Can Hawks strong nucleus take next step?

[Admin]

Talented returning cast expects to advance in playoffs

By SEKOU SMITH

The Atlanta Journal-Constitution

Monday, September 29, 2008

No introductions were needed Monday when the Hawks’ starting five huddled in a corner for a photo shoot during media day at Philips Arena.

That’s a first for Joe Johnson, the Hawks’ captain and All-Star, who will open training camp today alongside the same four starters he finished the season with last year.

Just how far Johnson, Mike Bibby, Josh Smith, Al Horford and Marvin Williams can take this team remains to be seen. They know they can make the playoffs, as they did in April.

But can you ride this core group beyond the flash of that first-round series against Boston?

For once, and the first time in a long time, the Hawks seem to have more answers than questions at the start of a new season.

“First and foremost we’ve got to believe in ourselves,” Johnson said in between poses. “We’ve got something special here. And we really have to validate what we did in the playoffs.”

For the first time in at least four years the Hawks won’t open camp with off-the-court concerns, chemistry issues to sort out or starting jobs to fill. The bench will have to be retooled, with veterans Mo Evans and Flip Murray moving into prominent roles. Everything else, however, appears to be in place.

Still, there is that fear of the unknown.

“When I was in Phoenix we came back from a situation where we won 28 games and added Steve [Nash] and Quentin [Richardson] and had no idea what we had,” Johnson added. “We ended up being the best team in the league that year. So in that respect you never know exactly what you have.

“But I think we have a great nucleus here. Everybody has another year under their belt and we have a healthy Mike [bibby] in addition to the players we added this summer, we’re definitely going to be a good team.”

If the Hawks are to live up to their own internal expectations, and yes, they too expect to surpass what they did last season, the assembled personnel will have to reach an accord quickly.

“Everybody’s main goal has to be winning,” said Bibby, who starred on an ensemble cast in Sacramento during the Kings’ run as a Western Conference power earlier this decade. “Everybody played their role and the main goal everybody had was winning. We had Doug Christie who knew we had Chris [Webber], Vlade [Divac], Peja [stojakovic] and me, so he knew his job was to knock down shots and be a lockdown defender.

“We also had Hedo [Turkoglu] and he was a role player. You wouldn’t believe it if you saw him now in Orlando. But he played his role in Sacramento for the good of the team. That’s the way it has to be for us now. Everybody has to be on the same page, one through 14 or 15, depending on how many guys we keep on this team.”

One undeniable common thread of elite teams is a chemistry that is unmistakable. And players, better perhaps than coaches or general managers, know when the mix is right.

Murray has played on playoff teams in Seattle, Cleveland and Detroit during his career. He said the proof is always in the results.

“Everybody always thinks they’re good this time of year,” Murray said. “That Seattle team [that won 52 games and the Northwest Division in 2004-05 season] is a perfect example. We thought we were good. And once we started 17-3, our confidence soared and it flowed between the players and coaches and carried us throughout that whole season.”

The Hawks stayed away from bold predictions Monday, realizing that a team that hasn’t won more than 37 games under coach Mike Woodson can’t go overboard.

But they are embracing the heightened expectations.

“We’ll know if it’s what we hope it is when we start winning games at a higher level,” Woodson said. “Only time will tell with this team. When you start winning games in chunks, six, seven or eight in a row and stay away from losing streaks like that, then you know you’re serious about winning at a high level.”

[Admin]

They are certainly talking about this upcoming season with confidence even though they know no one believes in them. I wonder if it is overconfidence? I doubt it but I hope they come out this season with business on their mind and don't read what Marc Stein and all them have to say.

I definitely hope that they don't put too much stock into what the national (or local) media thinks about their chances. If we come out strong for the first 15-20 games and take care of business then we'll get all the recognition that we can handle.

[DrReality]

I think we have to change the tempo of the game with the people we bring off the bench. That was not the case last year. If Woody uses this it could be a good change of pace.

[DrReality]

Taste of success turns bitter if team regresses

By Jeff Schultz

The Atlanta Journal-Constitution

Tuesday, September 30, 2008

The shining light of Atlanta pro sports opens training camp today, and amazingly that would be the Hawks.

When you are the only team coming off a playoff season —- look it up, it won’t take long —- you cease being the most-lampooned target in the city. Unless, of course, things go wrong again.

“Everybody’s smiling and motivated around here, because there’s probably a lot of other teams that think it was a fluke that we made the playoffs last year,” Josh Smith said. “So I feel like we have a lot to prove.”

That is the problem with this particular shining light. It’s way too early to assume stability. Maybe even direction.

Think of a bulb: There is no warning when it goes out.

Think of the Hawks: We saw both ends of the spectrum last season. We don’t know which end is reality and which is the aberration.

Are they the team that upset the Boston Celtics in three home playoff games, or the one that backed into the postseason with 37 wins and not only lost four playoff games in Boston but didn’t even compete?

Do you feel good about this team?

“Ask me that in January,” said Rick Sund, the new general manager.

Sund’s biggest concern: The schedule is not designed for early success. Ten of the first 16 games are on the road, where the team went 12-29 last season, and there’s no certainty how this team would deal with a bad start.

Success in sports often is less about talent (which the Hawks have) than about resolve and maturity. We just can’t know if this team is there yet.

“You go out 2-8 or you go out 8-2, things get blown out of proportion,” Sund said. “People think, ‘You’re there.’ ‘You’re not there.’ That’s my concern. We can’t get too high or too low. Detroit can lose three games out of the box, or they can win their first five. It won’t affect them either way. We have to understand the season is a marathon and not a sprint.”

General managers always have a Plan B. If things go south early, the question is what Sund does and how quickly he does it.

This is too important of a season for the Hawks for management to allow things to spin out of control. Much of the positive vibe that built during the playoffs dissipated when Josh Childress bolted for Greece —- unprecedented for an NBA regular —- and ownership signed Mike Woodson to a two-year extension.

There were obvious arguments on both sides of the Woodson issue. Keep him: He made the playoffs. Fire him: He is 106-222 in four years.

But here’s the most important thing to keep in mind: A two-year deal does not represent an overwhelming vote of confidence. A one-year deal would have screamed, “He’s a goner” and undermined Woodson’s authority with the players. A three-year deal would have been a vote of confidence.

Two years says: “We’re not sure yet.” For those wondering whether the Hawks can take the next step, the question really is: “Can Woodson take them there?”

Give Woodson this much. He isn’t deluded. He understands that 37 wins and a first-round loss probably won’t cut it this season.

“Once you make the playoffs, everything becomes higher in terms of expectations,” he said. “I look at our team now as a team that’s had a taste of playoffs. The players are hungry to get back. I know from a coaching standpoint that I’m hungry. We have something to build on. The schedule is what it is. We can’t run from it.”

They made the playoffs last year and now have a chance to be better. That puts them ahead of everybody else. If you’re the Hawks, you embrace that while you can.