Atlanta
Philip Maymin
Basketball News Services
With Atlanta stuck as the team with the worst record in the league and with just 18 games left in their season, perhaps it's time for them to adjust goals. They have all but clinched the most ping pong balls in the lottery. Perhaps they should aim to at least win more games than fellow Southeast division team and first-year expansion team the Charlotte Bobcats. It won't affect their odds but it will affect their ticket sales and demeanor.
Charlotte is going to get the fourth overall pick regardless of its record of just 12 wins. New Orleans, currently the team with the third-worst record, has 14 wins. Atlanta has just 11. All Atlanta needs is 2-3 more wins over the next 18 games. Even if it finds itself tied with New Orleans for the worst record or even if New Orleans is worse than Atlanta, they each get the same number of ping-pong balls anyway.
But having a worse record than an expansion team in its first year, and also being in the same league, makes Atlanta the question to a trivia answer they have to hope no one asks.
The Hawks have enough talent, as they have sporadically shown, to play with the best teams, even taking the defending champions to overtime. Tonight they host the hapless Knicks who are in a freefall towards lottery. This could be a significant win for the good guys in Atlanta, who have played their heart out all season.
Coming in dead last behind an expansion team would not do wonders for a young team or the fan base. Coming in slightly ahead of them, which wouldn't affect the draft one iota, would be a very small silver lining on an otherwise dark season.
NEXT GAME
The bottom of the Southeast Hawks (11-53, fifth in the Southeast) host the bottom of the Atlantic Knicks (26-36, fifth in the Atlantic) TONIGHT. The game starts at 7:30pm Eastern and will be broadcast on WPXA and NBA League Pass.
TEAM NOTES
Tonight's game is Clark Howard Super Saver Night, with upper level seats available for just $7.50!
Read five questions with Michael Stewart. Despite his propensity to find himself on the injured list of any team he's on, "Yogi" is a very thoughtful guy. The interview is worth a read.
INJURY UPDATE
Michael Stewart
(back) andKevin Willis(back) are on the injured list.
Wire reports write inThe Lottery Post:From the 10 regional events, the contestant who makes the highest number of free throws at each event will travel to Atlanta for the Grand Prize Million-Dollar Hoopla Event. One of the 10 lucky finalists will have a chance to win $1 million during the Grand Prize Million-DollarHoopla Event, which will be held at the Atlanta Hawks game on April 1.
Mike Tulumello ofThe East Valley Tribunewrites: It all started with a captivating smile and a leather coat that was a gift for Pete Maravich’s wife.As she prepared for tonight’s halftime ceremonies, when her late husband Cotton Fitzsimmons will be enshrined in the Suns Ring of Honor, JoAnn Fitzsimmons sorted through decades of memorabilia. To think about how she never would have been a part of his vagabond, 800-win NBA coaching career, how the two of them wouldn’t have helped create the Suns’ national reputation for being a playerfriendly club, had not Cotton decided to go shopping with Maravich in New York City in 1974. "Pistol Pete" was a great sharpshooter for the Atlanta Hawks. Cotton was his coach; he agreed to help Maravich shop for the coat. JoAnn was a buyer for Sears in the Big Apple’s garment district. Through a friend who knew a Hawks’ official, they all met for lunch. Maravich got the coat. JoAnn got a three-decade tour of the NBA after deciding she liked "that expressive smile." Cotton died in July at age 72 as a result of lung cancer (though he never smoked), a stroke and resulting heart problems. He was one of the Suns’ most significant figures ever.
Shira Springer ofThe Boston Globewrites: According to Walker, he felt pressure to do it all with the Hawks.With the Celtics, he looks to fit in among a talented group, supplying what is needed on any given night. Rivers sees Walker as a scoring option, though the coach constantly needs to remind players to look for him inside. Even though Walker has taken on a more complementary role in Boston, his numbers have hardly suffered. His field goal percentage has improved from 42 percent with Atlanta to 48.5 percent with Boston. He has had small decreases in points (20.4 to 19.1), rebounds (9.4 to 9.1), and assists (3.7 to 3.1). "I'm just trying to play basketball to the best of my ability on this team, whether it's being inside or outside," said Walker