Post by Philadelphia 76ers on Dec 25, 2007 22:23:45 GMT -5
Tension in the Atlanta Lockeroom?
Young point guard Louis Williams made a splash in his first practice with Hawks on Saturday. With a would-be hero sought, Williams spent the end of practice urging one of the club's off-the-map goats to improve himself. Joey Graham, who has appeared in all of three games this season due to a combination of injury and his perceived inadequacy, has been a pet project of a long line of coaches who have glimpsed his Hercules physique and foreseen hardwood greatness. Yesterday, Coach Williams added his name to the list.
Playing defence on Graham as Graham polished his offensive skills on the wing and in the post, Williams gave up about 60 pounds and seven inches to the 6-foot-7, 225-pounder. But just as the little man offered more than token resistance, he provided an ongoing commentary on the state of Graham's game. Some of it amounted to trash talk, some of it to textbook teaching. All of it came with the volume knob cranked to 23, Williams's jersey number and his default blare.
When Graham belaboured a move from the high post, Williams was relentless in his teasing: "How many dribbles is it going to take!" the point guard said. (The answer, sadly, was five).
When Graham went to the same-old fake Williams had seen too many times, Williams hollered: "He ain't got no moves!"
And on it went. Teammates tried to encourage Graham: "Dunk on his ass, Joey!" said Yi Jianlian in his broken english. And the tone of the proceedings got heated enough that at least one Hawk expressed concern.
"They'd better quit," said Al Horford, standing on the sideline with a look of slight disbelief, "or someone will get hurt."
But nothing got broken – except, perhaps, Graham's spirit.
Williams taunted: "You ain't gonna dunk on me, brotha!"
He expressed his occasional disgust with Graham's lack of savvy: "You gotta be smart!"
And he asked an insightful question as he pushed the $1.6 million benchwarmer to diversify a tired old offensive arsenal: "How many people's favourite moves worked in the playoffs?"
It was hard to tell how Graham took the grilling. If total emasculation in front of one's teammates and three newspaper reporters is an effective coaching technique, expect him to have a breakout game next time he touches the floor.
"Just trying to improve my teammates," said Williams afterwards. "It's basketball talk. Just play smart. Don't be mechanical. And just understand what's your advantage and what's not your advantage in certain scenarios. ... I'm just trying to help him so if he can get that opportunity to get in, I can help him maximize it."