Start of Training Camp Links

• Micah Hart has pictures from media day at the Hawks BasketBlog.
• No news to report from media day so Sekou Smith gets Joe Johnson and Mike Bibby to discuss good teams they've played on previously in terms possibly applicable to the 2008-09 Hawks.

Johnson:

"When I was in Phoenix we came back from a situation where we won 28 games and added Steve [Nash] and Quentin [Richardson] and had no idea what we had. We ended up being the best team in the league that year. So in that respect you never know exactly what you have. But I think we have a great nucleus here. Everybody has another year under their belt and we have a healthy Mike [Bibby] in addition to the players we added this summer, we’re definitely going to be a good team.”

Bibby:

"Everybody played their role and the main goal everybody had was winning. We had Doug Christie who knew we had Chris [Webber], Vlade [Divac], Peja [Stojakovic] and me, so he knew his job was to knock down shots and be a lockdown defender. We also had Hedo [Turkoglu] and he was a role player. You wouldn’t believe it if you saw him now in Orlando. But he played his role in Sacramento for the good of the team. That’s the way it has to be for us now. Everybody has to be on the same page, one through 14 or 15, depending on how many guys we keep on this team.”

• Jeff Schulz declaims his skepticism vis-a-vis the 2008-09 Hawks:

Are they the team that upset the Boston Celtics in three home playoff games, or the one that backed into the post-season with 37 wins and not only lost four playoff games in Boston but didn’t even compete?

I say, get an energized home crowd in Philips Arena 41 times this year and they can be both.

• Marc Stein debuts his 2008-09 Power Rankings. The Hawks are 22nd in the league, 11th in the East. Even I wouldn't rank the Hawks behind the Bobcats.
• Wrapping up on a positive note, Sekou Smith took time to speak with Randolph Morris yesterday. Morris reminds us that, as frustrating as it can be to follow this organization on a daily basis, things could be worse had, say, Isiah Thomas been filling a prominent leadership role.

Morris:

“Every team has its own vibes and it trickles down from the management and the coaches and how your infrastructure works. Right here, it’s just a totally different set up and one that fits where I am right now. So if I just work, grind every single day and bring that lunch pail with me at all times, I think I’ll be able to get where I want to be this season.”

The Randolph Morris nickname race is now officially lead by: Lunch Pail.