duncan228
11-19-2007, 11:13 PM
http://www.ajc.com/sports/content/sports/hawks/stories/2007/11/19/hawks_1120.html
Back to fundamentals against Spurs
Team must recover from 2 close losses
By SEKOU SMITH
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
The words on the two big screens in the locker room said it all.
"Tough times don't last forever, but tough people do," the message read.
It was intended to remind the Hawks that they've been here before - the here being squished up against the fence in the NBA, with one more gentle nudge all that's needed to squeeze the last breath of air out of them.
The Hawks (3-6) have lost four of their past five games and host the NBA champion San Antonio Spurs Tuesday at Philips Arena. But they aren't ready to hit the panic button on their season.
They are conscious of how quickly things can spiral out of control. They know that 3-6 could easily become 3-8 or worse if they show up with anything less than maximum effort for 48 minutes.
"The worst thing for us to do would be to panic," Josh Childress said. "Our last two games were very winnable, and we put ourselves in the position to win and missed our chances at the end. But the thing we have to do is really focus. And especially in that last six minutes of games where the team that makes the plays seems to always pull it out."
The Spurs are flirting with the term "dynasty" in their decade-long run of excellence. But the Hawks have fared well against San Antonio in recent seasons, having won three of their past five at home against the Spurs.
"There's no doubt in anyone's mind in this locker room that we can play with anyone in this league," Childress said after the Hawks wrapped up Monday's practice. "In the past years, we've done just that. We lose a couple [of games], and then a big-time team comes in and we get the win. That's been our pattern. ... But right now, we have to focus on San Antonio. We can't focus on our record or anything else but getting a win."
Hawks assistant Larry Drew, the architect of Monday's video mantra, realized the Hawks needed a subtle reminder of their toughness and resilient nature after close back-to-back losses to Seattle and Milwaukee.
"We talked at the start of the season about understanding that we'd have to go through these tough times," Drew said. "The good teams persevere and don't allow themselves to be fragmented during those times. We certainly could have won those games. We just have to learn from those two games and really get back to the drawing board.
"Every now and then it's good to go back to the fundamentals and remember what goes into playing good, winning basketball."
That has been sharing the basketball, using the home crowd as an energy booster and playing to their strengths - namely, pushing the pace against teams that don't match up well with their length and athleticism.
"There's no question in the past few years we've dug nasty holes for ourselves early, and they've been hard to dig out of," Marvin Williams said. "So this is definitely a wake-up call for us, these struggles we're dealing with right now. But this is still early in the season. We're only nine games [into it]. There's no need to panic.
"We definitely have to get things back on track, though. We need to focus in. When you look back on a season in the summer and start counting up the games you should have won at the end and start talking about 'We should have won this game or that game' you might be playing instead of watching.
"We just have to be mindful of the fact that you can't get any of the ones you've already lost back. All you can do is focus in on the next one."
Back to fundamentals against Spurs
Team must recover from 2 close losses
By SEKOU SMITH
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
The words on the two big screens in the locker room said it all.
"Tough times don't last forever, but tough people do," the message read.
It was intended to remind the Hawks that they've been here before - the here being squished up against the fence in the NBA, with one more gentle nudge all that's needed to squeeze the last breath of air out of them.
The Hawks (3-6) have lost four of their past five games and host the NBA champion San Antonio Spurs Tuesday at Philips Arena. But they aren't ready to hit the panic button on their season.
They are conscious of how quickly things can spiral out of control. They know that 3-6 could easily become 3-8 or worse if they show up with anything less than maximum effort for 48 minutes.
"The worst thing for us to do would be to panic," Josh Childress said. "Our last two games were very winnable, and we put ourselves in the position to win and missed our chances at the end. But the thing we have to do is really focus. And especially in that last six minutes of games where the team that makes the plays seems to always pull it out."
The Spurs are flirting with the term "dynasty" in their decade-long run of excellence. But the Hawks have fared well against San Antonio in recent seasons, having won three of their past five at home against the Spurs.
"There's no doubt in anyone's mind in this locker room that we can play with anyone in this league," Childress said after the Hawks wrapped up Monday's practice. "In the past years, we've done just that. We lose a couple [of games], and then a big-time team comes in and we get the win. That's been our pattern. ... But right now, we have to focus on San Antonio. We can't focus on our record or anything else but getting a win."
Hawks assistant Larry Drew, the architect of Monday's video mantra, realized the Hawks needed a subtle reminder of their toughness and resilient nature after close back-to-back losses to Seattle and Milwaukee.
"We talked at the start of the season about understanding that we'd have to go through these tough times," Drew said. "The good teams persevere and don't allow themselves to be fragmented during those times. We certainly could have won those games. We just have to learn from those two games and really get back to the drawing board.
"Every now and then it's good to go back to the fundamentals and remember what goes into playing good, winning basketball."
That has been sharing the basketball, using the home crowd as an energy booster and playing to their strengths - namely, pushing the pace against teams that don't match up well with their length and athleticism.
"There's no question in the past few years we've dug nasty holes for ourselves early, and they've been hard to dig out of," Marvin Williams said. "So this is definitely a wake-up call for us, these struggles we're dealing with right now. But this is still early in the season. We're only nine games [into it]. There's no need to panic.
"We definitely have to get things back on track, though. We need to focus in. When you look back on a season in the summer and start counting up the games you should have won at the end and start talking about 'We should have won this game or that game' you might be playing instead of watching.
"We just have to be mindful of the fact that you can't get any of the ones you've already lost back. All you can do is focus in on the next one."