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Thursday, November 20, 2008
Vivica not Halle!
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
HAWKSVILLE - If Wednesday night’s game against Washington was the Hawks’ gut-check moment, give them credit, they answered the challenge.
Marvin Williams made sure of it. So did Mike Bibby. And Zaza Pachulia and, of course, Joe Johnson, Mo Evans, Flip Murray and on and on.
It wasn’t a thing of beauty by any stretch, scrapping to beat a one-win team at home never is. But it was what the Hawks needed most.
Had their four-game losing streak continued, the doubts that are swirling about this team here and elsewhere might have permeated the locker room. And internal doubt can destroy a team’s chemistry faster and more decisively than anything.
Now that the sweet smell of that 6-0 start has dissipated, it’s time for Hawks fans to prepare yourselves for exactly what type of team you have, and I was trying to think about an analogy that would work to illustrate this next point.
Basically, you thought you were dating Halle Berry the first six games and now you realize you’re actually dating Vivica A. Fox, and not Independence Day Vivica but Vivica circa Nov. 20, 2008. And it’s not like Vivica isn’t fly. But she’s not exactly Halle (I know you’ve seen her on the Esquire cover so you know what I’m talking about), not exactly who you thought you were with. So the adrenaline isn’t exactly pumping the way it was early on, when you thought you hit the jackpot.
The same goes for these Hawks. They are going to win with smothering defense and opportunistic offense, by grinding out games and sticking to their core theme of defense and rebounding. They’re not going to be like the Suns’ high-flying teams of the past few seasons. They’re not going to dazzle anyone with their style and grace. It won’t always look good. Winning will simply have to do.
Those of us watching from TV last night (thanks to Carroll Rogers I had a day to recharge my battery) saw a weary team, one that lacked energy as well as confidence for most of the night. After watching them and then watching Portland and Chicago later, and seeing how much more energetic the Blazers looked compared to the Hawks (and Bulls for that matter), it was stunning.
And yet, when they needed to, the Hawks found a way to dig out the win (battling back from four points down with 65 seconds to play to pull it out). Again, it’s not pretty, but the job gets done. And for these Hawks, it’s the results that count.
So forget about Halle and start focusing on Vivica.
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