Atlanta

Laughingstock Hawks?


Philip Maymin
Basketball News Services 

Are the Hawks going to be the laughingstock of the NBA this year? Or will their natural underdog pluckiness combine with a version of Detroit defense to surprise everyone who expects them to be both unattended and non-victorious?

A few years back, the Denver Nuggets were the laughingstock of the league, going so far in longevity as to be the butt of a Simpsons joke. Last year, it was supposed to be the Utah Jazz, but they nearly made the playoffs. Orlando had a terrible year but reshuffled their entire roster. Even the woeful Clippers, long the butt of many a joke, has retooled its roster in an attempt to move up in the world.

But the Hawks seem divided. They could either lose a crazy amount of games or be halfway decent. Mike Woodson's defensive focus might be the key to keep the Hawks in close games, giving an opportunity for an Antoine Walker three-pointer to win the game for them at times. Even if it's exactly like that, and Walker hits about a third of his treys, that's already 27 games. Plus you have to figure they should sweep the Bobcats, plus a couple other big wins.

If they get to 35 wins, they even have a chance to sneak into the playoffs. Now that would be totally unexpected and would finally redeem this long-maligned franchise.

TEAM NOTES
Angry at the Hawks owners? Pleased with how they've handled the offseason? Got an idea for how they can make more money? Send email toowners@hawks.com.

Micah Hart asks Tony Delk five questions, here is one of them:
Since you and Antoine are both Kentucky alums, does that mean that (famous Kentucky booster) Ashley Judd will be making some appearances here?
TD: How did I know that question would come up (laughing). She is a Kentucky fan, not a Hawks fan necessarily, so I don’t know that she’ll be here, but we’d love to have her.

NEWSLINES

Paul Coro ofThe Arizona Republicwrites: Atlanta offered Steven Hunter the same $720,000 contract as the Suns.Atlanta would have given him the same player option for a second year and more playing time than Phoenix. So what made Hunter sign with Phoenix on Friday?

Andrew Hinkelman ofThe Daily Inter Lakewrites: While I haven’t watched a lot of Olympics coverage so far, certainly the most striking visual is the vast emptiness of most venues. Seeing so many empty seats during the gymnastics competition, I thought for a minute I was watching an Atlanta Hawks home game.

Andrew Seligman ofThe Columbianwrites: Sacramento drafted Dickau 28th overall in 2002 and immediately traded him to Atlanta, where injuries to his left foot and knee stunted his development. He missed his first training camp, and then-coach Terry Stotts played Jacque Vaughn ahead of Dickau."Had I been given that opportunity, I could have done some good things in Atlanta," said Dickau, who appeared in 73 games during his season-and-a-half with the Hawks.