Running with Zaza

Running with Zaza is a blog about the NBA, the National Basketball Association. Does the world really need another blog about the NBA? Clearly, the answer is yes and here is why I will be writing this column.

A basic maxim of any new business venture, product, or entrepreneur is to fill a lack in the marketplace. You can make money by providing something that people need and they cannot easily find. Here in Atlanta the sports marketplace lacks someone that can provide analysis of the NBA. There are lots of guys out there that try, but few are any good. I listen to both sports radio stations, read the paper, and even watch that crazy sports talk show on CSS TV (What is up with that set, anyway. Does anyone else feel badly for Bob Neal that he has to do the Atlanta Dream games?). They have their strengths, but their weakness is clearly NBA commentary. The sports talk and conventional media usually consist of boring, rehashed cliches about the Association and its players, coaches, referees, and front office personnel. This blog will bring a different point of view backed up with some solid, in-depth reasoned analysis, and it will provide the NBA fans in this town with a place to get their NBA fix.

Like most people in this town, I am a transplant from somewhere else that has grown to follow the Atlanta Hawks. I was down on the streets outside of Philips Arena high-fiving strangers after Game 6 against Boston this year. When Zaza went nose-to-nose with Garnett, the passion spilled into my living room. Unlike most fans, I watch hundreds of NBA games every year. I tape games and watch them over to look for trends, certain plays, match-ups, etc. I love breaking down tape! From this perspective, this blog can help the Hawks. The blog can be a voice of reason for Rick Sund, Mike Gearon, and anyone of the other thirty people that might have a say in the Hawks' decision-making process. The Atlanta Hawks are at a major crossroads for next year. They could be great or they could take some steps back. These guys clearly need help. Running with Zaza will be here to provide the analysis to get the Hawks back to the play-offs in the 2008-2009 season!

Readers, be on the lookout for my upcoming posts about Mike Woodson resigning, what Rick Sund needs to do, the Josh Smith Question, the NBA Draft, and my Hawks' 2009 roster analysis.