Meantime, the only real basketball happening in America today, is the Drew League.  Reading about how the pros in West played the pros in East recently in D.C, with players such as Durant and Wall And Cousins playing for East, and Branden Jennings and Harden playing for West, it made me wonder, what if the dirty south needs to start its own team in the Drew League, who from the south would we have represent us to host the East or West or North stars?

I think qualifications have to be that you must be born or gone to college or high school in south.  You can not play for the south if you are like D-Wade or Lebron who should really play for the Midwest team.  ATL would be the starting place, but then if we need more players we can use players from other major NBA southeast capitals.

So here is the team I propose south fields – it will be an awesome team

Center: Howard  & Horford

PF: Chris Bosh & Trey Thompkins & Smoove

SF: Derrik Favors & Tyrus Thomas & Thaddeus Young

Point Guard: Iman Shumpert and Chris Paul

Shooting Guard: Travis Leslie & Joe Johnson

Who will be your Dirty South team players for the Drew League?

Well I understand Jamal is back to normal and will be playing against the clippers tomorrow night.  That is great relief.  But inquiring minds want to know what happened.  I mean he is injured with zero notice (I was at the Heat game and had no idea where he was) and he is back without missing any other time after ASG.  In the middle there is a long break.   I hope he doesn’t have any more shoulder problems, because we can’t afford it (this season is weird, first the eyebrows gone, now this).

So here are some theories about this conspiracy, I welcome feedback

1.   Sounds like when someone wants to take time off work and calls in sick on a Friday.  Except, Jamal has so much goodwill that he could easily ask for a personal day(s) off, and be granted.  Nevertheless, may be he just wanted time off from it all

2.      Sund wanted to see how JJ performs without Jamal.  So he can tell him 15M or hit the road.  Bad timing old Sund, because JJ was coming back from a flu (so we hear) and didn’t JJ carry this team past few years before Jamal?

3.      Sund wants to see Woody work without Jamal.  So he can tell him hey you can’t coach minus Jamal.  Well that supposes Hawks have a bench, do we?  Old Sund you forgot to get Woody a good big man(long sighs with Camby and Haywood almost gone or gone), or a point guard who is fast and is not overweight – hint hint

4.      Jamal wants a good contract in a year’s time, so he is trying to show how valuable he is to the team.  Jamal we get the point, please no more shoulder injuries while you sleep.

5.      Jamal really needs a better bed to sleep on.  JJ should pay for that.  This is my vote.

Thoughts?

Morpheus, neo, Matrix and Smoove and Tyler Thomas

Reading comments that Smoove made after the Chicago game, something stood out, “The game has slowed down for me now”.   It reminds me of the movie Matrix and how Morpheus (Woody??) kept telling Neo(Smoove) you have to know who you are and believe in yourself.  Until finally in the subway scene, Neo stops running, starts fighting the agent, and at the end solves the Matrix when things are obvious to him and slowed down.

To me Neo (Smoove??) has finally figured it out.  He has become the ONE.  The game is not about thunderous dunks (beautiful and exciting as they are) or glorious blocks (momentum changing).  It is more about defense, rebounding, and being the brains (QB on a super bowl morning) of the Hawks.  More than anything, the ball needs to go through Neo (Smoove)  for Hawks to reach the destination of winning the east.  Smoove is now getting close to King and Kobe land.  Only a consistent 15-20 footer separating him from that.

It must be an eye opener, to us, to Neo, to Morpheus, to the entire basketball loving world, the changes in the young man that left high school to enter NBA.  He is now believing in himself, and has solved the Matrix.  Thoughts?

One last thing, thinking of Smoove, my heart goes to that young man of the south Tyler Thomas playing for that God awful coach and the Cows.  I just read he is now suspended for conduct detrimental to the team.  He so reminds me of Smoove, the flying, the shot blocking (yep the goal tending calls) of the young smoove.  Except he is being not allowed to fly.  Get him back to the south, get him back to the Hawks.