Oct 27 2009
Highlight Factory Cooking Once Again
The Highlight Factory in Atlanta will reopen on Wednesday, October 28th at Phillips Arena in Downtown Atlanta. The Hawks will host the Indiana Pacers as fans get their first chance to see their favorite NBA team this year. A few new faces have been added to the team, so this means a few old ones won’t be around anymore. Most were shocked to see Mario West get cut from the team and many fans are left scratching their heads with that decision that came down late in the preseason action; where the Atlanta Hawks went 5 and 2 in their preseason games. Mario or Rio as the players and coaches would call him was a true spirit for these Atlanta Hawks. There isn’t a guy currently on the team that goes all out or as hard as Rio did for the Hawks. I even picked him as one of the top 5 Hawks players from last year’s team; so it is odd that they couldn’t find room on a 12 man roster for him. Any other NBA teams checking in on the Hawks Official Blog may want to give Mario West a look. I will guarantee you that you don’t have 12 guys better than him. No NBA team has 12 players better than Mario West and our hearts do go out for one of the truly great athletes of Atlanta and the state of Georgia. Keep your head high Rio and you will once again do your non-stop work on an NBA floor again!
So who will be the new faces helping Josh Smith, Marvin Williams, and Al Horford bring another winning season to the ATL? You saw him on draft night and now he makes his Philips Arena debut on Wednesday night and his name is Jeff Teague. The young point guard will see action in the Highlight Factory on Wednesday night against Indiana. Joining the Wake Forrest Sensation will be Joe Smith and Jason Collins as two more two faces to the Hawks team this year. One new face that will have a lot of pressure on his shoulders to produce right away is the veteran guard Jamal Crawford. It’s not a matter of if Jamal Crawford will have another 50 point game, in a Hawks uniform; the question is when will he have his first 50 point game? Jamal Crawford has question marks in several areas, but scoring isn’t one of them. He’s a true baller and straight off the courts of street ball and he knows how to fill it up. I think he has a 40 point game before anyone is eating turkey and dressing in Atlanta this year and look for at least 1 fifty point game before the season is over.
If the Hawks starting backcourt of Mike Bibby and Joe Johnson has good games; then this team can win on a nightly basis. It’s when they struggle is where the problems begin. Coach Mike Woodson never pulls the triggers on these guys and won’t remove them from a basketball game. So if they are off, so is the team. You can’t have 40 percent of your team out there taking up big minutes when they’re not producing and we have seen this for several years now in Atlanta. Joe Johnson gets his 40 minutes a game and the past has shown us that he only has a big game, 1 out of every 6 NBA games. Big concerns for Atlanta’s backcourt this year and the preseason games only confirmed my doubts of the Bibby and Johnson tandem; doing anything positive this year. I realize I am in the minority when I call Mike Woodson, Mike Bibby, and Joe Johnson the “3 Headed Monster in Atlanta” and I do mean that in a bad way. I will be relieved to see 1/3 of that monster gone next year and perhaps I get lucky and Mike Woodson leaves Atlanta too for 2/3 of my monster to be gone. No time to cast dark shadows now and I will evaluate the 3 Headed Monster at a later time.
Now is the time for everyone to be in good spirits and ready to root on these young men as they try to bring a little recognition to the ATL from the rest of the NBA world. The Atlanta Hawks will need to find a way to win 50 games this year; if they want to show improvements from last year’s team. No more Mario West or Flip Murray on the team will make this an uphill battle for the Atlanta Hawks. The toughest division rivalry will no doubt be Dwight Howard and the Orlando Magic.
So who do the Atlanta Hawks play first game? They will play the Indiana Paces and look for former Hawk Solomon Jones to have a big game in this one.
Who does the Atlanta Hawks play in their 2nd game of the 2009 year? They will get to host back to back games to start the season and the Hawks 2nd game will be against the Washington Wizards at Phillips Arena.
When do the Atlanta Hawks play Kobe Bryant and the champion Los Angeles Lakers? After the first two home games at the Highlight Factory in Atlanta, the Hawks will face the L.A. Lakers and Kobe Bryant on Sunday, November 1st at the Staples Center in Los Angeles. This will be the start of a tough road schedule for the Hawks as they will face the Lakers on Sunday; the Portland Trail Blazers on Tuesday; the Sacramento Kings on Wednesday; will come back to the east coast on Friday to play in North Carolina against the Charlotte Bobcats; and will be back home on Saturday to take on Carmelo Anthony and the Denver Nuggets.
What teams do the Atlanta Hawks play on their 2nd road trip of the year? After a home game with the Denver Nuggets; the Hawks will have a nice 4 day rest before they have to play the New York Knicks and Boston Celtics on the road.
The first 3 home games are against the Pacers, Wizards, and Nuggets. I would hope the Hawks could win all 3 of these early home games and defend their home floor. The road will be tough and especially the first 6 road games we have. Winning on the road in the NBA is not easy, but the Hawks must beat the Kings, Bobcats, and Knicks in these first 6 road games. It will be tough winning the other 3 match ups on the road against the Lakers, Trail Blazers, and Celtics. If the Hawks win their games on the road against the weaker teams and defend their first 3 games at home; then Atlanta should be 6-3 (6 wins; 3 losses) to start the year. 5 wins or less in the first 9 games; then you would have to be disappointed. If the Hawks win 7 of their first 9 games; then we have something special brewing in Atlanta this year. I am putting a lot of emphasis on these first 9 games to start out the year.
Go grab your tickets for the Atlanta Hawks this week as they play Indiana on Wednesday and Washington on Friday. Please let me know if you plan to attend one of these games and in what general area will you be sitting? Let’s fill up the Highlight Factory this week and be the 6th man for these new look Hawks as they take on the best basketball teams in the world!
