Sekou: Game changers

[DrReality]

By Sekou K Smith | Thursday, October 9, 2008, 02:09 AM

The Atlanta Journal-Constitution

PHOENIX - The question was innocent enough.

“You ever seen Mario play in a game before?” Marvin Williams asked Flip Murray.

“Naw, nothing other than the scrimmages we’ve had,” Murray said.

“You need to watch this then,” Williams said.

West finished with modest numbers (just two points, one rebound and one fantastic high wire block of a Matt Barnes on a fast break that helped stifle the Suns early in the fourth quarter) but made a lasting impression with his non-stop energy in the Hawks’ 100-96 win over Phoenix Wednesday night at US Airways Center.

The Hawks’ preseason record remains a spotless 2-0 with a trip to Kansas City to face Portland Friday next on the agenda.

West’s reputation as the Hawks’ most vigilant defender and energy guy off the bench remains intact as well. He only played 16 minutes and 57 seconds against the Suns, but he played every second at a breakneck pace, making Williams look like a wise man for a prediction that wasn’t nearly as bold if you know the story of Mario West.

“Rio, Acie [Law IV] and Flip really changed the game for us in the second half,” said Williams, who played 18 minutes in the second half and polished the Suns off with two huge 3-pointers and finally two free throws in the final seconds of the game. “This is the second straight game that our bench rolled up their sleeves and went to work. They go it done for us.”

While not nearly as spectacular as he was in Monday’s win over Orlando, Law was solid against the Suns, finishing with 10 clutch points, three rebounds, two assists and some fantastic decision-making down the stretch. Murray added 13 points on 6-for-8 shooting and finally went to work in the post, where he’ll be able to manufacture baskets against opponents at will.

Zaza Pachulia gave another solid effort with eight points and second rebounds and Mo Evans was on his way to rebounding from a wobbly shooting performance early before taking an elbow to the head late in the third quarter and needing stitches to close the gash (Hawks coach Mike Woodson said that Williams assumed some of those minutes Evans might have played and that Evans is healed up, will be ready for practice Thursday and good to go for Friday’s game against the Blazers).

If it’s an edge Woodson is trying to develop in his second unit this preseason, he’s doing a good job. Because they matched the Suns’ second group basket for basket and blow for blow in the second half.

“I need these guys playing with a ferocity that we can call on every night,” Woodson said. “And they’ve been pretty good these last two nights. They were great. Because their bench outworked us in the first half, against some of our starters, and we talked about it at halftime. We had to pick our defense up and make some shots and then see what happened.”

That bench crew happened. They took the baton from Joe Johnson (14 points) and Josh Smith (18 points) and Al Horford (10 points, six rebounds) shortly after halftime and ran with it - getting a huge assist, of course, from Williams, who finished with a team-high 19 points, six rebounds and four assists.

“These games are huge confidence builders for us,” Law said. “To be out there with the game on the line, even if it is a preseason game, is something that you try and build on for later.”

And the chemistry being developed in the process only adds to that experience.

“The second group is definitely a big part of what we’re doing here,” West said. “There are [10] or [12] guys over there on that bench and right now we’re coming in and playing well. We just want to go in there and maintain the lead or pick the team up. We did that in the first preseason game in Orlando and we did that again tonight.”

MAKE SOME SHOTS: How the Hawks went from a 5-for-17 shooting effort in the first quarter to a 48 percent night (36-for-75) was perhaps an even more startling turnaround than the game itself.

And Woodson made it clear that he won’t tolerate any shooting effort that doesn’t include the Hawks being aggressive and challenging the other team at the basket.

“My thing is that when you’re struggling to make shots you have to find some way to get the free throw line,” Woodson said. “This time last year in exhibition season we were leading the entire league in free throw attempts. A lot of that was because we were aggressive at the rim. And we have to get back to mixing it up a little bit and make sure that when jump shots aren’t falling we get to the line and shoot our fair share of free throws.”

The Hawks finished 22-for-32 from the line Wednesday night, going 16-for-22 in the second half alone.

They changed their approach dramatically after halftime, penetrating repeatedly and tightening up on defense considerably from their lackluster showing in the first half.

“I thought early on we showed some good signs and as the game went on we didn’t sustain it,” Suns coach Terry Porter said. “A lot of their guys came out in the third quarter and really hurt us with penetration. We were a little stressed because we turned it over three of four times and that kind of changed the mode of those guys going back and getting some easy opportunities.”

STILL BOOING: The jeers from the sellout crowd of 18,422 were not nearly as loud as they have been in the past, but Joe Johnson’s arrival in this town still brings out the boo birds.

Johnson didn’t even blink this time around, choosing to ignore the nonsense and just play. “That stuff truly doesn’t bother me,” he said. “All that drama is ancient history now.”

PUNISHED: Another tell-tale sign that the Hawks outworked the Suns over the course of the game was their whopping 27-11 edge in second half points, which is always a crucial statistic for coaches.

“I thought when we had a chance to set our defense; it was pretty good, for the most part,” Porter said. “The thing that hurt us most was rebounding. While they only had 12 offensive rebounds, they got 27 points off of them, which hurt us.”

TRAVEL PLANS: The Hawks will work out here in Phoenix Thursday and then board a charter flight to Kansas City for the game against Portland.

[DrReality]

Could it be that Woody is doing some coaching: from the article

If it’s an edge Woodson is trying to develop in his second unit this preseason, he’s doing a good job. Because they matched the Suns’ second group basket for basket and blow for blow in the second half.

And we have to get back to mixing it up a little bit and make sure that when jump shots aren’t falling we get to the line and shoot our fair share of free throws.”The Hawks finished 22-for-32 from the line Wednesday night, going 16-for-22 in the seconde half.

They changed their approach dramatically after halftime, penetrating repeatedly and tightening up on defense considerably from their lackluster showing in the first half.

[Atlsportfanz]

I really do hope that Mario gets the last spot on the roster. I love watching his energy and it will be a great pick me up at the end of games or in the middle of the season when guys are wearing down and hitting the wall.

[Plainview1981]

Could it be that Woody is doing some coaching: from the article

If it’s an edge Woodson is trying to develop in his second unit this preseason, he’s doing a good job. Because they matched the Suns’ second group basket for basket and blow for blow in the second half.

And we have to get back to mixing it up a little bit and make sure that when jump shots aren’t falling we get to the line and shoot our fair share of free throws.”The Hawks finished 22-for-32 from the line Wednesday night, going 16-for-22 in the seconde half.

They changed their approach dramatically after halftime, penetrating repeatedly and tightening up on defense considerably from their lackluster showing in the first half.

I think that while some of the young players can improve, Woody probably has a better idea of what he has in the starting lineup now and can afford to try and develop the bench a tad bit more. Hopefully it pays off. The Hawks haven't had a bench going back to the Lenny teams.