AJC > Sports > Hawks > Blog > Archives > 2007 > September > 24
Monday, September 24, 2007
So predictable
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Now that it’s (almost) over I can admit it, I set you up.
I started weeks ago, dropping player Q&As once a week with the goal of leading up to this very point right here.
You’ve had weeks to dissect every word of players and now the coach but without the benefit of context tone (and I’ve got something else planned for Sunday, the eve of training camp, that you should not miss if you care at all about the Hawks).
That’s not a bad thing. It’s just the way it works and I can deal with that.
But I must tell you, the reactions were so predictable.
I knew that when Marvin Williams didn’t talk about basketball incessantly many of you would interpret that as him not being as passionate as (I know) he is about the game.
I knew that when Mike Woodson didn’t admit to all the faults he’s been assigned here and elsewhere many of you would interpret that as him being as defiant and stubborn as ever (though that’s never been my impression of him).
And I knew that any mention of Salim Stoudamire and introspection would elicit talk of him being selfish and of little value in a team environment (yet another theory I disagree with, mostly because he’s not the myopic loner he often seems to be portrayed as being).
Truth be told, that conflict of opinions embodies the beauty of my entire scheme (and yeah, it was a diabolical scheme to stoke your interest leading up to now, the week before training camp begins. Sorry, but we’ve all got a job to do. Sometimes I have to design ways to do it that may appear to be more sinister and calculated than they were).
There is no right or wrong interpretation of what’s been said. Everyone’s entitled to his or her own interpretation. If you’ve made up your mind about one of these guys, nothing they said (or in some cases did not say) was going to sway your opinion in the opposite direction. That’s cool, too. I’m not here to persuade anybody about anything. I’m just here to provoke.
On that same path, space considerations forced me to omit two questions and answers from my conversation with Mike Woodson that I want to share, mostly because I think it’s only fair to be as straightforward about these conversations as possible:
Q. Two years ago it seemed that your youth and inexperience didn’t allow you to get over the hump and last year it was injuries. How do you make sure this team isn’t swallowed up by outside forces this time around [how do you get over that hump this season]? A. It doesn’t’ matter how you cut it, on paper some people will look at us and assume we’re still a young basketball team because we’ve been that way the past couple of years. But we think these guys have grown up from that and outgrown that label. It’s no longer a fair label of this group. The challenge for us is simple but pretty tough to do because you really don’t have any control over it, but we have to stay away from injuries to be successful this year. Like anybody else we can’t have key guys going down. If that happens, and we stay healthy, we’ll have a successful season. I’m hoping for the healthiest team we can have. But I don’t think there is any question we have a legitimate shot at making the playoffs.
Q. No other franchise in the league has had to deal with the off-court craziness that has hovered over this team the past two years with the ownership feud playing out in court. As a staff and a team, how have you guys been able to block out all the off-the-court drama and maintain your focus on basketball and trying to win games? A. Listen, I can’t concern myself with what goes on upstairs. None of us can. Not the coaches or the players. I didn’t come in here expecting there to be some, as you put it, ownership feud or friction. But there’s no way you can do your job worrying about that other stuff. At the end of the day, I’m going to be held accountable for the product that everyone sees on the floor every night. So my attention and focus can’t be on anything but that, making sure the young guys we’ve brought in continue to get better and that we stay focused on the task at hand, and that’s making the playoffs. Things that have happened at the top haven’t been a distraction, as far as I’m concerned, not for our team. And that’s because [Billy Knight and our owners] have made sure of that. And we’ve kept in mind that our No. 1 obligation is to these great fans that are yearning for us to bring playoff basketball back to Atlanta. That’s the only thing driving us.
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