Seriously, what facts are we leaving out?[/quote]
Our record after the injuries was almost identical to that before the injuries. JJ had a strained calf from logging too many minutes and Josh Childress suffered a stress fracture in his foot.
Actually, Marvin Williams, Josh Smith and Shelden Williams raised their games and the team as a whole played hard every night even though 2 of the top six were out.[/quote]
I remember that there was a running announcement of the draft(ping pong ball) order every day and then teams started to hold out starters and take losses. The problem is that as the positions juggled and some teams started to slide in the seeding, those same teams sat down players with "injuries". I believe JJ sat down with his "strained calf" after michael redd sat down for the year with an equally suspect injury. Hey, hawks fans deserve a break, but that doesnt make everything on the up and up. The NBA(Stern) warned teams as well about tanking as it hurts the leage image. David stern does not say these things prematurely, he's usually late to the trigger. The lottery exists, partly because of tanking. The Hawks got their pick with some auspicious circumstances, but so did some of the others. Dont worry at least the most micromanaged(as in officiating) sport on the planet doesnt have a referee problem!