AJC > Sports > Hawks > Blog > Archives > 2008 > January > 14
Monday, January 14, 2008
Wish I could get a do over (or two, or three, or more …)!
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Too bad David Stern isn’t in charge of everything.
Because I’ve got a few formal protests I’d like to file to see if I could get another chance at doing some things better the second time around.
That ACT test I just showed up for and coasted through back in 10th grade, well I’d study a bit harder knowing what I know now.
I’d sure love another shot at the 11th grade, too, now that I think of it. There were two or three girls I’d love a second shot with that year, now that I’ve seen what I missed out on after all these years.
Truth be told, I’d just as soon do every year over leading up to 1997, since the Lil’ Boss Man is handing out do-over passes.
But the final 51.9 seconds from the Dec. 19 Hawks-Heat game … what’s the point?
If there was some grand conspiracy to ruin the Heat’s season (I’d say they’ve done a decent job of that on their own) instigated by the Hawks’ official scorer, we are all in trouble.
The facts just don’t justify us all having to relive those final, fateful moments of a game that should be in the rearview for both teams.
I could understand the furor if the Heat had actually battled their way back into that game on their own (Dwyane Wade shot a staggering 22 free throws that night, many coming after phantom foul calls that couldn’t be seen any better on film review than Shaq’s phantom fifth foul). But that wasn’t the case.
My biggest question is will we get another shot to watch the fantastic work of Bennett Salvatore, Leon Wood and Gary Zielinski on March 8, when we pick up the action at 51.9 seconds, the Heat with the ball and trailing 114-111?
If w’re going with the Back to the Future route and not inviting the three main culprits in this fiasco, the NBA is wasting everyone’s time.
Whatever mistake was made that night, and there was no doubt a mistake was made by the Hawks’ stat crew, the bottom line is there for everyone to see.
In the overtime period that night the Heat shot a sterling 2-for-9 from the floor while the Hawks made 4-for-6 from the floor and 5-for-7 from the line to finish off a team they should have taken care of in regulation (had they handled their business then this whole catastrophe could have been avoided).
The fact is the Hawks were the better team that night. I don’t think anyone would dispute that. And I think the results in the days since then reflect as much.
And for you true conspiracy theorists out there, chew on this for a while:
If the roles were reversed, and the Hawks were 8-28 and the Heat 16-17, and the Hawks filed a formal protest after Josh Smith fouled out on a scorer’s error with 51.9 seconds to play in the Hawks’ 117-111 overtime loss, would we be doing it all over again?
I wonder?
But we’ll move on from this mess until March, when we have to address it again. When we’ll be forced to live out those final, tense 51.9 seconds again. Who knows, the LBM might even decide to attend the event and complete the circus-like flair of two teams replaying the final 51.9 seconds of a game we’ve already seen play out.
In the meantime, the Hawks have to move on and continue to regain their form (as they did rather impressively Sunday against a Chicago team that is clearly in a funk of its own making).
Denver should pose a much more serious threat Tuesday night. And road games in Milwaukee and Toronto, Wednesday and Friday, respectively, loom as huge games with that Western Conference just around the corner.
The more wins the Hawks can stock up before heading West, the better chance they can survive whatever lumps they might suffer on that trip.
.JPG)
-1.JPG)
Services »
