AJC > Sports > Hawks > Blog > Archives > 2007 > October > 09
Tuesday, October 9, 2007
Five Things (the return)
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
ORLANDO - Five things is back (in this case, five things that are still on my brain this morning after last night’s exhibition opener). So without further ado:
HOMEGROWN - There are states and foreign countries that can’t boast two talents the likes of Josh Smith and Dwight Howard, yet Atlanta does. The idea of these two young monsters playing on the same AAU team with another current NBA player (Randolph Morris) is beyond reason. If they lost a game back then, to anyone, I want to know why? Seriously. Smith and Howard are easily two of the league’s most breathtaking young players, mostly because they’re each capable of making plays only a handful of guys in the league can make. Howard is an absolute human destroyer (the Mad VP had the line of the night at courtside when I yelped, “Good Lord, look at how big Dwight’s shoulders are,” and he replied, “Yeah, he looks like a Transformer.”) who has somehow found a way to improve his skills every year. If you don’t think he’s the future of the league at his position, you’re crazy. I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again, it’s a risky proposition, waiting out this season to extend Josh Smith. HUGE!
ON SECOND THOUGHT - Thinking back to draft night, the rumored prospects of an Amare Stoudemire being traded to the Hawks didn’t allow me to analyze the additions of Al Horford and Acie Law thoroughly. People kept reminding me that the Hawks were getting the two guys most ready to play in the NBA. I wrote it, too. But until you see Horford and Law in game action (like I did last night), it’s a theory and nothing else. After seeing both guys in action last night it’s clear that their transition to the league will be different than those of most recent Hawks predecessors. The words “battle tested” and “winners” came up so many times in the locker room last night I couldn’t count them all. The comfort level of both guys already is startling. They’re not awestruck at anything they are seeing.
MARVIN’S ROOM - Marvin Williams finished with 19 points (13-for-17 from the line) and didn’t play particularly well, and he’d be the first to admit it. He shot just 3-for-6 from the floor and only grabbed three rebounds (which is unacceptable for a 6-9, 240-pound guy with his tools and athleticism). But unlike the past two years, when an off night from either Williams, Josh Smith or Josh Childress would be detrimental to the Hawks’ cause, their increased depth covered for Marvin’s early struggles. It’s clear to me, though, that he’s still finding his way, especially offensively, to be consistently effective within the constraints of the half court game. When the ball moves around the floor or the Hawks start running, he’s fine. When there’s a breakdown in that flow … not so much.
MORE PLEASE - Two guys that fall into my minutes-don’t-match category after the first exhibition game are Solomon Jones and Mario West. Based on what they’ve done in training camp so far both guys should have seen more of the floor Monday night, in my humble opinion, of course. Jones played a grand total of 3 minutes and 46 seconds (and made a great, flow-changing block on a Trevor Ariza dunk attempt). West, who could serve as the ideal defensive specialist a team uses to quickly change the tempo of a game, didn’t scratch. That’s bonkers for a guy who has played as hard as he has and clearly works as hard as he does. I’ll chalk this first one up to the coaches wanting to see their main guys work a little bit. But these two cats have made major cases for more minutes.
THREE STRIKES - It didn’t take long for people to start questioning the ethics of the game officials (I call it the Tim Donaghy Syndrome). Fans sitting courtside near the Hawks bench had the same head-scratching reactions to many of the blown calls that were obvious to everyone but the three-man crew that nearly ruined the game - my favorite reaction after two straight awful calls from Zach Zarba was the fan who jumped from his seat and yelled, “The FBI needs to investigate this guy.” While the players need a few weeks to work their way into mid-season form the officials are atrocious from the gate. I don’t know how many times I have seen the official from 40 feet away make a call when one of his counterparts is two feet away from the play and doesn’t so much as blink at the same play. I know they’re always telling coaches “that wasn’t my call.” But it’s just not logical to blow whistles on plays where your visual angle is obstructed by six to seven men that are the size of small buildings. It’s awful watching them work sometimes, just plain awful.
