AJC > Sports > Hawks > Blog > Archives > 2007 > October > 03
Wednesday, October 3, 2007
Fresh start
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
If you want to chalk Tuesday’s late-practice sluggishness up to the first day of camp doldrums go ahead, because the Hawks looked like a totally different crew during Wednesday’s session.
And even when they did seem to lose steam for a brief stretch, assistant coach David Fizdale stopped them and gathered everyone around to remind them that they “started off with the intensity here [holding his hand above his head] and now you’re down here. You’ve got to crank it back up fellas.” They did exactly that on the very next trip up and down the floor.
At this stage of the game all you have go on is what they look like each and every minute you have to watch them. All of us sideline observers (there were just three of us today, Steve Smith, Steve Holman and Blog Z) are watching. We’re trying to pay specific attention to their intensity, the collective energy level and see if it matches what they’ll need to start the season with one of the most challenging schedules in the league.
So I’m willing to give them a fresh start now after having some serious reservations about their readiness after Tuesday’s camp opener.
Some other notes, quotes and an opinion or two:
Both Salim Stoudamire and Shelden Williams were back on the floor Wednesday and both looked like they eased into the flow of things rather well. I snuck into practice a few minutes early today just to see who was in and out of the action with injuries and Tyronn Lue was the only guy on the sideline. He did some stretching with the training staff and had an ice pack on his right knee after that but it’s nothing to worry about, he said. Lue is still working his way back into game condition after knee surgery. He’s working to be ready in time for the start of the regular season and will slowly work his way through training camp.
I don’t know if it means anything yet or not, but Al Horford’s quickness with either hand around the basket could make him an extremely intriguing offensive option in the Hawks’ half court set. He far more skilled than I thought he was watching him at Florida (granted I didn’t watch him regularly there). And he shoots it well facing the basket, too.
Everybody on the sideline is watching Acie Law and the consensus is that the rookie point guard is going to be hard to keep off the floor if he continues to show as well as he has thus far. His ability to get to the basket in transition is going to make him the most effective option at the point, if he doesn’t struggle with the transition too much once the regular season lights come on. The Hawks have the luxury of not rushing him, though, thanks to their abundance of depth at the position.
“Solomon Jones might be the longest man on the planet,” was the phrase someone muttered when he took off from the 3-point line (or somewhere near there) for a dunk during one drill. He certainly looks comfortable getting up and down the floor. And he’s showing much better here than he did during his stint in summer league play in July. His confidence appears to be soaring right now.
Another conversation hatched during practice revolved around the idea that the Hawks, for the first time in at least three years, will have a full-fledged second unit. We’re just not sure who those five guys will be. You figure Al Horford, Shelden Williams, Josh Childress and a backcourt tandem of Acie Law and perhaps Tyronn Lue or Anthony Johnson. But that second five is certainly going to be fluid at this point. But it’s certainly a topic worthy of debate.
