AAF
Growing Wings
By: Kenneth Harrison
TheSouthernSportsEdition.com news services
We are still early in the NBA season but I want to take a look at my hometown team, the Atlanta Hawks.
I’m normally critical of this franchise because they are never championship contenders.
Atlanta desperately needs to pair All-Star point guard Trae Young with another star player. Young has been with the franchise since he was drafted in 2018 and the Hawks still have not figured out how to do that.
They drafted Michigan shooting guard Kobe Bufkin with the 15th pick in the 2023 draft. He played poorly and was assigned to the G League to play for the College Park Skyhawks. He also dealt with injuries so he has not been able to make a contribution to the team.
Last season they were 36-46 and did not make the playoffs. The Hawks did get the top pick in the 2024 NBA Draft and they selected small forward Zaccharie Risacher (France).
So far he averages 10.9 points per game and 23.7 minutes per game. I understand he’s a rookie but more is expected from a No. 1 pick.
He’s shooting 27% from three, which is one of the reasons he does not play major minutes. He did score 33 points against the Knicks in early November so he has shown flashes of his talent.
De’Andre Hunter is in his sixth year and he comes off the bench for Risacher. He’s actually the better player because he averages 19.3 ppg and makes 45% of his threes.
He’s led the team in scoring in six games. I know the organization wants to show their top pick they have confidence in him but he should be coming off the bench.
Jalen Johnson is also listed as a small forward and he’s having a breakout season. He was picked in the first round of the 2021 draft from Duke.
Johnson is averaging 19.6 ppg, 10.1 rpg and 5.5 apg. He has led the team in scoring in eight games so far with 29 as the season high twice.
Shooting guard Dyson Daniel (Australia) was picked 8th in the 2022 draft by Charlotte. He was traded to the Hawks in July for Dejounte Murray. Daniels is averaging 13.4 ppg but he has led the team in scoring twice.
The team is currently 14-13. They have young talent and it shows because they are very inconsistent.
They started the season with two wins then they lost their next four. They lost three in a row in late November, then won six in a row.
The NBA has the pointless in-season tournament, the Emirates NBA Cup. The Hawks beat the New York Knicks in the quarterfinals, 108-100. They lost to Milwaukee in the semifinals, 110-102 over the weekend.
“Just as a team, we got a lot of room to grow,” Hawks forward Jalen Johnson said. “I’m proud of everybody. We defeated a lot of odds, coming in and making it all the way to Vegas. So, there’s nothing to hang our heads about. We just gotta keep moving in the right direction.”
“Our growth is not going to be just linear,” Hawks coach Quin Snyder said. “We’re going to have those moments, and every time we have, like tonight, you know, what can we take from it? And I think that’s really true for Zacch and Dyson and JJ. These moments, because they’re getting an opportunity at a young age to be in them there’s a lot of opportunity.”
Atlanta has potential to be a good team and I think they can make the playoffs as a fifth or sixth seed.
Name Brand
By: JJ Lanier
TheSouthernSportsEdition.com news services
I love Cinnamon Toast Crunch; so much so that for my birthday last year my children gave me a Family Size box of it, with the specific waiver they would not eat any of it.
I am also notoriously cheap, and I only buy “The Crunch”, as it is referred to in my house, whenever it is on sale. During those times it’s not on sale, I’ll opt for the generic store brand. It’s not as cinnamony, or toasty, or crunchy as the real deal, but it gets me through the cravings.
Besides hoping a General Mills employee will read this and bless me with copious amounts of free cereal, there is an actual reason I’m divulging my breakfast eating habits.
Even though the Alliance of American Football (AAF) is in its infancy, I feel like it will be a worthy alternative to the NFL, when the name brand isn’t available.
There have been leagues in the past that were either too gimmicky (XFL), too devoid of talent and coaching names (Arena Football), or foolishly tried to go head to head against NFL (American Football League), that ultimately folded. On the surface it seems as if the AAF is avoiding most of those pitfalls, at least to start with.
Their “gimmicks” are looser rules when it comes to penalties and allowing listeners to listen in on challenges; neither of which are very gimmicky, but rather things the average football fan would enjoy.
There is big name talent throughout the league, from those in advising positions, to the coaches and players on the field.
And while they might benefit more from starting a little later on in the year, they aren’t competing head to head with the NFL.
I also like, and this may be purely coincidental, but in the case of the Atlanta Legends, there is a certain local flavor when it comes to their roster. 14 of the 52 players on the roster, which equates to 27% of the team, played college ball in the state of Georgia.
Most everyone who follows college football, or any major college sport for that matter, has players they enjoyed watching that either never made it to the next level or didn’t last very long. This is just another avenue, a more legit one, to give us the opportunity to continue following those careers.
The ratings have been better than expected and the commentary for those who are tuning in has been positive for the most part, so the league is at least off to a good start.
Obviously, there are some issues that could pop up down the road: how do they keep the NFL from poaching their successful players and seeing that they’re not a niche league will fans tire of the product? (I’m contradicting myself somewhat, but Arena Football has done a great job of marketing their differences to the NFL, while not being over the top.)
Whether the league folds after this year or is around for the next fifty, it’s giving a group of players an opportunity to showcase their talents. And for the fans, it’s given us another outlet to enjoy the game.
Sure, it’s not the name brand product we’re used to seeing, but if you’re within driving distance of Atlanta it may be worth the time and minimal amount of money it will cost you, and give the league a chance by seeing a game. Sometimes those off brands will catch you by surprise.
