AJC > Sports > Hawks > Blog > Archives > 2007 > December
December 2007
The resolution will not be televised!
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
It’s that time again, New Year’s resolution time, and we all know that we’ve got to clean up our act around here. The rhetoric has been wicked since the start of ’07, as we all braced for the worst only to see the Hawks’ decade’s old bad karma reversed on draft night with the No.’s 3 (Al Horford) and 11 (Acie Law IV) picks.
Now we’re sitting here at the start of the New Year with a 15-13 Hawks team, no real room for our usual start of the year venom, well almost no room, and for Hawks fans, high hopes for the remainder of this season - even our resident doomsdayers have to admit that 38-44 wins looks attainable right now.
Aside from that troublesome problem the Hawks get from other team’s legit bigs (Dampier is the kind of dude I was talking about weeks ago when I wrote that the Hawks still needed some help inside to take the heat off of Horford and Josh Smith). But they’ve won the 15 games already in spite of their deficiencies.
As well as Anthony Johnson has played recently, and he’s been off the charts most nights, Law remains the future at the point guard position. If you watched any of the Dallas game Saturday you saw what this guy brings to the table. He has the speed, tenacity, court awareness and swagger this team will need in the future (be it February, March and April or beyond). That said, the Hawks have to milk AJ and Tyronn Lue, their veteran points, for all they can between now and the end of the season if they’re going to make the playoffs.
Each guy brings a little something different to the table and you’re going to need every bit of it to get into the postseason.
As for those resolutions you might have rolling around in your head, let ‘em fly here. Me, I’m not one for saying I’m going to do something and then not following through. So Blog-Z is swearing off resolutions this New Year. I will get a few things off my chest, though, if you’ve got a few minutes:
The next time someone asks what’s the deal with Speedy Claxton’s knee I promise not to answer with a curt response (well, maybe). Dude ain’t playing this year but there are no indications that he plans on retiring. Expect him to have that microfracture surgery and take another crack at this thing next year or the year after.
The Miami Heat’s official protest over the foul discrepancy from last week’s game against the Heat has officially reached nitwit proportions. The Heat argues that Shaq was fouled out (a stat error revealed that he only had five fouls when he was disqualified from the game) in some grand conspiracy by the Hawks’ stat crew to help in the Heat’s obvious demise. Um, I think Pat Riley took care of that when he sold the franchise’s soul for that title a couple years back. Let it go slick!
The Tim Donaghy scandal had legs shorter than Nate Robinson. It barely registers on the list of 2007’s most egregious public disasters thanks to Don Imus, the Spears sisters, those dopes in the Mitchell Report and the parade of other fools that invaded our space. But the one lasting legacy of the whole Donaghy affair is that it finally silenced the Commish and his heavy-handed ways. I haven’t heart nary a mention of the new ball or the dress code so far this season. I love it. I hope David Stern remains this quiet for the rest of the season (I’ll keep dreaming).
Happy New Year and stay safe as you celebrate the festivities.
Did you get what you wanted for Christmas?
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
I’ve been waiting on that red light saber since Christmas 1978. Only recently have I started truly comprehend that it won’t be under the tree every year. Coming to grips with such news is tough for me, even now (my big brother warned me back then that I should lower my expectations but I wasn’t hearing it).
But I can’t say I didn’t get what I really wanted for Christmas this year, albeit a few weeks earlier than the actual day. Rich Rodriguez was delivered to the doorstep of fans like me the same way the Hawks’ 14-12 record, four-game win streak and 11-5 run was delivered to all of you.
From where I sit, none of us have much to complain about during this holiday season. All the bellyaching that was done about team chemistry, Joe Johnson’s shooting struggles (he responded with a Player of the Week week) and all the other missteps always highlighted here, seem trivial now don’t they?
Now I’m the first person to caution against floating after wins and being on meltdown alert after every loss, but why not enjoy December Hawks fans? Live it up a little bit. Take a few days and just soak up your good fortune. Take a minute and remember November and December of years past and realize that what you’re seeing doesn’t come along often.
But above all else, make sure you enjoy your family and loved ones this year. I don’t have enough of mine around (thanks to the NBA schedule makers we couldn’t hit the road and apparently some of my people don’t mind snow, ha). We’ll have enough to have a mini-party and then I’ll show up to Philips Arena in time for Wednesday’s game against Indiana, another pleasant surprise to their fans so far this season.
Merry Christmas!
Five things (revisited)
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Can we keep this clean today? No pot shots at anyone, particularly your boy Blog-Z, who has taken numerous, un-Christmas-like digs from all over the place around here lately.
Last night’s win over Miami was a jaw-dropper. Most of the people that came up to me after the game were stunned that the same team that couldn’t hold its water against Seattle and Washington last month could pull of its second straight bare-knuckle affair (the first was Monday’s win over Utah).
My quick thoughts on five things (that have become clear to me over the course of the past two weeks):
JOHNSON AND JOHNSON=OFF THE HOOK: You get 47 points, 18 assists, four steals and just three turnovers from your starting backcourt in a win where they make the go-ahead baskets in the final minute and five seconds of an overtime affair. Anyone out there foolish enough to question Joe Johnson’s commitment to winning and playing at an elite level is just plain misguided. Dude’s a monster, as Heat coach Pat Riley so aptly pointed out after the game: “Joe was great. He hit a couple of runners in transition and he had a 3-point play in transition. And Anthony Johnson hit two big shots as well. They’re a good team, and we tried every way that we could to win.”
TOUGH WAY FOR MOURNING TO GO: If we did see the end of Alonzo Mourning’s inspiring career, nothing should stick out more than the way he went off the floor after tearing his right patella tendon. He waived off the stretcher and walked off like the warriors he’s always been. People were already debating his Hall of Fame worthiness after the game. I think he has to go in eventually (remember, it’s not just what you did as a pro but your entire basketball career. And he was at or near the top of his class every step of the way).
TWO WINS IN THREE DAYS: They could turn out to be the two most important wins in the Billy Knight era, if these last two wins mark the turning point for this team. Never mind the opponents but focus more on the circumstances and the way the Hawks won both times. They bowed up, finally, and willed their ways to wins when things could have very easily gone the other way.
GIVE MARVIN HIS DUE: Keep banging on Marvin Williams all you want, but understand that this kid won’t be punching bag much longer. He’s proving to anyone willing to pay attention that he’s for real this season. He dropped a smooth 20 and 10 on the Heat and played the ideal game with Josh Smith and Al Horford in foul trouble all night. Most impressive was that he didn’t back down from taking some big shots just because he’d missed a few. He kept firing and came through when the Hawks needed him most.
TOUGHER THAN LEATHER: The test sample is still at the lab but the early indication is that this Hawks team is simply tougher than it has been in the past. No one’s sure if it’s just another year’s growth or what? But this team has shown grit so far this season that just was not there before. Admit it, when Dwyane Wade got that three-point play in overtime you thought it was a wrap for the Hawks. But they’ve given us every indication that those days are over. We’ll just have to monitor the sample and see how things work out.
Don’t mess!
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Who knew 12-12 would pacify so many, save for our main man Clyde (whose consistency is his most admirable trait)?
I honestly thought you’d all be ready for someone’s blood if the Hawks weren’t in the top four in the East by this time. But the expectations appear to have been adjusted. Your greatest fears, while still simmering below the surface of the Hawks’ current .500 record, have been sufficiently allayed.
That said, I can’t help but think these days about what could be tinkered with to perhaps kick this team into that top tier group in the East (they’re No. 7 now, a tenuous position for any team, because one injury to the wrong guy can derail whatever is going on right now)?
The cats at a barbershop near the pad, experts one and all, were in GM mode yesterday afternoon. The crowd was split on what the Hawks need to do. Two or three guys were in favor of chasing a big man like Eddy Curry (uh, not) to bolster the inside game.
The rest of the crew didn’t see any need in messing with success (Hawks have won nine of 14), not now. As one guy said, “Why mess just for the sake of messing with it?”
I’m torn myself.
Part of me could see the wisdom in adding a nasty veteran defender like Ruben Patterson, a grimy dude that can guard the other team’s best perimeter scorer and also get buckets when he feels like it. A guy with that skill set could be the missing link for a wanna-be playoff team. But that would mean creating a roster spot (somebody would have to be traded or cut to make room).
Then again, why tinker with what has the makings of one of the most exciting and versatile young teams in the league. Even the Hawks’ most consistent critics have admitted that the Utah game showcased a team with the ingredients to be something special in time. How much time? That’s the kicker. You just don’t know how long it’s going to take for it all to come together.
The bottom line is this, there’s no sure-fire way of knowing how things work out whether you make a move or not. You’re gambling either way. The tools are certainly there to make a move. But there are also some tangible benefits to allowing this team the chance to prove themselves as is.
What say you?
Sorry I’m late …
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
As you might imagine, it was quite the long weekend for myself and other members of the extended Wolverine nation, as Ice Cube said before me, TODAY WAS A GOOD DAY!
But that’s no excuse for being as late I am right now with this post.
I’m currently sitting courtside at this teeth-grinder between the Hawks and Utah Jazz at Philips Arena. I’m trying to figure out how the Hawks are in this game (rookies Mario West and Al Horford have helped tremendously) with just nine players in uniform.
They’re sweating these games out shorthanded, and doing it in ways we haven’t seen around here the past three years. Someone deserves some credit for this mettle upgrade - take your pick, the players, coaches, etc.
One thing that is striking about these two teams, though, is the way the Jazz reserves play when they enter the game. To say that they play at a fever pitch would be an understatement. Their activity and ability to cause havoc on defense and in the passing lanes while also manufacturing baskets is impressive.
It certainly hasn’t kept helped them win games recently (1-6 in their last seven coming in), but it will no doubt serve them well as the season wears on. And it’s something the Hawks’ bench crew might want to take notes on. Their something to be said for a second unit that, when healthy, can perform at the exact same level as the starters.
One last thing before halftime is over, talked to a scout buddy of mine before the game and asked for his assessment of the Hawks right now and what they need to make the playoffs and he gave me a rather interesting synopsis in between bites of his chocolate cake in the press dining room. And before you read on, he didn’t mention a point guard or a big man - so much for all of our armchair analysis around here.
“They’ve got to have another shooter, or two man. Everybody could use more help in the post but it’s just not happening. There aren’t enough quality big men to go around. Plus, with Josh Smith and Al Horford, they’ve got two of the better young tweeners in the league. Neither of those guys is the ideal size, but they play off of each other perfectly. But what they can get, and what they desperately need, is another quality shooter. Other than Joe Johnson, they don’t have a guy that you’re worried about spotting up and knocking down shots in transition or in the half court game. Marvin Williams is on the path, but he’s still a guy you can take away by getting underneath him with a smaller, active guy. They don’t have another guy that scares you from distance. They just don’t. And if they did, that would open up the floor for the rest of those guys to operate a little easier. Sometimes a subtle thing like that can open up a team’s offense in ways they never imagined.”
Back to the pack?
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Those fears expressed by the regulars in Orlando the other night might have a little more merit than I thought.
Three straight losses by the Magic has made the Southeast Division and Eastern Conference races quite a bit more interesting today than they were Monday morning. It appears that the Magic is coming back to the pack, or vice a versa.
And if that’s the case, things are going to get mighty interesting between now and the end of the calendar year. The Hawks, provided they can stay on their current course, should be right in the thick of that mix - the word “should” being the operative term here.
Boston doesn’t appear to be slowing down at all, and they shouldn’t, not with a chance to run away from he pack. Detroit is strong, too.
But the rest of the East - and yes, people, the Hawks qualify this year - it’s up to you. Get on a nice roll (like the one the Raptors look like they might get on here) and you can elbow your way right up into contention for one of those top eight spots.
The Hawks’ recent three game win streak is proof positive that just a little momentum can get a team back into the mix. If you mess around and rip off four or five in a row between now and New Year’s Eve, you can cause a serious ruckus. The Hawks are playing as well as any other team in their division in the last 10 games (both the Hawks and Magic are 6-4 in their last 10 but the Hawks have gone 3-for-4 and the Magic 1-for-4 in the most recent five-game block).
Ultimately, we don’t know for sure how this thing plays out. But whatever happens, I just think that this is as crucial a time as there is for NBA teams. So much is made of a team’s status by the All-Star break and how the teams with a playoff shot have to be poised to make their run then. I think the what a team can accomplish in December, particularly teams trying to move out of the lottery and into the playoff realm, is of the utmost importance.
Finally, I was glad to see T.J. Ford back on his feet last night in Toronto., and what a huge win for the Raptors over Dallas. And as soon as word comes down regarding any possible penalty for Al Horford we’ll bring it you here.
Horford’s a class act!
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
If I’ve learned nothing else about Al Horford the past six months, it’s that he’s a class act. That was clear the first day I met him and it was never more clear than last night, after his hard fouls sent Toronto point guard T.J. Ford crashing to the floor late in the Hawks’ loss to the Raptors at Philips Arena.
I’ll be the first person to sound off in defense of this guy, because long before everyone else had vacated the premises Tuesday night, Horford made his way to Piedmont Hospital to check on Ford, who remained under observation overnight but reportedly had movement in all of his extremities.
Horford was one of several people affiliated with the Hawks to go directly to the hospital to check on Ford - Dominique Wilkins and Josh Smith’s father Pete Smith were there, too - and make sure he knew that what happened was purely accidental.
Horford, I’m told, waited quite a while for Ford to get done with tests just to make sure he got the chance to speak with him personally. And when told that Horford came to check on him and wanted to speak with him, Ford let it be known that he knew Horford’s lick wasn’t intentional and that he welcomed Horford to stop by and visit.
None of that will make it on the highlight shows. But it’s just an example of the class shown by all involved in what was a frightening sequence, particularly for a guy (in Ford) who has dealt with spine, neck and back issues in his past.
All the Hawks were concerned about Ford after the game. And you know his teammates and coaches were rightfully concerned and worried about their floor leader. I think that’s what no doubt played into the reaction of Sam Mitchell, who could have caused even more ruckus to ensue were it not for the level-headed reaction of so many of the players, from both teams, and Hawks coach Mike Woodson, all of whom tried to calm Mitchell down.
It was a sobering end to a rough night for the Hawks. But the aftermath was handled with class, from Horford and everyone else involved.
And, of course, prayers and well wishes for T.J. Ford are welcome here.
Apologies
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
ORLANDO - Apologies to all for chastising you about the negativity that seems to invade this space, and places like it, on the regular.
After hearing the home fans boo the effort of a 16-6 team Monday night, it’s clear that common sense often has no place in the realm of extreme fandom. Fact is the Hawks simply outplayed the Magic last night, no matter what that sad 20-second recap on ESPN said to the contrary.
But we’ve been slobberknockin’ these Hawks for their shortcoming the past three seasons (79-187 anyone), and most of the time it’s been done with merit. So to hear the bellyaching I heard Monday night, from fans and some members of the traditional and not so traditional media, made me realize just how easily you can be spoiled by a little success.
Perhaps the Hawks should listen to the folks here like our founding council like Ando and Astro Joe and receive every win with caution. It’ll keep the edge on if they treat a watershed victory like Dallas, Phoenix and last night like anything but. Maybe that is the best way to keep the pressure on with Toronto coming to town for tonight’s showdown - strange, is it me or does there seems to be one of these referendum games for the Hawks every couple of days?
That said, and I made this point yesterday so I’ll try and reiterate it here so you know that I was serious, for the Hawks to win like this without a full cast says something about the fabric of this group. They’re going to have their ups and downs this season, what team doesn’t?
But I give them credit for persevering through all the drama, on and off the court, and grinding like Mateen Cleaves (does any cat have more basketball lives than the former Michigan State star who seems to keep popping up on rosters despite every indication that long and glorious a career in the NBA simply not in the cards?) to stay in the race after that shaky 3-6 start. And understand that
Are they a flawed? Yes. But what team in the NBA isn’t (Dallas, Chicago and Miami are all wondering about their mix and chemistry these days)?
Do they make you crazy sometimes, watching a team you know should thrive one way play in a way that you know spells certain doom? Absolutely. It wouldn’t be the Hawks without a little heartburn.
But do they have as good a chance as anyone else in the jumbled middle ground of the Eastern Conference to find their way to the proper vibe and stay in the scrap for one of those playoff spot? I would argue that they do, in spite of all the obvious and oft-mentioned shortcomings we’ve identified in this space on many occasions.
They have just as good a chance of doing that as they do of crashing and burning tonight against Toronto, seeing as how Joe Johnson and Josh Smith will be playing on the back end of a back-to-back set that saw them log major minutes here last night.
And that’s where we come in. Because when the dust settles we’ll have our say, good or bad, apologies and all.
DANGER: Hate-free zone!
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
ORLANDO - If you’ve come here to spread evil, you’ve come to the wrong place.
This is a hate-free zone today.
Why, you ask? I’ll tell you why. All is right in the sports world.
Most of that has to do with two things: Floyd Mayweather Jr. and the New England Patriots remaining unbeaten, unblemished and untainted by the mess that has become professional sports these days.
When Floyd whipped the Golden Boy last year you all panned me for celebrating what you thought was a lackluster victory. But can anyone debate his virtuoso performance against Hatton? It was a smashing performance, mostly Floyd’s gloves smashing into Hatton’s dome and rib cage.
The Patriots were just as clinical in their destruction of the Steelers, another smashing success that this Anthony Smith character (absolutely no relation) should take to heart. Nearly every touchdown I saw included No. 27 in the white jersey getting scorched.
But it’s not just about those two juggernauts in their respective sports. I’ll even toss a bone to you Hawks fans and remind you that in spite of all the turmoil that’s gone on this season, your team has actually shown a little moxie the past few weeks, overcoming themselves mostly, to post a 6-4 record in their past 10 games.
Sure, we could nit-pick the Hawks like crazy and point out some of their many shortcomings (uh, let’s see, where do we begin? Anthony “Kimbo Slice Jr.” Johnson isn’t the guy you expected to be your No. 1 option at point guard this late in the season. Joe Johnson still isn’t shooting or playing like the All-Star he was this time a year ago. Zaza Pachulia’s mug is on milk cartons all over metro Atlanta. The Mike Woodson witch-hunt train continues to steam along at light speed. That dreaded injury bug has crept back up on the Hawks a little over a month into this season. And there’s already been a team meeting and we haven’t even made it to Christmas break yet.) but remember, this is a hate-free zone until further notice.
Besides, for all the venom directed at this team, and there has been a ton of poison floating around for a group that’s actually performing decently in relation to the rest of the Eastern Conference teams if you consider what the expectations were at the start of this season, the Hawks have shown some serious signs of life in the past few games. For example:
Josh Smith is recovering well from his early season bout with I-luv-my-perimeter-game-itis.
Marvin Williams is asserting himself in ways few people imagined when they were panning him for what they thought was his feeble offseason preparation.
Al Horford showcasing the type of consistency and low-post proficiency the Hawks haven’t seen from an inside player in well, what seems like forever.
And finally, and perhaps most telling, your team is playing competitive basketball while not playing anything close to its very best. (As one regular pointed out to me, that near loss to lowly Minnesota the other night looks a little different now that the T’Wolves have popped the Suns). That means there’s a chance to play much, much better down the road.
Now all of the good vibes could be wiped away with a lackluster showing here against the mighty Magic (who have mastered the art of the fast start this season and last) tonight. We’ll have to wait and see how that turns out.
But again, this is a designated hate-free zone until further notice (I won’t even throw darts at the laughable coaching search going on with my team right now, no mater how much I want to crush Lloyd Carr for not exiting stage left without continuing to make a mockery of our once proud program), so I’ll be curious to see who falls off the positivity wagon first.
Where’s Joe?
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Astro Joe brought out a great point on the last blog, one that requires some legwork today at practice (that’s why I’m here at Philips Arena today specifically, to get some answers), in regards to Joe Johnson and his shooting struggles.
On the surface, his shooting woes in the Hawks’ past three games could be just an untimely shooting slump, it happens to the very best. But I exchanged emails late last night with my Lang Whitaker and he wonders, as many of us do, if there isn’t something more going on? Lang said he popped in tape of Joe from last season and he was a totally different player, a guy moving faster and more decisive than he has this season.
Joe’s wearing a sleeve on the calf he injured last year but I don’t think that’s been a major issue this season, at least I don’t think it has. What’s been off the past three games, and really since the Hawks lost that double overtime thriller to Seattle, has been his swagger.
He hasn’t been himself, to speak. Everyone has noticed it, too. I’ve had at least four conversations with scouts from other teams and they’ve all wondered what the deal is with him. They’ve acknowledged that he hasn’t been horrible but that he simply hasn’t been himself.
The real surprise is that the Hawks are actually treading water the past eight games (4-4) with Joe struggling the way he has. That’s probably the most tangible sign of growth for this team that we’ve seen.
So much fuss has been made about the comments Joe made on several occasions regarding what he thinks this team needs in order to upgrade itself to a true playoff contender - and the furor created by those comments surprised me, mostly because he’s saying the same things guys like Michael Redd, Paul Pierce and Jermaine O’Neal have and been praised as leaders for stepping up and saying what needed to be said.
Not everyone took digested Johnson’s words the same. I know some of his teammates felt they were the targets of his ire (and nothing could be further from the truth) while others saw it as a left hook to the gut of the franchise. Others, felt he spoke from the heart and expressed some things that were sincere and even if a bit harsh, were coming from the right place.
Whatever your stance, it’s easy to see that all of this has taken a toll on this team and perhaps on it’s All-Star, captain and best player. So that’s why I’m prowling the locker room today for Joe and some answers to these burning questions we all have (we were on the same page, Astro Joe, but I was on the shelf Tuesday night, so I had to wait a day to get to this story we all saw coming).
Healthy dialogue?
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
By now you’ve read about the Hawks’ team meeting held Saturday to clear the air on several issues that have plagued this team during their 6-9 start, and doesn’t it seem strange that we’re all treating this [decent opening month] like it’s some kind of horrid stretch that spells certain doom?
It was a much-needed sit-down for the Hawks, who aired their dirty laundry behind closed doors (no coaches or front office folks were allowed in, to my knowledge). To a man, they claimed they’ve come to a meeting of the minds on how they can play better, be a more cohesive unit and stop doing to themselves what the opponents are trying to do every night.
Only time will tell if this was a healthy dialogue or just another ill-fated attempt to correct chemistry problems that have existed for years in NBA locker rooms (like anything else, there’s always a hierarchy in a locker room that some guys can deal with and some guys can not) across the country.
Team meetings usually go one of two ways, and one isn’t good. They bring guys together and truly help fix some of those issues. Or they make the divide even greater and send cats that were already skeptical of each other’s motives to their respective corners for the remainder of the season.
There’s no telling how these Hawks respond. The only thing that we’ve been able to predict about this team is that they’re totally unpredictable on any given night.
The hilarious part is this: they’re so much closer to finally getting things right than they can see. If they’d have finished November 9-6, I think their spirits would be soaring and the optimism and camaraderie that was fostered in that 7-1 run during the exhibition season would still be flowing throughout the locker room.
So many different guys were sharing the load then and feeling like they had a chance to break out this season and then the regular season starts and other teams start going at you the way they know how, by limiting Joe Johnson’s options and forcing his supporting cast to beat them (and in case anyone is confused about it, the rest of the Hawks are most certainly his supporting cast - and if they don’t believe that, check with the scouts from any other team plotting against the Hawks. They’re not game-planning to stop anyone else). Some nights the Hawks have answered that bell and other nights they have not.
So ultimately, it’s their own inconsistency that’s caused the biggest problems so far. In a season (really just a month so far) where you can’t decide who and what you can rely on, uncertainty has been the Hawks’ greatest enemy.
We all have suggestions for how to fix this (everything from firing the coach, a horse that’s been beaten into, as Mike Tyson would say, “Oblivious,” to making a blockbuster trade that would supposedly alter the culture of the locker room and the course of this team’s season).
I’m doubtful either extreme would work the way its supporters hope it would. Truth be told, those extreme measures might have served this team better in any of the past three seasons, but not this time. Not when you’re within striking distance of exactly where you want to be.
Now is the time to subtly tweak this team, with a key addition here or there and thus a crucial subtraction here or there, as well. You can bolster team chemistry and energize your team’s performance in many ways during the course of an NBA season. And the Hawks have all the resources necessary to make it happen.
It’s simply a matter of studying what they have now and determining what needs to be added or subtracted to or from the mix to produce the best results. We’re not talking about astrophysics here, folks. Sure, these are complex issues we’re dealing with, but complex issues with relatively simple and reasonable solutions - provided, of course, the people calling the shots are willing to entertain them.
.JPG)
-1.JPG)
Services »
