Take A Moment For Mario West

 It's Mario West doing what he did best.

Never has a man done so little, with--well, so little--consider the comment from Kevin Pelton (via Hoopinion)

Because he has spent the last two seasons with the Hawks as the most limited of defensive specialists, usually being called upon by Mike Woodson to play the final possession of a quarter/game, he has averaged just 4.6 minutes per game. Amongst players with at least 100 games, that is the lowest career minutes average since Paul Noel, who played for New York and Rochester from 1948 through 1952 in the BAA and the NBA. A couple of guys have come close, but no one else has averaged fewer than five minutes in an appreciable career since the 1950s. While interesting, this does not exactly bode well for West's future.

Indeed it did not bode well as West joined Garrett Siler and Courtney Sims as former "Hawks" thereby making the Hawks roster complete as we near the beginning of the real season.

We're not mean or personal here at THHB, but we are compelled to be honest. There was nary a single time we anticipated West's presence in a game versus plenty of shudders. The days of playing 4 on 5 as a tradeoff for West's "enthusiasm" wasn't a good one in our admittedly completely amateurish eyes.

But now that he is gone (for now, at least), West must be complimented in that he played (2) full seasons in the NBA, a great feat unto itself. Even greater must the accomplishment be recognized when you consider that West's only discernible NBA talent was his hustle and aggression. That a player can make it that long on that little speaks Swamp-like volumes to West's work ethic and commitment to being on the Hawks (and in the NBA). Kudos to you, dear sir---your career will long be noted here at THHB.


THHB will be releasing their Season Preview next Monday, October 26th. Efforts to stop said publication should be considered fruitless, but we understand all the efforts. The Mario West support group weekly meeting has been postponed until further notice.

Free Agency: Go Time

Well, the votes are in--and the Hawks have elected to tender Marvin Williams, Josh Childress, Solomon Jones, and Mario West as presented here earlier in the day. This leaves Thomas Gardner and Othello Hunter as unrestricted free agents.

Marvin's tendering was no surprise--the team definitely wants to control things while they decide whether to extend/match him, trade him, or let him sign and play out his tender, leaving him unrestricted next season.

The Josh Childress move was also expected, as they would like to get something for him if he wants to rejoin the NBA and he costs them nothing (either cap or otherwise) if he plays overseas again next season.

What was less expected were the tenders of Solomon Jones and Mario West. Under CBA rules, the Hawks had to present a contract for a million dollars to each of them, above the approximate 770K they played for last season. That the Hawks felt so compelled to grant this raise and not let them take their chances as unrestricted free agents was surprising, given that their production was sub-par by any statistical measurement. It already hurts to have good guy Mo Evans getting paid 2.5 million for his less than average statistical achievements (PER 11.1), but to grant .6 million extra in cap space to two guys who the HHB believes would have a hard time finding a roster spot elsewhere, much less more than the minimum grinds the salary cap gears even more. If we were Jones and West, we'd sign those tenders immediately--before the Hawks changed their minds--but the HHB has been wayyy wrong before.

What else we learned on Tuesday:

We learned that Carlos Boozer and Mehmet Okur are not simply dumb jocks---they took their 12.3 and 9.0 million respectively and decided to stay put for one more year--until the cap friendly Summer of 2010. This puts the Jazz precariously close to luxury tax territory and having to make a tough choice on their own restricted free agent, Paul Millsap.

Our buddy, Ric Bucher, was kind to the Hawks today (Insider required) as he listed the ATL as potential fits for free agents Ben Gordon and Anderson Varejao, who opted out of his contract today and become a free agent. We had to laugh and agree with Bucher's assessment of Gordon as a fit for the Hawks, since they are stockpiling isolation scorers in Joe Johnson, Jamal Crawford, and first round pick Jeff Teague, of whom the HHB has likened to Gordon in style and scoring. The Hawks won't get him since after all the Hawks own free agents and Teague is signed, there will likely be nothing more than the exception to work with, and that won't get it for Gordon, even if the Hawks were interested.

Varejao is a classic overstated role player who dipped in rebounding rate last season. He's a mid-level guy who sounds like he believes he is much more like Carlos Boozer. He's not.

Looks like Jason Kidd is going to make a date with the New York Knicks in an attempt to get the Dallas Mavericks jealous and pay him. He's a better fit with Dallas due to Dirk and JT and the Dallas offense than in New York but we'd sure like a point guard like him in Atlanta.

An interesting player that will be available as a potential Zaza replacement is Orlando's Marcin Gortat, who was very productive in a backup role behind Dwight Howard. His rebounding rates are similar to Pachulia, but his shot blocking rate is far higher, which always enthuses the HHB galleries. It remains to be seen if the lesser experienced Gortat receives less lucrative offers than Zaza, but we would like to see another shot blocker up front--should almost be a pre-requisite of the center position.

Related to free agency, Detroit ran Michael Curry out after one season as head coach, ostensibly to be able to sell the team better to free agents (seems odd to create chaos to ensure stability). Debating whether he deserved to go in light of GM Joe Dumars (isn't it obvious the Pistons are about him and no coach) ripping out Chauncey Billups, bringing in Allen Iverson, and alienating Rip Hamilton is irrelevant---don't you think Mike Woodson is happy he chose Atlanta instead of "waiting his turn" in Detroit?

As Dominique once told the HHB, that's why he'd never coach. He said "Coaches come and go--and the executives stay." So true.


Here is an updated list of free agents for 2009 with their corresponding PER (Hawks players in bold) and will be updated regularly:

Free Agents (restricted)	PER
David Lee (RFA)	19.07
Nate Robinson (RFA)	18.95
Paul Millsap (RFA)	18.77
Andre Miller	18.71
Charlie Villanueva	18.64
Chris Anderson	18.16
Ramon Sessions (RFA)	17.65
Marcin Gortat (RFA) Ben Gordon	17.20 17.02
Jason Kidd	16.95
Hakim Warrick (RFA)	16.91
Antonio McDyess	16.63
Lamar Odom	16.60
Brandon Bass	16.49
Mike Bibby	16.38
Drew Gooden	16.34
Marvin Williams (RFA)	16.04
Shawn Marion	16.02
Allen Iverson	15.89
Ron Artest	15.64
Trevor Ariza	15.51
Grant Hill	15.26
Rasheed Wallace	14.91
Hedo Turkoglu	14.82
Von Wafer	14.79
RFM	14.79
Anderson Varajao	14.62
Rasho Nesterovic	14.15
Zaza Pachulia	14.14
Joe Smith	13.85
Raymond Felton (RFA)	13.80
Shelden Williams	13.78
Chris Wilcox	13.37
Jarrett Jack (RFA)	13.10
Wally Szczerbiak	12.18
Anthony Parker	12.16
Solomon Jones (RFA)	12.08
Robert Swift	11.50
Theo Ratliff	11.22
Glen Davis (RFA)	10.77
Raef Lafrentz	10.40
Channing Frye	10.09
Mario West (RFA) Ime Udoka	10.00 9.57
Stromile Swift	6.80
Malik Rose	5.28

Hawks Restricted/Unrestricted Player Update

Unofficially, the Hawks have tendered a qualifying offer to the following players:

Marvin Williams
Josh Childress
Mario West
Solomon Jones

This makes them restricted free agents and will carry a cap number until they are signed and gives the team the right of first refusal.

This means that Othello Hunter and Thomas Gardner have not received those offers and will now be unrestricted free agents, free to run, and run, and run to the team of their choice---with no way for the Hawks to stop them.

The Hawks will, in both cases, have the ability to initiate a sign and trade---which means the Hawks will also hold a cap number on these players until they are signed. If the team wants to free themselves of that cap number, they must renounce the rights to those players and the Bird rights that go with them.

This is also the case with their current unrestricted free agents (Zaza Pachulia, Mike Bibby, and Ronald "Flip" Murray).

We will update when we go final on the list and we thank @atlanta_hawks for the update!

Some Things Are Better Left Said

The HHB has to say it---yes, we know that teams are contractually required to send streamers flying from the rafters after any victory, but shouldn't the Grizzlies Wednesday night 98-90 win over the "Hawks" resound with a clunk instead of a gong?

The Grizzlies played OJ Mayo (42) minutes, Rudy Gay (38) minutes, and Mike Conley (45) minutes. I suppose when you have only won (23) games all season, you empty all barrels in making sure you get one you should get.

And they should have gotten this one by a lot more, because the Hawks countered with (42) minutes of RFM and (39) of Mo Evans and that's about it. Zaza played, but was more interested in getting his timing back and testing the resiliency of his injured back--both of which looked pretty good to us.

The Grizz went so hard after this game that they even began to double team Murray late in the game, especially after RFM seemed to start to finally hit empty on his internal combustion engine--Back to back (40) minutes games can do that to a guy.

Even still, the game was in doubt until the last couple of minutes, a testament to the fantastic effort that the Bottom Eight did against a talented young team that played their best players and played them a lot to have to put away the Hawks deep reserves.

So, in order to give the effort it's full due, we will indeed testify.

Make it Plain, Brother!

The #1 thing that the HHB took from this game, fair or not, is that Mayo, while being obviously talented, showed his back side in dealing with Flubber West.

Look, we all know that Flubber can get on your nerves---he really doesn't serve any other useful purpose than that---but the HHB, who has been highly critical of Flubber's minutes of late, was thrilled that he was our nuisance out there, especially when he very clearly got under the skin of the talented rookie.

But look, a hard foul was one thing--debatable whether it deserved a Flagrant--but to continue to burn about it, pick up another technical yapping about it, and then to take the game away from everyone else so you can deal with it your own way is when you pull down your character trousers and show everyone your rear end.


We failed to say anything notable about Othello Hunter's game against Miami Tuesday night, but we did remember one thing---something that was on display again in the game against MEM. Hunter has a nice way of not lowering the ball below his shoulders around the basket, making him play taller than he is. This is something that Horford can definitely learn from---make yourself as tall as possible around the hoop and don't let those little guys have a chance to make a play.

Our newest bestest buddy, Speedy Claxton looked better against MEM, though he did have one out of control shot---once again we believe that he showed enough to at least get him on the playoff roster.

Thomas Gardner started slow again but found his way later in the game, and we had to laugh when he was shaking his head after his second made basket because it had a "I knew I can play this game" look of relief on it. We're intrigued and would like to see more of him next summer to see if he can develop into a Kareem Rush type specialist off the bench.

Marvin Williams was consistently up and cheering on the bench guys, making him clearly the early leader for Class President on the team.

Mo and Evans were troopers out there---used to being in much more meaningful situations this season, but gave it everything---We appreciated their hard work and making this game a lot harder to win than the young men in MEM might have thought before the game.

Lunar Shuttle Tickets, Lunar Shuttle Tickets

The NBA schedule for the playoffs is out, and while you may find this elsewhere, here is everything we have on the matter---and now, it's yours---enjoy and see you on Sunday!

ATLANTA HAWKS vs. MIAMI HEAT
2009 FIRST ROUND PLAYOFF SERIES

Game 1 - Sun April 19 Miami at Atlanta 8:00PM 8:00PM TNT
Game 2 - Wed April 22 Miami at Atlanta 8:00PM 8:00PM TNT
Game 3 - Sat April 25 Atlanta at Miami 6:30PM 6:30PM TNT
Game 4 - Mon April 27 Atlanta at Miami TBD TBD TBD
Game 5 * Wed April 29 Miami at Atlanta TBD TBD TBD
Game 6 * Fri May 1 Atlanta at Miami TBD TBD TBD
Game 7 * Sun May 3 Miami at Atlanta TBD TBD TBD

In addition, Hawks games will be broadcast on 790 the Zone (790 AM) and the Hawks TV Network (Fox Sports South and Sportsouth). Playoff tickets are currently on sale at www.hawks.com/playoffs and by calling 1-(800)-4NBA TIX, or at the Philips Arena Box Office and all Ticketmaster outlets.

National
Local EDT
Broadcast
Western Conference

L.A. Lakers vs. Utah

Game 1 - Sun April 19 Utah at L.A. Lakers 12:00PM 3:00PM ABC/R
Game 2 - Tue April 21 Utah at L.A. Lakers 7:30PM 10:30PM TNT
Game 3 - Thu April 23 L.A. Lakers at Utah 8:30PM 10:30PM TNT
Game 4 - Sat April 25 L.A. Lakers at Utah 7:00PM 9:00PM ESPN/R
Game 5 * Mon April 27 Utah at L.A. Lakers TBD TBD TBD
Game 6 * Thu April 30 L.A. Lakers at Utah TBD TBD TBD
Game 7 * Sat May 2 Utah at L.A. Lakers TBD TBD TNT

Denver vs. New Orleans

Game 1 - Sun April 19 New Orleans at Denver 8:30PM 10:30PM TNT
Game 2 - Wed April 22 New Orleans at Denver 8:30PM 10:30PM TNT
Game 3 - Sat April 25 Denver at New Orleans 12:00PM 1:00PM ESPN
Game 4 - Mon April 27 Denver at New Orleans TBD TBD TBD
Game 5 * Wed April 29 New Orleans at Denver TBD TBD TBD
Game 6 * Fri May 1 Denver at New Orleans TBD TBD TBD
Game 7 * Sun May 3 New Orleans at Denver TBD TBD TBD

San Antonio vs. Dallas

Game 1 - Sat April 18 Dallas at San Antonio 7:00PM 8:00PM ESPN/R
Game 2 - Mon April 20 Dallas at San Antonio 8:30PM 9:30PM TNT
Game 3 - Thu April 23 San Antonio at Dallas 7:30PM 8:30PM NBATV
Game 4 - Sat April 25 San Antonio at Dallas 3:00PM 4:00PM TNT
Game 5 * Tue April 28 Dallas at San Antonio TBD TBD TBD
Game 6 * Fri May 1 San Antonio at Dallas TBD TBD TBD
Game 7 * Sun May 3 Dallas at San Antonio TBD TBD TBD

Portland vs. Houston

Game 1 - Sat April 18 Houston at Portland 7:30PM 10:30PM ESPN
Game 2 - Tue April 21 Houston at Portland 7:00PM 10:00PM NBATV
Game 3 - Fri April 24 Portland at Houston 8:30PM 9:30PM ESPN
Game 4 - Sun April 26 Portland at Houston 8:00PM 9:00PM TNT
Game 5 * Tue April 28 Houston at Portland TBD TBD TBD
Game 6 * Thu April 30 Portland at Houston TBD TBD TBD
Game 7 * Sat May 2 Houston at Portland TBD TBD TNT

NBA Playoffs 2009 - First Round Schedule
page 2 of 2


National
Local EDT
Broadcast
Eastern Conference

Cleveland vs. Detroit

Game 1 - Sat April 18 Detroit at Cleveland 3:00PM 3:00PM ABC
Game 2 - Tue April 21 Detroit at Cleveland 8:00PM 8:00PM TNT
Game 3 - Fri April 24 Cleveland at Detroit 7:00PM 7:00PM ESPN
Game 4 - Sun April 26 Cleveland at Detroit 3:30PM 3:30PM ABC/R
Game 5 * Wed April 29 Detroit at Cleveland TBD TBD TBD
Game 6 * Fri May 1 Cleveland at Detroit TBD TBD TBD
Game 7 * Sun May 3 Detroit at Cleveland TBD TBD TBD

Boston vs. Chicago

Game 1 - Sat April 18 Chicago at Boston 12:30PM 12:30PM ESPN
Game 2 - Mon April 20 Chicago at Boston 7:00PM 7:00PM TNT
Game 3 - Thu April 23 Boston at Chicago 7:00PM 8:00PM TNT
Game 4 - Sun April 26 Boston at Chicago 12:00PM 1:00PM ABC
Game 5 * Tue April 28 Chicago at Boston TBD TBD TBD
Game 6 * Thu April 30 Boston at Chicago TBD TBD TBD
Game 7 * Sat May 2 Chicago at Boston TBD TBD TNT

Orlando vs. Philadelphia

Game 1 - Sun April 19 Philadelphia at Orlando 5:30PM 5:30PM TNT
Game 2 - Wed April 22 Philadelphia at Orlando 7:00PM 7:00PM NBATV
Game 3 - Fri April 24 Orlando at Philadelphia 8:00PM 8:00PM ESPN2
Game 4 - Sun April 26 Orlando at Philadelphia 6:30PM 6:30PM TNT
Game 5 * Tue April 28 Philadelphia at Orlando TBD TBD TBD
Game 6 * Thu April 30 Orlando at Philadelphia TBD TBD TBD
Game 7 * Sat May 2 Philadelphia at Orlando TBD TBD TNT

Atlanta vs. Miami

Game 1 - Sun April 19 Miami at Atlanta 8:00PM 8:00PM TNT
Game 2 - Wed April 22 Miami at Atlanta 8:00PM 8:00PM TNT
Game 3 - Sat April 25 Atlanta at Miami 6:30PM 6:30PM TNT
Game 4 - Mon April 27 Atlanta at Miami TBD TBD TBD
Game 5 * Wed April 29 Miami at Atlanta TBD TBD TBD
Game 6 * Fri May 1 Atlanta at Miami TBD TBD TBD
Game 7 * Sun May 3 Miami at Atlanta TBD TBD TBD

Additional scheduling information will be furnished as soon as possible
consistent with the need to fulfill league obligations.

If First Round series are completed in six (6) games or less, the
Conference Semifinals may move up to begin on either Saturday, May 2 or
Sunday, May 3.

*If necessary

All games, except those televised by ABC Sports, are available to be
televised locally.

TBD - To Be Determined R - ESPN Radio
SUBJECT TO CHANGE

Home Court 'Stache

To celebrate the pending home court clinching in the first round of the playoff, the Atlanta Hawks took the wrapper off of Marvin Williams, who had missed a surprising (16) games with his injured back.

That he only scored (5) points or played a mere (12) minutes in the Hawks fourth-place clinching 122-118 win over the Indiana Pacers was almost irrelevant--the Mustache and its mystical healing powers was back.

To gauge the impact that Marvin has made on the people that watch and surround the team, one need only note that the crowd gave Marvin a standing ovation (no, they weren't shooting t-shirts into the crowd at that time) when he entered the game for the first time. That, combined with the anticipation built up from the blogs and newspapers (ok, just the AJC) and it's clear many were eager for the 'Stache's return.

All of which is a testament not only to the improvement Marvin has made from last season to this one, but also the obvious good guy label everyone has noticed and begun to embrace--he is dependable, productive, and from all forms that we have to check this sort of thing, a good teammate. The Mustache also has the power to solve a Rubik's cube in (2) minutes---don't underestimate, appreciate.

He's gone from the guy who isn't someone else to a player that the ATL appreciates for his own skills and contributions. They won't give a Most Improved Award to him this year, but this season marks a massive step forward in our books.

On the court, the Hawks did one thing a little better than in recent games in that they seemed to go at the paint a little more regularly, which allowed for a more efficient (though we will wait for the official breakdown of that when Hoopinion rolls out the statistical barrel later to know for sure) offensive night.

The Hawks attacked and went to the line for a staggering (45) free throws, of which they made (34), led by the high scorer of the night, Josh Smith. Smoove didn't completely rid himself of the many on the court demons that can sabotage his overall effectiveness, but he did have a strong night across the board, even attacking the glass on both ends. His offensive rebound late in the game helped seal the game---he hit the floor a couple of times----Josh was genuinely using his massive powers for good, and the box score filled up accordingly.

Also on the attack was Al Horford, who spent his night, as he does on most nights, sprinting up and down the court---Against the Pacers, the Hawks actually rewarded his efforts on a number of occasions, as he relentlessly raced slower matchups like Roy Hibbert and Jeff Foster and was able to cash in from a very generous Mike Bibby (9 assists) and Joe Johnson as well. Horford owned the glass, grabbing (13) of his (15) rebounds on the defensive end. In all, a stellar 22/15/5 game from Al, who proved he can--if you let him.

Someone in the Hawks blogging nation mentioned it, and since the HHB working crew is short due to the Holiday (celebrate!) weekend, we aren't staffed appropriately to figure out who (we guess Peachtree Hoops), it's fun when Joe Johnson is hitting his threes as he was against IND (5-8), including one off of a Horford pick that was so sweet we wish we had the sound on a hot key---beautiful music. Joe was so good last night that it speaks volumes that Smith and Horford seemed to overshadow the Backcourt. 24/4/4 on a mere (15) shots--he's good, he's good.

For all of the goodness that the Hawks were displaying offensively, the defense didn't seem to coincide. For every terrific shot (like the aforementioned 3 from Joe) the Pacers raced the ball back up the court and caught the flatfooted Hawks scrambling to get in transition position. There were too many open Danny Granger and Troy Murphy looks from long range---and they made the Hawks pay.

In fact, if not for an abnormally bad night from the free throw line by Granger (7-11 is awful for the 89 percent shooter), the endgame would have been different. He did, though, and the Hawks did enough to win and clinch that first round home court, which means that the ATL can now make plans to be there and be loud for Games 1 and 2.

Agate Type:

Between Acie Law and Mo Evans inactivity (Sidenote: they mentioned Evans' Family Matters so much it sounded like a TBS promo for the old sitcom), Marvin being limited minutes to his (12) minutes, and an in game injury for Zaza Pachulia---it meant seeing a starting assignment for Flubber West and more minutes for Solomon Jones.

As for West---though he made a couple of plays out there---his output does not match his energy. To play (14) minutes, including a lot with the other (4) starters and put up the line that he did seems to be Exhibit A to Hawks GM Rick Sund on building the deeper bench next year. (5) fouls, (3) turnovers, and a whopping (-8) when he was playing with the starting lineup that all had positive +/- should tell Woody not to do that anymore, or at least send Hawks fans lining up to hope that Mo Evans' Family Matters are a short term issue.

As for Jones, he gives up so much to the other team when he is on the floor, but the difference tonight is that he was able to give some of it back for the Hawks with (7) points, rather than just being a liability all night.

That the Hawks played West and Jones together for portions of the game--like towards the end of the first quarter when the Hawks original lead melted away quickly---and came away with the win further spotlights, highlights, and demonstrates just how really good Johnson, Bibby, Smith, and Horford were.

The HHB wants to hear the ATL from its comfortable Orlando HQ---just like last year---However, if you want you can leave Game 1 tickets for us in the Comments Area.

Ho-Humming the Blazers Out of Town

Anyone watching the 98-80 beating of the Portland Trail Blazers (caution--trendy!) at the hands of the home happy Atlanta Hawks were treated to some excellent basketball for (48) minutes (in a row!).

That the Hawks beat the Blazers at home isn't particularly earth shattering---even though POR has a stellar record on the road against East teams---but the way that the Hawks had control of this game from start to finish is, given the season long habit of taking some minutes of the game off.

The Hawks seemed to have the visitors at (a long) arm's length most of the night, and though the Blazers made the Hawks work for it, the home team never gave ground, always making a big shot or tightening the defense just when POR thought they would be able to pull past the Birds.

Joe Johnson was dominant, scoring (35) with his usual (6) assists---and there was nobody who could check him from Portland. Stand down those who don't believe Joe is all-star caliber---(4) 30 point games in a row while shooting over 50 percent and maintaining his level of giving to others---He even outdid Brandon Roy, who was playing the same type of game for Portland at just a cut below. Joe's hotness was the reason this game never felt like it would slip away. That Joe was able to do so much without the aid of making a single three (0-4) also speaks to Portland's inability to guard him---hoping he'd miss was their best play.

(Sidenote: Speaking of Roy, it was definitely more egregious a draft blunder to pass on Roy when Billy Knight inexplicably selected Sheldon Williams instead. Roy is simply a younger (and shorter) version of Johnson. Now we're sure there are those who would insist that Roy would have been stunted by the audacious coaching of Mike Woodson, but we're sure more fans would be in heaven watching a Roy/Johnson backcourt. It's enough to make the HHB punch pillows in the Official HD Viewing Center.)

The Hawks were so smooth and polished Sunday that they even finished strong, forcing a large turnover edge (18 Blazer blunders to 6 for the Hawks) and making the most of their own good play. The game never felt in doubt and the Hawks gradually built the lead out to the point where the bench was comfortable emptied with about (3) minutes to play.

And Furthermore

Al Horford does not get credit for the endless array of screens that he sets for all of his teammates. His line reads 13 and 5, but Horford seemed to have an even more positive impact on the game. He was tireless in his efforts defensively (does anyone notice he doesn't get killed even when he is left facing the likes of Brandon Roy?) as well as the constant picks to get Joe free to create. His stats show (2) assists for the game, but he created a lot more than the assists column is able to display.

It was a little cathartic to see the two season compare of 2007 first overall pick Greg Oden vs. Al. To say Al has pounded his fanny thus far is pretty fair and it's nice for Hawks fans to feel---even if it's just for now---the the Birds actually were the ones that did good at another team's expense.

Mario West has gotten a lot of airtime recently, including the IBR/THHF team Sunday afternoon. To the HHB, we appreciate West's tenacity and he does show good offensive rebounding skills and can jam/block shots with his scary athleticism. We said the Mario did an homage to Chris Crawford against Utah with an amazing tip-jam, but we don't want to confuse the masses that we think he's another CC. Sure, he throws his body around like the Marquette standout, but Chris could also knock down a three (and toss a mean fastball, too). No--to us he brings to mind the game of Darvin Ham, another former Hawk with limited offensive ability and loads of tenacity. Ham was also described as a good teammate, too. West shouldn't be too offended by the comparison, Ham played (8) seasons in the league--about (8) more than most people would have ever given West.

We understand that POR has 41 wins in the "rough" western conference, but it seemed to the HHB that, beyond Brandon Roy and LaMarcus Aldridge, that the team was talent poor. Steve Blake seems like a backup quality point guard, we're not sure what Nicolas Batum is doing in a starting lineup, and the bench was exclusively comprised of Travis Outlaw. Now, we understand that Rudy Fernandez is supposed to be something, and the rest of the team may have just been flat, so this snapshot we saw of the team could simply be out of focus, but they really made us feel a little better about Mo Evans, Acie Law, RFM, and Zaza Pachulia.

Two Yawns Means the Show Will Close in a Week

Sunday afternoon's game marked a record 15th consecutive game that AJC beat writer Sekou Smith is caught on camera yawning. It's really impressive. Usually seated at home games next to Hawks Media Relations king Arthur Triche, Sekou is usually shown once a game, and is apparently exhausted. Now, we know the media room has coffee---can someone send an extra large caffeine express to Mr. Smith?

The HHB is warming up the 50 win bandwagon for all who dare to join---Insults and other constructive rejoinders are welcome in the Comments Area.