AJC > Sports > Hawks > Blog > Archives > 2008 > January
January 2008
Shake the haters off!
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
SMYRNA - As much as I love LA and all the spots visited during the Western Conference road trip the past 10 days, I can’t say I’m sad to be back on Georgia soil.
Don’t know if I can say the same for the Hawks, who move from the anonymity of the hotel lobby, the mall and the restaurants they’ll visit maybe once or twice a year back to the scrutiny of the hometown fans.
Feeling the heat from afar is quite a bit different from feeling it up close and personal. And there is no question the heat is one the Hawks right now. People want to know what’s going to be done about this slide.
We’ll no doubt learn more over the next 48 hours. If changes come it shouldn’t surprise anyone. If not, again, why would any of be surprised, this is largely the same crew that started the 2005-06 season together.
The only real surprise to me is that they’ve been allowed to travel this far without any seismic changes other than the addition of draft picks. But I think it would be wise for us all to be braced for whatever does or does not happen, because either way, it’s going to be a hot topic around here.
On to one other bit of news that seems to have landed your boy Blog-Z in hot water with the good folks at the in NBA-land. It seems my story announcing Joe Johnson’s selection to the Eastern Conference All-Star team was a bit out of line.
Well, I’d apologize if the league would do the same about crappy refereeing, the crappy seating arrangement for beat writers at various arenas and 7:30 start times. Since they’re probably not going to budge, I’m not either. Didn’t meant to get anyone in trouble. But if a locker room full of guys are congratulating their teammate on making the All-Star team, any beat writer worth his laptop is going to break that story if he can.
Even more perplexing to me is this sentiment that JJ somehow isn’t worthy this year of an All-Star nod (I’ve seen it here and elsewhere). Even one of his fellow All-Stars has already weighed in on the subject.
Rather than celebrating his own selection, Boston’s Paul Pierce took a few digs at JJ’s selection.
According to the Boston Globe Pierce’s reaction to the news was, “Joe Johnson?”
“I felt like (Allen) probably should have been over Joe Johnson,” Pierce told the Globe. “That’s just my opinion though. They don’t have a good record. They are not a .500 team. If that’s the case, I think you should be on a .500 team or better. No knock on Joe Johnson. He’s definitely an All-Star. He’s definitely put numbers and he is definitely a great talent in the NBA. But I think it also should do a lot with what you do as a team.”
Pierce went on to suggest that because the Celtics are leading the Eastern Conference they deserve multiple All-Stars, as the Pistons did a couple years back when four of their five starters made the team.
“I thought Ray should have been there also based on record and what we were doing team-wise,” Pierce said. “I remember two years ago when the Pistons had four guys and they have a similar record to what we have now.”
I won’t dip down to the level of the haters and knock his argument for Allen (who by the way has posted the lowest field goal percentage and scoring average since his rookie year), mostly because I know the transition he’s had to make joining two other All-Stars as the third option.
Ray Allen is the real deal. Everyone knows that. And anyone trying to knock his effort, performance and game-day prowess would be nuts (remember, I’m the one who praised his work ethic here after spying him in the gym three hours before tip of the Hawks-Celtics game early in the season getting his shots up with no one else around).
All these cats belong. But for Pierce to suggest that JJ doesn’t deserve his spot on the team this year because the Hawks aren’t .500 or better is hypocritical, seeing as how he earned All-Star nods twice on sub. 500 teams in his career - the Celtics were 36-46 during the 2003-04 season and 33-49 during the 2005-06 season.
If there was a debate about whether he belonged on the All-Star team those years, I don’t remember it. And if I’d have been in one of those verbal scraps, I’d have argued for Pierce (no matter his team’s record) over the third best player on the team with a monster record.
Desperate times, desperate measures
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Editor’s Note: Sekou’s blog has been updated by the ajc.com sports staff following the Hawks’ 95-88 loss to the Los Angeles Clippers Wednesday night.
Sekou is likely traveling back from the West Coast and will provide an update once he returns. In the meantime, continue to sound off as the team fights through this difficult period.
Desperate times call for desperate measures.
And as the Atlanta Hawks slip further down in the standings and possibly out of the NBA playoff picture, how much more desperate can things get?
Nothing - not the Hawks’ 1-4 record on this regretful western road trip the just ended, and not their 4-11 record in the month of January - points to progress. So tough decisions must be made.
Should the team consider replacing head coach Mike Woodson?
Should the team consider packaging one or more of the team’s so-called “untouchables” (Joe Johnson, Josh Smith, Marvin Williams) in a trade to infuse the team with new and/or better talents?
Or should the team take a whatever-it-takes mentality to acquire Jason Kidd, who’s requested to be traded from the New Jersey Nets and will be in town Saturday to showcase his wily skills at Philips Arena.
What would you like to see happen with the team? Do you think everything should remain the same? After all, the Hawks WOULD make the playoffs if the season ended today.
Let us know what you think.
Danger
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
PHOENIX - I’ll make this brief, since most of you are still chewing on the tail of just about everyone after Sunday’s stunning loss to the Blazers - and when I say stunning, I mean this had to be arguably the most disappointing loss of the season for the Hawks, who squandered a precious opportunity to actually build a little momentum going into Tuesday’s game against the Suns.
The Hawks are obviously in dangerous territory right now, and not because they are losing (it seems no matter how much they lose, that 7th spot in the playoff race remains their space).
It’s the way they are losing that should worry you. The same show almost every night. Start well, big lead, lose it late while abandoning the things that got you the lead in the first place.
It’s beyond foolish for the Hawks to think they can routinely win games playing out of the half court sets that they’ve made painful to watch. They don’t have the type of spot up shooters that other teams have, which would make such an approach feasible.
The Hawks are built to run, love it or leave it, that’s what they are. And it only makes sense to play to that strength (they scored at will in the transition game against Portland, one of the few teams young enough and athletic enough to match them in that regard).
We could come up with countless different ways that they could have handled the end of the game. But if the Hawks had embraced the advantage they had in the transition game, the Blazers never would have been close enough to snatch the game anyway.
Now, back to the chewing …
The Marvin Williams Show!
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Seattle - Marvin Williams finally played his big game in front of the hometown fans. And it couldn’t have come at a better time for the Hawks, who snapped a four-game losing streak with a 99-90 win over Seattle Friday night at KeyArena behind the inspired play of Williams.
The Hawks also snapped a five-game road-losing streak with the win and an eight-game losing streak against the Sonics, while also improving to 18-21 on the season.
Williams, who grew up in nearby Bremerton, led the Hawks’ early onslaught against a Sonics team that lost for the 13th straight game. He finished the game with a career-high 33 points, and the Hawks needed every one of them with the Sonics charging back from an early 23-point deficit and Hawks captain and leading scorer Joe Johnson playing on a sore leg.
“I’d say it’s his best game ever,” Hawks coach Mike Woodson said. “As you go through this league and you get a chance to come home and play in front of your family and friends, it’s special. And if you can put on a show the way he did it makes it even more special. And I thought he was spectacular. “And with Joe hobbling, I thought everybody filled in and did what they had to do. We were a little sloppy down the stretch. But we did what we had to do.”
Williams had 16 points and five rebounds at halftime, setting the tone early for a Hawks team that opened their five-game Western Conference road trip with a sleepy first quarter start in a loss to Denver Wednesday.
But Williams wouldn’t allow a repeat effort like that. Not with his mother ins the second row yelling encouragement the entire game, when she wasn’t yelling at Sonics fans that were harassing her son.
“She wouldn’t shut up,” Williams said and then laughed. “Everything I did she was yelling at me and then there was some dude over there yelling at me. And I think she was yelling back at him, too. “Some people come home and they fell that little added pressure. But there’s no pressure to me. These are people you’ve been playing in front of your whole life. There’s no pressure. It’s good having them here.”
The Hawks were lucky to have Williams Friday. Johnson made just 4-for-12 shots from the floor and finished with just 13 points, seven assists and six rebounds. But he was clearly laboring on that sore leg. Josh Smith, who fouled out late after scoring 14 points, grabbing five rebounds and blocking five shots. But he only made five of his 13 shots from the floor.
Williams went 12-for-20 and made every shot imaginable, save for one from beyond the 3-point line. And he was at his best late in the game, when the Sonics were busy chewing into the Hawks’ lead.
He took a charge late. Knocked down a jumper to beat the shot clock after bobbling the ball and almost losing it. And his steal and dunk on a fast break with 58 seconds to play put an end to any pipe dreams the Sonics had of a miracle comeback. “He was all over the place out there,” Josh Childress said. “And we needed him in the worst way tonight, because we needed this win in the worst way. Marv did what he was supposed to do when you come home, he was out there eating. And that got the rest of us juiced up.”
More important than any of his individual accomplishments Friday, Williams insisted, was that the Hawks finally got back that winning feeling.
“There’s no question that you want to go out like this on a personal note, but the most important thing was that we got a win,” Williams said. “We definitely needed a win. And we came out here and played with a sense of urgency. Those guys [the Sonics] needed it to. But we were able to get it done.”
It didn’t hurt that the Hawks decided to keep the pressure on after taking that huge lead.
Instead of retreating into a passive stance for the second half, as they normally do when playing as well they did early, the Hawks kept coming at the Sonics in the second half, as evidenced by the 17 points Williams scored after halftime.
Hawks point guard Anthony Johnson said he saw it coming a day earlier, especially after watching the way Williams’ demeanor changed as he made his way around his hometown.
“He got his weight lifting on [Thursday], went and got a haircut and spent some of that quality time with the family,” Johnson said smiling. “So you could tell he was preparing himself to have a good night. It was great that he got off to a good start. He made some big buckets and was able to take us home. And it was a great performance for him, for us, for his family and his hometown.”
The vibes from the Williams and his faithful followers in the arena, he said his contingent of friends and family totaled more than 100, spread all over the Hawks’ roster.
It got so good that veteran Zaza Pachulia even looked like himself. Pachulia has spent much of the season in coach Mike Woodson’s doghouse. He was suspended for the first game of this trip for conduct detrimental to the team - mainly for fussing with Woodson as he was coming off the floor in the fourth quarter of last Sunday’s loss to Portland.
But he played 16 minutes off the bench Friday, scoring six points and grabbing six rebounds, his most productive work in months.
“Hey, it was our night,” Williams said. “What can I say?”
Live, from Seattle …
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
SEATTLE - This isn’t normally my style, but the last blog seemed to be getting a bit long. And I didn’t want any of you to think I wasn’t trying to keep things fresh. So why don’t we try and do a live jammy-jam around here tonight.
The Hawks are up 23-14 on the Sonics and we’re starting the second quarter out here. Marvin Williams is playing like a dude with 100 or more members of circle in the crowd. He’s in attack mode (from everywhere from the free throw line).
But with all the other drama going on (I doubt this is Mike Woodson’s last game as coach if the Hawks don’t hold on, nobody is getting traded in the next hour and 45 minutes and yes, that’s ya boy Blog-Z in the fly blue shirt on the baseline nearest the Hawks’ bench) I figured I’d let all of you with nothing better to do on a Friday night (I’m here too, so I’m not hating, I’m just stating) have at it.
Trade winds blowing?
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Silence speaks louder than words to me, especially when it comes to the NBA trade rumor mill. And since that thing churns with more misinformation than Hollywood gossip, now would be a perfect time for us to enter the fray with an item or two.
I’m convinced the Hawks are on the verge of doing something. What? I don’t know. Billy Knight’s not in the business of volunteering information, to me or anyone else I know of.
Don’t ask me why I think that. But I trust my hunches and there’s been an eerie silence surrounding this team in regards to possible trades. All the rumors about standing offers to Memphis are fine (where there is faint smoke there has to be fire), but I’m guessing there’s more than just that going on.
We’ve talked forever about the Hawks needing this or needing that, but the Hawks have something that quite a few other team’s would like to have - namely, young talent with relatively low salaries and several veterans playing out the last year(s) of their contracts. And there’s not a NBA executive worth his Blackberry and Italian loafers that isn’t interested either of those things.
Don’t get me wrong, the rumored deal with Memphis is without a doubt the most reasonable blockbuster deal the Hawks could make (while I’m not the world’s biggest Pau Gasol fan, there is no doubt that he would give the Hawks an inside scoring presence that doesn’t exist currently).
But in the absence of a deal of that magnitude (the particulars are always the tricky part and hashing out the details over the next few weeks might be t late for the Hawks, who need a shakeup to energize them ASAP!!!!!), there has to be something else floating out there that hasn’t made the rounds on all the blogs and websites.
The Hawks have so many other trade-worthy assets (Salim Stoudamire comes to mind, since he’s not going to have much a role with this team), that they’ll almost be forced into moving
As soon as I figure out a theory that makes sense you’ll read about it on ajc.com. Until then, let the rumors fly.
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.
The truth? You can’t handle the truth!
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
TORONTO - Don’t worry, my friends.
You’re not alone.
You’re like fans of every other team in every other sport in every other city on the planet.
And just like ol’ Jack told Tom Cruise in a Few Good Men, “You can’t handle the truth,” anymore than any of the rest of us.
You want perfection, or something close to it or on the path to it.
The truth is, the Hawks (and at least 27 other teams) are far from perfection.
The truth is, the Hawks are just now making to the path. And that path is filled with potential potholes that they are sure to step in. It’s a part of the process.
You remember the process don’t you? It’s those lean years of struggle before any team is able to become a legitimate player on the biggest stage. All the big boys have had to endure suffer through it, despite revisionist history in places like Boston, Detroit and Phoenix.
Some other truths about the Hawks a mere 36 games into the roller coaster ride that this season is sure to be:
The truth is, the Hawks still haven’t solved their point guard dilemma. Anthony Johnson was supposed to be the security blanket, not the starter. The Hawks are in deep water without their floaties on, because one wrong step puts them back in point guard purgatory. Those of you who panned the notion of a Luke Ridnour fitting a need here don’t seem to giggling now.
The truth is, the Hawks have ventured into deep waters in the paint. Al Horford was supposed to be a bonus to what was already there (Zaza Pachulia, were he to make a miraculous return to his 2005-06 form the Hawks wouldn’t need to make deal for a big). Yet he’s being asked to do things (as Cheryl Miller so astutely pointed out the other day) that he shouldn’t. That he’s held up so well just 36 games into his pro career speaks volumes about the young fella. But there is still an obvious need for another big man on this roster. And as much as I like Solomon Jones and the potential he’s shown, he’s not the answer if this team is to finally end their playoff drought. Remember, we’re talking truth here. There’s a reason that teams that work the Hawks inside tend to always finish on top at the end of the night (and that’s not just with big men, but teams that attack the Hawks inside with guys big and small seem to always come away with the win).
The truth is, the Hawks aren’t playing to their strengths every night by dictating tempo as opposed to being dictated to. My stance won’t change on what I think is the best attack for this team. Hawks coach Mike Woodson has pointed out to me on many occasions that the Hawks can’t “run” because I, or anyone else, wants them to. I disagree. If a team makes up its mind to play a certain way, they can do whatever they want. But it has to be a commitment made by all. And the Hawks, while saying all the right things in the preseason about being committed to that style, simply haven’t stayed true to that. Blame whomever you want for that one.
The truth is, things aren’t nearly as dire as you think they are on a bad day. And they aren’t nearly as peachy as you think they are on a good day. Part of this team maturing into a legitimate playoff team comes with the ability to manage the emotional ebb and flow of a season - something a similarly young, talented and incomplete young team like Portland seems to have already conquered. Truth. At 18-18 ( the league can take wins away all they want but I won’t abide by that foolishness here, not in Blog-Z’s world) the Hawks are just about where you expected them to be right now.
The truth is, things have to change going forward. Whether it’s a cosmetic change, the physical removal of humans from their current spots or a philosophical shift in how they’re going to approach the second half of this season, it should be clear to everyone by now that the current approach will not provide the desired results to finish the regular season. Not if the Hawks aspire to more than just a noble chase for a playoff spot. The aim has to be higher. All the teams in the hunt now should have their sights set on slots 4-6 as opposed to one of the final two spots, which spell almost certain doom in the first round of the playoffs. Land anywhere between 4-6 and the first round foe is probably going to be a team you can match up with and a have a fighting chance of advancing to the second round, which would be the true mark of progress - for the Hawks or any other team trying to measure the strides that have been made.
Real talk.
Truth.
Twisted!
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
MILWAUKEE - I knew this was going to be a twisted day around 5:45, when the Weather Channel informed me that the forecast for metro Atlanta wasn’t nearly as nice as things were going to be here, near the frozen tundra.
But you don’t know twisted until you fall into the hotel and flip on the TV to find the live Packers’ news conference on dang near every station, like this is breaking news or something - and one station had the audacity to splash a “Road to Glory” graphic across the screen like some sort of campaign slogan. As Don King would say, “only in America.”
Brett Favre might as well be the President of Wisconsin, because he’s the first quarterback I’ve seen all the networks show live at 2 p.m. talking about conversations he had in the training room the day before. And he wasn’t alone. The coach came on next. And then Charles Woodson (the one bright spot so far), Ryan Grant, Donald Driver and some other dude I’ve never seen put their spin on things.
Who needs ESPN when the local stations are drowning you in wall-to-wall coverage? (And speaking of the big dogs on the blocks, couldn’t the NBA make them do the TV schedule over and bring on something other than the Bulls-Heat game tonight?).
Any who, my bags made it here just fine, thanks Delta. We won’t know until later if the Hawks’ groove (what else do you call the systemic demolition of two solid opponents, and yes, despite their record Chicago remains a hurdle for most teams, in as many games?) made it here without spilling out all over their luggage.
Someone told me last night that they thought Hawks played better in their last two games than they have at any other time during this season, and that includes wins over Dallas, Phoenix, Orlando and any of the outings during their five-game winning streak from last month.
It’s hard to argue, the final frantic minutes of last night’s game aside.
That said, I’m still left wondering what it would be like to see the Hawks start hot and then spend the final three quarters choking the last breath out of an opponent. They tried to preserve their lead last night and almost got caught. Why not crank it up even more when you’re winning by 25?
The Prevent never works. Everybody knows that. If the Hawks get up big again tonight, a huge if, obviously, I wonder if they’ll be foolish enough to think they can coast to the finish line again.
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.
Spinnin’
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Hey, Big Mouth, you’re off the hook.
I’m done blasting the know-it-alls around here. And you should be, too.
Because they are only doing what apparently comes natural to the rest of the free world.
They’re yapping about things they know nothing about, spinnin’ a story the way they want it to go without the benefit of any legitimate facts to back up what they’re saying.
And it’s not just the NBA trade rumor mill, which is chugging along at record speeds as the Feb. 21 deadline approaches.
It’s everything.
It’s everyone.
And it’s everywhere.
I’ve been watching and reading everything I can from the political campaigns to the BCS mess to the NBA playoff chase to the Roger Clemens saga to the ongoing foolishness that is our own daily soap opera, As The Hawks Turn!
And never have I seen so many, so uninformed, so ready to run off at the mouth without any intimate knowledge of what they speak.
Since I don’t want to start any political arguments and Mr. College Football has already tackled the ongoing BCS mess - playoffs? Who’s talking about the playoffs? - I’ll dive into one particular item from the NBA trade rumor mill (the playoff chase will take care of itself) that caught my attention:
“And the award for the zaniest trade idea floated this year is …” Listen, anyone suggesting a trade package that includes swapping Josh Smith for Pau Gasol is clearly not well versed in the science of boneheadedness.
One guy is heading to the prime of his career, which has no ceiling, with a salary figure yet to be determined. The other guy is heading down the other side of that mountain, banging his head on his ceiling the entire way down, with a salary figure ($13.7 mil for you monopoly players out there) that rises in the three seasons following this one.
It’s just a bad idea, however you break it down. Keep these facts in mind, Josh Smith is a RESTRICTED free agent, meaning the worst case scenario is that you don’t agree to terms on a new contract this summer and he plays out his rookie deal on a qualifying offer and then becomes an unrestricted free agent the following summer.
Best case, you agree to sign him to a fat deal and he continues ascent up the ladder of the league’s most dynamic talents (he’s 22 freakin’ years old people). There are several other options, too.
Since he’s going to be one of the hottest names on the free agent radar this summer, if you simply cannot agree that his future is here in Atlanta, what better player could the Hawks have in sign-and-trade discussions?
I can’t imagine too many teams would pass up an opportunity to get their hands on a player with his talent. Whatever happens, you don’t give him up for Pau Gasol.
My man John Hollinger from ESPN.com penned a rather compelling argument for Smith’s inclusion on the Eastern Conference All-Star team; a case that I think has quite a bit of merit if you’re looking at Smith’s body of work with this season with a critical eye.
We see him every night, so we see him as an enigma, dating back to his rookie season. But what others see is an otherworldly talent, a guy that makes plays a handful of cats in the league can make, and realize that if the eyes don’t deceive, it’s up to the team he plays for to make sure they get the very best out of him every night (think New Jersey and the way they use Sean Williams as a rookie).
And I’ve got some news for you that might be breaking, the Hawks are going to have spend some serious cash on the payroll at some point if they want to win and win big (that means the playoffs and anything beyond that). It’s just a fact of financial life for a professional sports franchise.
The Hawks won’t be able to survive forever with a salary structure that includes nine guys playing on rookie contracts. It’s just not going to happen.
Who you with?
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Last week the vultures were out, picking over the bones of those of us who dared voice concern over a two-game losing streak.
Now that the Hawks have burrowed four-games deep into this mess, suddenly we don’t seem so crazy.
But I’m not here to antagonize today … well, of course, I am. But not right now.
My purpose this evening is to tell you how surprised I am by the resolve of the cats in the Hawks’ locker room. Rather than throwing each other under the bus when things go bad, they’re rallying around each other.
While studying and reporting for a story on the Hawks’ fall-back plan when their Give-it-to-Joe-and-let-him-do-work offense breaks down, his teammates were all about lifting up their captain (who has shot a meager 21-for-63 from the floor during the four-game losing streak).
A nine-game swing the likes of which the Hawks have experienced would usually be the time when the haters and fakers show up (on blogs and in the locker room), and it’s a natural reaction when you lose four straight after winning five straight, I don’t care who you are.
So I was prepared for some finger pointing to go on, not expecting it but prepared for it. And given the locker room uneasiness at the end of November it’s a reasonable expectation to see some signs of stress in the locker room.
Instead, the ranks were already fortified. Neither Josh Smith nor Marvin Williams wanted to hear anything about Johnson’s struggles.
“Joe’s been in this position before, man,” Williams said. “He knows what it takes to shake out of a shooting slump. He’s a professional, an All-Star, he’ll bounce back. In the meantime, we’ve got to step it up, not just one of us, but all of us, and make sure we get going earlier. Everybody loves to pile on when you’re down. But we’re not going there. We’re going to fight for each other. It’s on the rest of us to pick up the slack the same way Joe has for the past two and a half years.”
Knock the Hawks all you want for their current struggles, but I dig that kind of attitude. You stick with your boys, good or bad.
All that said, the only thing that can be done to fix the Hawks’ obvious issues inside (I’ve grown tired of barking about the lack of a legitimate inside presence to go along with Al Horford) is to make a move. The other people being used inside are neither effective enough nor consistent enough to aid the (playoff) cause. It’s really that simple.
The Hawks are going to keep seeing teams that are going to be bigger, stronger and/or just flat better than they are in the post. The folks already on the roster can’t fix that problem without some assistance. While I’m not an advocate for some of the wild trade rumors that some of you seem to love so much, I think it’s fair to say that an all-out (big)manhunt should be the first and only order of business as the trade deadline approaches.
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?
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