[外電] Double-time, March!
Double-time, March!
The 2005-06 Hawks doubled their wins from 2004-05 and believe
they are on their way.
By Jon Cooper
There are a lot of ways to measure progress.
The easiest is by wins and losses. A less tangible way is by the
level of competitiveness showed on a game-by-game basis.
Regardless of which method you choose, the 2005-06 season was a
positive step forward for the Atlanta Hawks.
They didn’t make the playoffs or even win 30 games, both goals
they felt were attainable in training camp. But they doubled their
win total from 2004-05, put together several winning streaks, and
produced victories over both of 2005’s NBA Finalists, the San
Antonio Spurs and Detroit Pistons, as well as division winners
Miami, New Jersey and Denver.
In the process, last year’s rookies established themselves, this
year’s crop got their feet wet, and a couple of players new to
Atlanta found a home.
“Our team got better this year but we still have a long way to
go,” said Head Coach Mike Woodson. “The ultimate goal is to get
in the playoffs. This thing of watching it on TV is not fun for
me and it shouldn’t be fun for them as individual players. The
tough part is going through camp and the season and then you
reward yourself by making the playoffs.
“The good teams we beat we defended,” added Woodson, whose
Hawks allowed 102.0 points, half a point less than 2004-05, but
still 26th in the league. “It’s not that we can’t do it. If we
can do it against the Detroit Pistons and San Antonio Spurs there’s
no reason we can’t do it on a consistent basis.”
One constant for the Hawks was the stellar play of guard Joe
Johnson.
Johnson, whose acquisition originally made more headlines for
what happened off the court, quickly changed the focus to his
extensive on-court repertoire, where he displayed the versatility,
explosiveness and the ability to take over as the team’s go-to
guy.
Johnson, who turns 25 in June, led the team in points per game
(20.2), assists per game (6.5), steals per game (1.26),
three-pointers made (128), and minutes per game (40.7). One of
only five players to average 20 points per game and six assists,
the durable Johnson was the only Hawk to play in all 82 games and
extended his iron-man streak to 358 games (only Toronto’s Morris
Peterson has a longer streak at 361). Johnson also caught the
attention of USA Basketball, which selected him to try out for
the 2006-08 Senior National Team.
USA Basketball training camp begins in July, and Johnson is
determined to continue to work tirelessly to turn things around
for both USA Basketball and then for the Hawks.
“I love the game too much,” he said, dismissing any talk of
possible burnout. “This is what I do and I don’t mind doing
it. I’m having fun.
“Even though I logged a lot of minutes this year, I enjoyed
it,” said Johnson, who hit for four 40-point games (the most
since Dominique Wilkins had eight in 1992-93), six 30-point
games, and even recorded his first triple-double. “I didn’t
really plan on packing up and going home right now, but I think
it was a learning experience and I had a lot of fun.”
Center Zaza Pachulia also had a lot of fun in his first season in
Atlanta. Signed as a free-agent last August, he made his mark by
doing the dirty work in the paint.
The 22-year-old native of Tblisi in the Georgia Republic, led
the team in rebounding (7.9 rpg) and recorded a team-high 21
double-doubles. He was especially relentless on the offensive
glass, finishing fifth in the NBA with 264 offensive rebounds
and 3.4 per game. Defensively, his 1.4 steals per game were
second only to Detroit’s Ben Wallace amongst centers.
“I’m thankful to this team and this organization for giving
me a chance to be a starter and to show myself,” said Pachulia,
who had mainly come off the bench his first few seasons in the
league. “Personally, I’ll be focusing on my outside shot this
summer, but I have to improve some other things. Six months is
a pretty long time. Hopefully I can get better.”
Pachulia’s play was crucial to a team that went into the season
lacking a proven big man after the tragic, unexpected death of
center Jason Collier in training camp.
The loss of the charismatic Collier stunned the team and
contributed to its 2-16 start. But as bleak as November was,
the team showed resilience and stubbornness and refused to quit.
“We had adversity at the beginning of the year but we weathered
the storm,” said Woodson. “It easily could have gone the
other way. They put themselves in position to win games. We can
chart 15 to 20 games that we controlled and had an opportunity to
win.”
The leadership of veteran Al Harrington was paramount to pulling
the team back together.
“Al has been very productive the last two years,” said Woodson.
“It’s not easy to score 17 points and grab eight rebounds in
this league.”
The Hawks’ elder statesman in terms of NBA experience (he and
point guard Tyronn Lue both completed their eighth NBA season),
despite being only 26, Harrington continued to raise his game
and was the perfect complement to Johnson.
He finished second on the team in scoring (18.6 ppg, a
career-high), rebounds (6.9 rpg), assists (3.1 apg, tied with Lue)
and minutes (36.6), and was fourth in steals (1.2 spg). He
improved dramatically in his three-point shooting, making 66
three-pointers — six more than he had made his entire NBA career
— including a 6-for-6 night against New York on Dec. 12.
“Our goal coming into the season was to reach the playoffs. We
didn’t reach that. So obviously there’s a little damper there,”
said Harrington. “But for the most part everybody’s gotten a
lot better individually and as a team. We doubled our wins, which
shows 100 percent improvement. We just have to build on that.
“I love the game, I love to compete. So I would love to be able
to start playing again right now.” he added. “But at the same
time you realize that the summer is an opportunity for us all to
get better, and if everybody individually takes the challenge to
push themselves and come back doing something they didn’t do the
year before that will make us that much better a team. We will be
in the playoffs next year. There’s no doubt about that. No doubt
in my mind.”
Harrington will be a free agent and has said that he would like
to return to Atlanta. Woodson would like to accommodate him.
“You’ve strongly got to consider bringing Al back,” he said.
“It comes down to negotiations and how that plays out. Al’s a
big a piece of the puzzle here.”
Lue, who will be back, played a vital leadership role and was key
to the Hawks’ improved long-range shooting. The veteran and
two-time NBA Champion shot a blazing .457 from three (good for
2nd best in the NBA), as Atlanta, the worst three-point shooting
team in the league in 2004-05 (.312), finished 11th in the league,
hitting .367 from downtown.
The leadership of veterans Johnson, Harrington, and Lue helped
the Hawks’ youth movement take flight. Josh Smith and Josh
Childress (aka The Joshes), key components of last year’s draft,
especially grew up.
Smith, whose claim to fame had been his acrobatic dunks, didn’t
have much success in defending his slam dunk title at All-Star
Weekend but showed he is capable of so much more. Over the season’s
final 12 games, he averaged 17.5 ppg, 7.5 rebounds, 4.0 assists
and 3.5 blocks.
Already a superb shot-blocker, Smith again led the club in blocks
with 208, good for second place in the NBA (the rest of the team
combined for 186 blocks), and he will begin the 2006-07 season
in ninth place all-time on the team’s blocked shots list, with
352 swats.
J-Smoove also proved a viable threat away from the basket,
unveiling a three-point shot that proved devastating. After
attempting only 23 threes last season, he hit 34 three-pointers,
all of them coming after Feb. 22.
“I worked real hard with [Assistant Coach] Larry Drew on it,”
he said, adding with a laugh. “I was open one time and I took
it. I made it, so I kept shooting.”
Childress wasn’t nearly as shy as Smith, and for good reason. He
led the Hawks in field goal percentage, hitting .552 from the
field (the seventh-best season in team history) and was .492 from
behind the arc. The versatile swingman also improved defensively,
as he was second on the team in blocks and third in steals.
“I got a little better defensively but I still have a long way
to go,” he said. “My quickness needs to get a lot better. But
for the most part it’s a growing process. It’s slow and steady
and I’m looking forward to really hitting it hard this summer.
“We grew as a team,” he added. “I’m excited for the summer
and for next year, knowing that not only do we belong but we’re
guys that can really contribute. It’s a matter of us working
ard during the summer and coming back ready to play.”
Rookie Marvin Williams also admitted he couldn’t wait to
springboard into Summer League and training camp following the
final month of his rookie season.
“I got more comfortable,” said Williams, who averaged 12.3
points and 6.1 rebounds in 31.0 minutes in April. “On the
offensive end, the game kind of slowed down for me a little bit.
I’m definitely going to focus on getting one go-to post move
and a counter move. Those are big things. I know if I work on my
strength and my quickness, I’ll be alright for next season.”
Woodson believes the entire team has a lot to gain this off-season
and was especially eager to chart the improvements of Williams
and fellow rookie Salim Stoudamire, who was second on the team
in three-pointers made (82) and third three-point field goal
percentage (.380).
“I think [Marvin] survived with flying colors,” said Woodson.
“I didn’t want to throw him out there like Josh Childress or
Josh Smith. We brought him along slowly. He should feel good about
his rookie season. He showed guys he can play. Be the best player
in Summer League, that should be his goal.
“Salim has to go out in Summer League and prove he’s a combo
guard,” Woodson added. “He’s got to learn some of the traits
on running this team. Play the pick-and-roll, fight through
screens, keep the ball in front of you.”
While there is no shortage of tough personnel decisions ahead,
there is a sense of optimism heading into the summer.
“I think we’re that close in terms of making the playoffs,”
Woodson said. “That’s got to be everybody’s mindset coming
back, that we have to do whatever it takes this summer, leading
into veterans camp to position ourselves to make the playoffs.”
原文轉載
http://www.nba.com/hawks/feature/Hawks_Season_Recap_050106.html
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