AJC > Sports > Hawks > Blog > Archives > 2009 > January > 23
Friday, January 23, 2009
Superman and other stuff
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
HAWKSVILLE - So Dwight Howard really is Superman huh?
He snagged three million All-Star votes, the first player to reach that milestone, and will lead the Eastern Conference in next month’s All-Star Game in Phoenix.
When I picked up my paper this morning and saw the story on the front of the sports section, I have to admit I was a bit stunned to see that Howard had outpaced the entire All-Star field.
It was just a few years ago that last weekend that I was down here getting lost all over town trying to find the Adamsville Recreation Center one night, and Whitfield Academy the next, to see the then Southwest Atlanta Christian Academy star in action on back-to-back nights during his senior year of high school.
I was working in Indianapolis then and the buzz about Howard was raging around the league, so with the Pacers in town for the Martin Luther King Jr. Day game that year it turned out to be an ideal chance to see this phenom twice during a road trip.
Longtime Pacers GM Donnie Walsh (now of the Knicks) told me before I left that I was going to see the “No. 1 pick” in that summer’s draft. But I have to admit to being a bit skeptical before I left (the high school craze in the NBA was in full swing then and I’d heard similar things about Kwame Brown, Tyson Chandler and Eddy Curry only to be disappointed later).
But after watching Howard toy with his competition on back-to-back nights, it was clear that Walsh was right. I watched him for about five minutes before I picked up my cell phone and called Walsh to agree.
Stunningly, not everyone was convinced that he, and not Emeka Okafor, was the clear-cut top player available that year.
I had several scouts argue me down at the Big East Tournament that spring in New York that Okafor was the no-brainer to player.
What I’m wondering is, for those of you who kept up with Howard during his high school career, did you have any idea Howard would be this good when you saw him?
FOR STARTERS
I won’t bother arguing the All-Star starters. Since the fans vote them on, there isn’t really much to debate (though Allen Iverson joining the starters this year is a pure travesty).
The real debate will start when the reserves are announced, because there will be a limited number of spots for worthy candidates.
But that’s a heated blogscussion for another day.
SMOOVE’S REVIVAL
And now, back to our regularly scheduled programming (Hawks, Hawks and more Hawks).
Our Falcons guru, the esteemed D. Orlando Ledbetter, pinch-hit for me yesterday while I finished up a two-day furlough and nailed it with a nice piece on Josh Smith and his much-improved rebounding from the last two games.
I found out that Smith has been doing some behind the scenes studying with Hawks assistant coach Jim Todd (a new addition to the staff this season that has drawn rave reviews from every player I’ve spoken to), looking at video cut ups of his minutes from every game.
Smith told me that pre-game Siskel (may he rest in peace) and Ebert sessions have been invaluable. And while it’s clear that Smith still strays from what is his most effective game (working inside early and often on both ends), these past two games show that when he locks in and focuses his energy on rebounding and scoring inside, he can outplay most (I SAID MOST) power forwards and centers he’ll face on a nightly basis.
Since Horford went down with his injury Smith has logged as much time at center as he has power forward. Against Toronto Monday he was on the floor with four guards for long stretches. Same thing Tuesday in Chicago, with Zaza Pachulia’s foul trouble always a determining factor.
He and Zaza have quietly put together a nice eight-quarter run here that, should it continue, helps soften the blow of Horford’s absence.
I was surrounded by advance scouts at courtside in Chicago Tuesday night, and each one of them commented to me on the increased activity of both guys.
“When they’re busy like that, this is an impossible team to figure out because they’ve got those two [Mike Bibby and Joe Johnson] on the wing making you pay for focusing too much attention inside,” an advance scout friend from a Western Conference team told me. “The only thing I don’t like is their body language when they get tired or when things go wrong. You can tell Smith and Pachulia don’t have the same chemistry that Smith and Horford have. But when things are going good, they’re a handful.”
The lack of chemistry is nothing out of the ordinary. And this time playing together without Horford can only help improve that for the future.
They’ll need to be on their game tonight against an improved Milwaukee club that poses some legitimate challenges inside.
THE DOLLAR STORE?
I dropped in on the Georgia State-VCU game Wednesday night to catch up with GSU coach Rod Barnes (known him for years and covered him years ago when he coached Ole Miss) and stumbled upon my new favorite past time.
This, of course, was after I walked into the gym and spotted Hawks GM Rick Sund sitting courtside scouting on one side of the floor and Horford (who is tight with VCU coach Anthony Grant from their Florida days) posted up in the stands on the other side of the floor.
We all had our reasons for being there (I didn’t ask him but Sund surely was there to scout impressive VCU guard Eric Maynor, who lit it up from all over in leading his team to the win).
But everything came to a halt for me at half time. I hustled the family off to the concession stand for some refreshments expecting, like usual, that I’d have to take out a loan to pay for snacks and stuff and was greeted with the best news I’d heard all year.
“Everything costs a dollar,” the young lady at the counter said.
I asked her to repeat it just so I could hear it again (Wifey is the queen of the everything’s a dollar parade but I love a good bargain, too, especially in this current economic downturn).
And now I find out they’re doing the same at Philips Arena for Hawks games, with a couple stipulations.
Hot docs, popcorn and fountain drinks are a dollar from the time the doors open until opening tip at all the general concession stands at Philips through Feb. 10.
That’s not a bad deal if you’re one of those Hawks fans that actually show up before opening tip.
