Atlanta Hawks

[inc-pankz]

---

Al Horford will Join the Dominican Republic national Team. .

[tackielarla]

Al Horford will Join the Dominican Republic national Team. .

Yep he's already part of the team, along with Charlie Villanueva of the Pistons.

[inc-pankz]

Yep he's already part of the team, along with Charlie Villanueva of the Pistons.

right. .who else? i heard 3 sila? and naa laen players na ni back out frm NBA japon. .

[ManWhore]

right. .who else? i heard 3 sila? and naa laen players na ni back out frm NBA japon. .

Francisco García of the Kings.

[lunateec22]

They're chasing gold baby. Wish them luck.

------------

Woodson running his new offense: Pick-and-whine

Most coaches would embrace a strong off-season like the one the Hawks have had and try to use it to build some momentum and excitement for the upcoming season.

But Mike Woodson is not like most coaches. He prefers to whine.

Woodson is entering the final year of his contract. He apparently wants to make sure everybody knows that. I guess the hope is, I dunno, somebody starts a Save-The-Woody write-in campaign. The combustible one spoke about his situation again this weekend to Yahoo Sports. Most of the comments echoed those he told our premier hoops writer, Sekou Smith, three months ago. But Woodson turned up the rhetoric, saying: “Am I a little disappointed that none of my staff and I were extended contracts this year? You’re damn right I am because we deserve it. … Any other coach probably would’ve been extended, without a doubt. … For us not to be extended is not right.”

You know what’s not right? A coach who goes 106-222 in his first four seasons and doesn’t get fired, only to then ask for a new contract after his first — first — winning season before the existing contract has expired.

The Hawks won a playoff series last year. Woodson wants to cash in. But the Hawks aren’t exactly in contract extension mode right now. General manager Rick Sund didn’t even give an extension to point guard Mike Bibby before last season. Why would he do that for Woodson, who doesn’t nearly have Bibby’s career resume? (Bibby got his extension after the season).

Sund could’ve fired Woodson when he was hired as GM last year. He didn’t. He gave him a two-year contract. He basically told the coach: “I think you deserve a chance to come back but I’m not committing to you long term. Let’s re-evaluate in 2010.”

It’s 2009.

If Woodson really felt as secure as he claims he is, he would coach the team Sund improved this off-season, take the Hawks to the next level and then use that as leverage in negotiations. Then again, maybe he’s just not as confident as he says he is.

Link

[lunateec22]

Hawks add more depth by signing Jason Collins

ATLANTA (AP)—The Atlanta Hawks have added more depth and size to their frontcourt by signing center Jason Collins, who spent last season with Minnesota.

The move comes about a week after the Hawks signed 6-foot-10 forward Joe Smith.

Hawks general manager Rick Sund said the 7-foot Collins, an eight-year veteran, will add size “and a good interior defensive presence,” to the Hawks.

Sund said Collins, who played with the New Jersey Nets in the 2002 and 2003 NBA finals, also brings postseason experience.

Collins played in 31 games with Minnesota last season and averaged 1.8 points and 2.3 rebounds.

Link

Depth chart:

PG - Bibby/Teague
SG - JJ/Crawford
SF - Marvin/Evans
PF - JoshSmith/JoeSmith/Morris
C - Horf/Zaza/Collins

Hmmnn... maybe one more SF?

[lunateec22]

That time of year

HAWKSVILLE - For those of us pro basketball loyalists, we always know when it’s time to readjust the schedule to get ready for the NBA season.

Labor Day is my reminder.

I know that in the days immediately following the holiday players will start trickling back into town and showing up for voluntary workouts (go ahead and get your jokes about my Wolverines out of the way now so we can move on to basketball matters) on the track and at the Hawks’ practice facility.

It’s as much as a part of my late summer/fall routine as watching football on the weekend. So I’ll be making my way downtown all week to see who shows up and what kind of work they’re doing in anticipation of the start of training camp, which believe it or not is just roughly three weeks away.

The prognosticators already have an idea of what things will look like once the season starts and how the Hawks will do, for example, our friends at HoopsHype have the Hawks pegged for a return to the fourth spot in the Eastern Conference standings.

I prefer to wait until I actually see someone on the move before offering up any sort of hypothesis about where this team might be headed. So while I was standing over my grill Sunday afternoon, basking in the glory of a decisive win for my team Saturday and enjoying the neighborly ambiance of the world’s greatest bedroom community (neighbors bring over steaming hot crawfish pies and ice cold Arnold Palmers when they see the first sign of grill smoke in Smyrna), the conversation turned to the Hawks.

Specifically, the Ridge Road crew wanted to know who has to have the biggest year for the Hawks to continue their climb up the conference ladder and back into the playoffs and perhaps beyond the second round?

It’s a question, I explained, best answered by those of us that spend far too much time worrying ourselves with these things on a daily basis (if you’re reading this, you know who you are). So before I ask for your take, please allow me to offer my five-point answer:

MIKE WOODSON - the Hawks’ sixth-year head coach has weathered every storm that’s come his way thus far, which is a testament to not only his team’s continual improvement but also his ability to compartmentalize during tough times and rally his troops. But this season will provide perhaps the harshest spotlight he’s faced during his tenure. In each of his five previous seasons few people - fans, pundits or anyone else outside of the city of Atlanta - viewed his team as a playoff player. All that has changed in the past 16 months. Woodson’s entering the final year of his deal, which always adds a little extra drama to the situation, with oversized expectations. The roster is 11-deep with proven NBA players (Randolph Morris is still waiting on the chance to prove himself), the deepest the Hawks have been since Woodson arrived. The bottom line, this team goes where Woodson leads them.

JOE JOHNSON - In the same situation as his coach, in terms of heading into the final year of his deal (until further notice, of course), the Hawks’ captain and All-Star faces an interesting dilemma this season. As his younger teammates have matured and the veteran cast been upgraded, Johnson will have to decide how much of the burden he is willing and able to shoulder this season. Physically, the extended minutes have taken a toll the past two seasons, when his playoff performances weren’t consistently up to his own lofty standards. Crazy as this might sound; if his numbers decreased across the board (especially his minutes) I could see him having a better season than any of his first four with the Hawks.

JAMAL CRAWFORD - Anytime you fleece a team the way the Hawks did when they snatched Crawford from the Golden State Warriors for Acie Law IV and Speedy Claxton, folks expect big things. And Crawford has to deliver, whatever his role ends up being. If he “leads the league in scoring off the bench” as one Hawks’ staffer joked to me in the hours after the deal went down, we’d have some story. But if he just maintains his nearly 20-point scoring average this season he’ll make that deal worth it. Any concerns about Crawford’s fit on this team have been assuaged by multiple in-house sources this summer that insist Crawford developed an instant chemistry with everyone within the organization that’s dealt with him. If the on-court chemistry comes as easily, this could wind up being one of the Hawks’ best personnel moves in years. If not …

RICK SUND - You’ll be hard pressed to find anyone that isn’t convinced that the Hawks’ GM has done a masterful job in his first 13 months on the job. He’s made all the right moves and steadied the organization through one of their best seasons in years. But the toughest challenge comes this season. Sund will have to gauge the Hawks’ progress by the February trade deadline and decide if this team, as presently constituted, provides the best chance for long-term success or not. If not, he’ll have to pull the trigger on the right deal to push the Hawks over top (sort of like his predecessor did two years ago when Billy Knight pulled the trigger on the Mike Bibby deal). Gone are the days when the Hawks’ GM could simply suspend the franchise in rebuilding mode or just maintain. The next step is moving upward and onward, and that almost always requires a deft personnel move one way or another.

JEFF TEAGUE/JOE SMITH/JASON COLLINS - These three guys represent everything the Hawks have needed in the form of depth at their two most crucial positions the past five years. Just a rookie, Teague’s ability to adapt to the NBA game and assume a position backing up Bibby is crucial. If his assimilation comes off without a hitch, and we honestly have no way of knowing how it will go, the need for that third point guard won’t be nearly as urgent as it might be otherwise. Smith and Collins are known commodities in the NBA. You get a versatile scorer and defender in Smith, a veteran frontcourt performer that’s always played much bigger than his listed size. In Collins, the Hawks have a 7-footer capable of lending quality minutes in a situational role, particularly on the defensive end. They have to be the support system, along with Zaza Pachulia, that Josh Smith and Al Horford have had to work without the past two years.

You know what I think.

What say you?

Link

[icon_king]

i like the hawks chances of another playoff run with its key acquisitions.

[lunateec22]

i like the hawks chances of another playoff run with its key acquisitions.

I can't wait. Hehe...

------------------

When players are made



HAWKSVILLE - First impressions amongst your peers in the NBA can go a long way.

For Hawks rookie point guard Jeff Teague, the buzz traveled from an impressive mini-camp in late July all the way through Labor Day and until now.

And it’s not just his Hawks teammates that have noticed. His point guard peers around the league, at least the veterans that have been on the floor with him this summer (and mainly in the past week or so at the Hawks’ practice facility), have noticed. And they see plenty that they like about the former Wake Forest star.

“The one thing that sticks out to me is that he makes shots,” said former Hawks point guard Anthony Johnson, who plays in Orlando these days but still calls Atlanta home in the offseason. “That’s going to go a long way here in the system he’ll be in and really in his career. If you’re a guy that can get shots, that can make shots and create shots, you’ve got the package you’ll need to be successful. And he’s got all that.”

Teague has all that and more from what I saw on the floor in back-to-back days last week. Not only is he super quick and fearless going to the basket (he dunked on a fast break in one game, getting up and down before Josh Smith could even turn to think about sending the ball into orbit), Teague can score in a variety of ways. He has a sweet pull up jumper in traffic, a push shot in the lane and can spot up from all over the floor and knock down shots as well.

Sure, you say it’s just pick up games in early September. Yeah, training camp hasn’t even started yet. But those first impressions are what count. And not one person left that gym on either day questioning Teague’s game. The veterans, the youngsters, the NBA stars and the guys looking for their next gig in Europe, they all agreed that Teague was even more impressive than they expected.

“He’s going to make things really interesting,” said Hawks forward Marvin Williams, a Tar Heel not prone to praising a Demon Deacon. “I just love that he’s been here all this time. It’s a clear indicator of where his mind is in terms of what he has to do this season. That’s the kind of attitude you want to see in a rookie or anybody else when they are coming into a new team. Plus, I feel like basketball players are made in the summer time. That’s when people are relaxing and doing whatever. The guys that put in the work in the summer time, that’s when it really shows in the season. Because the truth is you don’t really have time to work on your individual game as much as you’d like to during the season. And everybody can tell who’s done the work and who hasn’t. Jeff Teague has done the work.”

MORRIS, TOO?

One of the favorite punching bags around here, Randolph Morris has done his fair share of work this summer as well. In fact, I’d argue that no [Hawks] player has undergone a more radical physical transformation this summer than Morris, who has shed some 60 pounds from his 6-11 frame in an effort to break into the playing rotation in his second season with the team.

“The work I did was both mental and physical,” he said after a recent workout. “I was trying to get myself where I needed to be mentally and physically for the long season. Just as important for me is working for the short term where I can try to get on the court this year. It was really a two-pronged approach for me this summer like it is every summer. It was about working to get myself in the best shape possible for the upcoming season while also realizing that the guys that last in the NBA are the ones that take the best care of their bodies. The guys that have the longest careers are the ones that you see in the gym in the dead of summer, when there are no cameras and no fans around. That’s where the real work is done.”

I’m still not sure if Morris will end up in the plans (or the playing rotation) this season, but I have to give it up to him for the full body makeover he pulled off this summer. As a guy who could stand to shed a few pounds himself, it’s inspiring to see someone start from where he did and end up where he is now.

SIMS IN THE FOLD

Courtney Sims is now comfirmed as yet another training camp invitee for the Hawks. I’m hearing the total group will number at least 18 and possibly as many as 23 or 24. That sounds a bit on the high end to me. This is a team that already has so many roster spots set, there’s little need to add a ton of extra bodies to the training camp mix.

LINK

[lunateec22]

Hawks trio shapes up mentally, physically

Mo Evans reshaped his body. Marvin Williams healed his. And Josh Smith lost a little bit of his.

With five months between the end of last season and the start of a new one (training camp opens Sept. 29), there was plenty of time to dig into a summer project.

For those Hawks, that included physical and mental work. A closer look, in their own words, at what they worked on:

Mo Evans

The veteran shooting guard said he weighs 225 pounds but looks noticeably bigger in his upper body.

“I wanted to spend my time strengthening my core, so I could prevent injuries and stay healthy. I haven’t had a history of injuries in my career, knock on wood, but I just felt like that was a great place to start for this season.

“I lifted a lot of weights to build up my endurance so I can be a lot more physical when I’m guarding guys like Dwyane Wade and Kobe Bryant. Those guys don’t like to be touched. They’ll see the difference and notice it when we’re out there on the floor and they can’t get their way physically.

“I didn’t gain any weight. I basically just hardened up. I made myself more solid, so this year I won’t go into camp at 225 and finish camp at 215. I worked every day so I can maintain a solid 220 with all the running I’ll have to do. And I did it all summer and kept a meticulous check, and I’ve been steady at 220 to 225. It’s about maintaining this now.”

Josh Smith

Smith was 245 pounds of solid muscle early in the summer but has shed weight since then, mostly by accident, but his summer work was as much philosophical as it was physical.

“I wasn’t trying to lose it. I didn’t do it on purpose. But earlier in the summer I started working out twice a day and the weight just came off. I’m down to 230 now, and I really need to put five more pounds of muscle back on.

“I wanted to work more on my decision-making than anything. I handle the ball so much on the fast break and in transition that I wanted to make sure I’m thinking the game the way I need to be. I also worked on my handles and knocking down that mid-range jumper. I’m really not worried about the 3-point ball right now. We have so many guys on this team that can make that shot.

“I don’t have any business being out there this season with Joe Johnson, Mike Bibby, Jamal Crawford, Marvin, Mo and [Jeff] Teague all doing work out there. I have to focus on working in the cracks and making sure that people respect my mid-range game. And if they don’t, we have to make them pay for not respecting it.”

Marvin Williams

In an effort to avoid the injuries that plagued him last season, Williams said his summer was spent healing and refurbishing skills he worked on last year.

“The biggest thing for me was getting healthy. I had to heal up. I had to let my wrist heal, my back heal. Of course, I went to work on all my skills, handling the ball and my shooting, but the biggest thing for me was getting my body back healthy.

“I was up at 8 every morning and in the gym by 9. I was running hills and pulling the sled, working on my explosiveness and endurance both. Then it was on the weights after that until 11:30. You’re working every day to get faster and stronger.

“After lunch I’m on the floor getting up shots for a good hour and then playing for a couple hours. You have to grind like that all summer. You have to do it. You’d be foolish to come into camp out of shape. And that’s anybody’s camp.

Link

P.S. It's nice to know nga naka-huna2x ug maayo si Josh Smith na di jud siya kinahanglan mo-itsa ug tres. :P