AJC > Sports > Hawks > Blog > Archives > 2008 > February > 13
Wednesday, February 13, 2008
Lost in space
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
NOTE OF APOLOGY FROM BLOG-Z: This post should have been filed early Wednesday morning but your trusted scribe had his day interrupted by an early morning flight, a Josh Childress sighting at the Charlotte airport (no trade, dude has a sore knee and was sent back to Atlanta to get it checked out), more blockbuster trade news (J-Kidd to Dallas for a group of players) and then a lunch meeting with the boys at Mert’s, one of the finest soul food spots in the Queen City. Next time you’re here, check it out. The beef tips and rice, mac and cheese and collard greens were off the charts … and now back to our regularly scheduled program.
CHARLOTTE - If you’ve gotten that Groundhog Day feeling about this Hawks season you can join the rest of us in the “Why do we keep doing this?” support group now.
Because last night’s 94-90 loss to the Pistons solidified things for me in that regard. The Hawks, as Dennis Green famously said, are who we thought they were (or however the phrase goes).
And the Hawks let the Pistons off the hook last night. They let ‘em off the hook. Because the one thing the mighty Pistons aren’t fabulous at (and there aren’t many items on that list) is transition basketball. Rasheed Wallace, Antonio McDyess and the rest of their frontcourt rotation isn’t built for an up-tempo game.
But the Hawks couldn’t (continue) to take advantage of that after they ran their way back into the game in the third quarter. To some it’s become almost too painful to watch, the Hawks abandoning what works best in favor for whatever the opposition dictates late in games.
The scramble for answers after yet another deflating loss has spread throughout the hall of Blog-Z’s house. Some of my main men (good to see you at the game last night fellas) strolled down courtside at the end of the game to share their pain. And all you can do is nod your head in agreement and acknowledge that you’ve seen the exact same things they have.
That end of game visit led me to a quest for answer of my own. I had to seek out someone with a different perspective to help shed some light on things for me. So I staked out the corridors of Philips Arena long after the game was over and cornered an Eastern Conference scout I’ve known, and respected, for years.
We talked Pistons and Hawks, comparing the team that knew exactly how to win that game last night (the Pistons) and the team that had no clue how to win the game last night (the Hawks).
“Depth, balance and Mr. Big shot,” he told me, “that’s the difference between winning these games and losing these games. Detroit’s depth is so good that they can rest their big guns for nice stretches, whether they’re playing well or not, and know that they are going to be fresh in the fourth quarter. The minute he made that first, contested, 3-pointer, I knew it was over. He’s an assassin in the last three minutes of a close game.”
BLOG-Z: I hear you, but what are the Hawks missing that doesn’t allow them to win these kinds of games? Because there are tons of teams that don’t have a point guard the caliber of Billups.
MY GUY:“You have to understand, what they’ve done in Detroit is beyond comprehension. To be able to build a team that has a first and second unit that complement each other that well nowadays … Joe Dumars is the best in the business, bar none. People can continue their love affair with guys like Brian Colangelo and some of these other hot shot GMs. But what have any of those guys won? For my money, what Dumars has done here and what the guys in San Antonio have done, it just doesn’t get any better. Look at Detroit’s second unit. Rodney Stuckey is a young monster. He’s like a younger version of Chauncey. Aaron Afflalo has been better than anyone expected. Jason Maxiell and Amir Johnson are fantastic young talents. And the beauty of it all is that they’re nasty guys. They play with an edge, a swagger and a physical style that they could only have learned from those first line guys in a championship organization.
BZ: You don’t see that same nastiness in the Hawks young cats?
MG: Not in all of them. Josh Smith and Al Horford have. I don’t know that these other young guys are cut from that same mold. Josh Smith is a beast. And if he was on a team like Detroit, he’d be flat out ridiculous. Because as good as he is, he’s never played with the kind of veterans that could teach him the tricks of the trade and provide him with the kind of insights and examples to take full advantage of the physical gifts he’s already tapped into. Horford’s a young beast as well. He’s by far the best rookie in the league. It’s not even a good debate. He held his own out there tonight, and dominated the action in spurts. Against two of the best and most skilled and experienced bigs in Rasheed [Wallace] and [Antonio] McDyess. The best thing that happened for the Pistons is the Hawks going away from pushing the ball and featuring those kids in the fourth quarter. But believe me when I tell you, there isn’t a team in the league that wouldn’t want either one of those young kids right now. They’re the cornerstones there, they have to be.
BZ: You don’t sound as in love with the Hawks’ core as some other people I’ve talked to, who think that this group has to be kept intact?
MG: We’ve talked about this before, man. Josh, Horford and Joe Johnson are keepers. That’s your core. Everybody else … well, I can see you moving just about anybody else on that roster to get what you need to get better. That’s just the way good teams do business.
BZ: So you’re still high on Joe Johnson? A lot of people are down on him because his production is on a steady decline but he looks dog tired to me.
MG: [Four letter word I can’t write without getting a pink-slip] right I’m still high on him. He’s struggling because the Hawks have riding him like a pack mule. Nobody can play 40-plus minutes like this year after year. He looks like he’s running on empty to me. It’s a valiant effort, but he’s beat up pretty bad. That should be obvious to anybody that’s watching. But who’s his back up? Where’s his help? They can’t stretch the floor at all, so teams are able to squeeze him out of his preferred spots on the floor and force him into the areas where he doesn’t have the room to make plays. Get him some rest, and a little help, and he’ll be fine.
BZ: What’s the most glaring spot, in need of help, in your eyes?
MG: If you just watch the game last night and take that as a sample, they just don’t have enough quality shooters on the floor at any one time to really put any pressure on you defensively. When Smith and Horford are rebounding and doing what they do, that puts pressure on you. And if Joe is making shots, that’s an extra wrinkle that can cause you some concern. But they don’t have enough good shooters to beat you in a half court game. So you keep them from running and play possession for possession and you should generally be able to match up with them and from there, it’s anybody’s game. But there’s no doubt a shooter is the most glaring need. They probably need a guy that space the floor and then a big man who can face up and play the pick-and-pop game, too.
BZ: Most people around here (Atlanta) would scream about a point guard and a big man. Are they missing something that you see?
MG: Everybody in the league that doesn’t have a marquee point guard could use one. And yeah, the easy answer is the Hawks should have drafted Chris Paul instead of Marvin Williams, Brandon Roy instead of Shelden Williams and the top of the Eastern Conference would be Boston, Detroit, Atlanta and then everybody else. There’s no doubt about that. But that’s not what happened. Acie Law is going to be fine in time. But they have to bring him along better than they have. He looks lost out there. And when you look at him and then look at Stuckey, it’s clear that one guy is playing with a certain confidence and swagger and the other guy is not. That’s about development more than it is anything else. Stuckey has the luxury of playing behind and learning from one of the best in the league in Billups. So there’s really no pressure on him. I don’t think Acie has that luxury. I also don’t think he’s allowed the same freedoms. It makes a difference. Trust me, it makes a huge difference.
BZ: Cool, last question. Do you think the Hawks make the playoffs or not?
MG: I just don’t see it happening right now, not without some serious tweaks. They’ve got too much dead weight on the end of that bench to make a significant move [in the standings]. They’ve got guys that don’t give them anything. And they’re not good enough to play seven or eight guys every night and keep up the pace. They’ve already fallen all the way back to the pack. So now every night is either a step forward or a step backward. Philly, Chicago and Indy are lurking. And I think Chicago and Indy are better teams, when all things are equal, so that could be a huge problem. Without help, I have hard time seeing this team all of sudden change its stripes and start doing things they haven’t previously done. It’s a nice dream to hang on to, but you could get lost in space waiting on that to happen in real life. If you don’t pull the trigger on something, a trade or something, you’ll just continue to sink. Because these guys are playing at their max most nights and it’s still not good enough.
None of this helps the Hawks tonight against the Bobcats in a game that, based on the past three games and the schedule ahead, shapes up as perhaps the most crucial of the season for the cats from Hawksville. But I thought it was worth sharing for those of you who might be interested in an outsider’s take on these things.
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