AJC > Sports > Columnists > Archives > 2007 > February > 05 > Entry
DEL.ICIO.USHawks leave fans wanting more
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Mark Bradley
The Hawks are neither as bad as we’d feared or as good as they’d hoped. They’re better than they’ve been in the post-Babcock era — this, admittedly, fits the utter definition of faint praise — but they’ve fallen into the habit of tripping themselves just as they seem poised to take a real step forward.
And perhaps we shouldn’t expect much more than this halting form of progress. Perhaps we should feel grateful that this is no longer the NBA’s absolute worst team. Perhaps we should be patient over these next five seasons while Billy Knight finds every excuse possible not to draft the point guard he needs, but watching games like Monday night’s can only make the Atlanta audience less understanding, less as opposed to more.
The glitzy Lakers rolled into Philips Arena just past the midpoint of an eight-game road trip. The Hawks had won five of their last seven, the latest being a riveting overtime victory in New Jersey on Sunday. But here we witnessed, not for the first time and surely not for the last, the problems inherent in a team with a growing nucleus of big-time players that lacks big-timers at the two positions that matter most.
One is center, and we can excuse that failing because almost nobody has one. (Though the Lakers, in the 19-year-old Andrew Bynum, seem to have found something, and Bynum was drafted with the 10th pick of the 2005 draft, eight slots after the Hawks took Marvin Williams.) The other, as has been noted endlessly, is point guard, and the Hawks have passed over three good ones — Chris Paul and the Williamses, Deron and Marcus — in the last two drafts. And every time we see the Hawks lose to bottom-feeders Philadelphia or Charlotte (as happened three times in January), we’re reminded that a skilled point guard is the difference between consistency and oscillation.
There was no real reason for the Hawks to lose to the Lakers, but they did. They led 2-0 and never again. They made but 28.9 percent of their first-half shots because they had no one other than Joe Johnson to run the offense, and Johnson, as splendid as he is, can’t initiate and finish the same play. Not coincidentally, Johnson had more turnovers (six) than assists (five). Not coincidentally, Johnson needed 26 shots to score 27 points.
At the end, Johnson was also given the impossible task of shadowing Kobe Bryant, and that didn’t work, either. Bryant scored 11 decisive fourth-quarter points and nursed his otherwise unassuming team home, and the frazzled Johnson wound up missing free throws and getting picked clean by Smush Parker.
“We fought with them,” Josh Smith said. “Kobe just made big shots at the end, which is what he does.”
Well, yes. The sin wasn’t in getting beat by the best in the final minutes. The sin was in leaving the game there for Kobe to win. The sin was in letting a touring visitor gain an early advantage on a team that should have been primed to consolidate recent gains.
Once again, we have to ask if the Hawks have been given the right players with which to grow. They have really good swingmen, yes. As Jon Koncak, the former Hawk, said Monday: “They don’t need eight players anymore. They only need two.”
Guess which two.
At some point this accumulation of mismatched assets must yield to a more conventional deployment. At some point these young guys have to be given the chance to win more than occasionally. Asked if he gets impatient, Smith said: “Yeah, I do. This is my third year, and I want to be able to witness the atmosphere of the playoffs.”
We all would. But that won’t happen this spring, same as it hasn’t happened any spring around here since 1999. The Hawks aren’t so bad we can ignore them any longer, but watching closely only leaves us wanting more.
Permalink | Comments (29) | Post your comment | Categories: Hawks / NBA, Mark Bradley
Comments
By Peter
February 6, 2007 12:04 AM | Link to this
Yes sir Mark Bradley!!!! We want more!!!! How do you teach passion and grit? This team is pretty good they can hold anyone below a hundred point they just don’t execute. I say give up Marvin and get a rebounder or veteran point guard. Hey Earl Watson has been looking pretty good.
By Matt
February 6, 2007 01:04 AM | Link to this
Man nothing is going to happen with the Hawks as far as going to the playoffs and signing a great free agent (look at what the Hawks did last offseason, I mean come on, Speedy Claxon?) as long as the ownership is a mess. I don’t see it getting any better any time soon either. If the Hawks had the #1 pick this draft BK would probably draft another foward instead of going for someone like Oden. Oden would really look nice in a Hawks uniform. We need to build around JJ, Smith, and Marvin by obviously getting a center and point guard. We give up too many points in the paint. ZaZa needs to learn to block a shot or two.
By cranks
February 6, 2007 01:24 AM | Link to this
Marvin is absolutely terrible, for a #2 pick we have to start getting more out of him soon. I don’t buy into this give him time to grow bs. Look at the top 5 picks of the last 5 to 6 drafts. Darko is the onyl one who hasn’t developed. Otherwise it took the rest no more than a year to start playing well and to be players that are counted on. The way Iguodala and Deng are playing makes me wonder just how bad the childress pick will end up looking like down the road. Shelden is a retarded looking disgrace who gives us absolutely nothing that fatty knight said he wanted to get out of him. I am not as upset about that pick though because while roy is a vastly better player, we had no room for him on this roster. Finally, from watching Turiaf, I am even more angered that bk took salim over him and then a year later took a poor man’s turiaf in shelden with the 5th overall pick. I want to feel good about Knight’s moves but I just can’t when this team is so incosistent and when the needs are just so plainly obvious.
By Wedgie Evans
February 6, 2007 05:10 AM | Link to this
The biggest problem on this team is the lack of a post presence, offensively or defensively. Zaza and Lorenzen Wright form the most unreliable inside tandem in the league. There’s nothing wrong with a roster of swingmen, but you have to have someone inside who can change shots, control the boards, and draw double teams. Sure, the point guard situation could be much better, but with a reliable post threat this team would be good even without a point guard. As it stands, Joe Johnson and Josh Smith are the only two players on this team who can really be built around — everyone else is a trade asset who should be packaged to get the best post presence available on the trade market (in other words, Pau Gasol). Childress is the only other core player on this team that I would consider keeping; you can compare him to Deng and Iguodala all you want, but he brings a lot of things to the table (very good rebounder, underrated spot-up shooter, good defender, generally a good decision-maker). Still, he’s never going to be a star in this league, and if the Hawks can get a post presence for him they should do it.
By ladbaby
February 6, 2007 07:25 AM | Link to this
Salim needs to get up from his hard fall at practice and attempt to play the point while Speedy and T Lue are limping around and obviously over- matched. If he shoots too much it could be a good thing. Woodson is overlooking a player in Salim. As for center just wait until the draft. ZaZa is good at some things and can put in a lot of minutes but is a back-up talent wise.
By hawks r cursed for trading nique
February 6, 2007 07:33 AM | Link to this
this team will always be meadiocre at best. If we dont tank this year and get Durant or Oden, then get a good point guard with our next 1st round pick…this team will always be sorry and will never develop. At best with our current talent at its max, were a 1st round playoff exit waiting to happen. I like to see the hawks play well, but with every win this season i cringe……
By Elijah Thompson
February 6, 2007 08:10 AM | Link to this
Trade Marvin Williams for a PG or Center. The guy shows no fire at all and won’t drive to the hoop at all. He just stands on the perimeter. The shots he take are good ones, but he has to much ability to be a spot up shooter. The rest of the team is fine with me, especially JJ, J Smith, and Childress. Childress is underrated. Billy Knight, I don’t know what the hell he’s thinking about.
By Rutuger
February 6, 2007 08:38 AM | Link to this
We’ve all been wanting more for nearly a decade. However, when you defy all probability, as Billy Knight has, by avoiding improvement despite enjoying perennial lottery picks (see Childress, Josh; Williams, Marvin; Williams, Shelden), it makes it very, very difficult to care.
By Hawk
February 6, 2007 08:53 AM | Link to this
The Hawks management is terrible. We need to clean house now. Billy Knights dunmbass needs to go. We need a GM who 1. Knows what hes doing. and 2. Isnt an arrogant prick.
We need to get rid of Childress, Wright, and Claxton. Especially speedy Claxton. What a horrible pickup. Whenever he drives he is scared as hell, and he wont play if his pinky toe is a little sore.
Marvin Williams isnt developing as he should and Sheldon Williams doesnt look like he has the size to keep up. He played 6 MINUTES last night against LA.
Joe Johnson needs some help. I feel so bad for him being surrounded by a bunch of degenerates.
How can on orginization be bad for so long?? Seriously, do they not ever learn from there mistrakes. How many bad picks can one GM make before being fired? The ownwers will probably give him a vote of confidence the next time we lose 4 straight.
By BT
February 6, 2007 08:54 AM | Link to this
Is their precedent of the league coming in and taking some sort of control of the Hawks? We obviously have big ownership problems and an unbelievable situation with Billy Knight. If the league is concerned about parity the Hawks are a problem. No business in America would continue with the mismanagement of someone close to Knight’s inepitude. It’s sad that this time every year fans have to hope for losses in order to get a better draft choice. Of course then Knight turns around and basically wastes the choice. Can Hawks fans get relief or help from the league? Does Belkin still want the team?
By Time for Billy to pay!
February 6, 2007 08:56 AM | Link to this
Joe Johnson & Josh Smith are the only ones who can reasonably shoot on this team. Joe has to run around in circles to avoid the double/triple teams yet still averages over 20 ppg. Josh is streaky but shows some promise going forward. The rest of the hawks are liabilities. Marvin is mediocre at best, Sheldon is a complete waste of a roster spot, and Speedy is a $35M bench warmer. Coach Woodson has not delivered either.
In the end, we can thank BILLY for what we have. This arrogant little P**-ANT couldn’t build a little league team.
By Hawk
February 6, 2007 08:59 AM | Link to this
Lets not foget that if we dont get a top 3 pick in the lottery this year our pick goes to Phoenix. YES!! Atta way to play with fire Hawks!
By Paul
February 6, 2007 09:16 AM | Link to this
Although we do need upgrades at point and center, people act like we’re some terrible organization WITH THE YOUNGEST TEAM IN THE LEAGUE. They’re still developing people. What happens when you have talented players who are young? Inconsistency, the whole reason for the Bradley article.
By BT
February 6, 2007 09:22 AM | Link to this
The “Spirit Group” or lack of Spirit Group owes a public statement to the Hawks fans and to the NBA. They need to communicate why they are doing nothing to make this team better! They need to say why they would continue to tolerate having the most inept GM in the leaque. Why they are turning their heads year after year when we are making the dumbest draft choices in all of professional basketball. Has the court system tied their hands to keep them from making changes? Why are they allowing their product to actually decrease in value? Why are they complacent when they see the arena half full? Is failure acceptable to the Spirit Group?
By GT80
February 6, 2007 10:31 AM | Link to this
Hey, I’ve got an idea, let’s trade Marvin to Phoenix for our draft pick back. Then Marvin will go from a total bust to the most improved player in the league, playing for a coach that knows how to use his talent and with a point guard that knows how to get the ball to the right guy at the right time. Sort of like someone else we traded to Phoenix. Geez, I feel for Josh Smith and JJ, because they are both all-star talents stuck with a team that can’t get bettor. I’ve adopted Phoenix as my team to root for, just as most NBA fans in Atlanta have adopted another team to root for, teams that are professional in their approach to this game, like San Antonio, Dallas, Lakers, etc.
By Dan
February 6, 2007 10:35 AM | Link to this
I would have to agree that the biggest problem is lack of a post presense. I like our team when Childress is running the point (and getting back on fast-break defense if we miss a shot), but we still need a solid center. Marvin is the kind of guy we need, trust that. Marvin Williams, Joe, Childress and Smith are the cornerstones of this franchise. We have solid guards with Claxton and Lue, but no real go to center. Zaza can score (sometimes, other times he looks like Vlade Divac begging for a foul) but he cannot defense. Shelden cannot score consistently, and pales to other big men he faces. Draft a big man and we will be fine.
By GT80
February 6, 2007 10:49 AM | Link to this
Oh my God, I just looked at the box score of last nights game. Let’s see, our top 2 draft picks that were taken with the #2 and #5 overall picks and our top free agent signing gave us the following:
Marvin W - 21 minutes, 0 points Sheldon W - 6 minutes, 1 point Speedy “Craig” C - 20 minutes, 0 points, 4 assists and 3 TO’s
Meanwhile, Chris Paul had 24 points, 6 assists and 2 TO’s last night.
Billy Knightmare IS retarded.
By Floze
February 6, 2007 10:55 AM | Link to this
Billy Knight has to be held to account for his poor selections in recent lotteries - however if he takes the blame then he also gets the reward. Billy had the foresight to bring Joe Johnson when no other free agent would even think of playing for Atlanta. Billy brought in Zaza Pachulia who is the same age as the 1st player taken in last year’s draft Andrew Bogut. Bogut averages only 1 point and 2 rebounds more than Zaza. People like Luke Jackson, Kris Humphries, and Kirk Snyder where taken above Josh Smith in the 2004 draft. Our cap situation is very very favorable and we have our first round pick next year - Indianapolis’s should be close to the one we are giving up to Phoenix. Unlike 2006, next year’s draft will be STOCKED because of the year delay on the High Schoolers coming out.
I have been onboard with Billy’s philosophy however he seamed to take a step back this passed summer. Instead of drafting the best player available (as we have done in years passed) - we draft for the best big available in a weak draft for bigs. Sheldon hasn’t shown he was worthy of even a first round pick and he’s taking Soloman Jones’ minutes in the process. Speedy has really been a ray of hope when he has been healthy but he just can’t stay in the line up. Billy made many allusions to the health of Brandon Roy as the reason we were passing on him and then we sign Speedy????
Now, before the trade deadline, is the time to right the ship. Trade a forward, Sheldon, Marvin, or Childress, or package them together for a young point guard like Farmar, Rodriguez, Ridnour or Calderon. This team needs a young gunner and everyone of these guys can be had for the right price.
By dsmith
February 6, 2007 12:01 PM | Link to this
Josh Smith may have had a better chance of slowing Kobi down.
By vdunkndunk
February 6, 2007 01:57 PM | Link to this
I’ve spoken with BK a couple of times, and I know he’s not averse to picking a PG. In fact, I know he’s looking very hard for a young franchise-type PG every waking moment. The problem, however, is that he’s not just looking for a great PG; he’s looking for a particular type of great PG…a long, athletic, versatile PG.
I believe that’s why he passed on Chris Paul—not because BK didn’t think that Paul would be a good player, but because Paul didn’t fit into the type of team that BK envisions, which is a long, athletic, versatile team that can switch on defense without creating mismatch problems.
Basically, I get the feeling that if Scottie Pippen came along right now, BK would rather draft him and play him at the point than draft the second coming of someone like Chris Paul. I think that’s what BK was going for when he drafted Boris Diaw; I think he saw a 6’9 guy who could handle and pass like a guard and he wanted to try him at PG.
And I can definitely understand that line of thinking. Pippen was great at the point for Portland at the end of his career, and we’ve all seen Diaw’s passing and ball-handling skills on display in Phoenix, even if we didn’t see it in Altanta. And there are definitely advantages to having size at every position.
But to me, it seems like we might be waiting a long, long time for the chance to draft a really great 6’7 PG. A great PG is rare enough, and only a handful of great PG’s are also going to be 6’6 or 6’7. This may be one of those things where we need to lower our standards a little bit…Deron Williams is a relatively big, strong PG, and he would look great in a Hawks uniform right now.
But Greg Oden would look even better, beacuse center is still the area where we need the most help.
By Tyger
February 6, 2007 02:04 PM | Link to this
Will someone please tell Woody you cant have a 9 man rotation on the back end of back to backs with two hurt point guards?
How about Royal Ivey, he’s played well of late, but, oh, I forgot, Speedy decided to bless us with his presence.
How about cameo appearances from our 6-11 shotblocking draft pick, Solomon Jones or maybe NBDL sparkplug Jeremy Richardson - all his did was score 7 pts. in 5 min. last time he saw the court. On the other hand, #2 pick, Marvin Williams scores 0 in 20 min.
It happens, but when you see it happening, normally, you would look down the bench for someone else, but Woody just doesnt do that. He has a 9 man rotation of seasoned playoff vets and he’s sticking with them.
He’s delusional, he has a 9 man rotation of sophomores and juniors that dont have the focus to play hard enough on back to backs or extended road trips. He needed a home win in the worst way and didnt nothing to get it!
By Philip Meehan
February 6, 2007 02:51 PM | Link to this
You guys are being too hard on these guys. We have good point guards, they are just injured. Mike has done a great job with what he has to work with. My say for this season: Get what you can about it and wait for everyone to be healthy. We start off 4-1 and now having everyone back we have a wining record with them. were just going through the same thing as the bucks
By dirk
February 6, 2007 02:53 PM | Link to this
“I believe that’s why he passed on Chris Paul—not because BK didn’t think that Paul would be a good player, but because Paul didn’t fit into the type of team that BK envisions,”
exactly…the team BK envisions is horrible.
By Luther
February 6, 2007 04:01 PM | Link to this
Does Sheldon Williams with the #5 pick qualify as the worst pick ever yet?
By William
February 6, 2007 04:17 PM | Link to this
Man. Anyone that says Sheldon is the worst pick ever while averaging 6 and 6 in limited minutes his rookie year or that Josh Childress is a bad pick in any way shape or form shouldn’t be allowed to watch basketball.
By Luther
February 6, 2007 05:25 PM | Link to this
Man. I guess I should stop watching basketball because you’re happy with a top 5 pick(not just any pick)averaging: 5.5 ppg and 5.7 rpg. I don’t know whats worse, the fact that you felt the need to inflate his numbers to 6 & 6, the fact that we’re even talking about a guy averaging “6 & 6,” or the fact that he is getting “limitted minutes” on one of the worst teams in the league that is also so lacking big men that it starts Lorenzen Freaking Wright. Give me a break.
By Lewis G.J. Outlar
February 6, 2007 06:26 PM | Link to this
Bradley, reading the truth so well articulated should motivate Billy Knight or his owners to change this silly situation of a team that contains nothing but Joe and a bunch of good forwards. It’s long past ridiculous. But will Billy do what’s needed? I doubt it.
By Mama's teat
February 6, 2007 07:12 PM | Link to this
Why is the comment option turned off over at Teri Moore’s column posted Monday, while posting is still open on Bradley’s, also posted yesterday. The AJC is about as consistent with this stuff as the Hawks and Falcons, or Rex Grossman.
By Jay
February 6, 2007 07:25 PM | Link to this
“Once again, we have to ask if the Hawks have been given the right players with which to grow.”
The answer: Hell no.