I decided to spend a little time Sunday scouting the SEC Tournament title game in person.
Let me say now and make it abundantly clear, I LOVE both Joakim Noah and Al Horford. Both guys have the makings of excellent NBA players. And before you allow any outside opinions influence you (including this one), trust your own eyes on these guys. You’ve seen them. They’re talents.
I want to address Noah particularly, since there has been so much back and forth about his pro potential. I keep cracking up when people knock him down a notch or two on their draft boards because he can’t score.
Do you have any idea how much scoring Noah will be asked to do on the NBA team that drafts him? Hardly any. In fact, his value is greater in me eyes because he’ll be a guy can that can do all the other things. There are a handful of players on every NBA team can score major points for their team on a given night. Scoring is the least of the NBA’s problems.
But highly skilled big men who can run the floor, play with passion, pass effortlessly, handle the ball far better than someone his size should, defend around the basket and do all the little things are fare more valuable to NBA teams than a guy who’s No. 1 marketable skill is scoring (on inferior competition in college but not so much in the league).
Seriously, if Noah’s available anywhere after Greg Oden and Kevin Durant, the teams that passes on him is absolutely NUTS! He’s a guy that’s going to immediately infuse his team with a jolt of genuine energy that is hard to come by in this day and age.
And Noah’s as long, lean and athletic as all NBA types love (he’s every drip drop of the 6-11, 232 pounds he’s listed). So no bones can be made about his physical or emotional makeup, which I’m assuming has led to this relentless assault on Noah’s offensive skill set (or lack thereof).
Foolishness, as usual, by those supposedly in the know. Noah’s a player. And if someone is brave enough to pass him up for some guy who’s a better scorer … well more power to him.
Hoops overload
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Hoops overload.
That has to be what they call the condition I’m suffering from right now. Because when you wake up on the couch at 4:37 a.m. and the only thing you remember is some dude from USC (the one in California folks, come on now) knocking down a huge 3-pointer to send the game to overtime, you’re in serious need of a break.
It’s that time of year, though. March ushers in this special time every year, when junkies like myself get a constant fix, from high school to college to the big show. If you have any questions whatsoever about the state of the game, they’ll be answered between now and mid-June, when the NBA Finals finishes off the basketball calendar.
I just finished watching Kentucky go down in flames against Mississippi State (bye bye Cats) and was struck by two thing: 1) Exactly how many times are we going to see some kid most of us have never heard of knock down a huge shot to either send a game to overtime or to win the game? And 2) If Randolph Morris is such a catch, why did the Kentucky avoid going to him for all but two possessions of the final 10 minutes of regulation and the entire overtime?
College basketball has always confused me in that regard. Either they’re not capable of teaching a team to play through a (supposedly) dominant big man. Or it’s too hard to convince elite wing players to show up at a place like Kentucky or Ohio State (Oden and his boys romped over Michigan in the Big 10+1 Tournament a little earlier in the day) and sacrifice their games to showcase a big man. I don’t get it.
I’ll finish the night off at the Hawks-Grizzlies game and then try and catch the tail end of any college games that are still on when I’m done working. But I promise you, there is no reason for anyone to complain around here this weekend. We’ve got it all right here in our backyard (or on the tube).
I haven’t seen many guys who struck me as future stars at the pro level. But in all honesty, that doesn’t matter. Part of what makes college ball so fun to watch is that most of these kids still believe their own hype and think they’re going to the next level. So they use this time to showcase their skills and do things they might not have done prior. It creates an atmosphere that’s hard to match in any other sport.
Hoops overload baby. You’ve got to be loving this.
Tank you (for proving my point) and JJ
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
We’re not going to fight forever on this tanking thing. But when you have $100 million sitting on the bench and knock off the division leader (and I don’t care if Washington smirked when they heard Joe Johnson, Marvin Williams and Speedy Claxton were out and decided to try their AND1 Street ball offense), nobody’s tanking anything.
So can we please let this rest and move on to more important things.
I spent a little time with Joe Johnson today while he was getting treatment (the full story will be on ajc.com a little later and the in the Friday paper). Dude is actually entertaining the idea of returning from his calf injury before the season is out. Much like Heat star Dwyane Wade, JJ is of the belief that he can make a comeback before mid-April.
For the life of me I can’t see why he’d want to do that. Why risk further injury? Why put yourself in harm’s way if it’s not absolutely necessary? His reasoning is that the Hawks are just six games out of contention for a playoff spot and that if they can find a way to scrap together a few more wins while he recovers, he could come back for the final couple of weeks of the season and help them make a final charge. (Who says these guys aren’t competitive and don’t care?)
Coming back sounds like craziness to me. Heal up and come back for ready to go next season. That was my argument.
What’s yours (for him coming back or calling it a season)?
Stop the madness
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
While there have been plenty of foolish things posted in this space the past few months (by yours truly and others), nothing is quite as ridiculous as this “tanking” that some are advocating for the Hapless Hawks (that’s their new nickname until they win again).
Forget that Tony Robbins “power of positive thinking” mess about willing something into existence. My theory is that losing deliberately is the best way to foul up your karma and deliver that draft pick to the Suns.
Celtics coach Doc Rivers said it better than I could have when he told the Boston Herald: “I know there are a lot of fans out there that love the (No. 1 draft) pick. But you don’t know if you’re going to get it, first of all, and even if we do, we still have to teach him. It’s never bad to win a game. There are no guarantees with the picks and there are no guarantees that (certain) kids are coming out. If we’re ever going to be a good team, we can’t not try to win. We’ve got young players as it is. We don’t teach them anything by losing.”
(The Celtics tried tanking before, the year Tim Duncan was the top pick in the draft, and lost out to a Spurs team that already had a Hall of Fame center in David Robinson on the roster.)
That applies to the Hapless Hawks as well (though, they are blindly helping their own cause by losing in the midst of trying as hard as they know how to win games).
All the coaches and players can do is continue to grind away this season and try and win as many games as they can (my 30 wins prediction is looking more and more on point by the day). The draft lottery will take care of itself come May 22. It’s up to the decision makers (owners, GMs, assistant GMs, etc.) to make things happen around draft time, not the players and coaches.
And if the right guys (Oden and Durant) do declare for the draft, I have a feeling that there will be no shortage of teams interested in jumping into the draft fray, which means teams will be willing to part with current assets in an attempt to snag some promising young talent. That bodes well for the entire league, because it means the fear that strangled the league’s shot-callers at last month’s trade deadline will have disappeared by June.
But tanking, is absolutely the most foolish thing circulated around here.
Stop the madness.
The hunt for the Big Goon!
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
MIAMI - I spent the entire weekend trying to find the right combination of prose and comedy to capture the feel that is this Hawks season and it never came to me. What else can I say that we haven’t already said here a million times over? The same shortcomings that have plastered this team’s fortunes since training camp continue to this day.
There’s a small part of me that expected this trip to South Beach to provide some clarity on the whole situation - after all, who can’t answer all the world’s problems after spending a few hours on the doorsteps of a domestic paradise?
It doesn’t matter where you go. All the things you’ve been griping about the Hawks’ needing forever - Tyson Chandler on his best night, Chris Paul or Deron Williams, etc. - remain the same things that could deliver them from this self-imposed destruction. None of it’s going to happen. You might have figured that out by now, that there will be no life preserver this season. It’s a wrap son. It’s done.
We could play like a rush of upcoming home games could somehow help soothe the pain of yet another losing streak. But we know that’s also not true. There is no perfect solution to this season - other than it has to end, eventually.
So now we have two choices for the biggest day in the history of the franchise. It’s either the day the court in Maryland rules on the ownership mess and ends that ugly piece of history that has soiled all of us for having to listen to the back-and-forth legal sniping (if you’re like me you’ve stopped thinking about when that day might come and realized that in some sinister way the whole thing will last forever in some sort of court of appeals just to make us all cringe at the very mention of it all). Option No. 2 for the biggest day in the history of the franchise is May 22 (that’s draft lottery day for those of you still clinging to the hopes of the Hawks going on a 13-game winning streak on their way to a miracle finish and playoff run. NOT GOING TO HAPPEN!)
While Sekou continues to do the professional thing and cover the Hawks for the final month and a half of the season, Blog Z has decided to roll with option No. 2 from above. It’s draft time. (For the record, the levelheaded and thoughtful chucklehead that writes here sometimes is not, I repeat is NOT; Blog Z. That nice guy is Sekou. Blog Z is the dude that can’t help himself and blurts out things that he knows Sekou is obligated not to say. Blog Z would tell you that this Hawks season is done like burnt biscuits. But he’s not allowed to freelance that way. Not if we want to keep a roof over our heads).
With all that said, I don’t mind admitting that the tube at the house was tuned to college hoops all day Sunday (and part of the day Saturday). I studied Kevin Durant and Greg Oden and even watched replays of both (forgive me but I’m still working out the bugs on this TiVo thing, shoot me for liking to watch something when it happens). And while I’m absolutely thrilled by the potential of a kid like Durant, who is having a season for the ages in college basketball, for a freshman or anyone else … I could live without getting him if I were a fan of a lottery bound team. If I’m a team like any of the other lottery bound outfits in the NBA, I’ve got to have that Big Goon (before you go blasting me for that last comment, understand that it’s a term of endearment for NBA big men who control the paint without fail). And Oden is the epitome of a Big Goon. He’s going to do the job every night, and not because he has to but because he wants to. I love that about him. I don’t care what his college numbers look like (and I won’t go on and on about Ohio State’s insistence on playing small ball around him and letting all those 6-foot guards jack 3-pointers relentlessly while ignoring the Big Goon inside is a crime against basketball); he’s the guy you want.
The talking heads keep yapping about there being some big debate about who the best player is between the two. I could care less. The bottom line is this, players that can do what Durant does come along much more often than do Big Goons like Oden.
Now all the Hawks have to do is come up with a magic potion that will allow them to keep that draft pick earmarked for the Suns in the top three of the June draft.
Trying to make sense of it all …
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
CHOCOLATE CITY - Most days I have no problem filling up space here with the wanderings that go on in my brain. But days like to today make it really tough. Watching the images of the remains of that bus crash on I-75 that claimed the lives of six people and altered the lives of so many others is a striking reminder of how unbelievably fleeting this life can be. (Condolences to all those who lost loved ones today in that bus crash.)
It’s hard to think and talk basketball on days like this, when the senselessness of a tragedy overshadows every other thought you have. I tried. I read everything I could this morning and took a brisk walk around the city to try and energize myself. Yet here I am, hours after the fact, still shaking my head at those images on the screen.
I had the good fortune of spending Thursday night with family here (my cousins, the Eubanks crew of Mitchellville, MD - thank goodness for them, scooped me up for dinner and then we did some D.C. sightseeing). As much a groove as you can get into traveling all the time, a family pit stop is always comforting. They made my week. (And if you haven’t been, this city is one of those MUST SEE places. The rich history and powerful feel of DC is one of a kind. I need to come back when I’m not working.)
But as sure as the sun will go down on this beautiful day in our Nation’s Capitol, my focus must shift back to basketball. And it will. So without further ado, let me move on to the business of hoops.
Someone’s losing streak will end tonight in a Southeast Division clash at Verizon Center. The Hawks are stuck on three straight (and can’t afford to continue this slide if they want to make Swiss cheese of my prediction of 30 wins) and the Wizards (who welcome back injured stars Caron Butler and Antawn Jamison) on four straight.
The Hawks haven’t been able to do anything with the Wizards the past few years (they’re 1-9 in their last 10 games against the Wiz), which doesn’t seem like a good sign. Facing the Wizards in this particular situation will certainly make for an interesting evening. The Wizards figure to be a bit feisty with all the losing they’ve done and their division lead over Miami shrinking by the day.
A team that looked unstoppable a few weeks ago all of sudden seems vulnerable, especially with Gilbert Arenas shooting 19-101 from the 3-point line in his past 12 games. And that’s not a typo, that’s a real stat, 19-for-101 from deep. Yikes. He’ll either bury himself even deeper or bury the Hawks. It should be wild and crazy tonight.
… oops, I almost forgot to mention a brief draft-related tidbit from practice Thursday. Georgetown’s latest big man, Roy Hibbert, was watching the Hawks practice the other day along with the rest of his teammates (they were in the stands above the floor waiting for things to get over so they could go to practice). I didn’t realize how big dude was until I saw him in person. He’s bound to be a first-round pick on size alone. For some dumb reason I didn’t stick around to watch practice, though I wish now that I had. Hibbert and Jeff Green (who’s projected as a lottery pick this summer) are both guys I would have liked to see in a practice setting. So much for my scouting prowess.
Where do they go from here?
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
CHOCOLATE CITY - (Pardon the dateline, but that’s what I always remember my parents calling Washington D.C., and if you’ve ever been here you know they got it right.)
The train wreck that has become the Hawks’ season after the All-Star break (1-5 and counting) makes its next stop here Friday night at Verizon Center, where Gilbert “Agent 0” Arenas and his Washington Wizards crew await the NBA’s favorite dinner guest of the past two weeks.
(I have to admit that it’s strange knowing that the Hawks-Wizards game will be played Friday night, hours after the feuding owners will have tipped off and finished their latest round of sparring. None of it supposed to be related, of course. The players are supposed to be immune to whatever goes on in a courtroom 90 minutes away. But I’ve always struggled with that theory and will continue to do so until the entire mess is resolved and this team is allowed to operate without that mushroom cloud of nonsense hanging over everything they do.)
That said, there can be no excuses made for the Hawks’ recent on-court shortcomings than to point out that they’re just not getting done. Ten home wins this late in the season is an absolute disaster. The Hawks only have 10 more road games. Even if they break even on the remaining home games that’s a 17-24 home mark for the season. That won’t work for a fundamentally flawed team trying to make a postseason run (it’s getting to the point that the mere mention of the playoffs and postseason is just a cruel joke for fans whose hope have been dashed at every turn. I’m sorry.)
So the only question that remains is where do the Hawks go from here?
I can’t see them totally falling apart down the stretch. They’ve been too resilient all season to fold up now. But (despite Lorenzen Wright giving the me the business in the locker room before Wednesday’s game for saying out loud) the Hawks’ making the postseason is a pipe dream.
If ever there was a time for Hawks coach Mike Woodson and his staff to heap some pressure and playing time on the shoulders of some the team’s role players (Solomon Jones, Salim Stoudamire, Shelden Williams and even Esteban Batista come to mind), that time is now.
Check my thinking here and tell me if you agree. With the season in the balance and these guys needing validation of the work they’ve put in since training camp, I think they need to be forced to be accountable for what’s going on. They need to feel like whatever they do, even if it’s in a two-minute stretch, has a profound impact on the outcome of games. Something that seems that insignificant could actually be what gets this team over the proverbial hump in the coming weeks. And I think a perfect example of that is the way the Hornets have incorporated their bench crew into their playoff run.
Granted, the Hornets have more experienced players in similar roles. But I was struck at the quality minutes they got from the likes of Marc Jackson, Bobby Jackson, Linton Johnson, Jannero Pargo, Rasual Butler and even rookie Hilton Armstrong. It’s not the amount of minutes they played but the quality of those minutes. Only two of those guys (Pargo and Butler) actually scored points. But they gave the starters a little breather that proved invaluable late in the game, allowing Chris Paul and his crew to play with a burst of energy Joe Johnson and his crew couldn’t match during crunch time.
This is also where I think the coaching staff has made a valid point that is being overlooked by not only some of the players but also the rest of us (fans, media, etc.). Those minutes have to be earned the old fashioned way. Those role players should make practice a shootout every day. Every possession of every scrimmage and every drill should be so hotly contested that everyone leaves the floor better because of the intensity that was applied by the role players.
It’s just a theory of mine, though, the result of having far too much time to analyze such things I suppose.
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