AJC > Sports > Hawks > Blog > Archives > 2008 > January > 22
Tuesday, January 22, 2008
T.E.A.M
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Common sense tells me that it’s foolishly premature to assume these Hawks are ready to go in the tank because they’ve lost three straight games and face a five-game Western Conference road swing this week (the extrapolation mafia out there would have you believe the Hawks have already finished that 0-8 skid that’s swirling around in their brains).
But this is the Hawks we’re talking about. The phrase “common sense” and the root word “foolish” go together like biscuits and gravy where the Hawks are concerned.
For all their in-game blunders (none bigger than that late-game timeout that squelched their own fast break opportunity in overtime and none more profound than Joe Johnson’s choice to take a 21-footer in the final seconds of regulation rather than charging to the basket and drawing contact and getting to the foul line to finish the game there), the Hawks still had multiple chances to finish off a fantastic Portland team Monday at Philips Arena.
I don’t say that to disrespect the play of Travis Outlaw, who owned the floor during overtime. Because he did something that had to make you (as Hawks fans) salivate. He came off the bench and became his team’s No. 1 option with the game on the line (he is Portland’s third-leading scorer - 12.6 points per game - this season despite not starting a single game).
Based on the statistics of both teams, that would be the equivalent of Marvin Williams (the Hawks’ third leading scorer) piling up eight points in the overtime period and playing No. 1 option with the game on the line. And we all know that just hasn’t happened with this team.
I’ll admit, it was stunning to see Portland’s reliance on their reserves to bail them out. But a closer review of things reveals a team that routinely plays that way. And please believe, the Blazers embody the TEAM (Trust Each and All Men) ideal as well any group I’ve seen all season. In fact, their cohesion rivals that of Detroit, San Antonio and Boston, from what I’ve gathered.
The Hawks are still trying to get to that level. Whether or not they can as currently constituted remains to be seen. We’ll find out a lot more about these Hawks over the next nine days. How the handle themselves under duress, on this upcoming road trip, will shed a better light on what this team is made of - call it whatever you want, but we find out between now and the end of this month if these Hawks have the intestinal fortitude to fight for their playoff lives or if they just a figment of our collective imagination all the these months.
On to a few housecleaning items (and observations while winding down my Martin Luther King Jr. Day by watching the end of TNT’s triple-header):
I know the convenient excuse will have something to do with starting point guard Anthony Johnson being forced to sit out the game serving a one-game suspension for going upside Jose Calderon’s head last Friday. That’s nonsense. The Hawks got more than adequate point guard play from Acie Law IV and Tyronn Lue.
Hopefully, AJ left that seat warm for Zaza Pachulia, who is a good bet to be in the doghouse by this afternoon. His emotional reactions to being snatched in and out of the game (however justified they appear to be to some of you) have almost certainly landed him a one-way ticket to Suspensionville.
Were the Lakers supposed to be this good? Kobe was crying over the summer like he was playing with the 13-win Hawks from a few years back. They are stinkin’ loaded. Loaded.
So the Hawks weren’t the only team to go down at the buzzer on this day after all. Rashard Lewis helped Orlando deliver a similar fate to the mighty Detroit Pistons Monday with his bank shot off the glass for the winner.
If you want to win and win big in the NBA right now, you better find a shooter. And maybe three or four of his friends with crazy range and consistency on their jumpers might help, too.
