Are you ready for opening night?
Al Horford and the Hawks insist they are ready to get things cracking in the Eastern Conference this season. We'll all find out soon enough. Horford and the Hawks face the Pacers Wednesday night at Philips Arena.
HAWKSVILLE – Answer the question.
Are you ready?
Are you ready for more of the craziness that is the NBA season and the Hawks’ role in it?
Are you ready for the season you love to hate, the team you love to hate and the game you just love to love?
Of course, you are.
You’ve been waiting what seems like forever, just like me and everyone else around here.
You couldn’t wait until the Hawks’ opener against the Pacers tonight at Philips Arena, could you?
We understand. Cleveland and Boston was a fine way to open the season, what with Rasheed Wallace posing a most frightening sight out there stroking shots from deep with the for flowing and sporting that classic Celtics uniform (and yes, that was Shelden Williams logging quality minutes for the Celtics early on, so maybe we were all wrong about the man some of you affectionately refer to as Mr. Parker?).
Not much else has changed for the last two teams to dispatch the Hawks in the playoffs. Kevin Garnett is still a monster. Same goes for Paul Pierce and Ray Allen, when the Celtics knock the dust off those old legs and get up and down the floor. The supporting cast looks rejuvenated and hungry.
LeBron James is already in MVP form. But the Cavaliers remain the flawed team we witnessed in that conference finals series against Orlando last year. They can bust out of the gate and build a double digit lead faster than any other team in the league. But they’re almost guaranteed to lose it just as fast when they’re dealing with another one of the league’s elite (and this is my formal challenge to Shaq and Zydrunas Ilgauskas to a foot race. Give me a month and I’m doing my Usain Bolt on those cats).
Seriously, the stuff we saw from Orlando in that preseason game last Friday reminds me of the same things we’ll see from the Magic and Celtics all season. They have the kind of talent across the frontline that will give everyone else in the East, the Hawks included, fits on most every night. They’re just too good, too deep and too versatile for most teams to handle when all things are equal.
Before the Hawks can worry about any of those teams they have to deal with the Los Angeles Lakers at Staples Center Sunday (at least they weren’t invited for Tuesday’s ring and banner raising ceremony). And that’s after they tussle with the Pacers and Washington Wizards (Friday at Philips) first.
Are the Hawks ready?
Are they ready for the season that seems like it never ends; the roller coaster that always seems to be their season?
Jamal Crawford (back), Kasim Reed (middle) and Ludacris (right) get it in during a recent fundraiser for Reed, the Atlanta mayoral candidate.
We’ll get our first real glimpse soon enough.
POLITICALLY CORRECT
Jamal Crawford political activist has a different ring to it.
It may be a bit of a stretch for the Hawks’ guard with the rapid-fire handle and endless bag of offensive tricks.
But Crawford showed off a different side earlier this week when he helped host celebrity fundraiser for Atlanta mayoral candidate Kasim Reed. Crawford joined Grammy award winning artist, actor and philanthropist Ludacris, music mogul and philanthropist Chaka Zulu and several others in throwing their public support behind Reed.
“Hey man, I’m all over, man,” a smiling Crawford joked when asked about his political activity. “A lot of people in his position talk the talk and promise a lot of stuff. I just like that he’s doing it. He cares about people. And I know how important some of the stuff he’s talking about doing is for the kids in this city, especially the recreational activities for young people. That’s where I lived when I was growing up. Things like late night [basketball] programs, that’s what kept me out of trouble when I was growing up. I was always in the gym. He wants to take it a step further with technology and education along with the sports programs and I think that could literally save a lot of kids’ lives.”
We’ve always stayed away from politics in this space and I’d suggest we continue that practice (Blog-Z does not endorse any of the candidates since he can’t vote in that election anyway and plans on running in the next Smyrna mayoral election). But I have to admit to being pleasantly surprised that a player is plugged into the local political scene, particularly one that has only been in town for a few months.
“The thing about it is, you can’t please everybody,” Crawford said. “You just have to do what you think is right. And I think he’s the best candidate.”
VICTORY
Count Hawks coach Mike Woodson among the growing legion of fans of veteran power forward Joe Smith’s lyrical alter ego, Joe Beast.
Woodson got his first listen to Smith’s Hawks’ anthem (”Victory”) after Tuesday’s practice and offered to sign Smith to his record label, which we all know doesn’t exist.
“Did you really make this?” Woodson, doing the worst impersonation of a hip-hop impresario ever witnessed, asked Smith. “That’s unbelievable that you could come up with that stuff. Unbelievable.”
Smith said he planned on doing something along the lines of the playoff anthem he did for Cleveland last season anyway, but he sped up his process at the behest of an unlikely source.
“That intro music would come on at the start of our preseason games and Jeff Teague would look at me every time we played and say, ‘come on Joe, what you gonna do?’” Smith said. “So you know I had to go into my lab and come up with something.”
Smith has been dabbling in music for more than a decade, since the early days of his career. It’s only recently, he said, that the finished product has caught up with his ambitions.
“When I first started I really wasn’t that confident in what I was doing,” he said. “But lately, I’ve been getting better and better and more and more confident in what I’m doing. I’m getting close to being ready to putting something out there. I’ve got my own equipment. And the technology is so good now that I’m able to tote some of it on the road with me and I write [lyrics] on the plane on road trips and other times when I have a little solitude and time to myself.”
Woodson was genuinely impressed.
“He’s got a talent that not everybody has,” Woodson said. “He’s worked at it, too. That’s not amateurish stuff right there. That’s impressive stuff.”
If you’re at Philips 90 minutes before the tip of the Pacers game, you might want to listen for the song. It’s full of interesting stuff about Smith and his teammates, including a shout out to Teague.
“I’ll take that,” Teague said before breaking into a dance move in front of his locker as Smith recited lyrics. “I’ll take that”
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306 comments Add your comment
O'Brien
October 28th, 2009
7:59 pm
Marvin with 2 buckets in a row.
Good 3 pt by Teague. When JJ got the steal, he pushed the ball. And thats what the Hawks need to do.
Najeh Davenpoop
October 28th, 2009
8:03 pm
Marvin’s looking good in this second quarter… keep feeding the man.
niremetal
October 28th, 2009
8:03 pm
Is it just me or are Bibby’s passes looking much crisper?
bigdave
October 28th, 2009
8:03 pm
i like.. i like…
bigdave
October 28th, 2009
8:04 pm
way to be aggressive Marvin…
DEEZ NUTZZ
October 28th, 2009
8:04 pm
STEAL THEN A BLOCK BY LAZY JOSH
O'Brien
October 28th, 2009
8:04 pm
This looks like one of those 113-108 games.
Where is the defense Hawks?
niremetal
October 28th, 2009
8:05 pm
Marvin’s still playing too far off Granger. He can’t leave Granger open when Granger’s feeling it, especially since Marvin doesn’t have the height advantage that he normally does.
bigdave
October 28th, 2009
8:05 pm
i like…
Najeh Davenpoop
October 28th, 2009
8:05 pm
NOW the Hawks are starting to look better. Great fast break.
niremetal
October 28th, 2009
8:07 pm
Way to get back Josh. I’d still have much preferred he keep Murphy in front of him to begin with, but hopefully that’s a sign that he’s not underestimating Murphy like he was early.
Melvin
October 28th, 2009
8:08 pm
Hawks are playing better now… Pacers started the game shooting lights out from the perimeter. Its plays to the Hawks advantage if they continue to play on the outside instead of feeding Hibbert in the paint…
bigdave
October 28th, 2009
8:08 pm
good sign at the line
Big Ray
October 28th, 2009
8:09 pm
Nothing looks better than such an improved contribution from our frontcourt contingent, instead of watching another round of Bibby/Joe shooting 6-21….
O'Brien
October 28th, 2009
8:11 pm
Marvin cannot stop Granger. 20 points in the first half.
Melvin
October 28th, 2009
8:13 pm
O’brien, i thought we couldnt stop Murphy (11pts)….
niremetal
October 28th, 2009
8:13 pm
Did Nique really just say that no one threw a punch in the Pacers-Pistons brawl?
Time for a heat check, Nique…
Big Ray
October 28th, 2009
8:13 pm
Josh racking up points, steals, assists. Nice!
bigdave
October 28th, 2009
8:13 pm
Josh would have taken that shot last year
Melvin
October 28th, 2009
8:14 pm
Josh is looking very good with his passes/decision making…
Najeh Davenpoop
October 28th, 2009
8:14 pm
Excellent inside pass from Josh to Mo Evans. That is the most underrated part of Josh’s game to me — when he is in the post, he is a very good passer for the PF position. People assume he can’t pass because he commits a lot of turnovers, but most of the turnovers come when he’s trying to force the action by handling the ball on the perimeter.
niremetal
October 28th, 2009
8:14 pm
Melvin,
You gonna tell me Josh was stopping him early? Take off the lens, bro.
Big Ray
October 28th, 2009
8:14 pm
LOL @ Nire ….please, no “heat checks”….
Blast
October 28th, 2009
8:15 pm
Josh Smith might have the most Hawk assists tonight. His passing so far is surreal.
Melvin
October 28th, 2009
8:16 pm
Nire,
Just say it “you dont like Josh” and get it off your chest…lol
Big Ray
October 28th, 2009
8:16 pm
Co-sign Najeh
niremetal
October 28th, 2009
8:16 pm
My god, I’d forgotten about that video. Nique and Divac need to be banned from wearing sleeveless jerseys now…
Najeh Davenpoop
October 28th, 2009
8:17 pm
Speaking of heat checks, I turned the game on after like 6 minutes or so had already passed… has Nique dropped his first “heat check” of the season yet?
Melvin
October 28th, 2009
8:17 pm
Oh my, Magic beating Philly by 23pts at halftime. Raps up on the Cavs by 15 in the 2nd qtr..
Big Ray
October 28th, 2009
8:17 pm
I was miffed that Josh only has one rebound, but if he’s guarding Murphy, doesn’t that take him away from the basket more? Still, I want to see more rebounds…
Blast
October 28th, 2009
8:18 pm
Joe is forcing things.
Big Ray
October 28th, 2009
8:18 pm
Oh geez….
pound, pound, pound, brick…. sigh …
Melvin
October 28th, 2009
8:19 pm
Dang it. Why did Joe Smith leave Murphy open on the 3pt line to end the half???? I meant Josh or was that Joe????
Najeh Davenpoop
October 28th, 2009
8:20 pm
Yeah… if there was any disappointment offensively to me in that half — especially in the 2nd quarter — it was Joe Johnson. Everyone else looked in sync and ready to go, and mostly I was seeing people take good shots. The front court is looking terrific.
niremetal
October 28th, 2009
8:20 pm
Melvin,
For heaven’s sake read my posts. I like Josh fine, and I’ve given him credit for his offensive aggressiveness (and now I’ll throw in my compliments to his outstanding passing so far). I just get pissed when people ignore the flaws in their favorite players’ games. And you were doing that with Josh early when he was playing 8 feet off Murphy, who was torching him as badly as Granger was torching Marvin in the 1st quarter. I acknowledged that Marvin has played atrocious D on Granger and that JJ was playing very poorly. Why can’t you acknowledge that Josh was playing lazy D on Murphy early? How does that reflect on me instead of you?
cp
October 28th, 2009
8:26 pm
I like what the bench is doing although Crawford didn’t get into any rhythm. Josh and Horford playing well. Marvin is getting owned by Granger. Joe looks like he forgot we had a game today. More of the pound pound pound take a bad shot. Tell Joe its ok to trust his teammates every once in a while. We have to play better on the defensive end. We are lucky to be up even 1 with the so called D we have been playing.
niremetal
October 28th, 2009
8:28 pm
Everyone played unevenly in the first half:
- Horford played the best overall, but still needs to rotate a little more quickly on help D
- Josh was the most active on offense, and Bibby has done a great job finding him. Josh’s court vision was also great, which is good to see, as is the fact that he only took two long jumpers. The bad: He didn’t bother to defend Murphy early. He seems to have learned his lesson, though.
- JJ can’t seem to make up his mind about what he wants to do when he gets the ball. He actually was the one playing the best D, but he’s been manic on the offensive end.
- Marvin was just atrocious in the first quarter on both ends. He found his stroke in the 2nd, but Granger kept killing him on the other end.
- The second unit looked solid – they didn’t get burned, which all we need from them. I’m not happy that JJ played 20 minutes in the first half, though – he was the last starter off and the second one to come back. Considering that he was the 2nd-worst starter in the first half, that made no sense.
- Our offense looked a lot crisper, but seemed more “flow of the game” than designed plays. We’re playing Jim O’Brien’s style of ball. That might seem good now, but it’s an eerie indication that we still let the other team dictate the style of play.
Melvin
October 28th, 2009
8:30 pm
Nire,
i will re-post my initial post from earlier along with yours and bigdave. I made no reference to defense. The attorney in you, is trying to turn the talking points of the conversation or twist my intent. Now since you have admitted that Joe is playing poorly, you agreed with my initial evaluation of the game unless you are going to say Bibby had a good 1st qtr.
Melvin
October 28th, 2009
7:31 pm
Joe and Bibby are having a terrible first qtr….
bigdave
October 28th, 2009
7:31 pm
Josh looks like an all-star, Joe looks bad early
niremetal
October 28th, 2009
7:32 pm
An All Star? How
Melvin
October 28th, 2009
8:32 pm
Nire,
i will re-post my initial post from earlier along with yours and bigdave. I made no reference to defense. The attorney in you, is trying to turn the talking points of the conversation or twist my intent. Now since you have admitted that Joe is playing poorly, you agreed with my initial evaluation of the game unless you are going to say Bibby had a good 1st qtr.
Melvin
October 28th, 2009
7:31 pm
Joe and Bibby are having a terrible first qtr….
bigdave
October 28th, 2009
7:31 pm
Josh looks like an all-star, Joe looks bad early
niremetal
October 28th, 2009
7:32 pm
An All Star? How many points has Murphy burned him for? Come on.
niremetal
October 28th, 2009
8:33 pm
17 of 26 FGs in the first half were assisted – including 6 of Josh’s 7 FGs (which is VERY good, because Josh is at his best when we feed him in motion). That’s a very good sign…but only if it’s by design and not just a sign that we’re playing O’Brien’s style of ball.
Sautee
October 28th, 2009
8:34 pm
Here’s one thing Bradley said on HIS blog”
Mark Bradley
October 28th, 2009
8:24 pm
There was a sequence late in the half where Joe dribbled for 10 seconds and shot. (And missed.) I’m hoping we’ll have less of that this season and more of what we witnessed in the first half — more shots for Josh and Horfy.
DEEZ NUTZZ
October 28th, 2009
8:36 pm
JOE PLAYED LIKE THE NON STAR THAT HE IS, THERE WAS NOTHING GOOD ABOUT HIS GAME!!
reedeak
October 28th, 2009
8:37 pm
good pass joe
tagurit
October 28th, 2009
8:38 pm
The hawks can’t win shootouts, they have to play better defense.
niremetal
October 28th, 2009
8:38 pm
Melvin,
Funny that you stopped before your first post that was directed at me:
niremetal
October 28th, 2009
7:34 pm
I won’t reserve my venom for Josh. JJ is shooting like crap and Marvin is playing crappy D too. But Josh has played amazingly lazy D. He got one steal but has been incredibly slow closing out on Murphy – who has already hit two shots before Josh even got back on D.
This is eerily like the inconsistent Hawks we all know and love/hate. The good (Josh’s thunder dunks and some nice passes by Bibby) and the bad (see above).
niremetal
October 28th, 2009
7:36 pm
I’m not gonna bother. Pretty clear people are only seeing the things they want to see.
Melvin
October 28th, 2009
7:40 pm
Nire,
How can you single out one person for the team defensive lapses when the Hawks are switching defenders on defense? How many open shots have Granger gotten?
niremetal
October 28th, 2009
7:45 pm
Melvin,
I already said Marvin’s played lazy D. Marvin’s been the worst player out there tonight. But Josh’s D on Murphy has been atrocious, and you’re just making stuff up if you’re blaming it on switching. Not one of Murphy’s shots has been when someone had switched off onto him. Sorry, but they haven’t. Every single one was Josh not getting back on D, not respecting Murphy’s range, or otherwise not watching his man.
Josh is attacking the basket. And that’s gotten us 10 points. But his lazy D has cost us 11. That’s not a net good thing.
…
Where did I single Josh out? Hmmmm? You made your post after I had also called out Marvin for his D, but you conveniently ignored that in your rush to defend Josh.
reedeak
October 28th, 2009
8:39 pm
good one deez nutzz…
O'Brien
October 28th, 2009
8:39 pm
nire,
I dont have a style of ball. Oh you mean Jim O’Brien
Raps up on Cleveland by 15? Cleveland has a tough opening schedule though. 4 games in 5 nights.
When JJ has nights like this, it increases the chances that he’ll be back with the Hawks next year…
reedeak
October 28th, 2009
8:39 pm
everyone is passing well…that is good to see
bigdave
October 28th, 2009
8:40 pm
gee wiz… the ball is moving… so are off ball players…
niremetal
October 28th, 2009
8:40 pm
As I said, take off the lens Mel.