Our pappy always told us, "No matter where you are or what you doing, there is always something to learn."
Ok, so he really didn't tell us that---and there was no "Pappy", but we do cheerfully suggest that there are some things to learn, even in a game that featured more airballs than game balls (see how we did that? Genius.).
The "Hawks" beat the "Heat" 81-79 in a glorified---ok, it wasn't even that glorified--exhibition in front of dozens of engaged fans.
Heck, it was fan appreciation night in the home closer of the season---even if the only fans who appreciated it were the families of Othello Hunter and Thomas Gardner.
Even through the brickfest and turnover stained footage of the game, there were some nuggets of knowledge to be gleaned from the activity known as the basketball game. Let's have some fun with it and play some HHB Did You See That Too Bingo as you read along!
Here We Go:
Michael Beasley can play some offense. His shot was so sweet, it seemed the Hawks were applauding it as it ripped through the nets. He had a double-double in the first quarter and would end up with (23) points in (24) minutes. Stellar!
Flubber West and Solomon Jones with 30+ minutes of floor time don't put up any different counting stats than they do in 4-6 minutes of floor time. Seriously guys---2 for 6 in (70) minutes of game action? This is Exhibit B to Rick Sund for a better bench next year. See our previous entry for Exhibit A.
RFM doesn't like being a part of "Exhibition Night". Murray sported the old, out-of-control RFM moves on his way to a "what the heck" 5-20 night from the field. Murray earned the right to be treated like a starter, but obviously the Hawks had too few players to make that happen, and RFM shot it like he just don't care---say Wham---say bam!
Speedy Claxton may have something to offer the Hawks in the playoffs. He was rusty (airball on a free throw, shot thrown out to midcourt), but he looked good as a playmaker, especially since these were the first (7) minutes of actual game time in over (2) years. It was funny that he was winded after (3) minutes in the first half, but expected---Maybe we're just weary of our lack of point guard play after Bibby sits, but Claxton needs to be on the roster at least.
Thomas Gardner looks comfortable on the floor---but he continues to miss wildly with his shot. Gardner had (4) steals and looked good out there, except that while he looks good while he shoots, that good look only lasts until the ball radically misses the basket. Still, of the Flubber/Solo/Morris bench guys, Gardner intrigues us the most.
See, fun for the whole family, eh? How many did you get?
The Hawks wrapped up one of the most impressive home seasons we've seen in quite some time (31-10)---admit it, Hawks fans, it was nice to see the Birds yukking it up on the bench, getting some major rest as the weekend and its playoff magic edges closer.
The HHB admits it never learned much at school---heck, we went to Florida---Theorems and hypotheses can be scribbled on the walls in the Comments Area.
Showing posts with label Speedy Claxton. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Speedy Claxton. Show all posts
Wednesday, April 15, 2009
Tuesday, April 14, 2009
Meaningless Is In the Eyes of the Beholder
Tonight's game may lack meaning in the standings, but if you have been following along on the Twitter conversations, it hasn't meant a lack of interest on some fronts:
Peachtree Hoops is setting lines and taking wagers on some interesting over/unders.
Hawk Str8Talk is hoping for a night to remember from pet project Thomas Gardner.
CoCo from The Vent wants to see the best of the Hawks making some kind of fashion statement.
And, of course, we want to see if our newest, bestest buddy, Speedy Claxton, will get to wear an actual uniform tonight. You know--other than for the Scott Cunningham team shots that appear on the website or the old photos from when he once played ---real, on the court threads.
According to HawksBlog's Micah Hart, Speedy participated in the walkthrough this morning and the man himself declared he is going to play, though coming off the bench!
So it's come to this: That Claxton, who costs the Hawks about (6) million dollars against the cap (since we believe they may be getting insurance to pay actual dollars to SC), can finally play when the game means absolutely nothing in the standings and the Hawks needs to rest the critical players--and even then he's coming off the bench. If it seems strange, that's because it is---we're anxious to see Claxton any which way---one would think that a veteran point guard could be helpful to the team--especially one that's talent challenged as you go deeper down the bench.
The HHB might also fall under the definition of meaningless---arguments for and against, as well as other things that might be interesting in this game can be communicated through the Comments Area.
Peachtree Hoops is setting lines and taking wagers on some interesting over/unders.
Hawk Str8Talk is hoping for a night to remember from pet project Thomas Gardner.
CoCo from The Vent wants to see the best of the Hawks making some kind of fashion statement.
And, of course, we want to see if our newest, bestest buddy, Speedy Claxton, will get to wear an actual uniform tonight. You know--other than for the Scott Cunningham team shots that appear on the website or the old photos from when he once played ---real, on the court threads.
According to HawksBlog's Micah Hart, Speedy participated in the walkthrough this morning and the man himself declared he is going to play, though coming off the bench!
So it's come to this: That Claxton, who costs the Hawks about (6) million dollars against the cap (since we believe they may be getting insurance to pay actual dollars to SC), can finally play when the game means absolutely nothing in the standings and the Hawks needs to rest the critical players--and even then he's coming off the bench. If it seems strange, that's because it is---we're anxious to see Claxton any which way---one would think that a veteran point guard could be helpful to the team--especially one that's talent challenged as you go deeper down the bench.
The HHB might also fall under the definition of meaningless---arguments for and against, as well as other things that might be interesting in this game can be communicated through the Comments Area.
Sunday, April 12, 2009
Will Speedy Play on Tuesday?
We asked the question over on the Twitter Hitter, but we will bring it forth here:
Is there anything more compelling about the Hawks next game than the question of whether or not the Hawks will dress Speedy Claxton Tuesday night?
As you probably have read (or if you didn't, check out Speedy's Twitter alias to peruse his musings), Speedy was highly curious as to why the Hawks didn't dress him despite only having (11) healthy players.
We asked Speedy if there had been any explanation for making him go naked for the game and he graciously responded to us today, saying:
With Claxton obviously lobbying to get into the game, will the Hawks allow the veteran guard to lace them up or show him the suit?
Now, we're not sure how insurance monies work, if that even is the reason for Claxton's exile on the Hawks bench, so we don't know if playing Claxton would cost the Hawks financially, but it's clear he wants to play and, with a year left on his contract and with Speedy getting a little frisky about his role (or lack of) with Atlanta, it could be an interesting off-season and 2009-2010 season if they do not.
Is there anything more compelling about the Hawks next game than the question of whether or not the Hawks will dress Speedy Claxton Tuesday night?
As you probably have read (or if you didn't, check out Speedy's Twitter alias to peruse his musings), Speedy was highly curious as to why the Hawks didn't dress him despite only having (11) healthy players.
We asked Speedy if there had been any explanation for making him go naked for the game and he graciously responded to us today, saying:
speeddeamon@THHB nope but hoping they will dress me on tues
With the Hawks already having clinched home court via the 4th place position in the East, Mike Woodson is expected to rest his starters for Tuesday's game @ home and Wednesday's road finale.
With Claxton obviously lobbying to get into the game, will the Hawks allow the veteran guard to lace them up or show him the suit?
Now, we're not sure how insurance monies work, if that even is the reason for Claxton's exile on the Hawks bench, so we don't know if playing Claxton would cost the Hawks financially, but it's clear he wants to play and, with a year left on his contract and with Speedy getting a little frisky about his role (or lack of) with Atlanta, it could be an interesting off-season and 2009-2010 season if they do not.
Thursday, January 8, 2009
GameNight: No Signs of Acie’s Pajamas in Woodson’s Doghouse
When we took the assignment of heading to Philips Arena for the game between the Good Guys (that would be the Hawks) and the Pretty Good but not as Good Guys (that would be the Magic), we knew we had to ask Coach Woodson about one player.
Acie Law.
These are the results of our quest.
First of all, Acie was out for family reasons, and Woodson reports that he’s fine and they hope that he is back tomorrow.
So even with knowing that nothing that was said tonight could be quickly addressed after the game since Law would be inactive for the game, we wanted to know why Law hadn’t been playing and if he fit into the long term (and short term for that matter) Hawks plans.
“Right now I’m just looking at what’s happening now,” said Woodson. “He’s a part of the team. He just hasn’t seen a lot of action in our rotation. We’ve elected to go with Flip.”
“It’s no knock against Acie,” Woodson continued. “I still expect him to be ready to play. I thought the other night he stepped right in and did a great job—for a guy who hasn’t played in a while—he did some nice things---and I expect that.”
When asked by the HHB if he would be playing more as the season wore on the Coach replied, “My thing is that I know as the season goes on I’ve got to get back to trying to play 9-10 guys consistently.”
The question has been has Acie done anything wrong to keep him off the floor and if there was anything that Law was doing well. Says Woodson, “His job is to run our basketball team---and that’s what I expect him to do and I expect him to be sharp defensively when guards are bringing the ball up the court. I've got to keep working with him and keep finding minutes for him.”
“(Being a scorer) is what he’s done in college. He was a scorer in college and here he doesn’t have to score a whole lot. If he’s a position to make plays, I do expect him to do that. And he’s doing that---I have no complaints about Acie Law—he’s doing excellent when he gets a chance to play.”
Without Law there, we couldn’t know for sure, because we couldn't ask him as planned, but we asked Woodson if Law understands that the defensive end and running the team effectively are the key notes for him to get on the floor for more time.
“He gets that---he really has no choice (laughter)---and if he’s called upon to play, that’s the way I expect him to play. I’ve just been going with a different rotation and he’ll be back in there ready to play.”
There it is---no bones for Law in the Woodson doghouse---hopefully the only bones thrown will be the minutes for Law on the court.
More Game Notes:
Zaza Pachulia was sick—so sick in fact that he was not even at the arena and is day-to-day.
We can appreciate Zaza not bringing his illness to work and exposing the HHB to even more sicknesses (see our Out Sick post from last month to catch a photo of us incapacitated by the last illness we had), but the Hawks missed his energy and toughness badly in the game.
The Official Spouse of the HHB sent along that we got a Comment from The Vent's CoCo regarding asking about Speedy Claxton, about whom we wrote last season to cancel plans to hold your breath for his return.
As Casey Kasem would say, CoCo---Here is Your Long Distance Dedication:
Claxton’s knee injury recovery timeline is still officially a mystery, but we are known to speculate that it’s awful hard to risk a player playing when insurance money is on the line. We hear that Claxton may want to be out there in heart these days, but his body and circumstances seem to be conspiring to make that a non-reality.
One more quote from Josh Smith tonight and this one goes out to Peachtree Hoops, who has documented that the Hawks are consistently one of the Top 5-10 slowest paced teams in the league, especially when winning.
“We played their style of basketball---half court---we opened up more and started to play our pace and cut the lead down---but you can’t wait to play your basketball what late against a team like Orlando.”
The HHB thanks all the fine people who came around to chat tonight at the arena---and of course the Hawks for having us---Comments and further Salutations are Welcome at the Comments Section.
Acie Law.
These are the results of our quest.
First of all, Acie was out for family reasons, and Woodson reports that he’s fine and they hope that he is back tomorrow.
So even with knowing that nothing that was said tonight could be quickly addressed after the game since Law would be inactive for the game, we wanted to know why Law hadn’t been playing and if he fit into the long term (and short term for that matter) Hawks plans.
“Right now I’m just looking at what’s happening now,” said Woodson. “He’s a part of the team. He just hasn’t seen a lot of action in our rotation. We’ve elected to go with Flip.”
“It’s no knock against Acie,” Woodson continued. “I still expect him to be ready to play. I thought the other night he stepped right in and did a great job—for a guy who hasn’t played in a while—he did some nice things---and I expect that.”
When asked by the HHB if he would be playing more as the season wore on the Coach replied, “My thing is that I know as the season goes on I’ve got to get back to trying to play 9-10 guys consistently.”
The question has been has Acie done anything wrong to keep him off the floor and if there was anything that Law was doing well. Says Woodson, “His job is to run our basketball team---and that’s what I expect him to do and I expect him to be sharp defensively when guards are bringing the ball up the court. I've got to keep working with him and keep finding minutes for him.”
“(Being a scorer) is what he’s done in college. He was a scorer in college and here he doesn’t have to score a whole lot. If he’s a position to make plays, I do expect him to do that. And he’s doing that---I have no complaints about Acie Law—he’s doing excellent when he gets a chance to play.”
Without Law there, we couldn’t know for sure, because we couldn't ask him as planned, but we asked Woodson if Law understands that the defensive end and running the team effectively are the key notes for him to get on the floor for more time.
“He gets that---he really has no choice (laughter)---and if he’s called upon to play, that’s the way I expect him to play. I’ve just been going with a different rotation and he’ll be back in there ready to play.”
There it is---no bones for Law in the Woodson doghouse---hopefully the only bones thrown will be the minutes for Law on the court.
More Game Notes:
Zaza Pachulia was sick—so sick in fact that he was not even at the arena and is day-to-day.
We can appreciate Zaza not bringing his illness to work and exposing the HHB to even more sicknesses (see our Out Sick post from last month to catch a photo of us incapacitated by the last illness we had), but the Hawks missed his energy and toughness badly in the game.
The Official Spouse of the HHB sent along that we got a Comment from The Vent's CoCo regarding asking about Speedy Claxton, about whom we wrote last season to cancel plans to hold your breath for his return.
As Casey Kasem would say, CoCo---Here is Your Long Distance Dedication:
Claxton’s knee injury recovery timeline is still officially a mystery, but we are known to speculate that it’s awful hard to risk a player playing when insurance money is on the line. We hear that Claxton may want to be out there in heart these days, but his body and circumstances seem to be conspiring to make that a non-reality.
One more quote from Josh Smith tonight and this one goes out to Peachtree Hoops, who has documented that the Hawks are consistently one of the Top 5-10 slowest paced teams in the league, especially when winning.
“We played their style of basketball---half court---we opened up more and started to play our pace and cut the lead down---but you can’t wait to play your basketball what late against a team like Orlando.”
The HHB thanks all the fine people who came around to chat tonight at the arena---and of course the Hawks for having us---Comments and further Salutations are Welcome at the Comments Section.
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