AJC > Sports > Hawks > Blog > Archives > 2008 > October > 30
Thursday, October 30, 2008
Don’t be satisfied
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
ORLANDO - Those were the words on the dry erase board in the Hawks’ locker room after Wednesday’s huge win over Orlando.
I have no idea who wrote them. But they couldn’t have done a better job in summing up the directive for these Hawks going forward.
Being undefeated after the first 48 minutes of the season has to feel good. But if the Hawks want to keep the good vibrations rolling, they’ll have to find a new motivation every night.
Staying humble about whatever they accomplish this season (and one impressive road win doesn’t mean much of anything other than one impressive road win) is what will keep this team flowing.
That said, playing the socks off a division rival on its home floor isn’t anything to dismiss. Orlando is the runaway favorite to win the division agains this season and most everyone expects them to challenge for another 50-win season behind Dwight Howard.
Hawks captain Joe Johnson had a sobering perspective on the entire affair after the game, making clear that the Hawks need to remain hungry for more while also internalizing the fact that they are a legitimate team and no longer just some hit or miss outfit.
“My expectations for this season is just to compete night in and night out,” said Johnson, who doused any chance the Magic had of coming back with nine fourth quarter points in the win. “I think that will take care of us making the playoffs or how far we will go. As long as we play with confidence every night and with a winning attitude, we’ll be fine.”
CRANK THAT: Josh Smith is a man of his word.
When he was criticized for his lackluster performance during the Hawks’ preseason schedule, he warned anyone willing to listen that come Oct. 29 he would crank his game up to a high level.
He was game-changer Wednesday night, and not for the obvious reasons (17 points, 10 rebounds, five blocks, four steals and no turnovers). Smith’s biggest contributions Wednesday don’t have a column in the box score.
Whenever there was a loose ball to be had, Smith was one of the first players on the floor after it. He set the tone for the Hawks early with two jolting blocks of Howard, sizing up his pal since pre-school both times in highlight fashion.
It was the type of menacing, all-court effort I wrote about in the Hawks preview, the kind of effort that made him such a tough matchup during the playoffs last season.
“That’s when he is at his best,” Johnson said of Smith. “When he is active, blocking shots, rebounding, getting up and down the floor and dunking. We need him flying around like that. When he does that, he is one of the best in the league.”
Smith is also one of the best in the league at settling scores with blocks. His anticipation of Howard’s moves in several instances during the game might have startled some, including Howard. But it was all friendly payback for Howard dunking on Smith (and reminding him of it all summer) during a game in Atlanta last season.
“He dunked on me and got an and one,” Smith said. “He got on me about it all summer and I didn’t like it, so I wanted to prove a point when we got down here.”
PHILLY GOOD: The shouting and cheering coming from the Hawks’ locker room after Wednesday’s game had nothing to do with the big win over the Magic.
That noise was courtesy of Flip Murray, who doubled up on the night with a fantastic showing off the bench for the Hawks and his beloved Philadelphia Phillies finally breaking through and winning the World Series title.
“It don’t get too much better than this,” Murray said smiling. “My Phillies man, my Phillies. They did their job and we did our job.”
Murray said the Hawks came in with the express purpose of trying to smack the Magic first and take the air out of the building. That mission was accomplished almost immediately.
“That was the focus, especially for a first game of the year against a big rival,” he said. “And they wanted it too. The fans came out, they had the building rocking and they had their little introductions and everything, they had it all going. It was our job to come out and take the life out of the building, jump on them early and that’s what we did.”
No one had a tougher night than Magic reserve guard JJ Redick, who got exposed for being the pitiful defender he is when matched up against Murray during one second-quarter stretch.
Murray scored on Redick at will, driving past him, backing him down and shooting over him and treating him like the overrated draft night bust that he appears to be (or at least he appears on the road to becoming - and for the life of me, can the fine folks of this city please stop acting like the guy is some All-Star player? He gets more crowd love than any of the Magic’s legitimate players. It’s ridiculous).
“It’s all about the rhythm of the game,” Murray said. “Wherever the mismatch is we’re going to try and exploit until they do something about it.”
