The NBA Draft is 22 days away. While it was fun for a little while to entertain the possibility that the Hawks would trade for a first round pick, it’s time to come back down to reality. Atlanta traded away its first round pick along with Jordan Crawford in exchange for Kirk Hinrich in February. The deal leaves the Hawks with the No. 48 overall pick in the second round as its highest selection.

Now, all is not lost. I took a look at a few of the top No. 48 draft picks over history. And among the crowd, you’ve got a rap star, the record-holder for consecutive free throws and a political protester:

• Craig Ehlo: Nickname: “Mr. Everything.” Most active with: The Cavs. Points-per-game: 8.6. Fun fact: Ehlo also played for the Hawks from 1993-1996 as Steve Smith’s backup. Might keep this one off the resume: Ehlo was the one defending Michael Jordan when he made “The Shot” at the buzzer to win the final game of a 1989 playoff series against Cleveland.

• Cedric Ceballos: Nickname: “Ice.” Most active with: The Suns. Points-per-game: 14.3. Fun Fact: Ceballo won the Slam Dunk Contest with a blindfolded dunk in 1992. Might keep this one off the resume: “Ice” was featured on Warren G’s hip-hop song, Flow On in 1994.

• Micheal Williams: Most active with: The Timberwolves. Points-per-game: 11. Fun fact: Williams holds the NBA record for consecutive free throws at 97. Might keep this one off the resume: Williams played in only 35 games over his last four years, including only two in his final year.

• Craig Hodges: Most active with: The Bulls and Bucks. Points-per-game: 8.5. Fun fact: Hodges led the league in 3-point shooting percentage three times and won three consecutive Three Point Contests in the All-Star Game. Might keep this one off the resume: On a trip to the White House after winning the 1992 NBA Championship, Hodges dressed in a dashiki and delivered a hand-written letter to George H. W. Bush expressing his discontent with the administration’s treatment of the poor and minorities.

• Marc Gasol: Most active with: The Grizzlies. Points-per-game: 12.6. Fun fact: In high school, Gasol was named the Tennessee Secondary School Athletic Association’s “Mr. Basketball” in 2003.  Might keep this one off the resume: Gasol has a personal blog where he discusses topics like what he misses from home, trash-talking in the NBA, how he met Shaq and Christmas dinner in Memphis.

So maybe we won’t get Kemba Walker, Kyrie Irving or Derrick Williams. But those guys are overrated anyways.

I’ve got to be honest, I didn’t follow the NCAA basketball season as closely as I would have liked this season. Or maybe it’s just my über short-term memory. Little flashes stick out to me– the Big East was stacked and unpredictable, the Pac-10 championship game kept me up way past my bedtime, and Duke and UNC got a lot of pre-season hype and then floundered in the tourney as surely as the sun rises in the East and sets in the West. I saw ‘Cuse dominate St. John’s at the Garden and Kemba dominate everyone at the Verizon Center.

Syracuse @ St. John's

UConn-Bucknell, NCAA Tournament Round 1

But that’s pretty much the extent of what’s stuck with me. So I’m pretty open to first-round draft candidates for the Hawks. Except. Except this:

“By getting younger and more athletic at the point guard position despite Jeff Teague’s emergence, why not solidify that position by drafting Connecticut’s Kemba Walker? This team has many needs, but I do see a scenario in which Kemba Walker could help transform Atlanta’s team profile and franchise.”

And this:

“I believe Jeff Teague, Kemba Walker and Kirk Hinrich can co-exist together in much the same way that Dallas’s trio of Jason Kidd, J.J. Berea and Jason Terry have thrived with the Mavericks.”

Nope. Wrong answer. Now don’t get me wrong. I’m a huge Kemba fan. I too was in awe of his determination and work ethic during the Big East tournament. But he is not the answer to the Hawks’ problems.

» Continue reading “What Not To Draft: Kemba Walker Is Not The Answer To The Hawks’ Problems”

Jamal Crawford gave the Hawks’ front office an ultimatum at the start of the season: Offer a longer contract extension or trade him to a team that was willing to do so. The Hawks did neither.

The NBA’s Sixth Man of the Year in 2010 made a huge impact on the team when he was first traded from the Warriors in June 2009. While Crawford continued to be an integral part of the team’s success this year, his 30.2 minutes and 14.2 points per game were his lowest totals in both categories since the 2002-2003 season. The unresolved contract issues likely had an impact on Crawford’s mental game, and the 11-year veteran suffered through a rough shooting slump during the final months of the season.

Crawford indicated that he would like to remain in Atlanta with the Hawks. But it might be tough for an Atlanta Spirit ownership group that is already strapped for cash to offer a deal that would meet Crawford’s demands. $64.3 million is already spoken for between Joe Johnson, Josh Smith, Al Horford, Kirk Hinrich, Marvin Williams, Zaza Pachulia and Jeff Teague. Crawford made $10.8 million last year. Unless the Hawks make a trade to free up payroll, it would be extremely difficult for the front office to re-sign Crawford and stay under the luxury tax threshold.

What’s more, an expiring collective bargaining agreement looms in the background– the current agreement will be null after June 30. A new agreement would mean new stipulations, including the possibility of a hard cap that would be at or near the current luxury tax threshold of $70.3 million.

My take? Trade Smith, keep Crawford, keep Hinrich as a shooting guard, try and build the team up around Teague.

Jeff Teague averaged 5.2 points per game during the regular season. The Hawks’ backup point guard averaged 14.8 points per game during the conference semifinals against the Bulls. And that included a 4-point performance in which Teague sprained both wrists.

Granted, Teague played a lot more minutes as Hinrich’s replacement rather than his backup– 13.8 minutes per game during the regular season compared to 38.2 in the series– offering more opportunities for baskets. But Teague was clearly sharper against the Bulls as he shot 54% from the field compared to his regular season average of 38%.

Teague’s breakout performance has several people wondering why Larry Drew didn’t play his number one draft pick more frequently during the season. But Teague actually did get more than his fair share of chances. He just didn’t deliver. Results means minutes, and the results weren’t there. Every once in a while, Teague would put up 20-plus points, and Atlanta fans all over wondered, “Is this finally the moment?” But the Hawks never saw the kind of consistency from the 22-year-old that they had hoped for.

» Continue reading “Will The Real Jeff Teague Please Stand Up?”

A few highlights from last night’s 100-88 win over the Bulls:

Josh Smith, meet the Paint; Paint, meet Josh Smith: Josh Smith had 23 points, 16 rebounds and 8 assists. And do you know how he got them? By attacking the basket, taking fewer jump shots, and venturing inside that oh-so-daunting darker colored rectangle on the floor. Smith hasn’t let all of the criticism get to him:

“There are people who don’t understand the game, who don’t know the game. That doesn’t faze me,” he said. “My teammates matter more than anybody else. They believe in me. They have confidence in my game. When I was in my rut, they told me to stay positive, to stay in the game, just do what I’d been doing all season long. I stayed with it and had the game I had tonight.”

Jim Joyce Part Two?: Reminiscent of baseball umpire Jim Joyce’s missed call that cost Colorado Rockies pitcher Ubaldo Jimenez a perfect game last season, referee Bennett Salvatore admitted to a blown call late in the game.

“I blew my whistle and didn’t mean to,” Salvatore said. “I didn’t think it was a foul. Having watched the replay after the game, it was a foul and I should have called it. I made a mistake.”

Salvatore blew his whistle while Derrick Rose was shooting and called a jump ball. Rose rightfully thought it was a foul.

The negative? A blatant blown call late in the game during the playoffs never feels good, and it’s easy to get caught up in “what might have happened.”

The positive? Like Joyce, Salvatore admitted his error. And it’s a human mistake. There are always going to be missed calls here and there– it certainly felt like the Bulls were on the favorable end of the “benefit-of-the-doubt” calls earlier in the game as well. It’s unfortunate that it happens some times, but it’s all a part of the game.

M-V-Teague: Jeff Teague had another great performance playing in the place of injured Kirk Hinrich. Teague had 12 points and 4 assists in 40 minutes, his fourth straight game playing at least 40 minutes. Not bad for a guy who averaged just under 14 minutes per game in the regular season. And one Hawks fan recognized his efforts, holding up an “M-V-Teague” sign during the game, likely in response to the recent announcement that Derrick Rose had been named the MVP.

You never know which Atlanta Hawks team is going to show up, and you never know which Chicago Bulls team is going to show up. It’s certainly made for an interesting first three games of the series. The Hawks stunned the Bulls by taking Game 1 in Chicago, 103-95. Derrick Rose had 5 points in the first half and Joe Johnson had 34 for the game. In Game 2, Jeff Teague had a breakout 21-point performance– nearly four times his season average– while MVP Rose struggled to get his 25 points, hampered by an ankle injury. And the Bulls still managed to win.

In Game 3, the Bulls had everything working for them that the Hawks did not. The two teams headed back to Atlanta for Game 3 at Philips Arena, one of the toughest places to play for away teams. And Atlanta got completely blown out on their home court. Rose was Rose again with 44 points, Joakim Noah had 15 rebounds, and the Bulls’ bench contributed 34.

For the Hawks to succeed, Joe Johnson and Jamal Crawford have to be on. The two shot a combined 7-for-19 (37%) for a total of 17 points. The team missed 10 of their 25 free throws and went 1-for-6 from three-point range. Long story short, it wasn’t a pretty game to watch if you’re a Hawks fan. But again, Jeff Teague had a great game, stepping in for the injured Kirk Hinrich which was encouraging. The Hawks’ backup point guard had 21 points including a 5-for-5 night at the line.

Game 4 is, essentially, a must-win for the Hawks; Atlanta does not want to go back to Chicago, down 3-1 in the series. Coverage starts at 8 PM EST on TNT.

Wally Pipp was the Yankees’ starting first baseman from 1915 to 1925. You probably haven’t heard of him, or if you have, it probably isn’t for his lead-leading 19 triples in 1924 or his career .281 batting average. Wally Pipp was the Yankees’ starting first baseman– until a supposed headache took him out of the lineup on June 2, 1925, and he was replaced by a guy named Lou Gehrig. For the next 2,130 games. Gehrig entered a game on June 1 as a pinch hitter. With Pipp out of the lineup the following game, Yankee manager Miller Huggins started Gehrig instead, and so began the Yankee legend’s record-setting streak of consecutive games played.

During Game 6 of Round 1 against the Magic, Kirk Hinrich suffered a hamstring strain, likely sidelining him for the entire series against the Bulls. After considering several options, Hawks head coach Larry Drew decided to start backup point guard Jeff Teague. The Hawks drafted Teague in the first round of the 2009 draft, hoping he would be the answer to their decade-long point guard troubles. But Teague never quite seemed to step up into the role, and the Wake Forest alum has been underwhelming to say the least (average of 3.2 ppg in 2009-2010 and 5.2 in 2010-2011).

Teague has struggled since his days as a Demon Deacon

During Round 1 against Orlando, Teague scored a whopping five points in ten minutes. But in the first two games against the Bulls, Hinrich’s replacement has 31 points, including a team-leading 21 points in Game 2. In fairness, Teague has averaged 42.5 minutes per game against the Bulls compared to the ten minutes in two games LD allowed for Teague against the Magic, and his points per minute is barely above his regular season average (.38 against the Bulls, .37 for the regular season).

But LD’s confidence in allowing the youngster to play so many minutes and Teague’s ability to maintain a high level of energy over the course of a game rather than in the two to five minute spurts he’s used to is encouraging.

Kirk Hinrich’s hamstring strain seems a bit more serious than Wally Pipp’s headache. But could this finally be Jeff Teague’s breakout? His time to shine in the high pressure playoff situation? Will he be the one that reduces Kirk Hinrich to obsolescence as the Hawks’ starting point guard?! He could make a great case for it with another strong performance in Game 3 tonight at Philips Arena… GO HAWKS!

Home court advantage is overrated!

Well, the Bulls may have the Coach of the Year and MVP, but the Hawks have Game 1. Atlanta stunned Chicago and nearly 23,000 fans at the United Center with a 103-95 win to take Game 1 of the Eastern Conference semifinals.

It was an evenly matched game with the lead see-sawing back and forth all night long. Although the Bulls came in as the clear favorite, their inexperience showed– while the Hawks are making their third straight appearance in the second round of the playoffs, the Bulls hadn’t made it past the first round since 2007. Chicago came out shaky in the first half with poor shooting from the field and lackluster defense. The Hawks managed to hold Derrick Rose to only five points in the first two quarters, and ended the half with a 51-50 lead.

But the Bulls (and their fans) came roaring back in the third quarter on a 16-9 run and their first lead of the game. Luol Deng was one of the few Bulls players who had a good shooting night with 21 points (8-for-12, 67%). Despite being down by as many as 6 in the third quarter, a feisty Atlanta team hung tight and buckled down.

Hawks backup forward Damien Wilkins said tonight would have to be an “all hands on deck” effort, and it was. Three Hawks players were in double-digits (Johnson, Teague, Crawford), and everyone hustled on defense and stayed aggressive on the boards. With starting point guard Kirk Hinrich out with an injury, Jeff Teague really stepped up for the Hawks. Teague contributed 10 points and had only one turnover in the 45 minutes he played. But his efforts on defense and the determination he showed in sticking with Rose were even more critical. Joe Johnson finally showed everyone why he’s worth a maximum salary contract and led both teams with 34 points.

Dare I say déjà vu? The Hawks upset the Magic in Game 1 of the first round despite being the overwhelming underdog and ended up taking the series. The Hawks have now dealt an even bigger surprise to the number 1 seeded Bulls in Game 1 in Chicago. If Atlanta can tough it out for the rest of the series the way they did tonight, the team might manage to make it past Round 2 for the first time since 1969. That is a long time.

Game 2: 8 PM EST on TNT at the United Center. GO HAWKS!

Other Game Notes: Bulls coach Tom Thibodeau made a questionable move by leaving his star point guard in through the very end, and Rose went down in the final seconds of the game, appearing to re-tweak the same ankle he sprained in Game 4 against the Pacers. The injury came just moments after an unofficial announcement was made that he was this year’s MVP. Rose plans to get an MRI on Tuesday and get treatment for the ankle in order to be ready for Game 2.

The Bulls rode into the playoffs as the “dark horse” of the East, ending the regular season on a 9-game winning streak to slip past Boston as the number 1 seed. The Hawks limped their way into the playoffs, putting a 6-game losing streak behind them to defeat the Magic in 6 games. The Bulls are by far the favorite– once again, not one of ESPN’s experts has a Hawks logo next to his name in Round 2 picks. But this was the case in the Magic-Hawks series as well.

Both teams are hobbling into the conference semifinals with a number of significant injuries. Bulls point guard and MVP candidate Derrick Rose suffered an ankle sprain against the Pacers in Game 4, and power forward Carlos Boozer is listed as day-to-day with a toe injury. Boozer is questionable for tonight’s match-up against the Hawks, but Rose will definitely be in the lineup. Still, the ankle injury may slow him down a bit, and the Hawks will take anything they can get to help contain Rose, particularly with starting point and what would have been the Hawks’ primary defender against Rose, Kirk Hinrich, out. Hinrich strained his hamstring late in Game 6 against the Magic and is likely out for the entire series against his former team.

The loss of Hinrich has left a lot of question marks for coach Larry Drew as he considers his lineup for tonight. As late as last night, Drew said he was still unsure of whom he would use to replace Hinrich. Shocker. Atlanta has used 17 different starting lineups this season and seven of its players have started at least 22 games. But as much inconsistency and confusion as this has resulted in at times, perhaps being used to such spur-of-the-moment and on-the-fly decisions will work in the Hawks’ favor this time around, as a number of players will need to step up and make adjustments in Hinrich’s absence.

It will be interesting to see which team overcomes its injuries and comes out on top in Game 1. Coverage starts at 8 PM EST on TNT!

Kirk Hinrich is unlikely to have the chance to face his former team in Round 2 of the playoffs. The Hawks’ starting point guard strained his hamstring in Game 6 against the Magic, and it was announced on Friday that Hinrich was “doubtful” for the conference semifinals against the Bulls. Hinrich injured the hamstring in the fourth quarter when he drove around Gilbert Arenas to make a floater in the lane over Dwight Howard. The basket put the Hawks up 78-74 with three minutes left in the game, but the loss of Hinrich may prove to be much more than the basket was worth. Atlanta will now rely even more heavily on Joe Johnson, Jamal Crawford and Jeff Teague to defend Derrick Rose.