[外電] Toughness is one thing not in doubt
Toughness is one thing not in doubt
By SEKOU SMITH
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Published on: 02/06/06
Pound for pound, Royal Ivey is the leading contender for the
title as the Hawks' toughest player.
Ivey, the starting point guard, proved it Saturday night and
returned to Atlanta bruised and battered after a series of
run-ins with Washington's 7-foot center Brendan Haywood, who
took exception with a hard foul Ivey put on him before halftime.
Haywood got his revenge by setting a series of vicious picks
on Ivey, who got up from every blow — no matter how bad it
looked — when he hit the floor.
It was one of those collisions that caused the right thigh
contusion Ivey is nursing this morning. Ivey had it treated
and wrapped after Saturday's game and had it evaluated by
Hawks athletic trainer Wally Blase again Sunday.
But Ivey said there's no way he'd miss Tuesday night's game
against Detroit.
"I'm good," he said. "Besides, I can't afford to miss any
games."
Hawks coach Mike Woodson has praised Ivey's toughness and
willingness to accept his role; he's the starter but plays
a reserve's minutes.
"Royal is a pro's pro, and he's as hard a worker as we have
on this team," Woodson said. "And I've never seen him back
down from anything. So we expect him to be there when we
need him."
Harrington misfires but stays confident
A 4-for-16 shooting effort doesn't normally constitute a
shooting slump. But Hawks co-captain Al Harrington was still
shaking his head at his performance against the Wizards. He
finished with nine points and 10 rebounds in just more than
35 minutes.
"Wood got me out of there before it got worse," Harrington
said with a smile, "because I was definitely going to try
and shoot my way out of it, but it was just one of those
nights."
Harrington has had few of those this season. He's shooting
better than 46 percent from the floor and better than 37
percent from beyond the 3-point line, the latter 10 percentage
points better than his career average.
"All I can do is keep working," Harrington said. "You're going
to have nights when your shot is just not falling. Sometimes
it's the shots you're taking, and sometimes the ball just won't
go in the hole. I try and make sure it's not the shot selection."
Batista provides spark
Some of the best minutes played off the bench against the
Wizards came from rookie forward Esteban Batista, who was
extremely productive in nine-plus minutes.
Batista played six minutes in the third quarter, when the Hawks
trimmed a 25-point deficit to six. He grabbed four of his six
rebounds during that stretch and gave the Wizards' big men fits
with his energetic style and willingness to mix it up regardless
of the size of the opposition.
"That's his forte right now," Woodson said. "We're going to
need him in spurts like that and if can do that, then he'll
be fine."
Rally was textbook play
It was that third-quarter stretch of play that the Hawks use
as an example of how they need to play all the time.
They did it without four of their starters on the floor. Joe
Johnson played about nine minutes in the third, giving way to
reserve point guard Tyronn Lue, who scored 11 of his 14 points
during that comeback.
"We were sharing the ball, penetrating and getting to the free
throw line and playing unselfish basketball," Lue said. "We've
been playing like that the last four or five games, and we
wanted to continue to play like that."
資料來源
http://www.ajc.com/hawks/content/sports/hawks/stories/0206hawks.html
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