“Watching another lifeless effort from Joe Johnson and Jamal Crawford you really begin to wonder, do these guys give a crap? Do they see what the league’s MVP (Derrick Rose) is doing and just shrug?”
Those words came from a member of the local media in regards to the Atlanta Hawks and how he was disgusted by the team’s collapse in games five and six. That member was none other than 790 The Zone’s Mike Bell, who admittedly isn’t an NBA guy but a person that bought in during the Hawks playoff run. Bell, whose bread and butter is the NFL and NASCAR with a dash of hockey thrown in for good measure, normally sleeps while co-host David Pollack talks roundball on Pollack & Bell, but this postseason Bell seemed to really be engrossed by the Hawks potential. Then the Hawks ran out of gas, leading Bell to write about the team’s highest paid player Joe Johnson:
I’ve never seen a more uncompelling player who is paid like one of the sport’s elite and give you less bang for your buck when it truly matters. The only thing Joe has in common with LeBron, Wade and Rose is his bank statement.
Down the stretch, Pollack & Bell had Mark Jackson on who didn’t defend Johnson but rather told folks to stop being angry over his high salary. The former player said that it is the Hawks that folks who hate the contract should be angry with as they offered it. That is a good point; was Johnson supposed to turn down that money? Jackson also said that Johnson is an all-star but not a super-star.
Bell continued in a recent blog on 790 The Zone that the Hawks coach Larry Drew, “must’ve confused the young guard (Jeff Teague) with one of the ball boys. I’m still not sold on Larry Drew.” Bell wondered if Drew was anything more than a “cigar store Indian,” who sometimes needs to be poked “to make sure he’s not sleep standing up like a horse.”
Bell’s game is comedy and while he is using humor in his vent, some of his points shouldn’t be dismissed merely because they make you shake your head while laughing. He does have a point. Why did it take so long to figure out Teague? Why is Johnson not scoring more than nine second-half points in an elimination game? Bell may claim to not know the NBA but he seems to have nailed the Hawks.
Rick Reilly made the argument that we really cannot judge draft classes immediately despite what Mel Kiper Jr., and Todd McShay like to say and perhaps we need three to five years before we can say who really did “win” or “lose” a draft. Perhaps Reilly is right when he says that report cards should be given out at least three years after the fact. In a recent piece for ESPN.com, Reilly went back and “re-drafted” the first rounds of the 2006, 2007 and 2008 drafts. The Falcons didn’t have a first round selection in 2006, but Reilly was not kind to 2007 first round selection Jamaal Anderson. Reilly had the No. 8 pick instead going 141, a differential of -133 spots. For the 2008 draft, Reilly actually graded Matt Ryan as the No. 1 player (and thus new No. 1 pick), over the likes of Chris Johnson, DeSean Jackson, Ray Rice and Jamaal Charles. The +2 in spots, partly made up for Sam Baker being graded as the No. 24, down three spots from where the Falcons grabbed him at No. 21. Interestingly enough Curtis Lofton, who was taken in the second round at No. 37 overall, was not included on Reilly’s re-draft list. Only one linebacker was in the 2008 “first round” was Jerod Mayo, moved up from No. 10 to No. 8. In Reilly’s team totals, the Falcons finished with a differential of -134 in the plus/minus, 20th in the league. The New Orleans Saints were No. 1 with a plus/minus of +266 while NFC South rival Carolina was No. 11 with +53. Tampa Bay was the final team with a positive plus/minus of +2.
Recently Phoenix Suns president and CEO Rick Welts announced to friends, associates and the press that he was gay and to be perfectly honest, I am not certain why this was on the front page of ESPN.com. I am not trying to belittle the announcement, the first of its kind in regards to the major four sports in the United States, and I am not trying to say that being gay is a bad thing. Quite the opposite in fact. I am saying that it shouldn’t matter that he is gay, straight, white, black, purple, or blue. Last Monday on 680 The Fan’s The Rude Awakening, Christopher Rude tried to make a joke about co-host Perry Laurentino not knowing what it was like to be in his (Welts’) shoes, his “pink shoes.” Laurentino was asking why this was news because it doesn’t matter that Welts is gay because he is getting the job done. The NBA commissioner and Phoenix players and coaches seem to side with Laurentino and I do too. I am proud of Welts for feeling secure enough to come out and live his life in the open, but I hope at some point that stories like this go away in the same way I hope that stories such as “Can Mike Tomlin become the first black head coach to win two Super Bowls?” go away. How about we stop calling Tomlin a black coach and just call him a darn fine coach? How about we stop calling Welts a gay president and CEO and just call him a quality president and CEO? Good for Welts but hopefully before long stories like this aren’t huge news and instead oh-by-the-way news.
Finally, as the Thrashers get ready to leave town, or even if the team stays for one lame duck season, I say it is time for the local hockey fans to jump ship to a different quasi-local team. Forget Tampa Bay and don’t you dare cheer for Carolina. No, instead get on board with the Nashville Predators. The team advanced in the playoffs to the second round and appears ready to do it again next year. If you need a seriously local hockey fix, check out a Gwinnett Gladiators game.
Watching another lifeless effort from Joe Johnson and Jamal Crawford you really begin to wonder, do these guys give a crap? Do they see what the league's MVP is doing and just shrug?
Can You Believe He Said That
The ultimate kick to the groin won’t be when the Thrashers leave. It will be next year when the Thrashers are in Winnipeg and make the playoffs.
That was Dave FM morning show host Jimmy Baron giving the 17 remaining Thrashers fans a chill, thinking about how close the team is to the playoffs and the likelihood of the team finally getting over the hump, but in another city.
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