Talented Hawks looking to join Eastern Conference's elite

[jy23]

My link

The question posed to Dominique Wilkins: Do these Hawks, young and hip and hungry -- even entertaining some nights -- remind you of your group?The greatest Hawk of all time (sorry, Pistol) rubbed his chin, thought about it, thought about it some more, then finally said, "Um, maybe a little." He cited a few differences, nit-picky things, but didn't really want to come right out and say it.

So here it is: This team has no 'Nique.

Talent? Oh, there's talent. Real, legit talent. You can start with Joe Johnson, a feared scorer who's gunning for a contract. There's Josh Smith, who can dunk with the force of Wilkins and swat shots to the luxury suites. Al Horford could be the best young power forward in the game, except he finds himself playing center. Mike Bibby can still shoot a little and Jamal Crawford, given the chance, will shoot a lot in his first season in Atlanta.

But there's a little somethin'-somethin' that separates the Celtics, Cavs and Magic from the Hawks in the East. There's nobody to take over games in May. The conventional thinking in basketball says you must have one genuine star, or better yet two, before you can even think about challenging for a title. Each of the Big Three contenders in the conference has what the Hawks lack, and that's why they've been to the conference finals and the Hawks haven't.

Figure that the coming season will have much in common with the last. The Hawks bear the look of a 50-game winner, a testament to their makeup and gradual growth of late, but they still might be a player shy as they travel through the postseason. The Hawks don't want to hear it. They cite the championship-winning Pistons of 2004 as their role models. That Detroit team played as a complete unit, made wise decisions on the floor and the players all knew their roles. None, with the possible exception of Chauncey Billups, is headed to the Hall of Fame.

"Our success," said Rick Sund, the Hawks' general manager, "is going to be the sum of all our parts."

The Hawks missed a golden chance to add a star when, prior to Sund's arrival, they took a pass on Chris Paul and drafted Marvin Williams instead. Now, Williams has turned into a pretty fine player, and could be on the verge of a breakout season. But he's no Chris Paul. Those are the kind of mistakes that the Hawks, who don't have money to burn on free agents, can't afford to make. A decision like that can cause a franchise to take a step back or, in Atlanta's case, prevent one from taking a step forward.

That's ancient history now. The Hawks will ride out the Johnson era, if he chooses to sign elsewhere next summer, and hope his salary drive gives them a big boost. They're also ready to find out if Smith will show more to his game and rise toward star status. All told, the Hawks are quite content to be who they are, while hoping another season together will pay off in the end.

"This team is starting to grow," said coach Mike Woodson. "We're a young team that's gotten a little older. The Eastern Conference finals and the Finals, that's our next step. A lot of it is just maturity and being there before."

Smith, in particular, anxiously awaits the near future. There aren't many players more athletic. Of all the young players on the Hawks, he's the biggest tease, someone who can be better than he is but hasn't done it yet.

"They want me to do the intangibles," Smith said. "That's what's missing. I want to be an All-Star, so I've got to go the extra step and help us win more games. I have to go out and prove myself. If we win lots of games, that must mean we have stars."

Last season, the Hawks broke down late and couldn't sustain any momentum in the playoffs. They addressed their depth problem by adding Crawford, who can play two positions and any tempo. What they didn't do was find a low-post scorer; Horford, undersized at 6-foot-10, must do at center for now.

It could be that the Hawks may wind up a player short of their ultimate goal.

"Sure, I think every team would love to have a superstar," said Sund. "But what our players have to do is feed off each other and make winning the priority. Everything will take care of itself."

1. STAY HEALTHY UP FRONT

Hawks have little depth behind Al Horford and Zaza Pachulia in a conference with Shaq, KG and Dwight Howard.

2. CREATE HOME-COURT ADVANTAGE

Historically, Hawks have had one of the softer atmospheres in the NBA.

3. FIND ANOTHER CLUTCH SHOOTER

Johnson may be the only player on the roster who can score 30 points if absolutely needed.

Edited October 16, 2009 by Dolfan23
Added more details so that it wouldn't get double posted

[jy23]

The question posed to Dominique Wilkins: Do these Hawks, young and hip and hungry -- even entertaining some nights -- remind you of your group?

The greatest Hawk of all time (sorry, Pistol) rubbed his chin, thought about it, thought about it some more, then finally said, "Um, maybe a little." He cited a few differences, nit-picky things, but didn't really want to come right out and say it.

So here it is: This team has no 'Nique.

Well........................

[Buzzard]

The question posed to Dominique Wilkins: Do these Hawks, young and hip and hungry -- even entertaining some nights -- remind you of your group?

The greatest Hawk of all time (sorry, Pistol) rubbed his chin, thought about it, thought about it some more, then finally said, "Um, maybe a little." He cited a few differences, nit-picky things, but didn't really want to come right out and say it.

So here it is: This team has no 'Nique.

Well........................

We don't have Nique. JJ is more like a bigger Doc Rivers. Smith nor Marvin will ever be a Nique; but they can both improve and need to if we are to take another step. My opinion is Smoove can improve on the glass (maybe that is one of the little things is he is talking about) and Marvin can become a bigger part of the offense. They both do this and we are a really tough team. I do not see Horf ever everaging more than 13 to 14 PPG whether is at center or power forward.

And who knows with Teague? He could end up being our version of Chauncey.

[Wurider05]

Dominique won how many championships for the Hawks?? So having a Nique on you team doesn't guarantee you a championship. Neither does having a Barkely, a Ewing, a Malone or a Stockton!!!

[coachx]

I give this article a F !

Not b/c it lacks truth but b/c it simply regurgitates all of the articles that critique that Hawks for not taking Paul over Marvin and not having a top 10 stud on the team.

If I read another article that regurgitates this same ole' stuff I think I'll puke due to the stinch of all that regurgitation. :temperature:

The writer of that article is just another Captain Obvious. :slap1:

If your career is to write sports articles I would hope you could come up with some original material.

Edited October 16, 2009 by coachx

[Blunt91]

My link

The question posed to Dominique Wilkins: Do these Hawks, young and hip and hungry -- even entertaining some nights -- remind you of your group?The greatest Hawk of all time (sorry, Pistol) rubbed his chin, thought about it, thought about it some more, then finally said, "Um, maybe a little." He cited a few differences, nit-picky things, but didn't really want to come right out and say it.

So here it is: This team has no 'Nique.

Talent? Oh, there's talent. Real, legit talent. You can start with Joe Johnson, a feared scorer who's gunning for a contract. There's Josh Smith, who can dunk with the force of Wilkins and swat shots to the luxury suites. Al Horford could be the best young power forward in the game, except he finds himself playing center. Mike Bibby can still shoot a little and Jamal Crawford, given the chance, will shoot a lot in his first season in Atlanta.

But there's a little somethin'-somethin' that separates the Celtics, Cavs and Magic from the Hawks in the East. There's nobody to take over games in May. The conventional thinking in basketball says you must have one genuine star, or better yet two, before you can even think about challenging for a title. Each of the Big Three contenders in the conference has what the Hawks lack, and that's why they've been to the conference finals and the Hawks haven't.

Figure that the coming season will have much in common with the last. The Hawks bear the look of a 50-game winner, a testament to their makeup and gradual growth of late, but they still might be a player shy as they travel through the postseason. The Hawks don't want to hear it. They cite the championship-winning Pistons of 2004 as their role models. That Detroit team played as a complete unit, made wise decisions on the floor and the players all knew their roles. None, with the possible exception of Chauncey Billups, is headed to the Hall of Fame.

"Our success," said Rick Sund, the Hawks' general manager, "is going to be the sum of all our parts."

The Hawks missed a golden chance to add a star when, prior to Sund's arrival, they took a pass on Chris Paul and drafted Marvin Williams instead. Now, Williams has turned into a pretty fine player, and could be on the verge of a breakout season. But he's no Chris Paul. Those are the kind of mistakes that the Hawks, who don't have money to burn on free agents, can't afford to make. A decision like that can cause a franchise to take a step back or, in Atlanta's case, prevent one from taking a step forward.

That's ancient history now. The Hawks will ride out the Johnson era, if he chooses to sign elsewhere next summer, and hope his salary drive gives them a big boost. They're also ready to find out if Smith will show more to his game and rise toward star status. All told, the Hawks are quite content to be who they are, while hoping another season together will pay off in the end.

"This team is starting to grow," said coach Mike Woodson. "We're a young team that's gotten a little older. The Eastern Conference finals and the Finals, that's our next step. A lot of it is just maturity and being there before."

Smith, in particular, anxiously awaits the near future. There aren't many players more athletic. Of all the young players on the Hawks, he's the biggest tease, someone who can be better than he is but hasn't done it yet.

"They want me to do the intangibles," Smith said. "That's what's missing. I want to be an All-Star, so I've got to go the extra step and help us win more games. I have to go out and prove myself. If we win lots of games, that must mean we have stars."

Last season, the Hawks broke down late and couldn't sustain any momentum in the playoffs. They addressed their depth problem by adding Crawford, who can play two positions and any tempo. What they didn't do was find a low-post scorer; Horford, undersized at 6-foot-10, must do at center for now.

It could be that the Hawks may wind up a player short of their ultimate goal.

"Sure, I think every team would love to have a superstar," said Sund. "But what our players have to do is feed off each other and make winning the priority. Everything will take care of itself."

1. STAY HEALTHY UP FRONT

Hawks have little depth behind Al Horford and Zaza Pachulia in a conference with Shaq, KG and Dwight Howard.

2. CREATE HOME-COURT ADVANTAGE

Historically, Hawks have had one of the softer atmospheres in the NBA.

3. FIND ANOTHER CLUTCH SHOOTER

Johnson may be the only player on the roster who can score 30 points if absolutely needed.

The last statement is stupid. Jamal Crawford can easily score 30 points if given the PT. Also even though Mike BIbby may not give you 30, he is stil dangerous from behind the arc if left open.

[jerrywest]

Depending on who is hot on any given night, 2 of our top 6 players should score 50+. Not many teams can say that.

[DrReality]

I also take issue with the last statement. Evans scored 27 the other night. Not that he is going to do that, but there are a 6-8 guys that can score in double figures to make up for it. And spreading it around like that creates a different sort of problems for the defense.

[bird_dirt]

The last statement is stupid. Jamal Crawford can easily score 30 points if given the PT. Also even though Mike BIbby may not give you 30, he is stil dangerous from behind the arc if left open.

ditto this, thank you.

not to mention, "Historically, Hawks have had one of the softer atmospheres in the NBA." i don't know the numbers, but i don't seem to remember the hawks having any problems at home (ask the nba champs two seasons ago about playing in atl in the playoffs), on the road is when they suck.

and, "Hawks have little depth behind Al Horford and Zaza Pachulia in a conference with Shaq, KG and Dwight Howard." didn't we just add two guys who could play center this offseason to add to al, zaza, and our 5th sting center randmo? joe smith is more suited to pf, granted, but collins is a big boy (if he's healthy and in shape). morris isn't great, but he can give 6 fouls off the bottom of our bench. that's five guys. it's not like they're bringing estaban "el toro" bautista back.

"That's ancient history now." so why the f*** are you bringing it up, then?

what a waste of brain cells.

[jerrywest]

I also take issue with the last statement. Evans scored 27 the other night. Not that he is going to do that, but there are a 6-8 guys that can score in double figures to make up for it. And spreading it around like that creates a different sort of problems for the defense.

All teams can spread it around and score nearly 100 points. However, we can ride the hot guys to 50+ any given night as good as any team.

Even Wade+hot teammate or LeBron+hot teammate may not do it more than any 2 of 6 hawks could.

One or two will always be hot. That's our big advantage.

With the organic growth of our front court who will be rested because of the new depth, and the arrival of quickies, Crawford & Teague, those days of shutting down JJ to shut down Hawks offense are over.

[jy23]

We all know what we have as a team, the media will continue to disrespect us as they have for years, I doubt that many of them really watch us on a daily basis so their opinion really meas nothing. They're still going off of perception and not really paying attention to the reality of what we are. The comment about Atlanta being a weak homecourt pretty much says everything u need to know about this article, that may have been true in years past but is FARRRRRRRRRRR from the truth now! Y do these guys get paid to write about basketball?

[vext]

My link

2. CREATE HOME-COURT ADVANTAGE

Historically, Hawks have had one of the softer atmospheres in the NBA.

Ummm, what? You have to be kidding me. We have a huge home-court advantage in the playoffs in my opinion. The series against the Celtics was insane in our arena. Sure, the first game had plenty of Celtic fans, but not the ones after that. I remember before game 2 or 3 when one of the few Celtic jersey wearing fans got incessantly booed by the entire CNN center food court (which was packed). The arena was nuts during that series and it continued the following season. As for the regular season, we win most of our home games and struggle mostly on the road. I seriously doubt the writer had the pleasure of being in our arena during any of the playoffs games in the last two years (except maybe the Cavs series or something). I have seen plenty of games in my lifetime, including many sold out ear bursting Hornets games in the mid-90s when they sold out every game, but I have never experienced the intensity that there was in that Celtics series.

But hey, I guess he gets paid for a reason right....

[Dexmethylphenidate]

I can't believe they still talking about Chris Paul. His team isn't that much better than the Hawks. Actually I believe they're not better at all.

Edited October 17, 2009 by DeerPark

[RedDawg#8]

I can't believe they still talking about Chris Paul. His team isn't that much better than the Hawks. Actually I believe they're not better at all.

Thats real, and something I think all people who are still looking at the Marvin over Paul mistake as something thats holding us back. As great as Paul is, Marvin may very well get a ring before him, and be a significant reason why, not just some bench-rider who doesnt play. The team has let it go, its time for the media and some fans to as well.

[ATLJA316]

Dominique won how many championships for the Hawks?? So having a Nique on you team doesn't guarantee you a championship. Neither does having a Barkely, a Ewing, a Malone or a Stockton!!!

or Reggie...

So sad :-(

[Buzzard]

Thats real, and something I think all people who are still looking at the Marvin over Paul mistake as something thats holding us back. As great as Paul is, Marvin may very well get a ring before him, and be a significant reason why, not just some bench-rider who doesnt play. The team has let it go, its time for the media and some fans to as well.

Over a quarter of a century later, Bowie over Jordan still gets mentioned. Point being, this will never be completely let go.