Upon further review… By Sekou Smith | Thursday, March 30, 2006, 03:50 PM Welcome to confessions of a bipolar basketball team, where they can lose to the league’s lone expansion team by giving up 125 points, 70 in the paint, and 24 hours later defeat a team bound for the playoffs for the fourth straight time. Your guess is as good as mine when it comes to how this happens. But you have to admit it is pretty hilarious. The looks on the faces of the Pacers coaches and players at the end of the game said it all. On any given night they are one of the league’s elite teams (their 35-35 record tainted by drama, injuries and just about anything else you can think of). But when they see the Hawks, it’s a wrap. Priceless stuff. Now with New Jersey coming to town Friday, we’ll get a chance to see if the Hawks are up to the task of battling with an elite team that’s actually playing like one? Let me backtrack and address some things that have been floating around the board the past few days that I’ve read but not yet had a chance to respond to. 1: I realize that everyone here wants me to blast someone — coaches, players and Billy Knight more than anyone else — for the Hawks’ struggles this season. I think I’ve been pretty vigilant about pointing out where I think the Hawks have gone wrong and what they’ve done right since I’ve been on the scene. I spent much of the early portion of the season running down just about everyone (what else do you do when a team is 2-16). But I can only take so much of that myself. And when the season’s complete, there will be ample opportunity to request accountability from the powers that be, because someone will have to beheld accountable for another losing season. But until then, it’s pointless to worry about who’s going to get the blame. Because from where I sit, there’s going to be plenty go around. 2: There seems to be this sentiment that the Hawks have done a disservice to guys like John Edwards, James Lang and Donta Smith by not playing them more, or at all in Lang’s case, and putting all the minutes on Zaza Pachulia, Joe Johnson and the rest of the regulars. I agree. I’d make guys play until their tongues fall out and then shuffle in my next guy. But much like you, I’m not in charge. So it’s not my call. And to be quite honest, tell me what any guy who’s played sparingly has done to make you believe he’s warranted extended playing time? Anthony Grundy did that Wednesday night. He made it impossible not to notice him by playing all out in the limited time he was on the floor. I can’t say that those other guys have done that, no matter what brief flashes they’ve shown. 3: Now that the draft has been qualified as weak, the Hawks are destined for the top overall pick and yet another 6-8 swingman to add to their long list of lean and athletic talents. Me thinks not, at least about the player they add come draft time. I do think fate works in sinister ways sometimes, and a year after the Hawks had their best shot to get the No. 1 pick they’ll probably get stuck with it in the draft no one seems to be interested in having the No. 1 pick. But I don’t think there’s any question that the Hawks’ needs are for big men and point guards. And in the absence of a transcendent wing player, though Brandon Roy has me thinking of Dwyane Wade, there’s no need to go in that direction. 4: I know some people want to pan Marvin Williams because he’s not Chris Paul or Deron Williams. But that’s unfair to Marvin and I won’t do it. Dude didn’t ask the Hawks to pick him. And given the situation he’s in, he’s done more than an admirable job. I won’t even get into the details about his age (19) and limited experience at a high level, because that should be painfully obvious. I’m prepared to give him the time necessary to become the player everyone, and I mean EVERYONE who makes draft night decisions was willing to when they all decided he was one of the to two picks. Would a back court with Joe Johnson and Chris Paul be sick. Uh, yeah. Any dope can figure that out. But who knew? I don’t remember a massive outcry when Deron Williams was drafted ahead of Paul. The truth is, just about any team that had the No. 2 pick last summer would have passed on Paul. So I’m not willing to brand the Hawks busters for passing on a guy that everybody would have passed on. So anyway, enough of my ridiculousness today. The weather is too nice to be messing around on this laptop all day. And we’ve got bees flying all over the yard, these days I like to refer to it as Crab Grass Gone Wild. With the Hawks’ road schedule lately, I’ve had little time to tend the grass. I’ve got my iPod charged up and the shades on. It’s time to handle some problems I might actually be able to fix, like turning the yard into Augusta National on the west side of A-Town. 资料来源 http://0rz.net/121aW --

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