The Hawks Amongst the Elite in the East

When the Hawks were swept in the playoffs in the Semi-conference finals last season it was still an accomplishment. A humbling experience, but yet an accomplishment.

The city is willing to embrace this winner of a team that plays in "The highlight Factory" in the city of Atlanta.

The Hawks have been have been climbing the ladder year in and year out since the 2004 season and can be looked at as contending rather than pretending.

The moves that were made after that four-game sweep were impeccable. The trade to get scoring machine Jamal Crawford and experienced journeymen and former number 1 overall pick Joe Smith are highly touted and paying off.

A more mature Josh Smith, Marvin Williams, and Al Horford are all keys in the Hawks flying high towards the end of the month.

Fast forward to November of this season. Atlanta is at the top of the food chain right now and the only team right now that has what it takes to beat the Hawks is the Hawks.

A Star is Born

Brandon Jennings is the next big phenom to hit the NBA. He was already a prodigy because of his unique path to the NBA.

Jennings chose to go overseas to play professional basketball since the NBA's regulations did not permit him to go pro right after high school.

He is a trendsetter and because of this 55-point game against the Warriors, a lot more will follow in his footsteps. The media isn't actually making this any easier, hence, I'm writing about it right now. I'm referring to the more popular media.

Jeremy Tyler, another former high schooler, has set his sights on the ultimate goal that is the NBA. He has done it in a similar way to Jennings. He has left after his junior year in high school. He will be one of many gifted players to make this transition from high school to overseas professional basketball.

What many people forget is that many foreign players in the NBA, past, present, and future have been playing professional basketball as early as 14 years old. So when you see these players come to the NBA, they are more physically and mentally prepared than some of the more publicized players coming out of your big name colleges.

That's one of the main reasons that Jennings chose this path. Even though his experience was rocky over in Europe, his confidence never weaned. During the pre-draft camps he even said how overrated other celebrated point guards were that were in this year's draft class.

He was selected number 10 in the first round of this year's NBA draft by the Milwaukee Bucks and they have surprisingly taken off during the first month of November.

November has already been a daunting task when you factor in the injuries the team has been dealing with. Jennings is the main reason why the Bucks have been so successful and that 55-point, 5-rebound, and 5-assist game is the exclamation point to the first half of this month. Not to mention that he is the fastest person to reach that plateau in NBA History completing this only in his seventh career game.

Originally I thought that Allen Iverson had a 50-point game in his rookie campaign, and he did, but it was not a double nickel. Jennings is with the likes of Wilt Chamberlain, Rick Barry, and Earl "The Pearl" Monroe, all Hall of Famers.

To a struggling franchise trying to stay relevant in a mounting Eastern Conference, Brandon Jennings is definitely a huge step in the right direction.

The Fall Guy

This past Thursday, Byron Scott was fired as the Head Coach for the New Orleans Hornets. He is one of many former NBA Coach of the Year winners to be fired. It's starting to look like the Madden Curse.

I predicted this was going to happen before the playoffs began last season and reiterated once the Hornets lost to the Denver Nuggets in game five of the first round by 50+ points and ultimately lost the series 4-2.

Byron Scott is not the blame here. He basically played the cards that he was dealt in the 6 seasons he was there.

The Hornets took on the personality of their leader in year one of Scott's tenure. In the next year the franchise drafted Chris Paul and he became an extension of Scott on the floor. The extension was cut short when Paul was hurt the next year. When the extension returned it fortified the team. Not only did Paul reinvigorate the team and city, but they also took the Western Conference and NBA by surprise. But last year, there weren't any surprises to be made.

New Orleans is a team made easy to figure out for the rest of the league. This is why the blame really has to go to the General Manager.

It is definitely Jeff Bowers' fault that this current team is where it is right now. The ceiling of this team was reached the season before last and the only improvement was James Posey the next year.

While slim-to-no improvements were being made during Scott's tenure, guys like Tyson Chandler and Peja Stojakavic were grossly overpaid and injured while current Nuggets Chris Andersen and J.R. Smith were busy burning the Hornets in the playoffs.

Chris Paul cannot be the only playmaker on the team. There has to be a spark off the bench. There has to be a bench period. How are you going to have steak and potatoes without the seasoning and gravy?

Byron Scott knew that in today's NBA, a team can't win a NBA title with a point guard dominating every play. He knows because it hasn't been done since Magic Johnson and the Showtime Lakers of the 80s.

Someone needs to pass this note to Bower's as he takes over for the team that he has built for this franchise. He is learning the hard lesson now without that star point guard in Paul who is out with a sprained ankle. He will be out for a couple of weeks.

I hate to say I told you that this was going to happen, but I just did.

Whose Fault Is It?

I have spent considerable time to marinate on this latest Atlanta Falcons' folly. The 35 - 27 fall to the New Orleans Saints was, by far, the worst lost of the season.

The Falcons came out hot. They fizzled, crashed and burned near the end of the second quarter. They regrouped, came out on a mission again, a failed once more. It was almost like they fought themselves into losing this game.

The Falcons are having another identity crisis on their hands.

Matt Ryan is an amazing talent and a fearless leader, but he doesn't have to carry the team on his back nor should he as displayed Monday night.

In the aerial attack, Atlanta only has two viable receivers: Tony Gonzalez and Roddy White. That's no secret to the rest of the league. Defenses key in on those two and bring the pressure onto Ryan and what is bound to happen is what did happen, turnovers.

Ryan threw the ball 42 times and only completed 19 of them for 289 yards and a touchdown with three interceptions. That is too many attempts and too few completions. This is also too many turnovers in the red zone as well as too many missed opportunities.

Atlanta also has an all-pro running back in Michael Turner. He probably has not displayed it for the majority of the year, but last night he was at his best. With 20 carries and 151 yards rushing with a touchdown, you can see where the ball should have been going. He ran in dominating fashion and exposed the Saints' weakness. Without Sedrick Ellis, starting defensive tackle, New Orleans had gaping holes in the middle of their defense. Turner was getting to the second and third levels of the defense at will.

And then there was the defense.

The pass rush was ho-hum at best. The defensive backs weren't playing as a unit. There were some good things from the defense though. The defense forced two turnovers. There was an interception and a fumble that was recovered for a touchdown.

But Atlanta could not finish what they would start. In downs one and two there was proficiency. In comes third down and they can't stop the Saints from moving the chains. This was an on-going theme in the game and really didn't slow down until the second half. New Orleans would have draining drives that would milk the clock which lead to touchdowns.

You could see the frustration in costly penalties and mental lapses on the field.

So who is to blame?

Matt Ryan did have his snafus. There was not really a pass rush. Receivers did have there way with the Falcons defensive Backs.

When things roll down hill you have to look at the head coach. In this case it's coach Mike Smith.

Ultimately he is the one making the decisions. He is the one who gave the reins to Ryan and said "go win this game for us". He is the one who left Brent Grimes (a generous 5' 10" listing) on an island with Marques Colston (6'4") for the majority of the game.

It's okay to limit Turner's carries but keep running the football. You have Norwood (sometimes), Snelling, and recently signed Aaron Stecker. Why fix it if it isn't broken. We are a running football team and that is what has brought us notoriety and the clout Atlanta has in the NFL right now.

Matt Ryan will come as evident as his talent and poise. We have seen it numerous times in the past years with different franchises. Pittsburgh, New York Giants, San Diego, the list could go on. Everybody can't have a Peyton Manning start to there career, so give Matt Ryan some time.

If you build it...he will come.