Live from the Hawks’ MLK matinee: Alarms are sounding!
Josh Smith: An ascendant player on a still-ascending squad. (AJC photo by Jason Getz)
Red alert! There’s a pretty good matchup on tap today. (And the Hawks, conveniently enough, are wearing red uniforms.)
The NBA South division leader faces the team that might, a year or two on, become to the Western Conference what the Hawks are to the East. Oklahoma City has thrown together a slew of good young players — Kevin Durant, Jeff Green, Russell Westbrook, James Harden — in what might be described in Hawks-like fashion.
We’ll discuss that at greater length in a bit, but for now I’ll relate a little anecdote. The fire alarm went off in the back corridor of Philips Arena when Mike Woodson was holding his pregame briefing. Everyone was advised to exit the premises via a recorded message, which played for no more than 10 minutes. Naturally, nobody did.
Joe Johnson, being conscientious, did stick his head into Woodson’s office and say, “What should I do?” Woodson looked at him and laughed. “I’m not going anywhere,” the coach said. And I guess if you can survive 13-69, which was the Hawks’ record in Woodson’s first season, you can handle anything.
(Safety update: The alarm and the recording finally stopped sounding. We’re still here. Don’t know what happened, but it must not have been too bad.)
The Hawks, you won’t be surprised to learn, are feeling great. They’ve had a terrific first half of the season, and the Friday night buzzer win against Phoenix merely reinforces what we (and they) are coming to believe: That they”re every bit as good as their record. Said Woodson: “When we come to play, we can beat anybody.”
And they usually come to play. They’re 26-13. They’re on pace to win 55 games, which would be an eight-game upgrade over last season’s 47-35, which was in itself an 10-game upgrade over the 37-45 of 2007-2008. And that’s without changing a starter. (Mike Bibby was the last of this first five to arrive, and he got here in February 2008.)
I’ll be here all afternoon to comment and answer questions about the Hawks and whatever else you’d care to ask. If you missed yesterday’s little posting about Josh Smith as a possible All-Star, you might want to check that out. (Then again, you might not.) But I would advise you to screen this YouTube video for your personal enjoyment.
More required reading: Marc Stein of ESPN.com has the Hawks No. 4 in the NBA (and No. 2 in the East) in his latest power rankings.
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373 comments Add your comment
Mark Bradley
January 18th, 2010
4:06 pm
I can’t imagine the market for Marvin Williams has ever been lower.
chad
January 18th, 2010
4:07 pm
freshmaker, crawford creates 99% of his own shots and makes them when it counts the most. joe dribbles into double teams and refuses to pass the ball. you need to watch the game more closesly. crawford is the sole reason the hawks are where they are this year. joe is slow and is off way toooooo much.
whiskey bottle
January 18th, 2010
4:07 pm
Marvin just seems to not have any confidence about his abilities…..thats all he’s lacking
chad
January 18th, 2010
4:08 pm
oh my joe missed again what’s new. he and bibby can build a real good house.
J.J.M.
January 18th, 2010
4:08 pm
hawks cant buy a basket
d.carter
January 18th, 2010
4:09 pm
go to the doggone basket!!!!! how many jumpers can we miss…. Al horford has old atari 2600 post moves
Mark Bradley
January 18th, 2010
4:09 pm
Thunder bringing back Durant now. Still with the lead. That’s big.
tmac
January 18th, 2010
4:09 pm
Whiskey- that and a: jumpshot, defensive skills and the ability to stay on his feet without flopping and losing the ball…
other than that, he’s great.
Mike Jay
January 18th, 2010
4:10 pm
I find MW’s play this year perplexing. He was turning the corner last year and played great defense all year. When Joe got hurt he carried the team offensivly for about a week or so and then he got hurt and didn’t come back. I guess he got paid and that’s it? I’ll keep the faith a little longer cause i’m a sucker.
welikebaseball2
January 18th, 2010
4:10 pm
We live by the one-on-one, we die by the one-on-one. Ridiculous how predictable our offense gets in the 4th quarter of tight games.
whiskey bottle
January 18th, 2010
4:10 pm
Dumbest free agent signing ever………Acie Law (3 years- 27mil) Thats while Billy Knight is no longer with us
Sam from da Swats
January 18th, 2010
4:10 pm
whiskey bottle,
He has very little abilities.
chad
January 18th, 2010
4:10 pm
marvin is a weak, weak, weak, weak, player. did i mention he was weak player.
Mark Bradley
January 18th, 2010
4:11 pm
First play after the timeout: Durant drives and finds James Harden for a 3-ball. Thunder by seven, 5:54 left.
J.J.M.
January 18th, 2010
4:11 pm
that may do it
Mike Jay
January 18th, 2010
4:12 pm
still plenty of time…
Mark Bradley
January 18th, 2010
4:12 pm
Acie Law wasn’t a free agent. He was a lottery pick. Maybe you meant Speedy Claxton.
Sautee
January 18th, 2010
4:12 pm
Bench is now 6-25. Can the starters overcome it?
JSS
January 18th, 2010
4:12 pm
David…
Would love an apartment in those great places that made out of the Terraces at Highbury after the move to Emirates…
Still, isn’t fun to be talking NBA Basketball, Premier, and the Scottish League?
Freshmaker
January 18th, 2010
4:12 pm
chad i love crawford, but he can create his own shots because he’s not double-teamed…did you watch the suns game? yeah hit hit the big 3, but when he got double-teamed once at the end he threw the ball away and gave up a break-away dunk…like i said i love crawford but if you take away JJ then Jamal will not be nearly as good
Westurd
January 18th, 2010
4:12 pm
Plenty of game left……also plenty of Durant left. This could be a problem
whiskey bottle
January 18th, 2010
4:13 pm
I do agree with the Marvin haters…….10 ppg is not worth a contract extension, if that were the case Isaih Rider would still be with us
Mark Bradley
January 18th, 2010
4:13 pm
Oh, there’s more than enough time. This is the NBA.
Mark Bradley
January 18th, 2010
4:13 pm
Joe cuts it to five. He has 21.
David
January 18th, 2010
4:14 pm
you cant call a game with 6 minutes left jjm flippin pessimist
whiskey bottle
January 18th, 2010
4:14 pm
thats right Mark, just mixed up the garbage point guards, Speedy was the one I meant, however Acie Law was a garbage pick out of the lottery, first rounder out of Texas A&M……thats almost as dumb as the Speedy Claxton pick up
Mark Bradley
January 18th, 2010
4:14 pm
Josh blocks Durant.
Mac
January 18th, 2010
4:14 pm
Please explain to me how Joe Johnson can dribble the length of the court, and around the perimter without ONE pass, takes a shot and MISSES. PLEASE CALL JOE JOHNSON MR. One on Nine.
He plays against the opponent and his teammates……because he DOES NOT PASS
Mark Bradley
January 18th, 2010
4:14 pm
And then Josh drives for a hoop to cut it to three and gets fouled. Makes the foul shot.
Mark Bradley
January 18th, 2010
4:15 pm
Terrific backhand tip by Green followed by Joe’s jumper. Great game.
Sonny Clusters
January 18th, 2010
4:15 pm
Speedy Claxton? Is he one of those Cobb County boys?
d.carter
January 18th, 2010
4:15 pm
marvin can play , but has a more rip hamilton mid range type game… because he never gets those oppourtunities he will never become the player that we want or expect him to be…… We dont have any ball movement at all… Mike bibby reminds of the old fat guy who comes to the park after work, can shoot the lights out when he on, but plays no defense and no legs at all….
whiskey bottle
January 18th, 2010
4:17 pm
like the alternate jerseys but, I like them a lot more on the road…….
Mark Bradley
January 18th, 2010
4:18 pm
Thunder by two, Hawks with the ball, 3:07 left. Durant has missed twice. Bibby bricked a trey that would have put Atlanta up.
chad
January 18th, 2010
4:18 pm
please put crawford in for brick bibby, please i’ m begging, bibby is a brick house.
d.carter
January 18th, 2010
4:18 pm
I know that everyone loves al…but his helpside defense and weakside rebounding arent good at all….. call a damn time out to get a play ran!!!! Iso, Iso, Iso, jumpshot , jumpshot, jumpshot, pass the damn ball…… pick and roll with crawford please
tmac
January 18th, 2010
4:19 pm
Sorry d.carter, that is a insult to rip hamilton to compare marvin’s game to his in any way at all.
Mark Bradley
January 18th, 2010
4:19 pm
Another writer just said to me, “Bibby doesn’t have it anymore.”
Mark Bradley
January 18th, 2010
4:19 pm
Josh with free throws to tie after Horford kept a possession alive after Bibby’s miss.
David
January 18th, 2010
4:19 pm
JSS, I would love..LOVE to be over there right now..sadly im an American fan trapped from the team I love…and especially since its a 3 horse race in the EPL..exciting stuff…too bad americans dont understand this..and too bad ESPN in the states only plays the early games which start around 7 am here..
Westurd
January 18th, 2010
4:20 pm
another Double Double for Josh and Al…………I smell a repeat of Friday night!
whiskey bottle
January 18th, 2010
4:20 pm
I think marvin might need a francoeur like demotion to the d-league
d.carter
January 18th, 2010
4:21 pm
Joe please pay attention to Crawford at least he will pass the ball if someone cuts to the basket… thank you josh… as crazy as this may sound josh maybe our most fundamentally sound player
Mark Bradley
January 18th, 2010
4:22 pm
Joe passes the ball. He and Bibby worked nicely last season.
Josh ties it.
Westurd
January 18th, 2010
4:22 pm
here we go…………….
Henry Bibby
January 18th, 2010
4:22 pm
Yes he does. That writer’s full of $#%^!
Mark Bradley
January 18th, 2010
4:24 pm
Westbrook misses badly. Hawks down two with the ball, inside a minute and a half.
Mark Bradley
January 18th, 2010
4:24 pm
Durant puts the Thunder ahead. Then Josh can’t score on a drive.
d.carter
January 18th, 2010
4:24 pm
lol, tmac… i beg to differ, i have seen marvin play when joe was out, he does have a nice mid range game… please why go away from crawford with the pick and roll? joe just needs to humble himself
Mark Bradley
January 18th, 2010
4:25 pm
Crawford misses a deep trey. Westbrook in his grill, as they say.