2008 Woodie Awards
Hawks have a chance
Atlanta Hawks
Blake Trent
Issue date: 11/15/07 Section: Sports
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Blake Trent
Contributing Writer
924172067@gsc.edu
Year of the Hawks
It's true the Atlanta Hawks are on the rise this year. The Hawks organization has spent the past few years building a team that can't be matched player for player by any team in the NBA. What I mean is that the Hawks could very well be the first team in NBA history to start a forward at all five positions.
The Hawks have seven guards on their roster. Eight if you count Joe Johnson. Of those seven guards the speediest one, Speedy Claxton, has changed his name to Slow Poke Claxton. Claxton will start this season injured for the second year in a row. The other seven guys are comprised of three rookies, Anthony Johnson and Tyronn Lue, who are both way past their prime. Then there's Josh Childress and Salim Stoudamire. Childress and Stoudamire are poster boys for inconsistency. Childress has been reduced to coming off the bench and Stoudamire can score 20 points a game if he gets 30 touches.
But they've got forwards. The Hawks have built up a platoon of forwards over the past three years. They have an emerging superstar in Josh Smith. Marvin Williams is a player who has yet to live up to the hype. The Hawks took Williams with the second overall pick in the 2005 draft and to date the only thing that the youngster seems to be good for is getting injured. Williams missed most of last season a broken bone in his left hand.
The Hawks also need a center. ZaZa Pachulia has been great at times, but he tends to get a bit timid under the basket. Lorenzen Wright, the Hawks' back-up big man, is a nothing more than a journeyman. Atlanta has a lot options to explore with their big men considering they have drafted as many as possible the past few years. Even so, with this season quickly approaching the Hawks could still make it to the playoffs. The team has gradually improved each of the past two years and they play in a very weak eastern conference. The magic number for this team is 40. If the Hawks can win 40 games this year consider them a lock for the playoffs. The keyword is "if."
Contributing Writer
924172067@gsc.edu
Year of the Hawks
It's true the Atlanta Hawks are on the rise this year. The Hawks organization has spent the past few years building a team that can't be matched player for player by any team in the NBA. What I mean is that the Hawks could very well be the first team in NBA history to start a forward at all five positions.
The Hawks have seven guards on their roster. Eight if you count Joe Johnson. Of those seven guards the speediest one, Speedy Claxton, has changed his name to Slow Poke Claxton. Claxton will start this season injured for the second year in a row. The other seven guys are comprised of three rookies, Anthony Johnson and Tyronn Lue, who are both way past their prime. Then there's Josh Childress and Salim Stoudamire. Childress and Stoudamire are poster boys for inconsistency. Childress has been reduced to coming off the bench and Stoudamire can score 20 points a game if he gets 30 touches.
But they've got forwards. The Hawks have built up a platoon of forwards over the past three years. They have an emerging superstar in Josh Smith. Marvin Williams is a player who has yet to live up to the hype. The Hawks took Williams with the second overall pick in the 2005 draft and to date the only thing that the youngster seems to be good for is getting injured. Williams missed most of last season a broken bone in his left hand.
The Hawks also need a center. ZaZa Pachulia has been great at times, but he tends to get a bit timid under the basket. Lorenzen Wright, the Hawks' back-up big man, is a nothing more than a journeyman. Atlanta has a lot options to explore with their big men considering they have drafted as many as possible the past few years. Even so, with this season quickly approaching the Hawks could still make it to the playoffs. The team has gradually improved each of the past two years and they play in a very weak eastern conference. The magic number for this team is 40. If the Hawks can win 40 games this year consider them a lock for the playoffs. The keyword is "if."
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