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Quote: The Hawks then started 0-9, quickly abandoned the idea that Johnson could afford to expend the energy required to play point guard and had to watch helplessly as Chris Paul -- the dynamo from Wake Forest whom they could and should have paired with Johnson instead of drafting Marvin Williams -- became an instant sensation. BK is really taking it on the chin from everyone the national media for drafting Marvin over Paul. Unfortunately for BK Marvin isn't doing anything right now to help him justify the draft choice. Maybe that's why BK won't come out of hiding!

Joe Johnson faces valley, Suns By Marc Stein ESPN.com It'll be the visiting team's fifth game in just over a week, against one of the hardest teams to prepare for. It'll probably be ugly, in other words. Ugly on the scoreboard. As for the evening itself, Joe Johnson insists that it won't be a messy occasion. He's not making any predictions about the outcome, knowing better than anyone in Atlanta how hard it'll be to run with the Phoenix Suns, but he's serious when he says he's expecting to get in and out of town without a lot of trouble. "It's not going to be hard for me at all," Johnson said of Sunday night's return to the desert. "I don't look at it as a pressure situation." On a weekend of flammable reunions, he's one of the few to see it that way. First it was an admittedly jittery Larry Brown going back to Detroit. Now it's Johnson's turn to make his first visit to Phoenix since telling owner Robert Sarver that he'd be happier as a Hawk no matter how much winning the Suns do. The jilted locals are starting to believe that replacing Johnson and Quentin Richardson with depth and variety -- Boris Diaw, Raja Bell, James Jones, Leandro Barbosa and Jim Jackson -- will actually make Phoenix a stronger force once Amare Stoudemire returns from knee surgery. Yet they also naturally long for Johnson to come back and immediately recant his desire to leave. "In three to six months," Sarver recently suggested, "I really think Joe will say, 'I wish I was in Phoenix.' " Don't count on it. Your humble Dime correspondent visited Johnson earlier in the week when the Hawks were in Houston and didn't hear anything remotely remorseful (or combustible) coming from the $70 million man, who's playing OK (18.4 ppg, 5.3 apg, 4.3 rpg) given what little help he has. Asked if he was bracing for a loud and negative reaction from the fans, Johnson shrugged. "My family, my friends, everybody's got different opinions," Johnson said with a smile. "But I think it'll be mixed -- some cheers, some boos. If it's worse, it's not the end of the world for me." Asked if he'd prefer to avoid seeing Sarver or Suns president Bryan Colangelo after negotiations turned so nasty -- or if he'd be uncomfortable chatting with Amare in the wake of whispers that their deteriorating relationship made Johnson eager to leave -- Johnson scoffed. "I wouldn't mind talking to any of those guys," he said. "I don't have a grudge against anybody there." Eventually asked the question that everyone asks the 24-year-old -- Don't you regret your decision already? -- Johnson gives no hint that he might. "Do I regret the decision? No," Johnson said. "When I made this decision, I knew it wasn't going to be easy. I didn't think I was going to come in here and win 50 games right away. I have to have patience. "I never question my decision. When I came here, I knew a lot of attention was going to be focused on me. As a man, I was willing to step up to the challenge." He stepped into more than that. The youngest team in the league, with an average age of roughly 24, was rocked two weeks into training camp by the tragic death of Jason Collier. The Hawks then started 0-9, quickly abandoned the idea that Johnson could afford to expend the energy required to play point guard and had to watch helplessly as Chris Paul -- the dynamo from Wake Forest whom they could and should have paired with Johnson instead of drafting Marvin Williams -- became an instant sensation. It somehow got worse after the Hawks finally won a couple games in a row, including a roadie at Indiana. The team suddenly splintered anew, with players publicly discussing their chemistry problems and selfish play louder than any team in the league. Then on Friday, Johnson's career-best 34 points couldn't prevent a one-point home loss Friday night to Toronto -- the only team with a worse record than Atlanta's -- that will surely increase the pressure on teetering coach Mike Woodson. "I'm going to stay patient," Johnson vowed, perhaps rehearsing an answer he'll have to repeat frequently over the weekend. "Even though things haven't been looking good for us, I think we have a bright future. "I had to do what's best for Joe Johnson and that's what I did. I made my decision to come to Atlanta and now hopefully more guys will make the same decision."

Quote: One key element in Jamaal Magloire's early struggles in Milwaukee: Magloire is savvy enough to know that the Bucks acquired him for the short-term. Not surprisingly, then, Andrew Bogut's frontcourt escort hasn't been the easiest guy to handle so far; Magloire wants more touches for starters. So it's wise to amend the widely held belief that the Bucks will be shopping Dan Gadzuric now that Magloire has arrived. It's looking more likely that Magloire would be made available first, but not until the offseason. Bogut is adapting faster than expected to the big leagues, but the Aussie rookie will need at least one full season of mentoring. Magloire, meanwhile, has only one more season left on his contract after this one -- both at $8.3 million -- and will thus attract significant trade interest whether the Bucks are prepared to move him or not. The big Canadian was chased by several teams -- a list of suitors headlined by Memphis, Golden State and both Los Angeles clubs -- before Milwaukee snared Magloire from New Orleans/Oklahoma City for Desmond Mason, $1 million and the Bucks' 2006 first-round pick without lottery protection. ... - From ESPN.com I think we should take another run at him in the offseason and do what it takes to land him. He's a legit C so if we can get him we can just concentrate on finding a PG in the draft, by trade or FA.

They probably have another year left to turn it around where the team is showing significant improvement or else they have to be let go. I say that because: 1) They just signed BK to a contract extension within the last 12 months 2) This is year 2 of a major rebuilding project and, even though it isn't looking good so far, it's probably still a year to early to fire everyone and start over again. 3) The owners probably want to see the Hawks young players play an entire season to see if they are worth keeping around long term. I'm including Al in this evaluation process too (sometimes even I forget that he's only 25) 4) BK probably has one more draft and offseason to dramatically improve the team in the Hawks areas of need. He should have done a better job last offseason but he blew it in a number of ways that we've already discussed over and over again so I won't repeat them here. 5) Next year is year 3 of the rebuilding process which is also when you are supposed to be good enough to at least be challenging for a playoff spot and winning probably about 35-45 games. If we get off to a terrible start again next year or if we are still a 15-25 win team next year or then BK and Woody need to go, plain and simple.

Hawks are favored by 4 1/2. Who willing to take that bet? I'd have take the Raptors plus the points even though I think (hope) the Hawks will win.

ESPN has started another "worst NBA teams ever" scoreboard watch in honor of tonight's Loser's Championship game (otherwise known as the Raptors vs. Hawks) Here is the link to the article: http://sports.espn.go.com/nba/features/worstteams I'm just hoping we can win more than 13 games this year so we can beat the "record" we set last year. If Al or JJ gets hurt for an extended period then watch out that 76ers record might fall.

Quote: The Atlanta Hawks host the Toronto Raptors tonight and, if records are the measuring stick, it's the worst regular-season match-up in NBA history. Has it really gotten this bad folks? Oh I long for the days of Mookie, Smitty, Deke and 50 win basketball. I think J.R. Rider must have put a 10-year curse on the Hawks for sending him that little ass plane to ride in to Atlanta after we traded for him. Maybe if we bought him a lifetime supply of weed he'd lift the curse once and for all!

Knight is alive! It's good to hear SOMETHING from him! Now if he could just explain that Marvin over Paul and Deron pick to us again...

Yeah, BK screwed us big time! If we only we could go back in time...

BK set Woodson up for failure by signing JJ and relying on him and Chillz to play the PG and SG positions and by not signing a defensive post presence (heck I'd even take Diop at this point, at least he's rebounding and blocking shots for Dallas and of course he was a FA in the offseason so BK could have signed him cheaply). Now BK and Woody are caught with their pants down without a legit PG while Chris Paul and Deron Williams are having excellent rookie seasons so far. On top of that we signed Lue to a 3yr/10M contract but didn't spend any money on a defensive minded big man like Diop or Steven Hunter. Ridiculous! That is what makes it so frustrating for me to follow the Hawks this year knowing that there were two quality PG's at the top of the draft and we passed both of them up. Now we deal with the consequences until BK can find a legit PG and defensive post presence from somewhere else this year. Otherwise it's time to look forward to the draft again next year.

Sorry Tmac, my last post was in response to pathway23, not you. My bad!

Quote: Silliness, Diaw isn't even playing in the backcourt, Tmac that's my point! BK drafted him and wanted him to play PG, but PHX is smart enough to know that his best position is to be a versatile frontcourt player. Boris just doesn't have enough foot speed to keep up with PG's but he can be an effective frontcourt defender. Like I said, management and coaching is the issue here. Quote: and JT is a good player offensively.He was good offensively here. Now he is a good offensive player on a team with other good offensive players. Maybe if Babcock and BK could have surrounded him with "other good offensive players" then he could have had the same results here with the Hawks. Quote: I don't see any improvement on defense from him and I don't see any ability to be a floor general in him now which is the same as what I saw here. Oh yeah, well in spite all of what you just said he's leading one the best teams in the NBA, period, hitting clutch shots and winning basketball games. Ok, if you didn't want JT here because his flaws, fine, but are you now satisified with Lue, who has those same flaws but it not near as good of an offensive player? You would think if BK traded JT he would at least get another PG that would be at least as good if not an upgrade for the position. Alas, we have Lue/Ivey. Quote: What you see in Boris (who isn't even in the backcourt in Phoenix ) and JT is the same you saw here and they didn't fit with the system we have. System? What the heck are you talking about? We don't have a system other than Lue dribbling out the clock and everyone else putting up as many shots as they can get without passing the ball first. By the way, have you noticed that JJ is struggling like never before since he joined the Hawks? Does he not fit into our "system" either? Maybe if we had a "system" like Dallas and Phoenix along with those "better players" you were talking about earlier then we could win some games too. Again, management and coaching are to blame here. Quote: Boris because he couldn't score enough and JT because of his size and not being able to defend, No NBA player is perfect, but good coaching is about using players correctly in order to get the best overall use of their talents. You have to agree that Boris and JT are talented players because they are surely displaying it this year now that they have left the Hawks. Could it be that they are now a part of organizations that know what the heck they are doing? Quote: and also he didn't even want to be here, I think it is safe to assume, the way he talked outside ATL! Honestly, would you want to be here if you were JT. He tried his best to make it work here but he just didn't have the proper talent around him and the right coaches to succeed. Now that he has all of that do you think he misses the Hawks organization one bit? Would you?

I can't help but notice that Jason Terry and Boris Diaw are having GREAT seasons so far. Since they are showing that they are very talented players and are contributing heavily to the success of their current teams why didn't they thrive in ATL? I believe it starts and ends with managment and coaching and I don't think they were put in situations where they could succeed like they have in Dallas and Phoenix. I'm glad JT is having success now because he was my favorite Hawks player during his time here. He is proving that he can play the point as long as he has better talent around him than he did here, but our GM's (Babcock and BK) could never bring in enough talent with the right skill sets to complement JT and to take some of the scoring and ballhanding pressure away from him. Diaw is a versatile SF but BK drafted him to play PG for the Hawks, and it has been proven in PHX that PG is not his best position (sounds familar to me because that's what BK tried to do AGAIN with JJ - have him play PG when that is NOT is natural position). Now that Diaw is playing SF and, again like JT, surrounded by better players he is becoming the all around demon that he showed flashes of at times here in the ATL. Diaw is also playing harder in PHX because their coach demands it, while JJ seems to not be playing as hard here because IMO our coach doesn't seem to know how to bring out the effort from our young guys on a consistent basis. What's so sad about the Diaw situation is that he's a SF and then BK drafted four more SF's in the next two drafts (Childress, J. Smith, Donta Smith, and Marvin) and Diaw is outplaying ALL of them while JJ is having a bad year here in ATL. On top of that we are paying JJ $70M plus PHX has two of our future 1st round picks! Until we can start developing players we will continue to see our young players eventually leave for other teams and have better careers after they are done playing here. I just don't have the confidence in BK or Woody that they will be able to develop our young core.

Quote: We just need to make some necessary moves and keep playing hard for 48minutes a game. Very obvious solution, but with this team and management that is easier said than done. What "necessary moves" would you suggest considering BK's moves so far have been terrible IMO. Is it the GM, coach or the players who need to be "moved"?

Quote: 29. Atlanta Is there a Hawks fan who wouldn't trade Marvin Williams for Chris Paul right now? The NBA drives me crazy. I swear to God. The Hawks desperately need a point guard, there's a future All-Star sitting there ... and they take Williams over Paul when they already have two wing guys. How does this happen? It was astonishing at the time, it's astonishing now, and I'm not sure what else to say. (Silver lining: The Zaza Pachulia signing -- $16 million over four years for a 21-year old center with borderline All-Star potential. Imagine if they were starting Zaza, Josh Smith, Al Harrington, Joe Johnson and Paul right now, with Josh Childress as the sixth man? That's a legitimate foundation for something. Then again, we wouldn't have NBA fans staring at Tyronn Lue before a tipoff and saying, "Wait a second, the ball boy is starting for them?" So maybe this worked out for the best.) From Bill Simmons on ESPN.com. I'd have to agree 100% with his comments. I'd much rather have Paul than Williams even though Williams might eventually turn out to be a better player. We need a PG right now in the worst way and Paul would have been ours for the next 10-12 years! Here is the link to the full article: http://sports.espn.go.com/espn/page2/story...=simmons/051130

Let me starting by saying that I'm extremely proud of the way Childress has played in our two wins this season. I've been one of the ones bashing him all year because of his poor play and since he's turning it around I'm a big enough man to acknowledge his good play also. Hopefully now that he's coming off the bench he can continue to bring the energy and hustle he's brought lately. I think he's been a big key to the two wins and if he can continues to play like this I'll change my opinion of him as to whether I think he has a long term future on this team and whether we should use him as trade bait to bring back a PG or PF/C. That being said I still believe he is not a starter in this league because of his flaws so I'm hoping he continues to embrace his role off the bench like he has over the last two games.

Quote: If, like me, you are too far away to get the radio coverage and there's no TV, guess we'll have to keep up with the game on the net where they update the scores about every 90 seconds. Not very good, but it's the best I can do myself. You can also go to the Hawks flagship radio station's web site and listen to the game streamed live over the internet. Here is their web site address: http://www.790thezone.com Then click on the "Listen Live" link.

Quote: Childress should have a speed advantage You're kidding right?

It's especially sad for the Hawks because Childress has basically been given the starting job at the beginning of last year and this year and he hasn't been able to keep it because of poor play. I really doubt if Childress has a place on this team long term unless he can somehow improve his play back to the level he showed at the end of last year. Even then I still think he'll always be a backup because Marvin and Josh Smith are locked into the 3 position and of course JJ starts at the 2.

Iggy would look sooo good on the break with him on the left, J-Smoove on right and Paul pushing the ball down the middle lobbing it to either one of his choice. I wish BK's "vision" could have seen that!

By Jim O'Brien ESPN Insider Archive Red Auerbach once told me that he always had a talk with his rookies early in their time with him. Generally, it went something like this: "Can you do 'this'? [This could be any facet of the game.] Don't lie to me! If you can, we expect you to do it! If you can't, we will teach you how to do it. If we can't teach you how, we will not expect you to do it." A very simple, very direct conversation about accountability. The life of a first-year player in the NBA is challenging on a number of levels. The expectations are usually high, especially for first-round picks in general, and for lottery picks in particular. As jazz vocalist Sade sings, the NBA is "no place for beginners or sensitive hearts." First, there is pressure that the rook puts on himself, along with pressure that comes from every front office official wanting his draft pick to prove sooner, rather than later, that their evaluation was accurate. Also, there are social pressures. Most of the time, a player comes from being the star on his college or high school team to a situation in which he is the youngest guy in the group. Often, he is asked to make his way on a team that might have players 15 years older. Andre Iguodala immediately made a name for himself in his rookie year, unseating a Big Dog in surprising fashion.It was always fun last year to watch Andre Iguodala when Allen Iverson or another veteran told the rookie that his job was to help carry the bags from the bus into the hotel. Or, when Iverson said that he didn't care what Iguodala was called at Arizona, because there is only one "A.I." on the Sixers, and he ain't a rookie. There is also the heavy burden of trying to beat out vets for playing time. This can be a battle that is very, very intense and must be monitored carefully by the coaching staff. In Pat Riley's book "The Winner Within," he makes it clear just how fierce this battle can become: In 1991, New York acquired Xavier McDaniel before training camp. McDaniel -- known as "The X Man" -- was the Ron Artest of the early '90s, tough but unpredictable. Riley relates how his first drill of training camp was a noncontact rebounding drill that matched up McDaniel and first-year player Anthony Mason, an equally tough player who would make a career of not backing down from anyone. In his first practice as coach of the Knicks, the noncontact drill turned, says Riley, into "a full-blown two-man riot. McDaniel pounded both sides of Mason's head. Mason was answering with furious, lunging blows. It was one of those traveling fights: they collided under the basket, fought their way over to the sideline, then ricocheted out to the middle of the court. It finally ended in a draw." Definitely, not a career for "sensitive hearts." Last season in Philadelphia, I had the opportunity to coach a rookie who understood right away what it took. When we drafted Iguodala ninth in the 2004 draft, we were surprised to get a player whom our personnel people had rated much higher. Going into training camp I had Glenn Robinson penciled in as our starter at the small forward spot and Iguodala behind him by a large margin. Robinson, a career 20.8 ppg scorer, seemed hungry to get his career back on track and we thought he would win the job fairly easily. What transpired was not what we expected. Robinson had difficulty scoring on Iguodala throughout training camp, and so did the players the rookie guarded during the exhibition games. It became clear to our staff that it would be difficult for us to open the season without Iguodala starting. He was by the far the best perimeter defender on our team and he brought an energy and unselfishness to the floor that was a perfect complement for the senior A.I. Iguodala not only started the opener, he started all 82 games and averaged 33.4 mpg. Every night out, he would be matched against the opponent's best perimeter player. One night it could be Vince Carter, the next, Paul Pierce. He stayed constantly on an even keel. He added to his experience by starting against the Pistons in the first round of the playoffs. The first day Iguodala came to Philadelphia after the draft, I had breakfast with his parents and his brother Frank, who was moving to town to live with him. In retrospect, it is clear that his family was a large reason that he kept his focus the entire year. His mother was very aware of the potential pitfalls that he had to sidestep. She assured me, in front of Andre, that her son was ready to get the job done, with an assist from his brother, a recent graduate and former player at the University of Dayton. It was still surprising that Iguodala never got close to running into the proverbial "rookie wall." The mythical wall gets slammed into after the All-Star break. The thought is that first-year players are not used to playing 82 games in such a short period of time. The 48 minutes a game and constant travel are also contributors. In many cases, they hit the wall not only because of the demands on their bodies, but because of the challenge of staying mentally in the game over the long haul. As a Celtics rookie in 1997, Chauncey Billups was sometimes taken aback by expectations.In 1997, when I was the associate coach to Rick Pitino, the Boston Celtics drafted point guard Chauncey Billups with the third pick in the first round. The Celtics had won only 15 games the previous year, but missed out on the chance to get Tim Duncan because the ping pong balls did not bounce our way. We also took Ron Mercer with the sixth pick. One of the things Pitino wanted us to do was to stay on top of the young players to make sure they were adjusting well to life in the NBA. On one occasion, we were on the road and I took Billups out for lunch after practice. During lunch, I asked him what was the most challenging thing he had to deal with as a rookie starting at the point for the Celtics. Thinking he would say something like keeping his turnovers down, or getting us in our offense against the best defenders in the world, or living up to the expectations of being the quarterback for the legendary C's, I remember being shocked by his answer. After much thought, he said, "Coach, it's got to be the game-day shootarounds." I almost laughed, but he continued and said, "Man, there is so much to remember." It was a good lesson for me to learn. Mercer, who played for us at the University of Kentucky the previous two years, was used to intense preparation. Billups was not used to that type of focus that early in his career. Needless to say, with experience, that has changed and he is now one of the great floor generals in the league. Irving Berlin is quoted as saying, "Talent is only a starting point in this business." Obviously, Berlin was not talking about professional basketball, but the words definitely apply. You don't get drafted or make an NBA team unless you have a great deal of physical talent. But to be successful, NBA players have to bring a whole lot more to the game. In particular, it is almost impossible to succeed without mental toughness. Before every draft, teams spend a tremendous amount of money and time trying to assess this area. There is no one definition for exactly what mental toughness is but we all know it when we see it in action. Every franchise recognizes that if they make a mistake in reading a prospect's mental toughness, it can be just as damaging as misreading his talent level. When the Hornets selected Chris Paul with the No. 4 pick of the most recent NBA draft, despite his small stature, no doubt his mental fortitude was one reason. Skip Prosser, who coached Paul at Wake Forest, told me that when they recruit a player, they view mental toughness as though it is a physical trait. Is there any wonder why Paul, with a special combination of talent and toughness, is ranked in the NBA's Rookie Report as the top rookie performer to date? Bob Knight makes this analogy regarding the importance of having a strong mind: "Mental toughness is to the physical, as four is to one." I believe few coaches in the NBA would disagree. When I was the head coach at Boston, we drafted Joe Johnson with the 10th pick in 2001. At midseason, we traded him for Rodney Rogers, who gave us added strength on the inside and the ability to play small ball and space the court. The trade helped us get to the Eastern Conference finals. But it turned out to be a mistake when our ownership chose not to sign Rogers because of salary cap issues. Trading Johnson, in retrospect, for part of one year of Rogers, is still a difficult pill for the Celtics to swallow. Although he did not yet have the type of body that could take the banging that the NBA dished out night after night, he was developing. And now he has proven that he has both the physical ability and the mental toughness to be a very good player for many years. The NBA season is often said to be a marathon. It will be very interesting to see which of this year's rookies have what it takes for the long haul. Jim O'Brien, former coach of the Boston Celtics and Philadelphia 76ers, writes regularly for ESPN Insider.

A PG, who is supposed to have the ball in his hands at crunch time, shooting 57% from the line? Why that's downright Shaq-like!! Remember how Chris Paul salted the game away against the Hawks with his FT shooting? You won't get any of that with Rondo that's for sure. After watching Rondo play last night and seeing how bad his FT% is I'd rather just grab the best PF/C available in the draft and then sign Speedy Claxton to a reasonable contract to run the point until we can get a future stud like Paul. That's the same formula the Hornets and the Bobcats took (the Hornets had Speedy before they drafted Paul and the Bobcats had Brevin Knight before they drafted Raymond Felton) and I think it would work just as well here.

Yes your lineup is correct. Still no Salim in the starting lineup, but I feel he will get at least 25-30 mpg from here on out as long as he isn't committing too many turnovers or getting killed defensively. Then again, isn't that what Lue's been doing since he got in the starting lineup?

Hawks shuffle lineup again Woodson to start Smith, Lue against Celtics By SEKOU SMITH The Atlanta Journal-Constitution Published on: 11/22/05 Never let it be said that Hawks coach Mike Woodson didn't try everything he could to shake up his team during their 0-9 start. Woodson is tinkering with his starting lineup again, putting Josh Smith and Tyronn Lue back in for Wednesday night's game against Boston at Philips Arena. Marvin Williams, who started the previous two games, and Josh Childress, a starter all season, will move to the bench. It will be the Hawks' sixth different starting lineup in just 10 games. Woodson isn't worried about the seemingly continuous changing of the first five. He's much more concerned about the Hawks finding the right combination that will help put an end to the worst start in franchise history. "None of these guys is preoccupied with the cosmetics of who is or is not in the starting lineup," Woodson said, "and neither am I. We're trying to get wins here. We're trying to do what we have to do to win games. If that means making a change here or there, then that's what we have to do." Williams, slated to be a bench player this season, is moving back to his regular spot. The struggles for Childress are a bit more complicated. He's going through a sophomore slump Woodson hoped he would have overcome by now. He's shot just 3-of-11 from the floor in the last four games and isn't rebounding anywhere near the way he did during a rookie season that ended with second-team All-Rookie honors. Smith joined him on that All-Rookie second-team last year. He went to the bench after just two games. Even when he was coming off the bench he was on the floor during the end of several games. He's played well enough recently to warrant another tour of duty as a starter. "I've got to give us some energy regardless of whether I'm starting or not starting," Smith said. "When I came off the bench I tried to spark the team as best I could. I'll try and do the same now. The most important thing for me is going to be taking on the challenge of stopping my man. I know I'm going to see a lot of Paul Pierce [tonight]. So if I can do a good job on him, that's a good place to start when you talk about slowing the Celtics down." Smith said his time on the bench provided him an opportunity to analyze things in more detail. He noticed what other players were doing right and wrong and tied to apply those lessons when thinking about his own performance. "I think it's helped me come out there more focused and ready to play," he said. "We haven't been starting games the right way the past week or so. And that's something we know we have to correct." Whatever he does, Woodson doesn't want Smith, or any of his young players, to play with any added pressure. "We can't have guys looking over their shoulder all the time and feeling pressure," Woodson said. "They have to know that we're close [to winning]. We've been in situations where we have had opportunities to win and we just didn't get it done. To me, the answer is simple. We have to relax and play the way we know we're capable of playing. And we have to do it for 48 minutes. If we have those ingredients, we'll be fine."

Updated: Nov. 22, 2005, 11:43 AM ET Rookie report: First 10 games, first in classBy Chris Sheridan ESPN Insider Archive We're now three full weeks into the 2005-06 season, a long enough time to get a gauge on which NBA rookies are having an early impact. A look at 10 first-year players who are producing the most results, as well as the rookies off to slow starts: 1. Chris Paul, New Orleans Hornets: The runaway leader among rookies in points per game (16.6), steals (2.2) and minutes played (36.4), the diminutive point guard from Wake Forest who supplanted Speedy Claxton as the Hornets' primary playmaker is also tied for the league lead in assists per game (6.3) among rookies. He had a strong run of games for the surprising 4-6 Hornets before looking lost against Philadelphia's Allen Iverson on Monday. 2. Deron Williams, Utah Jazz: Williams became Utah's starter a week ago after Keith McLeod was sidelined with a back injury, and now looks poised to keep the job long-term. Has reached double figures in points in seven straight games, and had double-figure assists in the last two against Memphis and Milwaukee. Looks like that week he spent in Spokane, Wash., with John Stockton prior to training camp is paying off. 3. Charlie Villanueva, Toronto Raptors: Playing 28.5 minutes off the bench for the woeful Raptors, Villanueva has shown a steady inside-outside game that has hushed the critics who wondered why Toronto selected him at No. 7 after a so-so collegiate career at UConn. Tied for third in scoring (13.2), second in rebounding (6.5) and first in blocks (0.90) among rookies, Villanueva also has knocked down 11 3-pointers. 4. Channing Frye, New York Knicks: Who says Larry Brown doesn't like rookies? He's positively enamored of the young forward-center from Arizona who has shown the best shooting touch by a Knicks big man since Patrick Ewing prowled the paint. Frye leads all rookies in field goal percentage (.510). New York has often played its best ball when he has been on the court in Brown's ever-changing rotations. 5. Andrew Bogut, Milwaukee Bucks: The No. 1 pick in the draft is logging only 26.0 minutes per game but is averaging 8.1 rebounds. He made a foul-plagued return to the state where he played in college and had a mediocre outing against the Jazz Monday night, his third straight pedestrian effort after losing his starting job to Joe Smith. Ranks 10th in the NBA among all players, veterans and rookies, in offensive rebounds per 48 minutes. 6. Sarunas Jasikevicius, Indiana Pacers: The 29-year-old Lithuanian from Maccabi Tel Aviv has shot a disappointing 33 percent from 3-point range thus far while struggling to look comfortable in an offense where he's often switched between point guard and shooting guard. Went 10-for-10 from the line against the Bobcats last weekend, moving him among the top 10 leaguewide in free-throw percentage (.923). 7. Jose Calderon, Toronto Raptors: The young point guard from Spain has been quietly racking up assists in bunches. Of the top 40 league leaders in assists, only Calderon (26.0 minutes) and Jamaal Tinsley (26.4) are averaging less than 27 minutes. Coach Sam Mitchell has at times played Calderon alongside Mike James in the backcourt, allowing James to concentrate on scoring and Calderon on getting him the ball. 8. Salim Stoudamire, Atlanta Hawks: People were raving about his shooting stroke when the Hawks picked him 31st in the draft, and Damon's cousin has not disappointed. His 14 3-pointers are second-most among rookies behind Deron Williams, and his 24-point fourth-quarter outburst against New Orleans last Friday very nearly gave the Hawks their first win. 9. Luther Head, Houston Rockets: In an effort to add some quickness to a team with the worst record in the Western Conference, coach Jeff Van Gundy gave Head the start Sunday against Indiana. He's shooting 45 percent from 3-point range. 10. Sean May, Charlotte Bobcats: Of Charlotte's two rookies from North Carolina, May has made a bit more of a difference than Raymond Felton. He is the team's fourth-leading scorer (10.4 ppg) despite playing just 19.4 minutes per game. SLOW STARTS So far, these lottery picks haven't fulfilled the potential that made them high draft picks: Marvin Williams, Hawks (No. 2 overall): Producing only 6.2 points and 4.7 rebounds in almost 25 minutes per night for winless Atlanta. Raymond Felton, Bobcats (No. 5): Lost out to Sean May in a close race for No. 10. Was great in blowout win vs. Pacers, so-so next two nights. Martell Webster, Trail Blazers, (No. 6): Has received a mere 22 minutes of playing time in five games, shooting 1-for-5. The make was a 3 against the Knicks. Ike Diogu, Warriors, (No. 9): A fractured left hand has kept him out of action. He could begin practicing soon. Andrew Bynum, Lakers (No. 10): Logged some fourth-quarter minutes during the meltdown against the Bulls the other night, but hurt the Lakers more than he helped. Fran Vazquez, Magic (No. 11): Averaging 10.1 points and 5.4 rebounds for Girosa, which is 7-1 and tied for first place in the Spanish League. Yaroslav Korolev, Clippers (No. 12): Yet to record a single statistic in six minutes of playing time over two games. Rashad McCants, Timberwolves (No. 14): Being brought along slowly, but logged 25 minutes vs. Bobcats last Saturday. Chris Sheridan, a national NBA reporter for the past decade, covers the league for ESPN Insider. To e-mail Chris, click here.