AJC > Sports > Hawks > Blog > Archives > 2007 > October > 10
Wednesday, October 10, 2007
Where’s the beef?
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Miami - One of the two or three most hilarious things I’ve seen this year has to be the sight of poor Solomon Jones trying to guard Shaquille O’Neal Wednesday night at American Airlines Arena without a hammer in one hand.
Shaq backed him down (with Jones bouncing off of him like he was chest-bumping a trampoline) and got rag-dolled around by the Big (whatever Shaq is calling himself these days). I hate if for Solomon. It’s not his fault he’s only 235 pounds, or roughly 120 pounds lighter than Shaq (who by the way appears to be in pristine shape).
But that’s where the Hawks’ problems will begin on defense this year. Even with their upgrades in the post, they’re still going to too light to handle the league’s remaining battleships (Shaq, Dwight Howard, etc.). It’s clear after watching these first two preseason games that another big man added to the mix (a veteran big man, a real vet and a real big man) is not only needed but a necessity.
Zaza Pachulia is the Hawks’ biggest guy and he’s not big enough for either of those battleships mentioned. Shelden Williams and Al Horford certainly aren’t bulky enough to handle those guys if Zaza isn’t. And poor Solomon.
By the way, the Hawks rallied from a 14-point deficit to take a 50-48 lead into the locker room at halftime here against the Heat. When they run, they compete. When they don’t, just like Monday night, they get taken to pieces in the paint.
Above the Law
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
MIAMI - It’s time for some full disclosure from me in regards to how I felt about the Hawks’ draft picks on draft night.
I was bullish on Mike Conley Jr., as everybody knows, and in favor of perhaps moving the No. 11 pick for a veteran big man or another shooter. After watching Acie Law IV in summer league and the past 10 days, let’s just say it’s a good thing I wasn’t running the show on draft night.
This guy couldn’t be a better fit for this team (his teammates already love playing with him) or this franchise (he’s a mature and no-nonsense dude who is coming into the league with an understanding of not only how things work but how they should work). That’s not to say that my man Mike Conley Jr. wouldn’t have been just as good a fit. But Acie is far above and beyond what I expected, having seen him sporadically throughout his college career.
For one, I expected him to be much more of a score-first point guard. But again, he’s far too advanced to show up with that type of attitude. He knows that this team needs him to accentuate some of his other qualities instead.
I also wasn’t sure how mature a guy he’d be, you can never tell from afar, but he’s all grown up. No kid in him. He’s straight business.
Yet he still has a fantastic sense of humor (“I told Jameer Nelson he must be on steroids or something he was so strong,” Law joked after Monday night’s game in Orlando. “It was a shock. But I think my body and my skills translate to this level. I can play on this level. I can compete with these guys. But it’s everything I expected it would be and more.”) and the perfect temperament for the trials and tribulations he’ll face during his first NBA season.
After watching the Hawks fold youngsters into the mix the past few years, it’ll be interesting to see how they deal with Law and Al Horford, who is in the same mold.
“I think Al and I are in a different situation than maybe Josh and Marvin were when they came here out of high school and after one year of college,” Law said. “In Al you’ve got a guy who finished his junior year of college with back-to-back NCAA championship runs. And in me you have a guy that helped turn a traditional doormat into a contender. We’ve been through a lot as players and as young men. Coach [Mike Woodson] has confidence in us. All we have to do is go out there and perform.”
One last thing on another topic, I saw the debate about which position suits Josh Smith better (the 3 or the 4). My first inclination was to devote an entire blog entry to that topic. But instead I checked in with an executive from another team to solicit an outside opinion (since we’ve all made our opinions clear on the subject for quite some time). He had an interesting response:
“Does it really matter? I mean, I guess if you’re playing a certain way and you want to feature him at either of those spots it would matter. And if you look at that team and the personnel they have, you could look at Al Horford and Josh Smith and want Horford as your power forward and Smith as your small forward. But what do you do with Marvin Williams? I don’t think that team wins without all of those guys playing important roles. I do think Josh Smith is naturally more of a three. I think trying to make him a four is maybe forcing him to be something that just doesn’t come natural. But if you look at his numbers, he rebounds and blocks shots like a power forward. He’s just not a post-up guy right now. Those are things he has to learn. The fact that he’s versatile enough to play both spots is what makes him so valuable, and not every guy his size can play both effectively. I promise you this, if a guy like [Golden State coach] Don Nelson, he’d have Smith, Horford and Williams out there together. He’d go crazy for a frontline like that with the way he likes to play. And really, in today’s NBA, you can go to work with that, even though they are a bit undersized.”
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