The Mo-st Season

Where Maurice Evans goes the playoffs seem to follow.

From Hawks.com

By Jon Cooper

Players talk all the time about being “in the zone.”

Explaining why they’re on this roll for a night, a week, a month, or even an entire season is harder to explain.

Imagine trying to explain being on a roll that’s lasted six years.

That’s the one Maurice Evans is riding. The 31-year-old Evans, who is completing his sixth NBA season, has never played on a team that has NOT qualified for the playoffs.

While on the surface that doesn’t necessarily sound unique, Evans’ run turns logic and the law of averages on its ear by the fact that the Hawks would be his sixth different team in those six years.

You simply don't find someone so oft-traveled so early in his career who every year is battling for the Larry O'Brien Championship Trophy, especially since only one time, last year, has he been traded.

"I've been fortunate to have been on really good teams every year I've been in the NBA and [Atlanta] is no exception," said Evans, who previously laced 'em up in postseason for Sacramento (2005), Detroit (2006, the Lakers (2007) and Orlando (2008).

Even in 2001-02, his debut NBA season, in which he was limited to 10 games due to injury after signing as an undrafted free agent, the team that signed him, the Minnesota Timberwolves, won 50 games and made the playoffs.

He pointed out that while each team had a different identity, there also were important similarities.

"Veteran leadership and perseverance from every member on the team," said Evans, who is a career .496 shooter in postseason, with averages of 5.5 points in 15.4 minutes in 34 career playoff games. "’We're all here together fighting for a common cause.’ That's one commonality all the winning teams I've been with had, the guys all believed in the cause.

“We all do here,” he continued. "We've got a lot of guys who came up the hard way. Things just weren't handed to them. We have guys who are really youthful, who have really paid their dues and taken a lot of whippings throughout their young time in the league. I've been on a lot of different teams and had to fight for my life, not just in the NBA."

Evans’ ability to fight through the constant call to prove himself and his versatility has paid dividends for the Hawks all season long, and has never been of greater significance than during the current homestand, when he was inserted into the starting lineup following a lower back injury to Marvin Williams.

“Obviously my role's changed significantly given that I'll probably get more minutes now and be given a chance to finish our games. More minutes equal more opportunity in this league,” he said. “Losing Marvin is definitely going to be a tough loss for us and hopefully he can come back by season's end, but if not, guys just have to step up collectively and I'm one of the guys who is definitely going to have to pick up my contribution.”

While Evans’ contribution isn’t necessarily obvious on the offensive end (he’s scored five and two points in two starts since taking over for Williams), he knows there are subtle ways to contribute.

“I just know that I'm just going to bring a lot of energy,” he said. “I'm going to play as hard as I can and hopefully do everything I can to impact the outcome of the game.”

So far, he has. The Hawks are 10-1 with Evans starting and 4-0 with the current starting lineup of Evans, Josh Smith, Al Horford, Joe Johnson and Mike Bibby.

“I don't know what ways [Marvin and I] are different,” said Evans, who entered Friday night’s game with Indiana leading the team in free throw percentage (.839) and three-point field goal shooting (.400). “I can't say that Marvin brings any negative qualities to the team because he's a really good player and I was really excited about the year that he was having. He does so many different things well. I have to go in and continue to maintain that same standard in rebounding and shooting and running the floor hard and defending.”

He’s also cognizant of his role as a veteran leader and, thus, a leader-by-example for the young Hawks and can draw on the knowledge he’s gained from playing with and observing some of the game's biggest prime time performers.

"The guys I've been fortunate to play with, the Kobe Bryants, the Kevin Garnetts, the Chauncey Billupses, the one thing they all have in common is they're all consistent," he said. "They consistently work hard and hone their skills. Every year they add something new to their game, no matter how old they are. And they all bring strong leadership qualities. That's what enables them to have teams rally around them. Whether Kevin Garnett is in Minnesota or if he's in Boston, whether Chauncey Billups is in Detroit or he's in Denver."

Coincidentally, Evans shares something with Garnett and Billups, something that bodes well for the Hawks: great success in postseason in the Eastern Conference. In his four playoff years, two in the East and two in the West, Evans has played 26 of his 34 games in the Eastern Conference Playoffs (including starting all 10 games for the Magic in last year’s playoffs), his Eastern teams recorded 15 of his 16 career playoff victories and he has never been eliminated in the first round.

With the Hawks holding the fourth spot in the East, which translates to home court advantage in the first round, Evans sees no reason that streak of success won’t continue.

"We've sent a statement throughout the season," he said. "This year we have a good team and are definitely in position to make a long run in the playoffs if we stay focused and we play together."

Jon Cooper is a freelance writer based in Atlanta