AJC > Sports > Columnists > Archives > 2006 > November > 18 > Entry
DEL.ICIO.USOne good sign for Hawks even in a loss
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Mark Bradley
The night began as one of those clip-and-save moments. The reigning NBA champs arrived at Philips Arena trailing the Hawks — yes, the Hawks — by 1 1/2 games in the NBA’s Southeast Division. Somebody snap a picture of those standings and hang it on the barren wall!
As we know, the Hawks haven’t finished above many teams this millennium, but early returns hold out the possibility that change might be in the wind. These Hawks won four consecutive games without a contribution from Marvin Williams, who’s hurt; without much of one from pricey import Speedy Claxton, who’s hurting, and without an offensive outpouring (seven games, 26 points) from Shelden Williams, the latest in the line of lottery picks.
That seemed to suggest the Hawks’ winning record, a modest 4-3 though it was, might not be an utter mirage. Not everything had gone right for this team — indeed, much had gone wrong — and still it was above .500. And a faceoff against the mighty Miami Heat and the massive Shaquille O’Neal could go a ways toward affirming this apparent progress. One thing, though:
Shaq didn’t show.
He was diagnosed with a knee injury Friday and will miss at least a month. You’d expect the Hawks would have been cheered by the news — without O’Neal, the Heat lost to the wretched Knicks by 24 points Friday — but the man who would have bumped bodies with Shaq declared himself saddened by his absence. Said Zaza Pachulia, speaking before tipoff: “I’d like to play as much as possible against the biggest and toughest player in the world.”
Putting aside his personal sorrow, Pachulia then addressed the larger matter. “This,” he said, “is a big game for us.” Who was the last Hawks player who could utter those words with a straight face? Dikembe Mutombo? Dominque Wilkins? Bob Pettit?
It should come as no shock that, even without O’Neal, the team that knows something about big games overcame the team that has glimpsed them only on flat-panel TVs. The Heat won in overtime, winning because they had Dwyane Wade — 37 points, nine assists — and the Hawks didn’t. (It hardly seems fair that, with all those lottery picks, the Hawks have been unable to pluck a Wade of their own.)
Wade notwithstanding, the Hawks had their opportunities. They led by five points in the fourth quarter but wasted a slew of chances to put the tiring visitors away. (Most egregiously, Josh Smith failed to score on back-to-back fast breaks.) They even took a three-point lead in OT, whereupon Wade hit a step-back trey to tie it and fed Jason Williams in the corner for a lasting lead.
Same old story, right? Champs make plays and lottery teams don’t, right? Well, sort of. Coach Mike Woodson took that approach, saying, “They outworked us down the stretch. … We made plays in the first five games, and now we’ve got to get back to making plays.”
And yet … and yet …
A 72-second stand at the end of regulation dropped the hint that this moribund franchise might at last be stirring.
With the game tied, the Hawks had to survive four Heat misses linked by three offensive rebounds. We can fault the Hawks for not rebounding — Woodson surely did — but we should praise them for keeping their defensive shape over that excruciating span, for preventing the wondrous Wade from getting to the rim, for forcing all those shots — one by Wade, three by Antoine Walker — to be jump shots.
Even if this game was lost and even if the Hawks are no longer above .500, those 72 seconds constituted progress for the team that has miles to go. The Hawks didn’t get the rebound they needed, but they got four stops on one possession by the NBA champs. The Hawks of old might have managed one.
Permalink | Comments (10) | Post your comment | Categories: Hawks / NBA, Mark Bradley
Comments
By Wedgie Evans
November 18, 2006 11:18 PM | Link to this
Wow, a lot of optimism after what was really a poorly played game. The Heat tried all day to hand this game to the Hawks and the Hawks gracefully refused. The rebounding was horrendous, Miami seemed to get offensive boards whenever they wanted. The Hawks got lucky that the Heat were missing their outside shots (particularly guys like Jason Williams and Antoine Walker missed plenty of wide open jumpers). Josh Smith absolutely has to find a way to finish at the rim — he alone probably gave away 6 or 7 gimme points today. I will cut them some slack because their best bench player and energy guy (Childress) was out, and they were trying to work Claxton and Stoudamire back into the rotation, which probably had something to do with their ineffective offense early. But this team is not built to score a lot of points and come back; they have to come out with a lot more energy to start off games. They played well in the losses to Milwaukee and Seattle, but not so much today. Today’s Hawks reminded me of last year.
By Wedgie Evans
November 18, 2006 11:23 PM | Link to this
Oh yeah, and also, would Mike Woodson please beat the crap out of the next guy who jacks up a 3 with 10 seconds left on the clock instead of driving inside and drawing a foul? Tyronn Lue: 0/7. Josh Smith: 0/4. Salim Stoudamire: 2/6. Joe Johnson: 1/6. What are we, Seattle? We have way too many athletes on this team to be jacking up 3’s all day, and the numbers show it. When you shoot 24 3’s in a game and make 3 of them, that is a LOT of wasted possessions. If they had been more aggressive earlier in the game they might have got Alonzo Mourning to foul out much earlier, opening up the lane and making it easier to score. Woodson has to get on these guys’ asses and get them to drive.
By TD
November 19, 2006 08:09 AM | Link to this
How the heck did Claxton get the name “Speedy?” One assist, 1-7 from the field? heck, he never has shot 50% from the field..This guy might as well be sitting around with a broken finger, since he seems to have one stuck up his A$$ while heis playing
By honest_abe
November 19, 2006 08:45 AM | Link to this
mr. bradley………… a whole column on the bright future of this current hawks team and no credit to the gm who made all this possible? throw bk some love man…
By Fire Woodson!
November 19, 2006 08:49 AM | Link to this
It appears that Mike Woodson is merely a spectator at Hawk games. His post game comments sound like a blog here and have the same feeling of hopelessness that your post or mine carries. Only difference is that Woodson is actually on the court pulling switches during the game. He has the ability to call plays and bench players. Why did he let the team shoot 3 pointers all night when they weren’t dropping? Why didn’t he force the team into the lane more often to get Zo into foul trouble? Mike can complain all he wants but soon he will be a fan in the stands just like you and me. Hawks need a coach who is a leader to take them to the next level.
By Mitch
November 19, 2006 11:35 AM | Link to this
The problem the Hawks are having on defense is containing the other team’s top scorer…the last three games they have been beaten by stellar efforts from Ray Allen, Michael Redd and Dwane Wade…and the issue is simply this: the best defender on the Hawks’ team, Joe Johnson, is also the team’s go-to scorer…and it’s very difficult for Johnson to score as well as normal when he’s having to expend so much energy on the defensive end. Yet, who else can the Hawks realistically put of the likes of Allen, Redd and Wade? Eventually the defensive stopper may turn out to be Bozeman, but he’s still an undrafted rookie finding his way.
A few years back I was coaching my high school team in the New England Championship Semi-finals…and we were facing the leading scorer in New England…and the only player I had good enough to guard this great scorer was my best offensive player…my kid played great against theirs in a nailbiting close game, but down the stretch my kid was too gassed to score and we lost by one point.
What Mike Woodson needs to do, IMO, is get Bozeman prepped to assume to defensive stopper role. The Hawks don’t need Bozeman to score. They need him to take the pressure off of Joe Johnson. Bozeman is long, strong and athletic, just what the team needs in a stopper for the likes of Allen, Redd and Wade.
The fact is…and I agree with Mark Bradley’s optimism, the Hawks have been right there in every game, save the first game versus Philly. They are even competitive on poor shooting nights like last night…which is a positive sign. If they can keep Joe Johnson fresh to finish off games down the stretch, they may win as many if not more than they lose…especially when the team gets Josh Childress and Marvin Williams back.
By Chuck Norris
November 19, 2006 11:50 AM | Link to this
I dont think keeping it close in a bball game means anything. Most NBA games are decided by just a few points. The difference is the teams who can finish. Im tired of hearing about moral victories with the hawks. Its the curse of Nique and we deserve it.
By Chuck Norris
November 19, 2006 11:53 AM | Link to this
I dont think keeping it close in a bball game means anything. Most NBA games are decided by just a few points. The difference is the teams who can finish. Im tired of hearing about moral victories with the hawks. Its the curse of Nique and we deserve it.
By Chuck Norris
November 19, 2006 11:55 AM | Link to this
I dont think keeping it close means anything in a Bball game. Most NBA games are decided by just a few points. The difference is winning teams know how to finish dow the stretch. Im tired of moral victories with the hawks. Its the curse of Nique and we deserve it.
By Jim, Savannah
November 19, 2006 12:13 PM | Link to this
Josh Smith is the reincaration of Dominique Wilkins- unreal athletic ability, poorly coached, no sense of the team game, a one-on-one wonder. Why will Marvin Williams and Josh Childress always be more valuable to the team? One had four years of NCAA play, the other one year of Roy Williams. That makes a great difference in a kid’s worth to a team.