The Atlanta Hawks. NBA perennial losers, has-beens, and a rebuilding headache case. National Basketball Asssociation's long-term project and outside the radar. Now on the verge of one of the biggest basketball upsets in history. In fifteen minutes, back in the United States, the Atlanta Hawks are going to begin a struggle of epic proportions...game seven against the Boston Celtics.
The Boston Celtics begin this 2007-2008 season as the favorites. They have three all-star players in Kevin Garnett, Ray Allen, and their long-time captain and one-team franchise player, Paul Pierce. They are written in the papers as shoe-ins for the NBA finals
As we speak, the Hawks are getting pummeled 44-26 at halftime. I'm listening to the radio after spending hours failing to find an Internet channel that would broadcast the game. Its 3AM in the morning here in South Korea; that's how big of a fan I am for the NBA.
Even though my favorite NBA team is the Washington Wizards (who sadly got trounced by the Cleveland Cavaliers in game six), I enjoy following underdog, rebuilding teams because eventually, they will go over the hump and start winning. The Wizards went through that rebuilding phase from 1997-2003, and the results after include four straight play-off appearances. Now, the Hawks, who haven't made the playoffs since 1999, not only squeaked into the post-season dance with a horrible record, they pulled off the improbable of actually tying the series, heading into today's games.
Put short, the Hawks are in a huge whole. A big whole. They've lost every away game this series by huge margins. Its hard to win on the road, it takes character to win against a hostile crowd.
To win today, the Hawks have to play the game of their lives. Josh Smith mentioned, "the better team for 48 minutes gets to move on. That's our mission. 48 minutes man, its all on the line for 48 minutes." (Paraphrase from ajc.com)
The Hawks have been perennial losers. They've picked bad players, had bad coaches, and some organizational issues. There was an infamous court case in which the team owners bickered over ownership, with the main issue about signing off for the trade for budding superstar Joe Johnson, who was brought over to Atlanta from Phoenix in 2005.
Their head coach, Mike Woodson, who has been with the team since 2004, has seen the lows. He inherited a losing franchise with his first year only finishing with 13 wins. Awful. They had a bunch of rookies in Josh Smith and Josh Childress who had no clue what to do. The rest of the players were utility men whose careers were already spent, like Tom Gugliotta (aka "Googs"), Kenny Anderson, Antoine Walker, Bobby Sura, and Kevin Willis. They had dysfunctional team play which resulted in many conflicts between players.
Tragically, in October 2005, Hawks big man Jason Collier passed away. He was a friend to many on that team, and losing a teammate had a major impact on their season, finishing 26-56 with many teammates shocked to see one of their own pass away so young and tragically.
The 2006-2007 season saw them improve and build on the previous year, raising their games in the win bag to 30. Mike Woodson was given one more year to build on this small success, lest he be axed. No pressure indeed, right? His goal: make the playoffs or he will be given his pink papers.
So, here is the young team, with a core of Josh Smith, the high flying shot blocker, Josh Childress, the utility wingman, Joe Johnson, the captain and franchise player, with gritty center Zaza Pachulia, and throw in new additions Al Horford (almost rookie of the year) and Acie Law IV (rookies), veteran point guard Mike Bibby (received in a trade), and they started to take off this year.
Through ups and many, MANY downs, this team finally has given the city of Atlanta it deserves...a winner. ATL is a famous city in America mainly known for its famous baseball franchise, but a b-ball team, there has not been hype since #21 Dominque Wilkins led the franchise.
If they win today, wow. If they lose, still wow. The success story of these Hawks is still amazing to me because they have built on each season since Mr. Mike Woodson took over these bumbling fools. He whipped them into shape, gave them an identity and guided them towards playoff glory. From 2004-2008, Woodson has guided his team from 13 wins to 37 wins. Not a bad job for a guy who had doofuses with oogles of talent but no guide.
Isn't amazing how our God can do the same, except on the maximum level considering our talent as human beings, which He created and LOVES to this day?
Just like the ATL, building our lives takes time. We truly all have talents and skills that God has instilled in us. Its time for us to listen to our coach, go out there, and play the "game of life." Whether you are a teacher, a nurse, a fast food worker, business owner, or fixing cars, God has put you in that role for a reason, its your turn to play it.
As we speak, the ATL Hawks are getting pounded 62-32 in the third quarter, so let's just say, it was a great run. Time to go to bed...just got back from Busan last night anyway.
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