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Are they still without Smith and Law?
http://www.ajc.com/sports/content/sp...awks_1120.html
Back to fundamentals against Spurs
Team must recover from 2 close losses
By SEKOU SMITH
The Atlanta Journal-Cons ution
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."
Are they still without Smith and Law?
cant wait to see ginoboli expose that overated JJ
The Spurs have a bad habit of losing games against inferior Eastern teams. This one will probably be a nail biter.
Philips Arena has been a house of horrors for the Spurs the last few years. I wouldn't be surprised if we lost again there Tuesday night.
Hopefully Manu drops 40 on them again.
Josh Childress would be nice in silver and black.
Especially if he kept his afro.Josh Childress would be nice in silver and black.
We need someone that stands out.
Any chance this happens again?
http://youtube.com/watch?v=ocQ1UjyDcNc
Jason Terry ainŽt there anymore.
WeŽll smoke Žem.
So the Cavs won't ever reach the Finals again.
Spurs better win tonight, because they more than likely will lose on Wednesday night to a rested Orlando team, who are probably the best team in the East right now.(Spurs will be tired after traveling halfway across the country and playing back to back)
Or maybe I just feel like knowing that information dumb .scared ???
LOL
It would be nice if the Spurs show the Hawks how they feel about being beaten by them the last few years like they did the Bucks.
Why do people always say the "tired from traveling" stuff when they will just be sitting around doing nothing. They are finely tuned athletes and I think a few hours of travel and a time change shouldn't affect them that much right? After all, they are pros. A back to back game is a different story though.
I'm gonna watch this game tonight.
Hmmm...who to root for?
Either the Spurs win and the Suns chance of landing the number one pick gets better or the Spurs lose which helps out the Suns playoff seeding. Either way, Suns fans win.
Wow that's ironic as
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