The Hawks participated in their final public tune-up for the season last night
with an open scrimmage at McEachern High School in Powder Springs, and the
effort was there. Marvin Williams in particular looked impressive, scoring 20+
points in the scrimmage and providing several highlight-reel slams.
The crowd certainly got a kick out of the action, especially considering it
was the first time they got to see Josh Smith on the McEachern court since he
last played high school ball there in 2003.
Both open practices were a ton of fun, and for those that couldn't make it,
put it on your mental calendar for next year.
The 2007-08 NBA season
tips off tonight
with three games. Man, the offseason flew by. Three days and counting
until the Hawks opener against Dallas, and I am on pins and needles.
We have been debating back and forth over here what the preseason meant to
the Hawks, who posted their best record (7-1) since 1983. In an effort to get
more opinion on the subject, we tossed out the question of the importance of the
exhibition season to
several
Hawks-related bloggers to get their thoughts. Check it out, we will
definitely be doing this kind of feature throughout the season.
In the
weekly
podcast with Slam Magazine's Lang Whitaker yesterday (whose first column
for the Hawks website will be posted tomorrow), we discussed the possibility
that the Hawks played their starters so much in the preseason so they would be
ready for the brutal stretch of games the team has to start the season. I don't
know if that is the case, but it does make some sense - Atlanta can't afford to
play their way into regular season shape given their schedule. They have to hit
the ground running, and running fast.
In other news, our
fantasy basketball league is up and running, as my team, Wilkins'
Warriors, takes on Memphis for the season's first week and a half (we are
playing a head-to-head format).
Wilkins' Warriors
Season Opening Roster |
| PGs - Stephon
Marbury, Mo Williams |
 |
| SGs - Ray Allen,
Peja Stojakovic, Daniel Gibson |
| SFs - Shawn
Marion, Josh Howard |
| PFs - Kenyon
Martin, Paul Millsap, Al Horford, Darko Milicic |
| Cs - Yao Ming,
Andrew Bogut, Ike Diogu |
I am pretty happy with my roster, though I have to admit, I got beaten to the
punch on several players I wanted to draft. Also, I tried to draft Gerald
Wallace in the third round, but somehow the applet took too long and I ended up
with Ray Allen instead. I may try to trade him. You can see my roster to the
right.
I like to be a wheeler dealer in most of my fantasy leagues, so expect this
to change throughout the season.
I only have one Hawk as of now, Al Horford, but if I can get my hands on Josh
Smith (unlikely) or Josh Childress (more likely), I'll be happy as they usually
contribute across the board.
Enjoy the games tonight - our season is almost here!
Update: Here is a study from 82games.com that illustrates a
potential correlation between
preseason success and regular season success. This bodes well for the
Hawks (7-1), and for the Magic (6-1) and Pacers (6-2) as well. (Thanks to Kevin
Cott for the link)
