| Putting It All Into Perspective Authored by Zettler Clay IV - February 1, 2006 - 2:20 pm
In the aftermath of an Atlanta Hawks victory, there were a few notions that came to mind. What made these notions magnified centered not on the fact that a Hawks win is as often as a NFL paycheck during the NFL season (for the uninformed, NFL players receive a paycheck after every game….You do the math.). No, it’s much more than that.
I sat there in Phillips Arena Monday night to see the Hawks thoroughly destroy the team with the league’s highest payroll; and by the way, that team is the New York Knickerbockers. They only have two more wins than the Hawks and we don’t have any lawsuits pending. This is in no way to make light of the unfortunate occurrences in that organization, it’s only to point out that Hawks fans have more to be gratuitous about than they realize.
Here is my list of teams, in detail, whose fans should really worry:
Toronto Raptors
Who wants to go to Toronto? A legitimate question, considering the best players this franchise ever had left town as quickly as they arrived. These players include Damon Stoudamire, Doug Christie (yea, you can laugh all you want but Doug Christie was hooping with the Raptors), Vince Carter, and Tracy McGrady. To make matters worse, the current franchise player, Chris Bosh, will soon follow suit. There is nothing more disheartening to a franchise than landing franchise players and losing them, and it doesn’t look like it will get any better anytime soon.
Boston Celtics
Many people credit Danny Ainge with doing an outstanding job with this team and I give credit where it is due. But this is not one of those times. Paul Pierce is their star, but he’s already hinted at wanting a trade. The players and head coach Doc Rivers clash routinely. And come on people, we are talking about the Boston Celtics, the most storied franchise in the NBA. This is the same organization that won eight championships in a row and nine championships in eleven years. Danny Ainge is certainly making moves, but the simple fact of the matter is that Larry Bird isn’t coming back anytime soon. Boston fans are as rowdy and impatient as they come. For those fans in Beantown, not winning the championship is the equivalent to finishing with the worst record in the league.
Houston Rockets
Many people would ask, “How could a team with T-Mac and Yao Ming even be on this list?” If you are one of those people then please leave this article now and go to the Houston Rockets home page and look at the roster. Then look at the record. Then look back at the roster and look at all the birth dates. You will see that 1) they are extremely old 2) they have limited young talent 3) Yao Ming sucks. Option 3 probably sounds a little harsh, but there isn’t a soul in Houston that would tell you with a straight face that they are pleased with Yao’s play. Compounded on top of this all, Tracy McGrady can’t stay on the floor. It’s not looking great for these guys at all. Plus, they have only three more wins than the Hawks.
New York Knicks – See first paragraph
And my surprise team is…
The Indiana Pacers.
Yep, I said it and I’m going to tell you why. The Pacers are 21 -21. Mind you, this team was picked to seriously challenge for the NBA championship with the return of Ron Artest, which brings me to my next point: Ron Artest gets traded after an acrimonious three months that included injuries and trade requests. Jermaine O’Neal is out for a couple of months. Stephen Jackson is inconsistent and Rick Carlisle is frustrated. The player who they received in return for Artest, Peja Stojakovic, is good but he can’t impact the game on both ends of the court like Artest can. The point is that this is not a good team right now, and the addition of Peja won’t catapult them to contender status. They might make the playoffs, but this team will leave many fans disappointed in the wake. The fans of Indiana were geared for a serious title run, but now they might have to settle for a 7th or 8th seed.
Reading this article should have given us perspective and hope that the Atlanta Hawks are not in as much disarray as we would think. Coaching and execution seems to be our kryptonite, but at least we’re young, have another top 4 pick coming, and plenty of money to spend for acquiring pieces. We have two young studs to build around (Joe Johnson and Marvin Williams). We only need a few pieces and maybe, umm, a new general in a suit pacing the Hawks sidelines.
And besides, we were never picked to do anything anyway this year. No expectations = no disappointment. We, the fans, cannot claim to be disappointed. We have no right to because we have nowhere to go but up. |
