AJC > Sports > Hawks > Blog > Archives > 2007 > October > 29
Monday, October 29, 2007
Start the season already!
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Whose idea was this, this fortnight (or close to it) between the end of the exhibition season and the start of the regular season (for the Hawks at least)?
Were they trying to torture us?
Was the intent to drive us underground until we cooked up something else to talk about?
Why the wait?
What are we supposed to do with ourselves after we’ve read every letter of every preview (magazines, .coms and soon newspapers) out there?
It’s been less than a week and already I’m going through withdrawals.
I was even forced to turn back to college football over the weekend, what with a little time on my hands and my Wolverines still crawling back to their feet after being knocked silly earlier this season.
That said, we don’t have to wait much longer. TNT is taking care of us Tuesday night with a double-header that includes the reigning champion Spurs smacking around the Greg Oden-less Portland Trail Blazers followed by the Houston Rockets and LA Lakers (I’d much rather see the Utah-Golden State game on TNT, with their announcers and halftime crew, but we don’t always get what we want).
The Hawks and Mavericks can’t get on the floor fast enough for me:
I need to see if the Hawks are ready to crank it up to another level after their best exhibition season since I was king of the playground at St. Stephen’s School in East Grand Rapids, Mich., all those years ago (25 years is a long, long time).
I need to see if the Mavericks are ready to rebound from last spring’s playoff fizzle against the Warriors.
I need to see if the Hawks still plan on playing that up-tempo style that seemed to disappear later in the exhibition season (though you couldn’t tell by the way Josh Childress is still playing).
I need to see if Joe Johnson’s body language improves (he hasn’t cracked a smile yet, a sign of determination or a sign of disdain, no one’s sure right now).
I need to see if Zaza Pachulia has made enough progress to suit up (probably not) and if Speedy Claxton’s anywhere near close to seeing the floor in anything other than a suit (probably not).
I need to see if the fine folks at Philips Arena have come up with a better opening show than the drumline (nice kids but 41 nights a year? Come on now) and those fire-breathing towers that scare all the children and old ladies.
I need to see if Marvin Williams wants to be great half as much as everyone wants him to want to be great.
I need to see if Josh Smith is ready to be the court-covering force he was with Joe Johnson out of the lineup late last season with Joe Johnson back in the lineup.
I need to see if my man Salim Stoudamire is going to get a shot to play against a team that will most certainly force the Hawks to score some serious points to beat them.
I need to see if Hawks coach Mike Woodson is serious about pushing his team to push the pace the way he prodded them to during the exhibition season when their bodies said otherwise.
Start the @&%! season already!
