Hangin' With Hoopsworld.com's Lang Greene
Lang Greene is from Paterson, New Jersey which is better known as "the place where Lean on Me was set." He grew up a HUGE San Antonio Spurs fan. The Spurs team that featured Terry Cummings, early David Robinson, Willie Anderson and Vinny Del Negro. It hurts him to this day when he sees old highlights of Hakeem Olajuwon abusing David Robinson.
What’s your favorite Hawks memory?
"The '08 Hawks pushing the Celtics and then the Hawks actually getting it done against the Heat in the '09 playoffs. That’s one of my big memories. People say what they want about Joe Johnson but I will defend him because I've seen Joe Johnson take teams to the playoffs when a line of more established guys, or guys who have been given more mainstream attention, have fizzled. I've seen Joe Johnson take out Dwyane Wade and the Heat in game 7 of the 2009 Playoffs. D-Wade without Shaq or Lebron has never made it out the first round. All these guys who get more attention haven't done what Joe's done."
Who's your favorite Hawks personality, past or present and why:
"I love Marvin specifically because anytime that I've reached out to him, he has treated me the same way. Also, I have to give a shout to Zaza Pachulia. He’s one of those guys that anytime I see him in the locker room and I ask him for a couple minutes, he's always engaging.
I really like those guys. I have the ultimate respect for them. Jamal Crawford is one of the class acts in the game too. He's a very genuine, nice guy to cover. I would say those 3 guys especially."
Tell us something interesting about a current Hawks player that we may not know.
"Jeff Teague does a great impersonation of Twin. I really saw it last year during the playoffs when the Hawks were playing the Magic. Everyone was converging on Twin about how he was guarding Dwight Howard. Teague broke out doing the impersonations. He was really good. You can ask the other guys that cover the Hawks. He really does a great job of impersonating Jason Collins. I thought it was hilarious."
Do you think this is the year that Josh Smith finally becomes an All-Star?
"I hope so. Does he shoot jumpers? Yea. But if you look around the league, power forwards start shooting jumpers once they start hitting that 6th/7th year mark. You’re going to see Blake Griffin shooting jumpers in a few years. That’s what happens with the maturation of players. They start trying to develop their game. I don’t fault Josh Smith for wanting to be a complete player. I think an All-Star nod would give him some appreciation on a national scale and I think he’s looking for that."
Do you have any basketball skills yourself:
"Hey, you know. Now here's the deal."
Keep It real, Lang.
"I'm gonna keep it real. Football was my sport growing up. I played some pretty good football. I did play some high school basketball. I played JV. Our JV squad was ruthless. I'm telling you, we were one of the best JV squads in New Jersey back then. We had a nationally ranked Varsity team. It was just a pleasure practicing with those guys. We had Tim Thomas, Kevin Freeman, Donald Hand (UVA), DeShaun Williams (Syracuse) and then we had some other guys who went to play D-1 basketball. I had decent game. I was undersized, of course, but I could jump. I actually made the team because of my rebounding ability and willingness to play defense. That's what kind of player I was. I actually got back into it a little bit this year. I played some rec ball. My team sucked. We were 1-9. I averaged 4.5 points, 4 rebounds, and 1.2 blocks a game but you know, it is what it is. *laughs*
I'm past my prime now. I've gotta give all the respect to those guys. I put my body through a 10-game season. One game a week and my body still hurts. When I see these older guys in the NBA still on their grind I have to just give them props because I know they're going through it physically."
Are the Hawks better than you thought they would be so far this season?
"Actually no, the Hawks haven't surprised me at all. I've watched this team go to four straight playoffs. Yes they lost in the second round three straight times but you don’t have that kind of success year in and year out unless you have a very strong infrastructure in place. This team is winning close to 50 games every year and going to the playoffs.
I really want everyone to take a look at this Hawks team and appreciate it. You have to look at Rick Sund and see that he’s put together a good team around his starters. He brought in a guy like Pargo. He’s a solid guy that is going to come in there and give you good minutes. The Hawks love to shoot jumpers so what do you do? You get a guy in Radmanovic who can hit the corner 3. You pick up Willie Green and then you get Tracy McGrady. These are all veteran guys who understand how to play the game. Surround them around guys like Josh and Joe and it’s a good team. Are we a title team? Not without Al Horford. But if you thought the Hawks were going to fall to 10th place in the East after Al Horford went down , then you just weren’t watching basketball.
The fans in Atlanta have a championship mind set. The defending champion Dallas Mavericks have not been so good this season and their fans aren’t going crazy. The Hawks have a much better record than the Mavericks yet Hawks fans are going crazy. It’s amazing to me. Atlanta needs to relax a bit and just enjoy it. Most teams will tell you when the playoff ride is over, it’s a long rebuilding process. Enjoy the wins while you can because in the NBA nothing is guaranteed. "
Lang began covering the Hawks with Lindy's Sports back in 2009. The following year he became the Atlanta Hawks correspondent for Examiner.com. He currently writes for HoopsWorld.com where he also holds weekly chats with NBA fans. Follow him on Twitter @LangGreene
What’s your favorite Hawks memory?
"The '08 Hawks pushing the Celtics and then the Hawks actually getting it done against the Heat in the '09 playoffs. That’s one of my big memories. People say what they want about Joe Johnson but I will defend him because I've seen Joe Johnson take teams to the playoffs when a line of more established guys, or guys who have been given more mainstream attention, have fizzled. I've seen Joe Johnson take out Dwyane Wade and the Heat in game 7 of the 2009 Playoffs. D-Wade without Shaq or Lebron has never made it out the first round. All these guys who get more attention haven't done what Joe's done."
Who's your favorite Hawks personality, past or present and why:
"I love Marvin specifically because anytime that I've reached out to him, he has treated me the same way. Also, I have to give a shout to Zaza Pachulia. He’s one of those guys that anytime I see him in the locker room and I ask him for a couple minutes, he's always engaging.
I really like those guys. I have the ultimate respect for them. Jamal Crawford is one of the class acts in the game too. He's a very genuine, nice guy to cover. I would say those 3 guys especially."
Tell us something interesting about a current Hawks player that we may not know.
"Jeff Teague does a great impersonation of Twin. I really saw it last year during the playoffs when the Hawks were playing the Magic. Everyone was converging on Twin about how he was guarding Dwight Howard. Teague broke out doing the impersonations. He was really good. You can ask the other guys that cover the Hawks. He really does a great job of impersonating Jason Collins. I thought it was hilarious."
Do you think this is the year that Josh Smith finally becomes an All-Star?
"I hope so. Does he shoot jumpers? Yea. But if you look around the league, power forwards start shooting jumpers once they start hitting that 6th/7th year mark. You’re going to see Blake Griffin shooting jumpers in a few years. That’s what happens with the maturation of players. They start trying to develop their game. I don’t fault Josh Smith for wanting to be a complete player. I think an All-Star nod would give him some appreciation on a national scale and I think he’s looking for that."
Do you have any basketball skills yourself:
"Hey, you know. Now here's the deal."
Keep It real, Lang.
"I'm gonna keep it real. Football was my sport growing up. I played some pretty good football. I did play some high school basketball. I played JV. Our JV squad was ruthless. I'm telling you, we were one of the best JV squads in New Jersey back then. We had a nationally ranked Varsity team. It was just a pleasure practicing with those guys. We had Tim Thomas, Kevin Freeman, Donald Hand (UVA), DeShaun Williams (Syracuse) and then we had some other guys who went to play D-1 basketball. I had decent game. I was undersized, of course, but I could jump. I actually made the team because of my rebounding ability and willingness to play defense. That's what kind of player I was. I actually got back into it a little bit this year. I played some rec ball. My team sucked. We were 1-9. I averaged 4.5 points, 4 rebounds, and 1.2 blocks a game but you know, it is what it is. *laughs*
I'm past my prime now. I've gotta give all the respect to those guys. I put my body through a 10-game season. One game a week and my body still hurts. When I see these older guys in the NBA still on their grind I have to just give them props because I know they're going through it physically."
Are the Hawks better than you thought they would be so far this season?
"Actually no, the Hawks haven't surprised me at all. I've watched this team go to four straight playoffs. Yes they lost in the second round three straight times but you don’t have that kind of success year in and year out unless you have a very strong infrastructure in place. This team is winning close to 50 games every year and going to the playoffs.
I really want everyone to take a look at this Hawks team and appreciate it. You have to look at Rick Sund and see that he’s put together a good team around his starters. He brought in a guy like Pargo. He’s a solid guy that is going to come in there and give you good minutes. The Hawks love to shoot jumpers so what do you do? You get a guy in Radmanovic who can hit the corner 3. You pick up Willie Green and then you get Tracy McGrady. These are all veteran guys who understand how to play the game. Surround them around guys like Josh and Joe and it’s a good team. Are we a title team? Not without Al Horford. But if you thought the Hawks were going to fall to 10th place in the East after Al Horford went down , then you just weren’t watching basketball.
The fans in Atlanta have a championship mind set. The defending champion Dallas Mavericks have not been so good this season and their fans aren’t going crazy. The Hawks have a much better record than the Mavericks yet Hawks fans are going crazy. It’s amazing to me. Atlanta needs to relax a bit and just enjoy it. Most teams will tell you when the playoff ride is over, it’s a long rebuilding process. Enjoy the wins while you can because in the NBA nothing is guaranteed. "
Lang began covering the Hawks with Lindy's Sports back in 2009. The following year he became the Atlanta Hawks correspondent for Examiner.com. He currently writes for HoopsWorld.com where he also holds weekly chats with NBA fans. Follow him on Twitter @LangGreene