Observations from the Hawks game on 2/27

[atlkings]

Sorry I am a little late posting this...

Hey. I’ve never posted before but I’ve been a long time lurker. I live in Atlanta but just have never been able to get into the Hawks. Can you blame me? I became a Kings fan in 2001 because I fell in love with their style of play and have always hated the Lakers. I went to the Kings-Hawks game the other night and wanted to share my experience.

I was able to get front row right behind the Kings bench for a fairly decent price. Tickets here are not in high demand as you probably know. Before the game Bibby was warming up and talking with a lot of the Kings players. I was able to meet him and get an autograph. He has always been my favorite player and it was kinda a perfect trade for me because I knew it was best for him to leave the Kings but I still wanted to follow his career.

One of the main reasons I wanted to sit behind the Kings bench is just to see the things you don’t get to see during the game. Like how the players interact on the bench, what the coach is talking to them about, etc. Although you cant hear everything I wanted to share a few things I heard. Mikki Moore seems to be one of the more vocal leaders on the team. I must admit I could not stand him for most of the season but I do appreciate his effort, I just wish he had a little more talent to go with it. After the Hawks scored 40 in the first quarter he was yelling at everybody, “Are we really gonna let the bleeping Hawks score 160 on us, come on it is the bleeping Hawks?” The 2nd quarter they did hold them to 19 points so maybe he should have screamed that at them for the 3rd and 4th quarter too.

Also, watching Kevin Martin’s body language you can just tell something isn’t right with him. I hardly saw him talking to any of the other guys and he just had his head down the whole time he was on the bench. I have became a big fan of his after at first thinking the Kings were crazy for drafting him. I also remember last year when I went he was interacting with all the Kings fans there. Talking and signing autographs. This year a big fan of his sitting near me asked for his autograph and he just turned around pretending he didn’t hear him when it was pretty obvious he heard him. Hopefully he’ll get it worked out soon.

Ron Artest is the only Kings player I have such mixed opinions of. One day I love him, one day I cant wait till the day he is gone. I guess I’m bipolar like him on that one. His holding on to the ball for 15-20 seconds of the shot clock is just as annoying in person as on tv. Also, on one of the Kings free throw attempts he was standing at the other end at the opponents basket and Beno came over to talk to him and he basically just waved his arms at him telling him to go away. Then after he did that he went up and gave Beno a hug and put his arm around him. It was really weird.

Spencer Hawes looks really panicky when he gets in the post. On one of his turnovers where he was passing out of the post I heard Reggie tell everyone on the bench when Spencer gets the ball cut as soon as he gets it because if he holds the ball too long he panicks. But I think once he gets more experience he’ll be fine. Most people couldn’t believe he was only 19.

After the game we were able to stay and attend the meet and greet. I didn’t get to meet many of the players because all their family and friends were there but I was able to meet Beno and Francisco. They were both very nice. Kevin, Ron and Brad who were the three I was really wanting to meet did not come out which was very disappointing. Mikki Moore had his girlfriend/wife (not sure) there with his 2 daughters I believe. One of them had a little money clip attached to her shirt with 50 and 100 dollar bills. It was cute. It was fun watching the players interact with everyone since I had never seen any of them before not on a basketball court. Even though they lost I had a great time. I wish this would have happened in 2002 or 2003 with the old team but meeting any of the Kings is a great experience.

 

[silicongat]

Interesting.. maybe Kevin just needs a group hug. I also like Mikki Moore's ferocity and team spirit.. doesn't seem to translate to better play on the court though.

 

[Glenn]

Thank you very much for the observations. It is good to get an outsiders view although I understand you are not entirely an outsider. At the least it's not the same old, same old.

Considering the flu has been rampaging around the country and the NBA, could Martin's funk be attributable to the flu from what you could see?

 

[VF21]

atlkings - Welcome to the board! It's always great to see a long-time lurker register and post.

I have a question for you. How did the Atlanta fans react to Mike Bibby? It certainly didn't seem as though they were very enthusiastic, at least by what I saw on TV.

Again, welcome. We're glad to have you here!

 

[atlkings]

Glenn - Thanks for the welcome. It didnt seem like he was very sick. I didnt notice him drinking a lot of fluids or with a towel on his head which I notice is usually what happens when someone is sick.

VF21 - The ovation for Bibby was ok. They didnt even introduce him last. They introduced Joe Johnson last. In the crowd I saw more Kings shirts/jerseys than Hawks which was understandable a few years ago but the Kings are not exactly the trend right now. They had Bibby Hawks jerseys for sale and I did not see a single person with one. One thing that suprised me was there was not even a few applauds for Shelden or Anthony. I follow the Hawks somewhat and Anthony Johnson actually helped the Hawks win a few games including a Utah game that I actually sat through and watched the whole game.

 

[LoungeLizard]

Thanks for the insight. You almost made me appreciate Mikki a little bit...almost.

 

[Glenn]

One thing that suprised me was there was not even a few applauds for Shelden or Anthony. I follow the Hawks somewhat and Anthony Johnson actually helped the Hawks win a few games including a Utah game that I actually sat through and watched the whole game.

I noticed that. It seemed odd. Why would a player want to play for Atlanta when the fans have this lack of feelings? It's not like conquerers were coming home but at least polite applause to acknowledge a few years of trying to make sure the Atlanta fans enjoyed the game.

Makes me feel even better about Kings fans..

 

[Sluggah]

personally, i think kevin's funk is a result of artest not being traded at the deadline. i've always thought artest has a negative impact on kevins game overall, for whatever reason. maybe its just conflicting styles, chemistry or lockerroom issues, i dunno.

and now theres the realization that he'll have to deal with it for the remainder of the season, and possibly longer. that could potentially have him down in the dumps for awhile, moodwise. and as a result, productionwise.

or maybe he's down because bibby is gone. either way, he doesnt appear the same since the all star break.

 

[Bad Boy Bo]

That's cool dude. I couldn't make the game this year (due to work). I was near there bench last year, even have a video clip of when they zoomed in the 30 Kings fan right behind there bench (exaggerating of course.) However, like you mention, there is a lot of Kings jerseys and shirts out there. It's like this every time I go during a Kings game. Even when the Kings arn't playing, I spot their jerseys. There seems to be a lot of Kings fan out here. Why? I don't know... Now, including you and me, there are 3 others on this board that I know of from Atlanta that are Kings fans. Pretty neat. Maybe I should get that comment from last year up where the commentator is saying there are about as many Kings fans as there are Hawks.