There is no denying the feeling of a loss now that Jerry West has chosen to run the Memphis Grizzlies over the Atlanta Hawks.
But, under the surface, it?s not nearly a hefty blow.
Whereas the arrival of West in Memphis signifies a revamping and rebuilding of a front office and a franchise, he would likely have been a mere addition had the long time Laker chosen to move into CNN Center.
The Hawks have completed a 33-49 campaign that was filled with positives and negatives.
Players, coaches, and management get reviewed and graded, and also a look ahead at who may stay and who may have seen their last game as a Hawk.
While there is no doubt that part of the blame for the Milwaukee Bucks? late season implosion could be placed on injuries, can it really be called the main reason? What about the New York Knicks, who also missed the post season while finishing with a 33-49 record, their worst in 15 seasons?
Tom Enland, a writer for the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel, is reporting that the Bucks lost 176 player-games to injury, a figure that holds them as one of the healthiest teams this season. Using a survey prepared by Sixers statistical guru Harvey Pollack as a basis, only New Jersey (174), Utah (137), Sacramento (131) and the Los Angeles Lakers lost less.
The New York Knicks, a team hoping that health will keep their post season exclusion short, lost 229 games to injury and some are not considering the Knicks? situation as one in need of rebuilding just yet.
"We had some big injuries," said Knicks point guard Mark Jackson. "We had a tough, disappointing season. But by no means do I believe this is a rebuilding situation. I believe we'll be back where we belong."
But five teams that are currently in the playoffs had more player-games lost than the Knicks, and 10 of the 16 teams in the post season lost more than the Bucks, raising a question mark on the theories of both.
Just to put things into perspective of the teams currently in the playoffs Dallas missed the most player-games with 282, followed by Portland (269), Detroit (265), San Antonio (240), Boston (230), Orlando (211), Seattle (208), Minnesota (197), Indiana (192) and Charlotte (182).
The team which could perhaps make the best case for injuries removing any chance of post season action would be the Atlanta Hawks, who missed 319 player games. After acquiring Shareef Abdur-Rahim in an off-season trade with Memphis the Hawks were predicted to be right in the mix of things, but with starting center Theo Ratliff once again pulling a ?Marcus Camby?, managing only three games for the season, the Hawks chances were doomed before they officially began.
Other Hawks missing in action were forward Chris Crawford, who missed 75 games; forward Alan Henderson, who missed 56; Emanuel Davis, who missed 54; guard Dion Glover (26); and forward Toni Kukoc (23).
Despite the injuries the Hawks did manage an eight game improvement over the previous season much in thanks to a 20-13 finish. This came after the team lost 33 of their first 49 games.
"The season was tough on everybody because we had higher expectations - the playoffs," said Atlanta forward Shareef Abdur-Rahim. "We had some adversity but I think our team will be stronger in the long run because of this year. We have the opportunity to have a bright future."
Other teams to be hit hard by the injury bug were Memphis (310), Houston (304), Philadelphia (299) and Toronto (298).
The first time you watch Eric Musselman coach, its clear one of his greatest assets is his passion for the game.
His voice is heard clearly to those anywhere near the Hawks bench, shouting strategy, plays, and encouragement to his charges on the court.
In addition to his work on building players? skills and developing strategy, Musselman has made a name for himself with the Hawks players and staff by his use of motivational stories to supplement his usual coaching responsibilities.
Michael Lee of the AJC writes that after another lottery-worthy performance, this will be an offseason of change for the Hawks. The first alteration will be Rick Mahorn's departure from Lon Kruger's assistant coaching triumvirate.
When asked about Mahorn's future with the Hawks, general manager Pete Babcock said, "He has not been fired. He may be [back] in a different role."
In his two seasons with the Hawks, Kruger has kept the same assistants -- Gar Heard, Eric Musselman and Mahorn -- while compiling a 58-106 record.
Babcock did not define what Mahorn's new role would be, but Mahorn is likely to reject it. He was not available for comment Tuesday.
This offseason, the biggest free agent may not even out on a uniform all year.
With all of the recent talk about bringing in another high profile player to the core of the Atlanta Hawks, the biggest acquisition is still sitting out there, and he doesn?t cost anything under the salary cap.
As of last week, only one team had permission to speak with inactive Lakers front office guru Jerry West, and that was the Hawks, who have been discussing roles for West since last summer.
Now, suddenly, there is another suitor, the Memphis Grizzlies.
If you missed it, Babcock has stated, now publicly, that he wishes to pull off another major deal before the draft this year, like the one that hauled in Shareef Abdur-Rahim and the #27 pick in 2001 for Lorenzen Wright, Brevin Knight, and the #3 pick in the 2001 draft (Pau Gasol).
He also stated he wishes this player to play alongside Jason Terry, Theo Ratliff, and Abdur-Rahim. And since he is likely to keep DerMarr Johnson in the backcourt with Terry, that leaves the small forward position to fill.
Of course, Babcock has built the Hawks based on flexibility in talents and roles, giving Lon Kruger the ability to mix and match based on the talent available. And with Abdur-Rahim able to trade roles in some instances with the small forward, one shouldn?t rule out acquiring another player as diverse as Shareef.
This all brings two questions to mind:
1. Who are the Hawks going to try and trade?
and
2. Who are the Hawks going to try and trade for?
The following suspensions and fines have been announced today by Stu Jackson, NBA Senior Vice President, Basketball Operations, resulting from an altercation during the Orlando Magic at Atlanta Hawks game on April 16:
The Hawks? Jason Terry has been suspended without pay for one game and fined $10,000 for throwing a punch at and fighting with the Magic?s Don Reid.
Reid has been suspended without pay for one game and fined $7,500 for fighting with Terry. The incident occurred with 9:04 remaining in the fourth period.
Both players will miss their team?s final regular season games tonight.
It's hard to imagine a victory feeling this empty.
The Orlando Magic snapped a three-game losing streak Tuesday night, but it came with the realization that their biggest and last game of the regular season tonight will be played without their two best players.
The Magic still can secure the No. 4 playoff seed and home-court advantage in the first round, but they must beat the Miami Heat with Tracy McGrady, hampered by a sore back, and Mike Miller, on the injured list with a sprained left ankle, dressed in street clothes.
If the Magic lose -- which is a distinct possibility without McGrady -- they could fall to the fifth or sixth spot, leaving them to open the postseason in Charlotte, Philadelphia or Boston.
"It's really unsettling right now," said Magic Coach Doc Rivers. "But we've been faced with this injury problem all year, so maybe it's appropriate that we take it all the way to the end."
The Magic beat the Atlanta Hawks 102-95, but the sight of McGrady limping off the court with back problems sucked all the joy from the victory.
"I don't think there's any way Tracy will play [against Miami]," said Rivers. "It would take a miracle right now. It would be great to get home court. It's important, but I'd rather have him healthy again, even if it means being on the road."
The Magic (44-37) could have clinched the home court Tuesday -- and happily rested everyone tonight -- if the Heat had defeated the Hornets on Tuesday in Miami. But instead, Miami let an 11-point second-half lead slip away in an 88-81 loss, muddling the playoff picture.
If the Magic lose tonight, and both Charlotte and Philadelphia win, they would end in a three-way tie, pushing the Magic all the way to No. 6 and a trip to Boston to open the playoffs.
Monty Williams, starting in place of Miller again, led the Magic on Tuesday with a season-high 23 points and seven rebounds. McGrady finished with 16 points and seven assists. Although he looked fine at the start, his back stiffened as the game progressed.
"I don't want to go out there and run like I was running the last couple minutes of this game," McGrady said. "I think Saturday or Sunday [possibly the playoffs] is more important."
The Magic have lost three of their past four games.
"This is what happens when you don't play well at the end of the regular season," said Horace Grant, who had seven rebounds and two points.
It started when Reid clotheslined Terry on a drive to the basket. And when Reid turned to walk away, Terry punched him in the back of the head, sending Reid into a brief fury as he tried to retaliate.
Reid was called for a Flagrant II foul and ejected. Terry was ejected for the punch. Reid should be available for tonight's game.
Although Rivers defended Reid on the play, saying it was just a good, hard foul that ended wrong, Terry was livid after the game, vowing to get even the next time they play.
"If I wanted to play for the Falcons, I would have signed up for it," Terry said. "He tried to take me out. He could have grabbed me and made sure I didn't fall."
When Terry was told that Reid said he got mostly ball on the play, he got even more upset.
"That's OK, I got all head [on the punch]," he said. "It was a dirty play all around. For me, whenever I see him again, it's going to be personal."
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