AJC Article about the Hawks Good Read

[andycard69]

At least Hawks are working on their work-in-progress

By Mark Bradley | Category: Hawks - NBA

The Atlanta Journal-Constitution

Let's not get carried away with the negativity. It's not as if we haven't seen the Hawks lose before. At least now they're losing in a different way, and there might actually come a night when they don't lose at all.

"I'm not discouraged," Billy Knight said Tuesday. "Progress is never a straight line up. If it was, everybody would do it."

Even by the Hawks' pedestrian standards, this season opened haltingly. Three consecutive road losses, none even the slightest bit close -- was this the promised Restart or the advent of four more years of misery? "Look," Knight said, "it's three games. What can you tell from three games?"

Well, we could infer that these Hawks aren't apt to challenge for the NBA title, but we should have known that all along. At this early stage, results matter somewhat less than signs of actual progress. There weren't many of those on the Western swing, but how many road games should -- using Mike Woodson's description -- "a young team with a new coaching staff" have been expected to win out of the box? One? Any?

A more meaningful measure was taken Tuesday. The Hawks staged their ballyhooed home opener against similarly winless Cleveland. Ninety minutes before tipoff, Woodson was as chipper as a coach whose career winning percentage stood at .000 could be. "I'm still looking to make the playoffs," he said. "We're trying to build something here, and if you take care of the home court, anything can happen on the road."

Earlier in the day, he'd received a call from his old college coach. And what pearls of wisdom did Robert Montgomery Knight impart? "He told me he'd been watching some of our games," Woodson said. "He told me to hang in there, that it's a long season."

And it is. And a franchise having gone as wrong as this one isn't about to right itself in even one long season. This is a process, as Knight -- Billy, not Bobby -- keeps stressing. Last winter he razed a roster. Now he's trying to build one, and building is exponentially harder. Already the Hawks have signaled their willingness to change, having cut Pig Miller and signed Jelani McCoy. No, that isn't the same as trading for Shaquille O'Neal, but it shows that these guys aren't asleep at the switch.

"We've got some holes, some spots we've got to get filled," Woodson said. "We're constantly looking at the waiver wire. Nothing is status quo here. We've got to get better."

Another Knight-ism: The Hawks must change the culture, not just the personnel. They must expect to win, which is a difficult trick if all you've known lately is losing. "You change [the culture] it by piecing pieces together," Woodson said. "You go along, you add a piece, and it's up to the coach to get them in place."

The Hawks don't have nearly enough pieces, not for Mike Woodson or for Bobby Knight. They played 2/12 fairly good quarters before succumbing to reality and LeBron James on Tuesday. They wore down in the second half because their bench is too young, and their skilled forwards stopped scoring because the guards could offer nothing as a complement. You won't win many NBA games when your starting backcourt -- the aging Kenny Anderson and the hesitant Boris Diaw -- manages two baskets.

Thus did 0-3 become 0-4, with no end in sight. But that doesn't mean all hope is gone one week into the Restart. With two minutes to play Tuesday, Woodson looked at Diaw and said, quietly but firmly, "You've got to shoot the ball." You can't ever score if you don't take a shot. You can't ever get better if you don't dare to fail. Billy Knight is daring enough and clever enough to make this work. He just needs more time.

[Admin]

That was a good read. I loved the very last part about what Woodson said to Diaw. I sure hope that he takes it to heart. He has a beautiful stroke on his jumper, he just needs to get some damn confidence in it or learn that he doesnt need to always defer. I still have plenty of hope for him unlike many on here......but he needs to get it going soon.

[JTFan31]

I agree he does have a nice stroke, he needs to be aggressive scoring the ball, the kid is pretty quick and fast, has good handles, I seen him make outside shot is not that he cant', he has great size, he should be dominating against the other 2 guards in this league. SHOOT the freakin ball, Diaw or else you would see Chill replacing you.

[Plainview1981]

Quote:

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Three consecutive road losses, none even the slightest bit close -- was this the promised Restart or the advent of four more years of misery? "Look," Knight said, "it's three games. What can you tell from three games?"

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*YAWN*

Even the GM's use the "It's only three games" line. We

can look at the roster and see this team isn't going to

be good. C'mon now Knight! The franchise is at it's lowest

point so I wouldn't give Billy props because he has yet

to do anything other than trade players and sign hasbeens

and scubs. Kenny Anderson should be cut if he continues

to play like this the next few games. He has to atleast

make a few of these shots. It doesn't seem to matter if

they are wide open or not.

[Sage11]

A nice fair write-up about the Hawks in the AJC- refreshing!

Knight is not done, I expect him to make some more moves soon to put a team capable of winning more games on the floor.

[TheDude]

i do like the the Diaw comment. The good thing is that it's recognized and has been brought to Diaw's attention. Now let's see if he takes it to heart.