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August 2008
Quittin’ time?
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
SMYRNA - The greatest upset in Australian sports history, per legendary Aussie hoopster Andrew Gaze, never got off the ground Wednesday morning in Beijing.
Team USA trashed the Boomers 116-85, blowing open a reasonably competitive game just before halftime for their sixth straight blowout win (they’ve led by 25 or more in every single game) in the competition.
Andrew Bogut and his mates on the Australian national team had dominated their competition leading up to their quarterfinal matchup against Team USA.
But they were no match for the US early on and after a Deron Williams 3-pointer at the halftime buzzer, it was complete domination.
I’m a bit sick that I woke up this early to watch what turned out to be a glorified scrimmage for the US (a blowout game along with the repeated totally inconsequential references to his son Chris by NBC analyst Doug Collins is a tough way to spend the early morning). The Australians didn’t seem to have the guts or talent to muster much of a comeback once the US grabbed them by the throat.
Not even some spirited third quarter smack talk from some anonymous Aussie forward that needs a shave (he barked at Dwyane Wad after he made a 3-pointer and was fouled by Wade with his team down a cool 27 points) could liven up this tail-whipping.
The next time someone espouses the virtue of the international game and how fantastic it is, remind them that every time one of these international teams gets down big they quit. I mean they just shut it down and take a beating without so much as a frown. If Team USA pulled a stunt like that they’d get roasted the way they did during the past few international competitions when they struggled.
That’s something I’m just not used to seeing. NBA teams that get down big always seem to crawl their way back into the game. At least they try to crawl their way back (hey, you remember the Hawks from a couple years back. They were the kings of getting down huge and then storming back only to lose anyway).
Apparently that resilience isn’t a part of the package for the Australians. Bogut, the Bucks’ $72 million (with incentives) man was invisible out there. I had to scan the screen several times to make sure he was out there, because he had no presence (his ankle injury flared up again at just the right time).
The performance of Bogut and his teammates was a supreme letdown after all the chatter from the Boomers leading up to the game, though in his defense, Bogut wasn’t nearly as brash as some others.
Even after their huge win over Lithuania, he realized that Wednesday’s task would be far greater than anything they’d done before this. “”I mean, they are the best players in the world individually and more talented than every one of us, but we don’t play individual basketball. We move the ball very well,” Bogut said to the assembled press in China. ”That’s what we’re going to have to do against those guys. If we can shoot better than we shot [against Lithuania] we’ll be in with a chance, otherwise it’s going to be a tough game.”
Well said Mr. Bogut. Well said.
Hopefully Argentina or Greece will provide a much stiffer test for Team USA, because this one was a joke.
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Olympics overload
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
SMYRNA - Thank goodness the Hawks are in crickets mode right now, because if they weren’t I wouldn’t have any time to watch this wall to wall coverage of the Olympics (and that’s not one of my usual slights, I’m serious).
Since college football is still a couple weeks away and the Hawks’ summer drama has come to a pleasant halt, I’ve been glued to this Olympics coverage.
I’ve watched it all, everything from track and field to volleyball and team handball to swimming and diving.
For the life of me I can’t figure out how anyone that loves sports of any kind avoids the summer games. Even the basketball games, most of the ones I’ve watched so far have been routs, have been nothing short of entertaining.
Team USA overmatching opponents the way they did Germany this morning (106-57) wouldn’t normally keep me glued to the screen. But there’s something about watching Deron Williams and Chris Paul tossing alley oops to each other in the final seconds that makes me smile. Even the blowouts are more fun in the Olympics.
So strong is the Olympic pull, it’s kept me from focusing all of my non-Hawks related early August attention to my life’s true passion (Michigan football). And I know you’ve all grown fond of my preoccupation with all things winged helmet (that’s a joke, besides family and Michigan football are tied for the top spot. And since my Wolverines are probably going to endure a long and painful season, I’ll refrain from my usual college football smack talk until we get good again - or until I ruin the DVD replay of us stomping Florida in the bowl game last year. Whichever comes first).
Honestly, the only remaining intrigue for me is seeing if Team USA can bring home the gold (well, that and the men’s 400 meter finals). If they do so they’ll cap a glorious redemption tour with the only thing that can pacify the basketball public. But Australia appears to be prepared to play the role of spoiler in the quarterfinals Wednesday.
I’m excepting it to be the best game of the competition, since Andrew Bogut is healthy and ready to go after missing out on a chance to face Team USA with a sore ankle in the exhibition game the two teams played the week before the Olympics began.
A few other notes, a quote or two and some general observations from a long weekend:
LIGHTNING BOLT: Usain Bolt did something in the 100 meters final that few people thought possible, he destroyed the 9.7-second barrier while also smashing the world (his own) and Olympic record in the process.
Someone that big (a NBA-shooting guard-esque 6-5, 210) should never be able to move that fast. It’s not fair to the rest of us. It’s not fair for the rest of the people out there trying to run the 100 meters for a living, especially when you consider that Bolt is just 21.
Before he could finish the race he was being criticized for showboating in the last 10 meters. And for the next however many days folks care he’ll be pounded for not shaving more time off of the world record (I can’t tell you how many times I read it Sunday. Nearly every account of the race I read mentioned it).
A little news flash for all of us in the media, since dude owned the world record anyway, wasnt it his prerogative to do whatever he wanted to with own property? Besides, something tells me he’ll be running as fast or faster in the future anyway, so who cares if he didn’t get down to 9.59 seconds or whatever folks were hoping he would.
The only downside to Lightning Bolt’s fantastic showcase is that the skeptics wondering if Bolt is 100 percent free of chemical performance enhancers were sounding off before the race was finished, too.
They’re almost as bad as the celebration police that show up every time something (or someone) takes the sports world by storm with a little flair and style (for the record, I’m a staunch supporter of showboating, smack talking, touchdown celebrations and any other celebratory gesture after someone has accomplished a feat deserving of any fuss at all).
I guess we could all stand to lighten up a little bit. The Olympics come around every four years. And these athletes train like crazy to have the chance to win gold. If they want to celebrate a little bit, or even a lot, so be it.
Plus, when you’re as good as Bolt appears to be … you get a pass.
The Jamaican team physician might have said it best, “Toscanini said Marian Anderson’s contralto voice comes along once a century,” said Dr. Herb Elliott. “A guy like Usain Bolt comes along once a century.”
PARGO TO RUSSIA: The Hawks snagged Flip Murray last week and the guy we talked about around here, Jannero Pargo, bolted for the cash in Russia. Pargo was obligated to do what was best for his bank account and career and apparently that didn’t include playing in the NBA this season.
Pargo would have been a nice addition, but I’m not sure there’s much difference between what he brings and what Murray gives you. Their styles are a bit different and Murray, when locked in, is a much better defender. But Pargo is a scoring machine and a fearless offensive weapon.
Strangely enough, had he not signed a deal with the Hawks word is Murray was headed for Russia as well. Anyone still think that rush of NBA role players to the Euroleague was just a fluke?
KEMP, TOO: Not all of the migration of NBA players to Europe looks as good on paper. An Italian team has reportedly snagged former NBA All-Star Shawn Kemp. Outside of it being a total publicity stunt, I have no idea what this is supposed to do for the team.
There have to be scads of young big men that could use that job and do a much better job than an old cat like Kemp (who in his prime was pound for pound one of the most exciting players on the planet).
Here’s hoping he is the first and last retired NBA player to jet overseas for a job in the basketball hinterlands (I know Kemp’s supposed to be in great shape and everything but face it Rain Man, it’s over).
TRANSFORMER: Josh Smith was spotted Saturday playing in the championship game of the Wallace Prather Jr. Pro Summer League and left an indelible impression on those of us who hadn’t seen him since the Hawks’ playoff run ended in that Game 7 loss in Boston in early May.
He’s transformed his upper body into a sculpted mass of muscles. He looked as physically imposing as I’ve ever seen him while tussling with an array of other Atlanta-born, bred or based pros at the Adamsville Recreational Center Saturday afternoon (by the way, his team lost the big trophy because they couldn’t slow down Javaris Crittenton and Louis Williams down the stretch of an extremely competitive contest).
Smith’s added bulk doesn’t necessarily appear to be added weight either. He’s literally transformed his upper body. The added strength is something he’ll need this season as well, what with all the heavy lifting he and Al Horford will have to do in the paint if the Hawks are going to chase the playoffs again.
JUST ABOUT OVER: Now that Philadelphia’s Andre Iguodala has finally signed his contract (six-years, $80 million), the summer’s free agent frenzy is all but over. The only name big name left on the board is Ben Gordon who, if you believe all the published reports out of Chi-Town, is bound for another locker room.
The minute the Bulls drafted Derrick Rose you knew someone had to hit the bricks. I wasn’t sure if it was going to be Gordon or Kirk Hinrich. The Bulls cleared that up for us all by playing hardball with Gordon (who turned down $50 million last October and now might not come close to anything like that on his next contract).
Gordon’s a tough sell for most teams because while he can score at will, he’s a “tweener” in the truest sense of the word. He won’t fit as a starter at the point because it’s not his game. And if you try to start him at shooting guard he’ll be a defensive liability, not to mention that he absolutely needs to play alongside a much bigger point guard.
He is a scoring machine and could give a team a huge boost off the bench. No team, however, is going to be interested in paying a sixth-man (that struggles to guard anyone at his position) the kind of money Gordon is apparently looking for.
Man, restricted free agency. It’s a nasty business. I’m just glad it’s over around here.
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Around the rim
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
SMYRNA - I know the US-Angola game in Beijing this morning is a tough sell for most, but having missed most of Sunday’s game with China, it was my first opportunity to see Team Kobe in action.
And while I still disagree with the idea of making Kobe the centerpiece of this team (I’d play through LeBron “Little Emperor” James and Dwyane Wade and let everyone else get in where they fit in), I want to see what this team is capable of doing on this stage.
A 97-76 runaway on an inferior opponent is what you expect. But around 9:16 a.m., the broadcast kicked into high gear for me as NBC analyst Doug Collins started riffing on the Hawks and why they passed on Chris Paul and Deron Williams in the 2005 draft in favor of Marvin Williams.
I’m not sure who he has doing his research, but they need to polish up their skills and make sure they get the story right before going on the air.
Collins insisted that Joe Johnson wanted the point guard job that summer and the Hawks’ pursuit of him was predicated on Johnson being allowed to play the point. “He played off the ball in Phoenix with Steve Nash and in order to play with the Hawks he wanted to have the ball in his hands,” Collins said, speaking like someone who was actually involved in the process (which he, of course, was not).
And for the record, that’s not even close to right.
The entire Joe Johnson at point guard was a hybrid idea from former Hawks general manager Billy Knight and coach Mike Woodson. Since Johnson had played that spot at Arkansas (he wasn’t listed as a point guard but I was covering the SEC back then and he was absolutely the Hogs’ point guard, the same LeBron is the Cavs’ point guard these days), the Hawks’ brass at the time felt he could play a similar role here.
It was a fine theory but faulty in practice, as we all saw over the course of Johnson’s first half season in a Hawks uniform. It was way too much pressure on your best player, best defender and clutch-shooter to have to worry about handling the ball that much.
The reason the Hawks didn’t take either of those point guards, and they worked both of them out, is that they were convinced that they needed a veteran point guard (huge mistake). They didn’t think Williams or Paul was ready to lead a team from the first day of training camp (another huge mistaken evaluation).
In fact, my notes from interviews with Knight, Woodson and other members of the front office staff at that time went something like this: “Paul’s just too little. He’s going to be a liability on defense and he’s not a great shooter. They liked Williams better, he’s bigger point guard, but his body type worried them. He didn’t look to be in great shape during the workout. Not sure he’s a good enough shooter for what we need, though.”
What I can say with certainty is that neither Knight nor Woodson was sold on those point guards. That’s why they passed on them. And that’s how the Hawks went from the potential of one of those guys to spending cash for Speedy Claxton (after a failed bid for Sam Cassell’s services in the summer of 2006).
Acting as if Joe Johnson’s desire to play point guard led the Hawks to pass on both Williams and Paul, however, is a complete fabrication (not to mention a figment of DC’s imagination).
While we’re on the topic of point guards, try this crazy scenario out and see how you feel about it now.
The Hawks had a trade on the table during training camp before last season where they could have moved Josh Childress to Toronto for their backup point guard at the time, some guy named Jose Calderon.
Knight was ready to pull the trigger but the Hawks balked at the last minute (why has never been made clear but one of my best spies has always maintained that Knight was prohibited from making the deal by his bosses for reasons my spy refuses to divulge to this day).
Can you imagine how different things might be right now5 if that deal actually went down? Just food for thought while we’re pondering recent history and what might have been.
TURBULENT TIMES: I traded emails with Zaza Pachulia yesterday and he admitted that he’s been stressed since the conflict in his homeland (Georgia) began last week.
He said the situation is “crazy” and that the people back in his homeland are rightfully in a “panic.”
He’s said he’s doing his best to support them from here and is hopeful that the provisional cease-fire of hostilities reached earlier today would lead to peace.
I can’t fathom what he’s going through right now, but if ever a guy needed the support of the people around him, Zaza needs it now (and he said his teammates have been extremely sensitive to that and supportive of him).
ANOTHER GUARD?: The question I’ve gotten more than any other the past 48 hours concerns the Hawks’ roster.
“Are the Hawks done?”
Done is a strong word, this far away from the start of training camp.
It’s clear to me that the Hawks have to add at least one more veteran guard (one who can swing between both positions in a reserve role) to the roster before the season starts, as was written in Saturday’s blog.
I’m not sure who that big guard might be, but that’s clearly what the Hawks need. Another big man never hurts. But if the Hawks had to toe it up tonight, they’d have what they need to compete.
The additions of Thomas Gardner and Othello Hunter should be a warning shot for guys on the fringe of making this roster. There will be new blood floating around training camp and they’ll be hunting for jobs. So if you’re not on safe ground contractually, you better be prepared to fight for your spot.
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The dynamic duo
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Every time someone mentioned breaking up the Hawks’ Josh Smith-Al Horford frontcourt tandem in the past six weeks, I’d remind them of the one night that convinced me more than any other that doing so would be disastrous.
I’m talking about the night the Hawks knocked off the Los Angeles Lakers 98-95 before a raucous, pro-Lakers crowd February 6 at Philips Arena.
Joe Johnson led the Hawks that night with 28 points, outscoring Kobe Bryant (who was nursing an injured finger) by 17 points.
But the bigger story was the way Smith and Horford outplayed the Lakers’ frontline of Pau Gasol and Lamar Odom.
Odom finished with 19 points and 11 rebounds and Gasol 12, seven and one block in just their third or fourth game together.
Smith ripped the Lakers 17 points, nine rebounds, nine assists and five blocks while Horford mashed them inside with 15 points and (what was then) a career-high 20 rebounds.
It was a majestic sight to see in person, these two youngsters carving up the two vets the way they did. I told someone after the game that if the Hawks could ride those two young cats occasionally the rest of the season, I believed they truly had a shot to make the playoffs.
I flip-flopped on that opinion down the stretch of the season, riding the roller coaster like everyone else. But as soon as the Hawks got into that playoff series with Celtics and Smith and Horford started going off in games 3 and 4, I went back to that Lakers game.
Whatever size disadvantage they might face on a given night, they present just as many matchup problems for their opponents.
Two guys this talented, this young and with so much potential still untapped … it’s almost as if the Hawks owed it to the game to keep this young dynamic duo together. If for no other reason than allowing us to see what becomes of them as a pair.
A few weeks ago Horford made it clear to me just how important it was for him to have Josh Smith watching his back every night. And Smith said the same about Horford when we spoke Friday night.
“I don’t think there’s any questions that our games complement each other,” Smith said. “You develop a chemistry out there that is hard to duplicate. And I think over the course of the season me and Al got our chemistry down, in terms of knowing how to cover each other’s backs and fuel each other’s fire, so to speak. We’re going to try and wreak havoc every night. Every night.”
REAL TALK: Smith was candid about his future Friday when he had no clue what the Hawks were going to do (for those of you fresh out of the Fulton County lock up, the Hawks matched before the nightly news came on).
I asked him about possibly having to leave his hometown to continue his NBA career, and he approached it with a measured tone and complete understanding of the business that is the NBA.
“It’s tough, Atlanta is where I’m from, where I was born and raised,” Smith said. “I love the city, and I love the fans. They’ve been great to me. It would be hard [to leave], but I’m always going to be an ATLien. I’ll never forget my roots. But I understand this is a business.”
Thankfully, Smith won’t have to worry about leaving anymore.
GUARD HELP: Two intriguing names keep popping up on my radar in terms of free agents (not named Smith finally) that are still floating around.
Jannero Pargo and Shaun Livingston.
Pargo is a scoring machine that has bounced around the league and produced everywhere he’s been (most recently in New Orleans). He’s available and would give whatever team he joins a scoring boost off the bench.
He’s also a former college teammate of Joe Johnson’s from Arkansas (he was at Johnson’s celebrity weekend last month in Tunica, Miss.) and from what I understand still one of his closest friends.
Livingston is a guy I’ve always thought could be spectacular in the right situation. But after the horrific knee injury he suffered and the subsequent year of rehab he’s gone through, any team that considers the former lottery pick will be gambling that he can make a return to somewhere near what he was before the injury.
With the need for still more scoring help off the bench, both guys would be intriguing options.
After speaking briefly with Salim Stoudamire Thursday afternoon, it seems clear to me that he is one player that will not be an option. He doesn’t appear to have any interest in pursuing a future with the Hawks (nor do they with him), which is a sad end to what should have been a much more fruitful relationship for both sides.
Stoudamire said (by phone from Portland) that he’s considering all his options from around the league, options that don’t include a fourth season with the Hawks (who never seemed to find the right fit for him).
It’s too bad. I’ll always believe he could have been a dangerous weapon for the Hawks, if used properly (sort of like Pargo has been throughout his career).
ANYTHING ELSE?: Francisco Elson’s name continues to be bandied about as an available big man the Hawks have made overtures about, which is a good thing because there is a need for another big in the rotation.
Anyone that has been here over the past couple of years knows how much I’ve discussed Elson (and my all-time favorite, somewhat anonymous veteran big Aaron Williams and even a homeboy like Othella Harrington) and what kind of fit I think he’d be for this team.
Sign up one more cat like that and the Hawks should be ready for training camp.
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No more games: Sign Smith
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
This is the move nobody saw coming. The Grizzlies have been sitting on the salary cap space all summer. Everyone assumed they were saving up for the free-agent classes in the future, but it appears they have been targeting Josh Smith for some time.
That said, the Hawks remain in a prime position to hold on to one of their best players by matching the Grizzlies offer sheet.
I’d match it immediately. Why risk damaging your relationship with Smith more, by playing games for another week?
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Can you handle the truth?
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
SMYRNA - The hate-infested waters that this space has become in recent weeks in easily the most disappointing development of the summer.
Even more disappointing than Josh Childress bolting for Greece without the Hawks receiving any compensation.
And even more disappointing than Josh Smith and the Hawks being nowhere near terms on either a new contract or deal to send him elsewhere, a week into the month of August.
Even our so-called friends have taken the low road (Lang Whitaker of SLAM magazine fired off a salvo of his own a few minutes ago admonishing me for the hands-free approach to the blog the past few days).
But I’ll present you the same dilemma that I will to him and anyone else stressing these Hawks and their feared next move in a summer that will seemingly never end, can you handle the truth?
Can you handle the truth about how and why the Josh Childress situation melted down the way it did? (Botched negotiations forced him to consider an option no one expected and he pounced.)
Can you handle the truth about why the Josh Smith situation remains unsolved? (The Hawks want him at $9 million a year and Smith wants more, something along the lines of what Emeka Okafor, Monta Ellis and Luol Deng have signed for. And until one side is willing to bend, nothing will happen.)
Can you handle the ugly truth about your favorite team? (That right or wrong, the past four years the Hawks have become the team that spends basically the entire summer conducting business that shouldn’t take nearly as long but always does when they are involved.)
Some of you keep asking for updates when the ugly truth is there is no news to update. And that old adage about no news being good news doesn’t apply.
No news means that nothing has changed since last week, save for the release of the Hawks’ 2008-09 schedule (a brutal opening stretch will set the tone for the season, per usual).
Chop it up however you want, but NOTHING HAS CHANGED! The stalemate continues (or as one insider told me Wednesday afternoon, “nothing’s changed from July 1st until today”). For all the back and forth of the past couple weeks the sad truth is Brett Favre will have a new team before Josh Smith’s situation is resolved.
The Hawks are gambling with house money right now, have been since the playoffs ended. You judge for yourself if they’ve handled things right. Folks are going to continue to argue both sides but trying to find a consensus is pointless, because no one here seems willing to be swayed.
And why should you?
If you’ve been riding with a certain side to this point, there’s no sense in trying to switch sides now. Even if it has become painfully obvious that
As for my main man Lang, Mike, oldmike, some sense, JOE, ant banks and some of you other folks wanting me to comment on stuff written about the Hawks on other sites or just comment for the sake of commenting, I won’t waste your time analyzing someone else’s analysis of a situation everyone around here knows infinitely better.
The perceptions about the Hawks as a franchise have most certainly become a reality in cybersapce and to the talking heads that comment on such things. Writers, on air personalities and other “so-called” pundits from national publications haven’t wavered in their skewering of the Hawks from Billy Knight’s regime to Rick Sund’s new administration.
They are not feeling the Hawks and the way they do business.
Can you handle that truth?
As for the schedule, aside from that opening stretch it’s no more brutal than it has been in any of the past four seasons that I can tell.
I don’t think it’s any coincidence that the Hawks are ending yet another streak this season with their Dec. 17 EPSN game against the Celtics, the first meeting between the two since the playoff spat.
Six years between nationally televised regular season games is unfathomable. How the NBA and its network partners have been able to get away with that in one of the nation’s top 10 media markets is nothing short of stunning.
The schedule makers could have really spiced things up and had the Hawks open in Boston on ring ceremony night before an ESPN audience. That would have made for a crazy intense opening night for both teams.
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