Beyond the regular appearances of players like Flip Murray, Zaza Pachulia and Mo Evans, the Hawks’ bench has been little more than a blur of faces that rise and sit throughout a game.
When Mario West joined Acie Law IV and Solomon Jones to supply the Hawks with huge minutes off the bench the past two games is was a bit of a revelation.
Well, not to everyone.
“It’s funny,” said Hawks forward Josh Smith. “I’ve been trying to explain to people all year about ‘Rio [West] and how hard he goes every day in practice. You have to see it to believe it. And now that he’s had a chance to get a little burn, everybody sees what I’m talking about.”
With Marvin Williams out indefinitely with a lower back injury, West and others know this the time they’ve been waiting for.
“This is one of those situations where we know we have a key teammate down in Marvin so everybody is stepping up their level of play for the playoff push,” West said. “We all know what time it is. The clock is ticking. There’s a sense of urgency. And it doesn’t matter if you’re a starter, the bench player or the 15th or 16th player of the team, you’ve got to be ready to go.
“That’s the attitude I went out there with the other night. I knew I had to bring energy. Sometimes it gets the best of me. But I wouldn’t have it any other way. And there’s no better feeling than being out there grinding with your teammates.”
Hawks coach Mike Woodson isn’t concerned with what his bench hasn’t done, namely play consistent minutes. He’s more concerned with what they do now, with the pressure on and the Hawks needing everything they can give.
“I feel comfortable and good moving forward with the guys we have in uniform,” Woodson said. “As we’ve said all year, when guys get hurt other guys have to step up and come in and play. And we’ve done that the past two games.”
The real trick for Woodson will be recognizing when to play these seldom used reserves — and which combinations work best.
West hadn’t played more than six or seven minutes of junk time in two months before his breakout performance against the Jazz. He logged 14 minutes in the first half as the Hawks ran the Jazz ragged thanks in some part to his non-stop energy.
“We’re all going to be ready,” West said. “It doesn’t matter if we play two minutes or 20 minutes, we’ll be ready to go.”
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