[外電] Aiming for a leveling effect
Aiming for a leveling effect
By SEKOU SMITH
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Published on: 02/10/06
Seattle — If there were easy answers to the questions that have
perplexed the Hawks this season, they'd be chasing a playoff berth
instead of fighting their way out of the NBA basement.
If Mike Woodson knew why his team could defeat the league's two best
teams, Detroit and San Antonio, but get spanked by the likes of Toronto
and Charlotte, he'd be a candidate for coach of the year rather than
fending off attacks on his job security.
But such is life for a 15-32 Hawks team that has struggled to
maintain its poise.
Even with the positive vibe from Tuesday's surprising win over
Detroit still fresh, the Hawks are cautious in their optimism
as they embark on a four-game road trip — that will be
interrupted by All-Star weekend — which begins Friday night
against struggling Seattle.
"If we had all the answers, we'd be exactly where we want to be,
" Woodson said. "I look at our season to this point and I can
count nine games we should have won that we let get away from us.
If we're 24-23, the whole world looks different for our guys.
"We killed ourselves with a 2-16 start. But we're 13-16 since
then, and that's what we have to build on."
The Hawks will be without backup point guard Tyronn Lue for at
least a month with a sprained right knee.
But the return to the rotation of veteran guard Tony Delk could
offset the sting of that blow. Delk will suit up tonight for just
the second time this season and is expected to play for the first
time since the preseason.
Delk has practiced all year and knows the Hawks' offensive and
defensive sets. He was the team's third-leading scorer last season.
"The biggest thing is getting back into game shape and game
situations," Delk said. "There's nothing that can prepare you
for that unless you're playing. Regardless of how you practice,
how many drills you do or how much one-on-one you play, there's
nothing like playing. That's a different type of adrenaline.
"I've done it for years, though, so it's nothing new. It'll take
some time to get back into form. But I guess you could say it's
good to be back."
The two youngsters who filled in for Lue in the win over Detroit,
starting point guard Royal Ivey and rookie reserve Salim
Stoudamire, provide another positive for a team that's had few
things it couldcount on this season.
And then there's budding star Joe Johnson, who drained the
winning shots in the Hawks' two most recent wins, both home
victories.
"People think I'm crazy because I keep talking about what we
can get done the rest of this season," said Johnson, who talked
as recently as last week about the Hawks making a run to at least
be included in the playoff discussion in a couple of months.
"When we were 2-16, everybody had us dead already. But we were
basically a new group of guys getting to know each other.
"For me and Zaza [Pachulia], being thrown into the mix and the
starting lineup, I don't know if anyone should have expected us
all to fit right away. But we just stayed after it and kept
working. And now we're finally getting some of that hard work to
pay off.
"But the truth is we're only seven games out of the eighth spot.
I'm not saying we're going to be in the playoffs, but I don't
think anybody should assume we're not going to have something to
say about who does make the playoffs."
資料來源
http://www.ajc.com/hawks/content/sports/hawks/stories/0210hawks.html
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