AJC > Sports > Hawks > Blog > Archives > 2008 > October > 16
Thursday, October 16, 2008
The little things …
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
HAWKSVILLE - When the Suns show up for a preseason game and Shaq, Amare Stoudemire and Leandro Barbosa are all held out of the action it’s hard to get terribly excited about the game itself.
But it’s easy to focus on the little things, the details of a game that in the grand scheme of things means little more than a free public scrimmage between two teams bent on keeping everyone healthy (sorry Steve Nash, I know that sprained ankle suffered before halftime must have hurt).
Suns coach Terry Porter said it best when talking about the hands-free defensive approach of the first half when he said, “I wasn’t happy with the lack of defense being played in the first half, and I’m sure Mike Woodson would say the same thing. It was as if we signed a peace treaty in the first half to let each other score, but in the second half both teams settled down.”
And that’s why I tried to train my eyes on the little things last night.
I tried to focus in on the minutiae and see if there was something that might be going on that might have escaped our magnifying glass up until now.
A few observations:
If you knew you could get about 10 rebounds and seven points from Zaza Pachulia in about 19 minutes every night, would you take it? I would. He only took two shots but was aggressive going to the rim (5-for-6 from the foul line). Sure, he had three turnovers but he only registered one personal foul and also blocked a shot. His comfort level this preseason is a complete 180 from a year ago. Apparently a new wife and baby agree with ZP, because he looks refreshed and is playing that same way. Joe Johnson made the same point to me after the game, unprompted, confirming my initial thought.
Othello Hunter made me feel a lot better about raving about his uncanny knack for being in the right place at the right time around the rim a couple weeks ago by doing exactly that in his 17-plus minutes of action. He was 3-for-5 from the floor and finished with six points, three rebounds, an assist and a block. He didn’t jump out at anybody with his play but it’s interesting to see if the things you see from a guy in practices and scrimmages translates into games. Hunter’s a keeper and a guy that could end up being a great find if he develops his game over the next couple of years.
It might be hard for some people to fathom the idea that Solomon Jones will end up being a better NBA player than Shelden Williams, but it could happen. That chatter started during the summer before the start of their rookie seasons, when Williams was clearly more ready for the NBA than Jones. A few people inside the organization that strongly protested the drafting of Williams at No. 5 made it clear that they felt Jones had more “upside” than Williams. I couldn’t agree more then and now.
The Hawks’ 21-6 edge in fast break points against a team like the Suns is startling, even if it just in the preseason. Honestly, I don’t know how the Hawks keep a straight face when they’re not running (or at least trying to push the pace a little bit), because it’s so obvious that it is when they are most dangerous. During a three minute stretch just before halftime, when they trailed by as many as eight points, the Hawks chewed into that lead by beating the Suns up and down the floor and making plays on both ends. The deficit was just a point at halftime. I wish you all could have seen the looks on the faces of the Suns players and coaches as they headed to the locker room. They had that “What the heck just happened?” look going on. It was classic.
Acie Law IV played 865 minutes during the regular season as a rookie, a paltry number for the No. 11 pick in any draft (and I don’t care that he was hurt several times throughout the season). He’s already played a team-high 146 minutes during this preseason, and don’t think it’s by accident. Woodson knows that he has to make sure Law is ready for his role, whatever it might be this season, and that he can only get their by playing. That learning by osmosis (and watching) approach from last year clearly didn’t work. Law has responded well with the increased minutes (he’s on a fantastic run right now) and is poised to quite many of his doubters. He even shut me up last night about his assist numbers by piling up six (with just one turnover). The thing I really appreciate about his game is that even when he doesn’t shoot particularly well he is capable of manufacturing points by getting to the rim and drawing fouls (he shot just 2-for-8 from the floor last night but was 7-for-8 from the free throw line).
Anybody seen Randolph Morris? The Hawks only have three preseason games left and it would be nice to see the young big man make an appearance. I have a sneaking feeling that the Hawks are going to need him at some point early this season, what with the foul troubles and injury issues that can befall any team at any time. Morris is a bit different from the typical big man in that he’s far more polished offensively than he is a brute or a physical presence. That may be why he hasn’t seen more minutes (he’s clocked just seven so far in the preseason, lowest on the team). I’d just like to see what he can do in a crisis, even if it is a preseason crisis.
Finally, it was something to see Mo Evans crowd Grant Hill at the top of the key on what turned out to be the game-winning play for the Suns with about 11 seconds to play. Hill made a sweet pull-up jumper over Evans with 5.6 seconds left in the game. What I liked was that Evans was hungry for that challenge and how upset he was that Hill made the shot (this is preseason remember, we’re “not supposed to care who wins and loses”). He pounded the cushion on the scorer’s table in front of us and sent someone’s mouthpiece case flying (no one was harmed). It always helps when your designated defensive stopper embraces his role.
