Every Team Needs A Smuckers

And for this Atlanta Hawks team, Rick Sund may have found the perfect one - Flip Murray. In July, I nearly pissed myself when I read about J-Chill's decision to bolt for Club Olympiakos. I, along with many of my friends, thought that the Hawks were making just another bonehead decision - along the lines of drafting Shelden Williams, signing J.R. Rider, and having some chick dress up as Sky Hawk and jump all over the arena. I understood Childress' reasoning, and frankly, I thought he was making a smart business decision. Never in my wildest dreams did I think the choice he made to head to Athens would work out so well so far this season.

After the Childress departure, Hawks GM Rick Sund signed free agents Flip Murray and Maurice Evans. Both are NBA journeymen who have been in the playoffs and bring a much needed veteran presence to the team. I can think of other journeymen that Sund could have signed - Ira Newble, Othella Harrington, and Kevin Willis (What's the NBA without a Kevin Willis on-court sighting?) - but Sund signed Flip Murray and Maurice Evans.

At the beginning of the season, Bill Simmons said about the Hawks bench, "The Hawks should just have Feces Night and have their cheerleaders shoot dog doo out of T-shirt cannons at their fans. What a disgrace." Bill Simmons had no idea, and neither did either of us, that the Hawks bench would hold their own thusfar in the season. The reason why? Evans, Murray, and Zaza Pachulia.

Flip Murray is the jelly man. He can do a little of everything. When the whole team was healthy, Flip comes off the bench to play excellent defense and score. He's scored over 15 points 10 times and is averaging over 10. In addition, he's hit a bunch of clutch 3's and has had many games with multiple steals. These stats are excellent for a jump shooter, especially one that comes off the bench.

I never knew the difference between preserves, jelly, and jam...but I think Flip Murray is all three. He veteran presence has helped keep the team together through injuries, winning streaks, and losing streaks. To me, this is the true definition of a Smuckers - someone who is like jelly. Ronald "Flip" Murray? A true Smuckers man.