24 Minutes Is All We Ask

Usually you'll hear coaches preach about a team giving "48 minutes" of effort, implying that the team needs to push every second they are on the floor, spend every breath making the effort to win the game.

With the Hawks, the HHB is not going to be picky---we just want 24 minutes.

All season the Birds have played with a certain timing that allowed them to skate along for a quarter or two and then spend the fourth clamping down and winning the game.

Recently, the team has skated so long and so early, that they haven't been able to get all the way back. Both in the game against Orlando in Atlanta and against the Suns in Phoenix, the Hawks have made runs and had surprisingly many chances to win the game, only to fall short in the end.

Against the Clippers Wednesday night, the Hawks gave two good quarters of basketball and won the game, 97-80, and thus did not become the team that would give the Clippers a break from their now 12 game losing streak.

Whew.

One day, we can hope for complete games from this crew, but for now we'll take the solid 2 quarters of good basketball (no, last night's first quarter, especially offensively, does not count) and revel in the fact that the Hawks, our team, can get away with such chicanery--to be so talented and execute so well when they give the effort they can win games and overcome large deficits.

The HHB is being inundated by cold weather and snow as they are on their own road trip up the Eastern Seaboard. Comments and warm clothing can be left in the lobby of the Comments area.