THE FALCONS GET THE THIRD PICK!

For once the Falcons didn't get crapped on by the football gods and now they have the third pick in the draft. Will all due respect to Matt Ryan, Jake Long and Glen Dorsey, the man donning the red and black with the third pick should be this man:


Look, they need help everywhere, but drafting the one and only transcendent player in this draft means rebuilding can happen sooner than later. Now, if Jerry Jones is willing to pony up the two first rounders and Marion Barber for the pick, we can talk, but for no less than that.

Get Journey to play Half Time at Super Bowl XLIII

http://www.petitiononline.com/SB43HT/petition.html

Sign the petition, please and tell your friends to tell their friends to tell their friends and so on and so forth.

Unacceptable

So obviously I posted a one paragraph view on the shellacking at Staples last night, but I wanted to expand upon it further today. I'm a loyal reader of Sekou Smith, Hawks beat writer for the Atlanta Journal-Constitution and he called the debacle as stunning as anything he's ever seen and he's not one for too much hyperbole.

First and foremost, you can't put any of this on Mike Bibby. Certainly cynical talking heads and bloggers will crack jokes about him, but there was really nothing he could do to change the outcome of last night's game. He'd spent 24 hours with his new team playing against a very good Western Conference team coming off a long road trip. It was just a tough environment. Bibby didn't have any impact on the game, but there was none to be had. The Lakers punched the Hawks in the mouth from the get go and the Hawks never fought back, trailing by as many as 41 points in the first half.

It was truly a pathetic effort. The Hawks were slow and off balance all night on the defensive end. They were as disjointed on offense as they were prior to acquiring Bibby. In fact, they seemed to forget they acquired Bibby at times as the "Joe Johnson dribbles for 22 seconds and then puts up a bad shot" offense was in full force even with Bibby on the floor. You have to wonder with Mike Woodson's proven inability to diagram or design an offense how a proven veteran Point Guard is going to put up with that nonsense without getting incredibly frustrated.

I'm not expecting the Hawks to go into L.A. and beat one of the best teams in the NBA. I am expecting them to go out there and play with pride and passion and that seems to be lacking with the Hawks. By dumping Anthony Johnson and Lorenzen Wright, the injured Speedy Claxton took over as the senior member of the Hawks at 29 years old, just days older than Bibby. That's right, the Hawks have nobody over the age of 30 on the roster. So why do they always seem to look so lethargic? This team NEVER looks excited on the floor. Last night they looked tired. How does that happen? They had four days off prior to the game last night yet the effort was poor and the energy level poorer, that just can't happen with a team of guys under 30.

The Hawks also have huge question marks on the roster. I was 100 percent behind the Bibby trade and one game isn't going to change my opinion, but the Hawks have dumped four players to get him and only added one other player to the roster (NBDL'er Jeremy Richardson). By thinning out the roster Atlanta is now counting on Salim Stoudamire, Solomon Jones and the NBDL All Star MVP Richardson to log meaningful minutes. That's a huge risk seeing as how Stoudamire had only played 13 minutes since December 15th and Jones 47 minutes in that same time span prior to last night. I've been critical of Woodson's bench management all season and it's coming to the forefront now. Guys need to step up and make plays, but it's admittedly a bit unfair to expect huge results when they can't get off the bench.

The time for excuses is over. When you haven't been to the playoffs in this millenium, excuses come easy. It's time for Ownership to hold management accountable for its actions. It's time for GM Billy Knight to hold coach Woodson accountable for his actions. It's time Woodson holds his players accountable for their actions. And it's time for the Hawks players to hold each other accountable. The Hawks have 32 games left to make a push for the playoffs. 17 of those are on road. The Hawks have one road win in 2008 and it was over 14 win Seattle. Based on last season, it will take 40 wins to make the playoffs, 41 to get the 6th seed and avoid a surefire sweep at the hands of Boston or Detroit. The math right now isn't adding up for the Hawks the way they've been playing.

It's time to change the status quo. It's time for leaders to emerge and demand more from teammates. Joe Johnson is an outstanding basketball player, but he's yet to prove that he is an outstanding leader. It's up to Joe and the newly acquired Bibby to do something, anything, to light a fire in their younger teammates or the Hawks will miss the playoffs for a 9th straight season.

Check out the show tonight, Tad and I will talk more about last night's debacle, the state of the NBA and the Falcons roster cuts. Check it out from 8-9pm on www.radiosandysprings.com

73-37

That's the score of the Hawks-Lakers game at halftime. So much for the instant jolt of energy from Mike Bibby. This team came out with no energy and played a sloppy, gutless first half. Time for excuses are over. This franchise needs a kick in the ass now. It's way past due. This team currently is an embarrassment.

Grading the Hawks at the Break

So the Hawks get ready to start the second half of the season tomorrow kicking off a brutal road trip in LA against the Lakers. Today I thought I'd dole out grades for the Hawks prior to the All Star Break.

Joe Johnson - B
I can't be any nicer to Joe. His shooting percentage is abysmal. He still can't find the right balance at the end of the games. He's too tentative at times, too out of control at others. That said, Joe gives it all every night and he's far and away the best scorer on this team. He's running low on gas because he doesn't have much help to take the pressure off of him. He's a deserving All Star for what he brings to the team.

Josh Smith - B+
I'd love to be able to give Smoove an A here, but he has too many off nights and inconsistencies in his game for him to get an A. That said, when he's on he's the most dynamic player in the NBA. There I said it. There are better guys at specific things, but nobody can do all the things Josh does. At 22, he's on the verge of Super-stardom and as the game comes to him more he's going to be a multiple time All Star.

Marvin Williams - B-
You aren't going to find many more Marvin supporters in this town than me. Marvin gets crushed in this town for the Chris Paul/Deron Williams draft debacle. It's not Marvin's fault it happened and he's one of the most likable guys in Atlanta sports. That said, Marvin is what he is as a basketball player. He's the third option on the team with limited skills outside of shooting. He's a very good shooter and up until February you could count on 10 points a game from him just about every night. On the other hand, he's not very explosive, he's not a great rebounder, and despite the fact that he has a higher shooting percentage than Joe or Josh, he's not an outside scoring threat. In short, he's not the scorer Joe is and he's not the versatile weapon Josh is. He's also 21 and shown steady improvement each of his first three seasons and still has potential to be a very good player in this league.

Al Horford - A+
Proof that the sun shines on a dog's hind parts every now and then. For all the draft debacles of the Billy Knight era, he got it right with the big man. Granted, it was an easy pick since the Hawks picked third and Horford was the third best prospect in the draft, but Billy Knight never followed that logic in the past. Horford has been the best first year draft pick the Hawks have had since Kevin Willis in 1984. He's playing out of position (He's naturally a Power Forward) yet he has a legitimate chance to finish averaging a double double as a rookie. The list of guys who have done that since 1984 is elite: Dwight Howard, Emeka Okafor, Elton Brand, Derrick Coleman, Larry Johnson, Diekembe Mutombo, Alonzo Mourning, Tim Duncan, Shaquille O’Neal, David Robinson and Hakeem Olajuwon. Yeah, that's not bad company.

Anthony Johnson - C-
AJ earned the starting job more or less by default. Woodson was never going to turn the reigns over to rookie Acie Law and therefore it was AJ's job from day one . For the most part AJ was a non factor before being shipped to Sacramento in the Bibby trade. When the Hawks played well in December it was keyed by an aggressive AJ, but for the most part he was passive with the ball and not really an option on offense or a factor on defense.

Josh Childress - A
Quietly Chill has put together a nice season in a contract year. Yes, you expect a former top 10 pick to be a starter, but Chill is one of the best 6th men in the league right now. Chill can't shoot, let' s be honest. Yet, Chill hangs around the hoop, get's offensive boards and putbacks as well as anyone and his minutes off the bench have been critical.

Tyronn Lue - B
Lue is what he is. He's too small and poor on the defensive end to be a full time starter, but he also provides solid minutes off the bench and probably has the most clutch touch of anyone on the roster. Really the only true sad casualty of the Bibby trade.

Zaza Pachulia - C-
What an odd year for the big man from Georgia (not the state). He's been relegated to bench status due to the emergence of Al Horford and he's better suited to come off the bench anyway. He's not really a force on the defensive end for a 7 footer and his skill set is limited. I still feel like Zaza can provide solid minutes off the bench, but he's not much of a force.

Acie Law - C
The rookie PG from Texas A&M has, surprise, looked like a rookie through most of 07-08. He's shown flashes of brilliances at times, but they've been just those: flashes. He's been incredibly inconsistent, but one has to wonder how much of that has to do with his disjointed playing time this season. He stands to benefit from the Bibby trade as much as anyone. He gets to spend a year and a half learning from one of the better PG's in the game.

Mario West - A+++
Who cares what his output is? He's a great story and the 12th man on the team. He's a classic overachiever.

Shelden Williams, Solomon Jones, Lorenzen Wright, Salim Stoudamire - INC
Can't give these guys a grade because Mike Woodson won't play them (or they're hurt like Wright).

Speedy Claxton - F-
Biggest waste of money.

Mike Woodson - D-
Realistically this team should be better than they have been. They have as many wins this year at the All Star break as they did last year. They've been relatively healthy, excuses should be minimum. Plain and simple, Woody is in over his head with this roster. His refusal to let them run late in games and his inability to maximize the efficiency of his roster has led to many late game collapses and it's just unacceptable. The seat is hotter now with Bibby. If this team misses the playoffs, Mike Woodson should never get another NBA head coaching gig. He's had his time. It's running out now.

Billy Knight- A
Yup I went there. He drafted Horford and gave up little to get Mike Bibby. He's done well in 07-08. The sun indeed does shine on a dog's hind parts every now and then.

Bringing it Back...

Ok, so I haven't posted anything in a really long time, fact is, I get busy and don't have time to write stuff and my short attention span kills any interest in writing...well the interest is back and I've decided I'm going to try and write short entries to keep me posting. Tonight I'm talking Atlanta Hawks.

Which is the real Atlanta Hawks? The team that reeled off three straight home wins or the team that lost 4 of 5 before that and lost the two since? I'd say it's probably closer to the latter. A win over the Lakers in front of a hostile crowd at Philips (let that soak in) is impressive, but you know what? Winning these games against the top teams in the West loses luster when you put on two performances back-to-back like they did these last two nights. LeBron James is a great player, but the Cavs role players are solid but not spectacular, so with 4 of the top 7 out (Varejao, Pavlovic, Gooden and Gibson) you need to win games like that. Instead a great comeback effort was wasted when the Hawks, once again, faded down the stretch. This team has regressed in the intestinal fortitude department. When it looked like they were turning a corner earlier in the season they've taken steps back.

I don't even want to get into that atrocity tonight. Talk about over matched. That's the second time the Hawks have gone to Texas and left their game back in the ATL. They needed a 14 point rally in the 4th quarter just to lose by 19. Ugh. The Hawks have gone from a three game win streak to a two game losing streak, this after a dreadful west coast road trip. Guess what comes after the Hawks should split games with Detroit and Charlotte. The All-Star break. Ok, what comes after that? Oh yeah, another trip out west which will see the Hawks destroyed by the Lakers, Jazz and Spurs and probably the Warriors as well before returning home to two winnable games with Sacramento and New York. The best case, realistic scenario for the Hawks would be to enter March 25-31. That number includes wins on the road over Charlotte and Sacramento and the way this team has been playing as of late, road wins are anything but guaranteed. Like I said, that's a best case scenario.

That number, 25-31, is better than the number last year entering March (22-37), and the Hawks still have the two-for-one with the league's worst team Miami, so the Hawks could creep closer to .500 then, but everyone expected the Hawks to be better this year, and the improvement, record wise, hasn't been that spectacular. The fact is this is a team in dire need of a shake up and it's up to an incredible inept management to make it happen.

Losing to Cleveland doesn't bother me, it's the way the Hawks lost to Cleveland that bothers me. for a team with just two active players 30 or older (Lue and AJ) they seem to lack energy night in and night out. They seem beaten down. Why does a team full of 2o-somethings not look excited to play basketball for a living? It's a fair question. These guys are beat down and they need a spark. I'd suggest a trade, but can you really put faith in the current GM to do something right now to better this team? And besides, the two biggest needs for this team, a starting point guard for the here and now (I still believe Acie Law is the future) and a post presence to take the heat off the tremendous Al Horford aren't readily available and don't come cheap.

So the other option is to fire a coach who has proven that he can't motivate these guys and that he can't diagram any sort of functional half court offense. Essentially he's proven to be in over his head with this current bunch of Hawks since day one, yet they move along treading water in the East. If the Hawks make the playoffs it will be due to the relative incompetence of the bottom half of the Eastern Conference, not anything special the Hawks do. If the Hawks were to make a change it could spark a run to the playoffs and even perhaps get them into the 6th seed, avoiding the fatal Boston or Detroit first round match up. It's up to them, the time is now, they need to make something happen.