A week ago, it would have been hard to imagine anyone bumping Lin from even the dimmest glow of the limelight. Yet as the masses kept their eyes glued to Harden’s point total as it swelled into the 30s and beyond, it was Lin who snuck off and flirted with a sexy little triple-double all night. He finished with 21 points, 10 rebounds and 7 assists, just three dimes shy of closing the deal.
If Harden was the foundation and Lin was the flooring, then Omer Asik collected the bricks, with zero points (0-of-7) and 19 rebounds.
“Big O,” nodded Harden when asked about Houston’s rebounding. (The Rockets outdid the Hawks on the glass 58-36; the advantage on the offensive boards was 23-7.)
“Big O did a great job. Zero points and 20 rebounds. Everybody knows their role, and they do a great job at it.”
For now, Harden’s role is to score, to lead, to anchor a franchise.
To be … foundational.
But what if that foundation isn’t sturdy enough, or doesn’t play well with others? What if that foundation is a straight-up money guzzler?
Ship it to Brooklyn?
That strategy worked for Danny Ferry, who moved the last four years of Joe Johnson’s six-year, $119 million deal to the Nets during his first days as Atlanta’s new general manager this summer.
In return, the Hawks received Stevenson, Anthony Morrow, Johan Petro and several players that are no longer on Atlanta’s roster.
Ferry also shipped 2005 second overall pick Marvin Williams to the Utah Jazz in exchange for Devin Harris, who started but scored just 9 points in his first game as a Hawk.
While all four of those newly acquired Hawks contracts expire at season’s end, Iso Joe and all of those zeroes are now Brooklyn’s responsibility.
And by tightening their belts, the Hawks have also loosened up their offense: zipping the ball around off of ball fakes and dribble drives, looking upcourt after defensive rebounds—facets Larry Drew promised we’d see more of in his first season with the Hawks. Things that, incidentally, didn’t work too well with Joe running the show.
Another of Ferry’s signings, Atlanta native Lou Williams played 31 minutes off the bench and led Atlanta in scoring with 22, more than incumbent ATLiens Smith (18), Al Horford (14) and Jeff Teague (14).
The new-look Hawks have the potential to look outstandingly pesky some nights—when their shooters connect, when they defend in transition and when they throw their hips into would-be rebounders.
So while Ferry renovates The House That Joe Couldn’t Build, Houston is plowing ahead with its bearded blueprint.
But better hurry: the ground floor is filling fast.
“I don’t think [James is] thinking ‘I’ve got stuff to prove,'” said McHale, a Hall of Famer. “I think he’s thinking ‘I want to go out and win.'”
Two for two, so far. With plenty to build on.
Nick Gibson, editor of EuroleagueAdventures.com, covers Euroleague and other international basketball developments for SheridanHoops.com. Click here to follow him on Twitter.