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Thursday, January 3, 2008
You got any marks?
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
CLEVELAND - You hear the strangest things in the strangest places sometimes. But every now and then a stranger will utter words that make so much sense that you wonder why you’ve never spoken them before.
That happened to me in the early hours of this morning when I heard another weary, frequent traveler, a man much older than me, say what I’ve always felt about being on the road and navigating a life that’s barely my own, considering I’ve spent the better part of the last 14 years tracking the daily goings on and whereabouts of other men.
“Travel changes you doesn’t it?” the man said to me. “It leaves a mark. And you have to soak up every second of everything you see because you might never see any of it again. You just never know.”
Simple, profound words that started me down another path, of course. After watching the Hawks squander another round of opportunities in a loss to Cleveland I started thinking more about them in this same context (in their defense, last night they just missed a ton of shots, open jumpers and layups alike, that cost them against the Cavs). I wonder if the Hawks treat every night like a one-time deal, like this is the last game on earth and you can’t save anything for the next day because it’s not guaranteed?
That’s not a criticism of these Hawks, mind you, because for them to be where they are now (based on where they’ve been the past three years) is a small victory in itself. It’s strictly an observation based on the time I spend studying these guys. And it’s probably something they haven’t really thought about themselves, being caught up in the midst of it all anyway. But I’m getting old(er) and things like what my traveling friend said this morning make more sense to me now than they did when I was say 21 or 22.
NBA players are always preached to about the season being a marathon and not a sprint. So it’s fair to assume that many players and in turn many teams, believe in approaching things with a certain pace in mind. It’s the one thing I totally disagree with in regards to the league.
That’s why I’m enjoying what the Boston Celtics are doing right now, never mind that there is no team I despised more growing up in a house with a father who was the Magic Johnson and Showtime Lakers zealot.
Kevin Garnett has the Celtics playing with the type of urgency that, even if it doesn’t result in the Celtics winning a title or even making it to the NBA Finals, has to be revered (in my eyes he’s the one and only dude that should be on your MVP ballot this season. Forget the stats and think for a minute what his presence has done to change things for that franchise … off the charts).
Is there a chance your team burns out playing like that? Sure. Is there a chance your team runs into a team like Golden State in the first round like Dallas did last season and gets popped anyway? Yup. So there’s really no sound logic to worrying about anything but this moment right now, every single second of every single game. I know this sounds a little wacky to some of you, but I had a few hours to think this through.
I’m not trying to turn into some cyber preacher (Blog Z still roams these parts for the ‘08 and I’ll be back to brag on my Wolverines and rant about other random topics that have nothing to do with the Hawks, the NBA or anything else you might want to talk about, another day). But haven’t you ever felt like that special moment or chance for something great slipped through your hands because you were too busy not paying attention to it?
My gut tells me the Hawks are stuck in a situation like that right now. Joe Johnson has that look on his face after every loss. And it’s something I know many of his teammates, particularly the younger ones, probably don’t understand.
But you have to remember, he’s been in that moment and seen it slip away (think back to the 2005 playoffs when the Suns were rolling until he took a face first dive to the court against Dallas in the Western Conference semifinals. The Suns moved on but didn’t get Joe back in time to truly seize the moment in the next round and the Spurs went on to win the title that I know Joe and his Suns teammates felt was there’s for the taking).
Joe knows that the Hawks are in the midst of change. And he knows that much of what they’re experiencing right now will leave a mark. But are they living in the moment every second of every game? Are they squeezing every ounce of energy they have to snatch what’s right in front of them every night?
I wonder?
Do you?
