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." 资料来源 http://www.ajc.com/hawks/content/sports/hawks/stories/0210hawks.html --

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