Sluggishness doesn't equal slide Woodson says fatigue not reason for team's late losses By SEKOU SMITH The Atlanta Journal-Constitution Published on: 03/28/06 Charlotte — There are a number of ways to analyze the Hawks' 2-8 record in their past 10 games, which includes four consecutive losses after Sunday's loss in Orlando. Perhaps the slow grind of a long season has finally caught up with a team with an undermanned roster. Or maybe their resurgent February and early March alerted teams that took them lightly that they better not do so. There also is the possibility that the Hawks, 21-47 heading into tonight's game against the lowly Charlotte Bobcats, are just plain tired. But don't even think about telling Hawks coach Mike Woodson his team is tired. "Everybody's tired this time of year," he said. "I know Joe [Johnson] is logging big minutes, as he's done all year. A lot of our guys are doing that. But we've just got to try and work through that." That's easier said than done when you employ a seven-man rotation, due mostly to injuries and the fact that the Hawks have played the entire season with the league's youngest roster and without adequate reserves in their frontcourt rotation. Veteran point guard Tyronn Lue has been out since Feb. 7 with a sprained knee ligament, though he plans to return for Friday night's game with New Jersey. And rookie guard Salim Stoudamire is out for the season with a sprained elbow, leaving the Hawks even deeper in the hole. That lack of depth keeps Johnson and the rest of the Hawks regulars pushing themselves to their limits against opponents who rarely have to worry about having the energy needed to finish games, which is something the Hawks have struggled with since November. "I feel that sometimes," Josh Childress said. "You try as hard as you can to summon that energy, and sometimes it's just not in the tank. But it's like Coach said, you have to work through it. "And that's why I said [after Sunday's loss to Orlando] that at this point in the season, we have to beat teams mentally. We have to limit our own mistakes, execute our offensive precisely and basically do everything the way we're supposed to do it as opposed to just outhustling people." That approach is the only one that will work for these last 14 games of the season, Woodson said. Worrying about the luxuries they don't have, he said, is futile. "We've won in games under all sorts of circumstances this year," Woodson said. "We have to stop worrying about what we can't control and finish strong. That's all there is to it." Fighting through the grind is the challenge as the season winds down. And it's one that won't come easy. "It is rough, but every season grinds down to this final stretch," Hawks co-captain Al Harrington said. "It's the same for teams headed to the playoffs as it is for everybody else. They are just as tired as we are. The fact is, you can't let excuses rule your day. You can't allow yourself to get caught up in that type of stuff. Because that'll be just another way to explain away the fact that you're not getting the job done. "And lately, we've been beating ourselves. There are very few nights when we go out there and somebody runs us off the floor. We're in games, against the best and against everybody else. We've just got to find a way to finish." 資料來源 http://www.ajc.com/hawks/content/sports/hawks/stories/0328hawks.html --

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