AJC > Sports > Hawks > Blog > Archives > 2007 > September > 10
Monday, September 10, 2007
When do you know it’s over?
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
It’s a fair question.
Just take a look at some of the folks who are facing what looks like the end:
Britney Spears (whew, she’s fallen harder and faster than the Michigan football program judging from her showing at the VMAs last night).
Lloyd Carr (as the joke goes, you can’t spell LLoyd without two Ls) and Charlie Weis (the Patriots and Tom Brady look just fine without the genius calling plays, Notre Dame on the other hand …).
HBO (tried to get through their Sopranos replacement last night, on the way to my man Larry David and Curb Your Enthusiasm, and I’ll just say it was the letdown of the century. And Entourage was less than stellar this season as well).
There are plenty others I’d love to mention here, but I’ll move on. The point is, when is enough … well, enough? How do you know when it’s time to fade into the sunset honorably and step aside for someone else to take center stage?
The passionate fans of all of the entities mentioned above would tell you yesterday on all counts. I’d have a hard time disagreeing. And that’s not a knock on any of the past success that’s already in the bank. But we’re just not a society built on people surviving on sustained mediocrity (well, in most cases).
If you’re not capable of reinventing yourself on a continual basis, in whatever you do, maintaining a high level of anything becomes a mighty chore. Just ask anyone charged with maintaining a sustained level of excellence in his or her chosen endeavor.
That’s why everything I’m hearing from my spies in Hawksville should make Hawks fans feel good.
Thanks to lofty spots in the draft lottery every year, they’ve had the opportunity to reinvent themselves every year. And if the early reviews of Al Horford’s workouts with the rest of his veteran teammates are any indication, he’s going to bring a much-needed dose of toughness to the Hawks’ interior rotation.
According to my spies, the usual suspects are showing as expected. “Joe Johnson’s as smooth as ever. Josh Smith is all over the place. Marvin’s shooting it picture perfect. But man, Al Horford has some lift around that basket. He’s going to be a monster.”
Having seen Horford (albeit on a bad ankle) in summer league, it’s easy to see him becoming the type of guy that relishes the opportunity to mix it up around the basket. He wasn’t able to show off that “lift” around the basket the way I’m sure he would have liked in Salt Lake City. But he’s been in the gym all summer, based on reports from some of my other spies.
Without the addition of any high profile free agents this summer, the Hawks will need for both Horford and fellow rookie Acie Law IV (who has also made a strong early impression on his veteran teammates) to navigate the transition from college stars to NBA regulars rather quickly.
