Hawks Getting Head Start

<div class="quote_poster">Quote:</div><div class="quote_post">That memo detailing the Oct. 2 start of training camp remains just a blurry mix of words to Hawks All-Star and captain Joe Johnson.

He decided months ago that he and his teammates, fresh off a 30-52 season, needed more than a month of training camp to develop the kind of chemistry that will vault them into contention for a playoff berth.

and in the Eastern Conference," Johnson said Wednesday from the Hawks' crowded locker room at Philips Arena. "Actually, [Hawks coach Mike Woodson] presented some ideas to me regarding what we could do on our own and I had to follow up on it."

His follow-up included calling each of his teammates and telling them that the Hawks' pre-training camp workouts would kick off Wednesday morning and that attendance, while technically voluntary, was very much mandatory.

"This is a big season for us," said Johnson, who noted that he's fully healed from the calf injury that cost him the final six weeks of last season. "And for everybody to come back the way they did definitely shows you what kind of commitment guys have made. ... You can tell guys have put in the work over the summer to get ready for what's ahead.

"Yeah, people will still tell you that we're a young team. And we are. But we can't keep giving that excuse. It's time for this team to grow up now. And we're here trying to develop our chemistry early on with the additions of [draft picks] Al Horford and Acie Law, we've got to get those guys acclimated and ready to go from the start."

Josh Childress is in South Africa with the NBA's Basketball without Borders program. Zaza Pachulia is still making his way back to the United States from summer competition with the Georgian national team. But every other player with a guaranteed contract is already in town and sweating through team workouts, twice a week, with weight-training sessions and pick-up games on the other days.

Third-year forward Marvin Williams hustled back Tuesday night from his offseason residence in Chapel Hill, N.C. The motivation, he said, is part peer pressure and part sting from disappointing seasons past.

"You can tell by these workouts that guys are really committed to coming back and having a better season," Williams said. "Nobody liked the way last season ended. What's exciting is to see everybody in here working hard and doing it together."</div>

Source: Atlanta Journal Constitution