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Monday, March 3, 2008
A sure shot?
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
BOSTON - While I remain a skeptic of the Hawks’ chances to make the Eastern Conference playoff party this season, others (most of them far more in-the-know than me) seem convinced otherwise.
But as the final seconds ticked off the clock on the Hawks’ 98-88 loss to the Celtics here Sunday night, the playoff atmosphere as thick as it’s been during any game all season, the idea of this team in a playoff series started to sink in a little more.
They are no sure shot. Not with the crew in Philly suddenly playing like gangbusters. And who knows what the Nets will look like once they get Devin Harris on the floor?
But the Hawks have looked playoff worthy in every game since their win over Golden State on their Western Conference road trip.
Mike Bibby’s been huge, even when his shot isn’t falling (the Hawks can only wonder how different things might be if they’d made that trade a month earlier).
And the young bigs (Josh Smith and Al Horford) continue to make believers out everyone who sees them. The Celtics certainly believe.
“They’re just good. They’re athletic. They make shots,” Celtics coach Doc Rivers said after his team had to scrap like crazy in the second half to finish off the Hawks. “I’ll tell you what, Horford, it’s a shame. I don’t know what rookie’s playing better. I think he is a terrific player on a team that has a chance to make the playoffs and be very good. I don’t know if he gets enough credit. Obviously, Joe Johnson is terrific and Mike Bibby and Josh Smith is really coming into his own. Childress is one of my more favorite players in the league just because they never call a play for him. He scores, rebounds and plays defense and he ends up in games with between 12 and 18 points without one play called for him at the small forward position. That’s really unusual to see.”
Even Paul Pierce sounds convinced.
“They will probably end up being a team we see in the first round,” Pierce said. “They definitely have the talent, when you have an All-Star like Joe Johnson to go along with Josh Smith. And when you add Bibby in that mix, this team is a two or three game winning-streak away from being right there. I think it’s just going to take a little time, maybe a couple more games just to get the chemistry with Bibby. But he is definitely an added dimension to their team, a veteran who has been in the playoffs before that can give them a boost, especially in these last 20-25 games.”
Sounds good. But we’ll just have to wait and see how this all plays out. The opportunity is there for the taking. It remains to be seen if this team, from top to bottom, has the stones to snatch opportunity away from the rest of the pack.
A few notes, quotes and an observation or two …
If there’s a better motivator on any team than Kevin Garnett, I haven’t seen him. He worked Kendrick Perkins and Big Baby Davis over so hard (barking at them relentlessly) that they both played through the roof. Watching the Celtics transformation from last season to now ranks as one of the more dramatic turnarounds I’ve seen in sports. The year the Heat revamped their roster and went on to win a title wasn’t anything like this. They struggled for a while and caught fire in the postseason. But if the Celtics find a way to win a title (a huge if, of course) would be remarkable in that they’ll have played their tails off from wire to wire. Remarkable.
Question: Is this team still struggling to find an identity? Answer: “We are struggling on the road. That has been a given this season. We have been in some games on the road just like tonight, the effort was tremendous I thought until the third and fourth quarter, the middle of the third, and on into the fourth quarter we just didn’t have a defensive presence. And in this league that is, I think, what wins games.” - Hawks coach Mike Woodson.
Had a post-game phone conversation with Tyronn Lue and he says it’s official, he’s signing with the Dallas Mavericks. Lue was waived Friday by Sacramento and had his choice of teams (Dallas, Phoenix, Denver, Charlotte, etc.) in need of a veteran backup point guard to help them through the end of the season and the playoffs. He fielded calls from good friends in Phoenix (Shaq, Grant Hill, etc.) but said he opted for the opportunity in Dallas because of the role he’ll play backing up a future Hall of Famer in Jason Kidd.
Tell me you didn’t have a This is your life” moment watching Salim Stoudamire and Eddie House guarding each other Sunday night. Both guys played reasonably well in their respective minutes (‘Lim went 3-for-4 from the floor for six points while House went 2-for-9 and had five point, four assists and two rebounds). Guys like these two have to be on your team in the NBA. I know I’ve touted the Hawks’ shooter deluxe more than most this season, even when it appeared that he had no role on this team. But you must have cats like these to call upon when needed.
Game ops gaffe of the night - How about the dude who pushed the button on the video promo hyping Wednesday’s Celtics-Pistons game with two minutes to play and the Celtics clinging to a seven-point lead? Um, I can think of a better time to run that thing … how’s about never. That said, it was a sweet promo that would have looked great on TNT or something.
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