Hawks

By jp

February 24, 2008 12:42 PM | Link to this

Fire woody first. Sekou why don’t you go talk to the Hawks owners and tell them to fire woody? do we have start a petition to fire woody?

By Samuel

February 24, 2008 12:54 PM | Link to this

Cuz,

You know Artest has baggage and is not a character guy. Why even go there.

By Serge45

February 24, 2008 12:56 PM | Link to this

fire woody. billy too while you’re at it.

By honest_abe

February 24, 2008 1:04 PM | Link to this

sam, as usual totally missing the boat.

your “cuz” is talking about the need to have a physical, strong horse in the paint. he’s not talking about the hawks needs for artest.

By Sekou K. Smith

February 24, 2008 1:05 PM | Link to this

I’m not arguing for the Hawks to get Artest, Steamboat, but for them to get a cat in that mold. Every team needs an enforcer, man. I don’t care if it’s Artest or even dude’s on the opposite end of that spectrum (Charlott’s Jared Dudley and Minnesota’s Craig Smith fir the role to me as poor man’s Oomgowayes).

It’s just the one thing that seems to be missing right now. That’s all.

By Sekou K. Smith

February 24, 2008 1:06 PM | Link to this

I’m not arguing for the Hawks to get Artest, Steamboat, but for them to get a cat in that mold. Every team needs an enforcer, man. I don’t care if it’s Artest or even dude’s on the opposite end of that spectrum (Charlotte’s Jared Dudley and Minnesota’s Craig Smith fir the role to me as poor man’s Oomgowayes).

It’s just the one thing that seems to be missing right now. That’s all.

By JohnGTFan

February 24, 2008 1:08 PM | Link to this

I’m going to continue holding judgement until the team gets back to ATL. This trip is a nightmare way to return from the All-star break, especially with a new PG. By the time ATL gets back home, Bibby and his teammates will be much more comfortable…then I think we’ll see what kind of team we truly have!

Unfortunately, Woodson will still be the coach, so hope certainly fades with him…but we’ll see. If nothing else, I can always look forward to Preston’s Woody Woodpecker show the rest of the season!!!

GO HAWKS!!!

By MannyT

February 24, 2008 1:11 PM | Link to this

Because the modern NBA is more athletic, but not as tough, the Hawks can make the playoffs without that forceful presence.

Besides, their strength is to RUN LIKE FORREST GUMP on the football field. They need to play to their strengths over the last 6 weeks of the regular season.

Sekou my internet pals say this might help with your Oomgowaye but I believe Tarzan use this definition.

By terrell barron

February 24, 2008 1:16 PM | Link to this

I’m just glad we came back from down 20 last night to take the lead. Yeah we fell short, but thats a big step for this team. They usually get BLOWED out in that situation. They actually look like a TEAM right now. We’ll be back home soon, while the teams ahead of us will go through a tough stretch on the road, so I expect us to be back in the 7 spot eventually, at least I hope so. KEEP HOPE ALIVE!

By MannyT

February 24, 2008 1:23 PM | Link to this

Given the size of this team, if they do go after someone like that, maybe they should have dealt into the 2nd round to get Glen Davis. He seems to be doing well in Boston.

I remember Truck Robinson. I would suspect he learned how to use some of that size from a teammate—Wes Unseld. Not as mobile after the knees went, but he was a muscle man on the inside.

By SalimFan

February 24, 2008 1:25 PM | Link to this

……….I thought It was Josh Smith? He just about blocks as many shots as camby,and I know camby is denvers omagwaye………Then again denvrs not that good defensively.

By 1+2

February 24, 2008 1:27 PM | Link to this

It wouldn’t matter if they had an omygod or whatever you said. The bottom line is until they get some leadership on the bench, this team will suck. Sekou you continue to make excuses as if Woodson is your best friend. Example: This team needs a point guard. Now they have one and is still losing. Dude, be fair and balance. Any writer or fan can see Woodson’s record and immediately know that all of the excuses have run dry.

By JohnGTFan

February 24, 2008 1:35 PM | Link to this

For those of you that bash Sekou…surely you must know that he can’t just write “anything he wants”. Just like the rest of us…he has to answer to people and follow provided guidelines. Stick to the team!

By abucs

February 24, 2008 1:48 PM | Link to this

This team is always 1 - 2 players short. Maybe a bruiser would help us force our will on other teams, but if the coaching can’t game plan to exploit the other team’s weakness, then it’s all a moot point.

Woodson doesn’t seem to have it.

By Nurlman

February 24, 2008 2:04 PM | Link to this

Al Horford’s not an Omaguma? Problem is he’s one guy forced to provide the presence of a 4 and a 5 because of the way the team’s constructed. Need one of those big physical 5s to play next to him, and hopefully Smoove can handle some significant minutes at the 3 so Big Al can play 20 at the 4, where he belongs.

By terrell barron

February 24, 2008 2:08 PM | Link to this

Man, I wish I could see Woody’s playbook. He holds on to that thing, like it’s his first born, and still comes up with NOTHING. But on a good note, we’re just 1 coach and 1 player short of being a pretty damn good basketball team.

By Joel

February 24, 2008 2:09 PM | Link to this

Listen….Mike Woodson is a coach that has become desensitized to losing. His players have taken on his apathetic excuse riddled persona and they play ‘not to lose’ as opposed to playing to win. The only ray of hope in Golden State was that Coach let a great player get some minutes, instead of allowing him to ride the pine the whole year. Woody can’t motivate these guys to play with heart so he’s got to go!

By Sekou K. Smith

February 24, 2008 2:27 PM | Link to this

The Tarzan stuff about Umgawa I’d never heard of. Interesting stuff. I guess you have to be a real “old head” to be up on that.

As for your comments 1+2, we could debate the shortcomings of a head coach all day long. But I keep going back to the case of Doc Rivers in Boston. Is he the coach that led that horrible team in Boston last year or the guy that’s had them atop the league for most all of this season?

My point is this, no coach is perfect. But if you’re losing the way the Hawks have for as long as they have, it’s indicative of more than just one person (player or coach). Woodson’s fate will be what it is, whenever the powers that be decide to handle that business.

By terrell barron

February 24, 2008 2:31 PM | Link to this

I think he’ll be gone after the season, regardless of how we finish, Playoffs or not!

By richbrave

February 24, 2008 2:35 PM | Link to this

Based on ASG management success with the HAWKS, I am offering my life savings for the team - $128,983.26. I don’t feel the group’s management warrants that princely sum. But as I have strong empathy for those of you who post here, and as I would love to see a once proud NBA franchise resurrect itself, I am willing to intercede with money in hand - oh, and the promise of a Social Security check in the amount of $1417.00 monthly. These are guaranteed funds payable by the most financially reliable government in the world. I am willing to sacrifice my all monetarily to see the Hawks improve.

My first management move will be to install doc, ray, and darkryder as permanent members of the board of directors so that I and they may begin cleaning up the confused jumble that is the current state of affairs with the club.

So far my calls to the group have not been returned, but fear not. I am determined and shall prevail. Oh fudge. My wife just called me to our last supper. Here’s to our future resurrection together Hawks fans. Wish me luck.

By richbrave

February 24, 2008 3:07 PM | Link to this

More good news Hawks fans. Gilbert Areanas stated in today’s Richmond paper what I told you this past week. He’s NO WHERE NEAR ready to resume play with the Wizards. And that leaves the Wiz NO WHERE NEAR the certainty of staying ahead of the Hawks in the race to the playoffs. And as long as Caron Butler is sidelined, we’ll see you at the finish line. We may both finish in that magic zone - out of the playoffs, out of the lottery and out of luck for this year.

By jhan

February 24, 2008 3:13 PM | Link to this

Can’t blame Woody for the loss against Utah. He played the whole bench but they just didn’t produce.

Salim had a horrible showing last night. Unfortunately for him, the Hawks need him to play point right now. He just doesn’t have the handles for that position. He looks great against teams like GS that don’t play defense. When he has to play against teams like Utah that love to play defense his weak ball handling & decision making skills are exposed.

Marvin Williams is really hurting this team right now. He has very poor hands & really doesn’t move his feet well at all. How many times do we have to watch Marvin get stripped when he is inside the paint. If he doesn’t lose the ball there is a better than average chance that he will miss the dunk/layup.

He rarely provides strong defense & most of his rebounds seem to come from long bounces off the rim. When was the last time he ripped down a rebound in traffic? How about shutting down the other teams forward? I’m tired of watching Marvin get torched on defense.

It’s time to live up to your lofty draft position. Unlike Sheldon, Marvin is getting plenty of burn to show what he’s got. Right now I’m not impressed.

By kj

February 24, 2008 3:31 PM | Link to this

sekou your one of the best beat writers the ajc has in my opinion. I gotta agree with you, you can have all the athleticism in the world but without that meanstreak that one or more player who could come in a game and dominate, even intimidate from the sidelines. Unfortunately for our boys I dont think they will realize it until well after the postseason when we begin the post woody era.

By mred1943

February 24, 2008 3:39 PM | Link to this

can anyone tell me what happened to jamaal magloire he seem to be a pretty good center when with new orlean now he’s on waivers if he has any post skills left would he be a good fit for the falcons

By joebrave

February 24, 2008 3:53 PM | Link to this

Fire the he11 out of Woodson,better yet put that dumb@ss in front of a firing squad!!!!

By Casey

February 24, 2008 4:01 PM | Link to this

I’m not buying it. You don’t have to physically manhandle the other team to win. The Spurs don’t have anyone like that and as far as I’m concerned they are the team to beat. Until they traded for Shaq, Phoenix didn’t have anyone like that, either. Sacramento has Artest and they are not that good of a team. A lot of that depends on the where the game is played and how the referees call the game. A guy like Artest wouldn’t get away with all of the stuff he did against the Hawks if he was playing against some other team or on the road. If you go out and get someone, who’s minutes are you going to take away to play this guy? J. Smith, Horford, Childress, Williams, Pachulia? The Hawks don’t need that. They need a COACH!!! They need to toughen up on defense and the boards. The guys they have need to all play more physically and with more urgency. They need to be smarter with the ball. They turn the ball over 20 TIMES A GAME , and still they are in almost every game with a chance to win at the end.

By EJH

February 24, 2008 4:04 PM | Link to this

Omogowaye, (Sounds like “I’ma go away” as in we are not going to make the playoffs if we continue to turn the ball over as we did against Utah last night. The Hawks could use some physical presence inside, but that is not what’s keeping this team from winning. Turnovers is what’s keeping this team from winning. Last night they had 24 turnovers to the Jazz’s 12; the Jazz scored 24 points off of Hawks turnovers as for the hawks they only scored 7 points off of Jazz turnovers. They beat Utah in every other statistical category; they outrebounded the Jazz, they had a better field goal percentage, the shot better from 3-point range they had l less assist than the Jazz, but they lost the game with turnovers. It is truly night and day though how fast the Hawks can get back in games now with the long range shooting of Mike Bibby and the rest, this team is poised to go on a five to six game winning streak when returning home, at least I hope so.

By Najeh Davenpoop

February 24, 2008 4:05 PM | Link to this

The Phoenix Suns have been an elite team for about 4 years now without having an Oomgowaye (don’t give me Amare, he looks like Zaza on D). Yeah, they just traded for one, but that doesn’t mean they weren’t elite before. Most Eastern Conference teams don’t really have one either. The problem for the Hawks is not the lack of an Oomgowaye, it’s the lack of a good coach. The longer Woodson refuses to run, the less likely the Hawks make the playoffs. If you don’t have a physical presence, that’s all the more reason to outrun your opponent.

And let’s wait until the playoffs to judge Doc Rivers’ performance this year. Something tells me that anyone posting on this blog would post a winning record with that kind of roster.

Of course there are shortcomings on the roster, Oomgowaye being one of them. But this is the Eastern Conference for crying out loud. A .450 record will comfortably have you in the playoffs. Oomgowaye or not, the Hawks have more than enough talent to be a playoff team. If they don’t make it, it’s almost entirely on Woodson.

By Casey

February 24, 2008 4:21 PM | Link to this

jhan,

ARE YOU SERIOUS!? He played the whole bench? First off, he did not play Mario West at all. Solomon Jones played 2 minutes(WOW!!!). Second, he played the bench a combined grand total of 43 MINUTES! That is absurd, especially considering it was the second of back to back games, on the road, in UTAH where we never play well (where no one plays well for that matter), after a tough game when we ran the floor all night the night before. Woodson is a MORON!!! Period.

By MontanaBravesFan

February 24, 2008 4:54 PM | Link to this

Sekou, can you give us any details on the Salim-nuggets deal that didn’t happen??

By THE Hawks Fan

February 24, 2008 5:02 PM | Link to this

28 Games left. 13 at home. We have to win some ROAD games. We can win at least 10 of these last 13 at home. But we have to win 10 of the last 15 road games. That would be 42 wins which Should Be enough to make the playoffs in the EAST. Not looking too good at all. COME ON HAWKSSS!! Suck It UP. Letsss GOOOOO!!!!! DAMN

By Joe Bling

February 24, 2008 5:21 PM | Link to this

Yahoo’s NBA box scores contain an interesting stat. The “+/-” column shows a team’s net point production while a particular player is in the game. I went back and looked at the last 11 Hawks games to see how Marvin does in this category and it is U-G-L-Y. In 11 games in February, only twice did the team have a net positive scoring total with Marvin in the game. Much of the time he’s the only starter whose presence on the court causes a net scoring deficit. Against Golden State, a game we won, every starter and almost every bench player (Childress was -1) was a positive influence - except Marvin who was -6. Against Houston he played 27 minutes and was a net -20. OMG!

Does Woodson look at this kind of data? Can’t he see that Marvin does not belong in the starting lineup? If it’s obvious to me to see that Marvin is a liability when he’s on the court, then why can’t the coach see it? It’s right there on Yahoo! Check out last night’s game for instance and you see that, once again, he’s the only starter dragging the team down:

http://sports.yahoo.com/nba/boxscore;_ylt=Ao43DbkDiY6weOS4mX48yLCLvLYF?gid=2008022326

If he’s hurting the team, why is he in the game?

By JohnGTFan

February 24, 2008 5:33 PM | Link to this

As far as the Salim deal…it was for basically nothing. I remember reading about it the day after the Bibby trade.

By Casey

February 24, 2008 5:40 PM | Link to this

Joe Bling,

Good point. But you don’t need a special stat to tell you Marvin Williams doesn’t produce enough to warrant all the playing time he gets. Just watch the games. He will be in the game almost 40 minutes a night. But, there are long stretches, entire quarters and halves when you can’t even tell he’s out there. They should call him the Invisible Man. This is yet another example of Woodson’s complete incompetence.

By roan st

February 24, 2008 6:38 PM | Link to this

Just read sekou’s story on the hawks ” moral victory ” against the jazz. After the spurs game tomorrow night the hawks will have only 28 left when they arrive back at phillips. I don’t know about the rest of you but I hope to see some real victories and soon. You know, the kind that actually count in the win column. It’s now or never if this futile franchise is going to make a move. No more praise or pats on the back for effort if they don’t result in a W. Frankly, I’m sick and tired of talking about moral victories.

By the hawk

February 24, 2008 7:00 PM | Link to this

hey the hawk fan saying we need that many wins is a little too much buddy. we win half of the games for the rest of this season which is what 14 out of 28 we will be right in the eighth spot race which i would like maybe 17 or 18. thats it 17 out of 28 games and we’re in. the east is not good and if we can play average ball the rest of the season and we’re in. with the talent we have now it should be so easy. if we dont make it there is nobody else to blame but little woody. the talent is great common woody win a few games and we’re in for the first time in 9 years.

By preston

February 24, 2008 7:10 PM | Link to this

Najeh- I agree with what you say about Doc Rivers coaching the Celtics….who would not win with that line-up? Doesn’t a good, or a least a capable coach win with less? The knock on Woodson is that he has had a good core of players, he is playing in the weakest conference in the league, and his team has been regressing. Yes, he inherited a young team, but in 4 yrs where is the improvement? Improving on your record from the previous year is good, but how much have we really improved under Woodson? Every team has to deal with injuries, and fatigue, but it just seems like Woodson does not utilize the horses that he has…….look at Portland and Washington…why are they performing better than the Hawks with less talent? Woodson has been given more chances, and excuses than any other coach in the league. Even before the Bibby deal, this team should have been better, and we did well early in the year, but other teams adjusted and up’ed their game, and we didn’t. Woody has overplayed his starters, not utilized his bench, and stuck to a script that’s no secret to anyone, and I think that he needs to be replaced right now.

By smartguy

February 24, 2008 7:12 PM | Link to this

It was Salim for Von Wafer. Instead, it was Taurean Green for Von Wafer. It will never matter who we have or don’t have as long as we are coached by an idiot.

By RAD

February 24, 2008 7:18 PM | Link to this

Did anyone else see this in the game against the Jazz? On 3-5 different occasions the Jazz had a fast break going in which Joe Johnson was back on defense. As the Jazz players came down the middle of the lane, Joe quietly backed out of the way as if he was trying to find someone to guard so he would not have to challenge the player taking the ball to the rack. It looks to me like Joe along with Marvin either does not know how to play defense or they are just too lazy to play defense. Marvin simply allows everyone to go by him and then he feels guilty so he reaches in and gets called for a foul. That’s 40 percent of our starting lineup not playing defense. No wonder Josh and Al get into early foul trouble. One other thing that I have noticed recently about Marvin. When he was playing good basketball, he would not hesitate to take the ball to the rack and throw down a monster jam. Now when Marvin makes a move to the basket, he looks low to the ground and off balanced. What happened to that confident jump shooter who could also blow by defenders and throw down the one-handed monster dunk?

By Steve T

February 24, 2008 7:21 PM | Link to this

I attended the FVSU and CAU game last night and got a first hand view of what Billy is trying to do. At one point in the game, Ft. Valley had five guys on the floor ranging in heoght from 6-2 to 6-6. The 6-9 guy was on the bench. Those guys were able to switch around on defense and cause problems for CAU. If Billy wants to paly that kind of ball, I suggest he give Ft Valley coach a call.

Now back to the OMG theory. The Hawks need a big brute inside to keep people from coming down the lane. Lo Wright was good for this. Thw problem I have is seeing a PG drive to the basket at will. I am only 6-), but I would not have it. I will let him know that this is where the big boys play and I will use my 250 pounds to make sure he know that not to come in the paint.

By preston

February 24, 2008 7:31 PM | Link to this

What is up with these Salim haters here? He played horribly last night? What standard is that based on? He played all of 10 minutes and was 1-5 from the field comming of of the bench. The other guards : Bibby played 34 minutes and was 6-14 from the field….JJ - 39 min. and was 6-14, and Josh Childress played 22 min. and was 1-1 comming of off the bench. You guys are worse than Mike Woodson in your view of Salim…can he get into a game without being scutinized, and for not doing anything worse than any other player on the team?

By Bertie

February 24, 2008 7:38 PM | Link to this

Magloire was waived by the Nets and if not claimed will be a FA Tuesday. From what is available and for what the Hawks can pay he should be the first choice. BK needs to get on the phone and convince the guy to come here by offering him playing time. Magloire could even start against teams with big lineups and Marvin will come off the bench. He can help in the rebounding department and we can see how Al plays 4 alongside a true 5. Earlier reports out of New Jersey were that he was not disruptive to the team even when he was not playing and that he stayed in good shape.

By ray

February 24, 2008 7:45 PM | Link to this

Samuel, I’d take Artest in a heartbeat. Sacramento wants to rebuild anyway. Let’s give ‘em Marvin and somebody else. We can sign another big for cheap off the waiver wires, right? Imagine if we actually decided to go “small” and committ to the run. Horford, Smith, and Artest is about as tough and versatile of a small lineup as you’re going to get. Even Detroit’s frontcourt wouldn’t want to see that coming. Of course, Woody would have to be shown exit stage left…

I know this is a sore point for you, but I have an opinion on “character” and “baggage”. I guy doesn’t have to have sterling character. Who does? Everybody’s got their issues. It’s when a guy’s issues cause problems for his team/teammates that it’s a serious problem. Stuff like that causes a guy to miss time on the court. This only hurts the team. Less than a year ago, Josh Smith was getting hammered on this blog for flipping off the fans, yelling at his coach, etc. People were talking about him being a head case, a disruptive force, a bad teammate, hell…some said we shouldn’t resign him no matter what the cost. He served his time, got over it, and is a major cog on this team. Funny, nobody’s talking about all that crap NOW. In fact, the very coach he yelled at is the same guy who’s head everybody seems to be calling for. Ironic, wouldn’t you say? Point is, he got over it. If Artest is over his problems, then who cares about it? I don’t recall him having issues in SacTown. I’d be glad to have a guy that tough and versatile here.

By the hawk

February 24, 2008 7:54 PM | Link to this

anybody know anything on ian mahinme he is in the d-league with the toros and i was just looking at his stats and comments on him. he is 6-11 230 pound center. averaging almost 2 blocks a game and has had 7 a few times lately getting about 9 rebounds a game and about 18 points a game. he lloks real solid he gets steals and assists averagly too. idk about d-league call ups or nothing. just wondering if someone can help me up on that.

By the hawk

February 24, 2008 7:55 PM | Link to this

btw the efficiency thing the guy was talking about with marvin. this ian guy’s is +22!

By jhan

February 24, 2008 7:57 PM | Link to this

Preston, there is much more to basketball than shooting percentages. Right now Salim is needed to play point guard. He came into the game and immediately started turning the ball over. Those turnovers led to easy fast break points for Utah.

If you want to play the stat game for 34 minutes:

Salim : 14pts, 0 assists, 7 TO’s. Bibby : 18pts, 9 assists, 3 TO’s.

Which would you prefer?

I’m all for playing bench players that will produce. I don’t call those numbers good production. Maybe if he had been playing Salim all year his numbers would be more efficient. That is Woody’s fault & I believe his eventual downfall. But right now we have to ride our best 8-9 guys to try and make the playoffs.

By SalimFan

February 24, 2008 8:20 PM | Link to this

Bench players cannot get better or even comfortable if they do not geet any playing time.

ALSO NO ONE ON THE BENCH HAD A GOOD GAME LAST NIGHT SO I DONT KNOW WHY THE HELL YOU ALL ARE ONLY COMPLINING ABOUT SALIM. CHILDRESS, HORFORD,AND ZAZA EACH ONLY HAD 4PTS. RICHARDSON DID NOT SCORE. OTHER THAN CHILDRESS NO ONE FROM THE BENCH GOT OFF THE BENCH IN THE SECOND HALF.

By preston

February 24, 2008 8:34 PM | Link to this

Jhan- did you watch the game last night? The whole team played sloppy in the first half….every player on the team was careless with the ball, so when Salim did get into the game, his play was no worse than anybody else’s. And my point was more about playing time, more than stats. Your comment was about Salim playing horribly last night…….how can you say that when he only played 10 mniutes as opposed to the 20-30 plus mniutes of the other guys?

By ray

February 24, 2008 8:35 PM | Link to this

Casey, why hasn’t Phoenix been able to beat more physical teams then? How do you suppose Detroit wins as much as they do? Chauncey Billups is very physical. So are Rasheed Wallace, McDyess, and Maxiell.

Physicality isn’t the only facet of the game, but it’s a very important one. If you can’t outrun a team, you slow them down and outmuscle them. Why do you think Phoenix barely gets past Dallas, and then always gets beaten by San Antonio?

We need a bruiser. We’ve known this for some time. Al Horford is a great guy and very physical. But he’s being asked (here we go with this AGAIN…) to play out of position, and he’s the only true low post guy we’ve got that’s effective. Josh Smith is damn good, but he’s not a low post guy. He’s all over the place. Especially since ol’ Marv can’t ever seem to guard his man…

By preston

February 24, 2008 8:43 PM | Link to this

jhan- “But right now we have to ride our best 8-9 guys to try and make the playoffs.”…..yeah…ok….Joe.J is already tired….Bibby and Acie are hurt…..just run those guys like hell and hope that we make the playoffs, and then what???? This team is 22-31 with Salim riding the bench, and you think that this team is worse with him on the floor? We will miss the playoffs now, because we put Salim in the rotation?

By Casey

February 24, 2008 9:20 PM | Link to this

Phoenix gets beat by San Antonio because the Spurs are a better team and they have Tim Duncan. San Antonio doesn’t win by pushing people around, anyhow. They are just better than everyone else. However, I didn’t say anything against playing physical. What I did say is the Hawks need to toughen up their D and rebounding with the players they have. I’m not saying you can’t play that way. The Hawks are just not that style of team. They would have to start over from scratch to become that style of team.

And by the way, do you remember the Spurs against Detroit ‘05, Lakers against Detroit ‘88? Who won those series? Oh, yeah, it was the Spurs and Lakers. They didn’t win by pushing people around, and neither does San Antonio, now. So it works for Detroit. More power to them. But, it’s not for everyone.

By Casey

February 24, 2008 9:38 PM | Link to this

Anyone who would criticize a player who gets in a game for only 10 minutes or less, obviously has never played organized sports and knows nothing about it. You can’t use players so inconsistently and expect results. Any decent coach knows that. But, we don’t have a decent coach. We have an imbecile.

By Ken Strickland

February 24, 2008 9:58 PM | Link to this

The problem Salim is faced with is different than most of the other players. If he misses a few shots or has a couple of turnovers, he’s related to the bench immediately and often permanently. Neithr JJ, Marvin, Chills, Smooth, Bibby not Horford have to worry about playing perfect ball. Look at often JSmith misses with his jumpshot, and he’s not even an average outside shooter.

Salim’s the type of shooter that can miss 5-6 in a row, then come back and hit 5-6 3pt shots in a row. Just because a player starts out missing his shots doesn’t mean he won’t end up hot. Suppose a player makes 5 of 10 shots. That’s 50%, which is a very good percentage, especially for outside shooting. Under Woody’s system for Salim, if he starts out with 5 misses, he won’t get an opportunity to get his 5 makes.

With Salim, teams aren’t afraid of what he does as much as what he’s capable of doing. No team will leave him open even if he’s missing shots. Everyone is afraid of a streak shooter like Salim, with his range and quickness, getting hot. Too bad Woodson is either too stupid or too full of himself to understand that.

By Casey

February 24, 2008 10:12 PM | Link to this

Salim is not a streak shooter. In fact he is a legitimate pure shooter. He is the only pure shooter on the team except for, maybe, Bibby. I defy anyone to show an example of Salim missing 8 straight shots. Everyone else on the team does that on a regular basis.

By Casey

February 24, 2008 10:16 PM | Link to this

And another thing, do any of you jerks bashing Salim think Joe Johnson should be benched ever time he starts a game 1 for 5. Because, that would be about every other game.

By cp

February 24, 2008 10:18 PM | Link to this

Mike Knapp will never get it if you ask me. The guy just seems way in over his head or however you say that phrase. It is frustrating watching Duck play. The guy plays bad defense, cant drive, cant finish, grabs rebounds every other game, and just looks goofy. Whoever said we should call him the invisible man might be onto something. From now on he is no longer duck but the invisible man. Some days you would never know he was on the court if did not see him fumbling the ball away on the low block.

By MJ3

February 24, 2008 10:26 PM | Link to this

I think “smartguy” is the alias for Buzz Buzzard. He never seems to think about anything besides getting rid of Woody.

Just sayin’.

By Gypsyjoe

February 24, 2008 10:33 PM | Link to this

I don’t understand we need some bangers to push guys around get rebounds and foul guys going to the hole. I know we might have to pickup like a justin williams. But we need to do somthing.he might not be an alstar but we need tough guys lets do it NOW!!

By Casey

February 24, 2008 10:57 PM | Link to this

I’m all for trading Marvin Williams for a real center. But, as long as Billy Knight and Woodson are here, there is a better chance of pigs flying than Marvin Williams going anywhere. They are in love with Marvin.

By atlman

February 24, 2008 11:10 PM | Link to this

casey its easy to bench salim when he goes 1-5 because all hes good at is shooting while players like joe actually rebound, defend, and pass it.

By Casey

February 24, 2008 11:37 PM | Link to this

atlman,

Sorry, but you’re just wrong. Salim is a good ballhandler, passer and defender on the point. He doesn’t just shoot. He is excellent at driving to the basket and scoring or dishing it off. He is great at pushing the ball up court and running the break, something the Hawks desperately need. Too many games the Hawks walk the ball up the court when they should be running. Salim likes to push the ball up the court. If you watch when he is in there, you will see that.

By reese

February 24, 2008 11:40 PM | Link to this

Matt, in the last blog you state “No NBA coach would bench Bibby for Salim down the stretch”. The player that Bibby should of replaced was Marvin.

Jhan, the bench has to play and they have to play more minutes. Jerry Sloan played 4 players more than 14 minutes off his bench. The key is to mix in bench players with starters more to keep balance on the floor.

Ray, good description of Marvin in the last post and I’d love a Artest, JSmith and Horford front court as well.

Steve T, Lo Wright was not good for anything and he will not be missed.

RAD, I mentioned Joes poor defense in the last blog.

Sekou, I watched Truck Robinson when I lived in New York. I was not a Fan. The Oomgowaye can be in the form of an enforcer, a pest, an aggressive player or a player who the refs don’t call fouls on and call a foul on a defender who comes close to touching him.

San Antonio has Ginoboli as their Oomgowaye. He is a pest who flails when driving to the basket and initiates contact to draw the foul. On defense he reaches in flops when the offensive player pushes off to get by. Parker and Duncan assist with keeping games close and Ginoboli is that player which helps to get the team in the bonus early or is at the free throw line late in games.

Iverson is Denver’s offensive Oomgowaye. He gets the benefit of calls from the refs when he drives to the basket. Camby is their defensive Oomgowaye. He blocks shots better than Josh SMith.

Boozer and Harpring are Utahs Oomgowaye. Did anyone else notice Boozer’s elbows and forearms to the back of hawks players heads after a play was over. He did it so deftly. He would be looking up at the goal and his arms would come down on a hawks player after the play was dead. Harpring would bump players while going down court or away from the ball.

Kobe is the laker’s Oomgowaye. He plays defense with tenacity and is in a players face. Joe Johnson tried to do the same thing, but was called for a foul. Then, Joe didn’t try to do it again and reverted to his passive self instead of staying in Kobe’s face.

Josh Smith is developing into the Hawks Defensive Oomgowaye. Al Horford is trying to be his backup. A Magloire type player provides the toughness, height, length and veteran presence to allow these 2 players to develop in their natural positions.

The Portland vs Hawks game was awesome last year when Alridge and Magloire were challenging Josh Smith and Solomon Jones way above the rim on both the offensive and defensive side. But all is moot for asking for a true center if the GM won’t acquire the player and if he did, the coach wouldn’t utilize the player in a scheme that supports our front court players.

By ray

February 24, 2008 11:42 PM | Link to this

Casey, I’ll say it again. Physical style of play is one facet of the game. If you think Detroit, L.A., and San Antonio have won without using physicality at the right time, then you were not watching basketball on this planet. Here’s list of names for you: Ben Wallace, Rasheed Wallace, Chauncey Billups, Bruce Bowen, Tim Duncan (yes, he’s the big Fundamental, but he mixes it up too), Kobe Bryant (he bulked up a few years back just so he could BE more physically tough to deal with), Majic Johnson (physically tough on any backcourt player opposing him…why do you think they ended up putting Pippen on him instead of Jordan?). And that’s not even the half of it. Remember Kurt Rambis? How about Bill Laimbeer and Rick Mahorn? How far back do you want to go before you see how important this facet of the game is?

Did I say that being physical was all that it takes to win? No. You’re saying we have to toughen up with the guys we have. Josh Smith and Al Horford are fairly tough. Horford is guarding opposing teams’ biggest guys, 7-footers and all. In his rookie year, on a team that hasn’t had a post presence since the days of Kevin Willis, Mutombo, and Ratliff, no less. How tough is that? And he’s still averaging 10 rebounds a game. Josh is grabbing stats all over the court. The problem lies with guys like Zaza Pachulia and Marvin Williams.

What about those two guys suggests toughness to you? It’s been three years. They just don’t have it. You cannot turn a shetland pony into a clydesdale.

Back on the subject of Phoenix…those guys have Shaq, Steve Nash, and Amare Stoudamire. Yet they just got their a*******es handed to them by Detroit. Let me guess, Detroit’s just a better team and they have…who? Detroit is slower and less athletic overall. They slowed the game down, executed on offense and defense, and I guaran-damn-tee you they got good and physical with them.

By ray

February 24, 2008 11:51 PM | Link to this

I’m not with anybody bashing Salim. The guy is good at more than one thing, as he showed against Golden State.

As most people here know, the problem lies with Mike Woodson. You have to know when to best utilize your resources. Salim was effective against Golden State on defense, as well as on offense. However, as someone else mentioned, he isn’t as effective on offense against the Jazz. They’re more physical (there’s that word again) and intense on defense. They also have a bigger backcourt. Williams is 6’3” or more, Korver is 6’7”, and so on.

Not all teams are created equally. So it is important to recognize and exploit mismatches. It’s a game of matchups. You do the best you can with what you have. But you MUST understand what you have and how best to use it. I’m not saying that a guy like me would be good at this. What I am saying is that a guy like Woody evidently DOES NOT know how to do this with our team. Therefore, we are always overmatched somewhere on the court….if not all over the dang court…

By Remembering Roundfield

February 24, 2008 11:57 PM | Link to this

I hate to keep beatin’ on a dead (or traded) horse, but we had a guy who was or could have been our banger in Shelden Williams! He needed to learn what he could and couldn’t get away with is all! If he had gotten playing time (in place of Marvin, as I have suggested in the past and sounds like a few others are starting to realize) he might have been playing really well by now.I still think after he takes a few lessons from Artest we’re going to want him back. I think I would rather see Mario West playing Marvin’s man in a tight game with the clock winding down (are you listening coaching staff?).

By reese

February 25, 2008 12:18 AM | Link to this

Remembering Roundfield, unfortunately, Shelden played too much like Alan Henderson instead of like Dan Roundfield. He was too slow, too short, too weak and too un-athletic to invest time in a Hawks uniform. In Sacremento, he will assured of playing with a 7’0 on the court to balance out his flaws.

The key that I and several others are trying to make is that the hawks need a 7’0 player to balance out the hawks lack of big men. In other words, we have enough 6’9/6’10 players that I no longer consider them big men. Our players are undersized and we do not have the level playing field of matching up against teams who have 6’11 or taller players who know who to utilize their height advantage.

By Casey

February 25, 2008 12:24 AM | Link to this

ray,

There is only one comment out of your long incoherent rant that I agree with. But, I already commented on this earlier. The Hawks should trade Marvin Williams for a real center. But, there is NO WAY that will happen with Knight and Woodson here.

There’s one other thing that I just have to comment on. WHAT IS YOU PEOPLE’S FING PROBLEM WITH PACHULIA?* I mean do you guys hate the guy because he’s white or what? He is the definition of a physical player. The problem is many nights, like in Utah, he doesn’t get enough minutes. He averages 14 minutes a game. WHAT DO YOU EXPECT IN 14 MINUTES? He is another player who Woodson has a personal grudge against. True, he is not a legitimate center. But, he does a good job against bigger opposing centers, anyway.

All of this is really a big distraction from the real problem here.

THE HAWKS DON’T NEED PLAYERS! THEY NEED A COACH!

I could find someone off the street that could do better than .500 with these players.

By Casey

February 25, 2008 12:40 AM | Link to this

The Hawks have a big physical shot blocker on the team already. I know most of you have never seen him play, though. His name is Solomon Jones. If Woodson had half a brain he would play Jones a lot more. But, here we go again. Woodson is the problem.

By reese

February 25, 2008 1:06 AM | Link to this

Casey, the problem with Zaza is that he does not play like a big man and therefore he does not compliment other hawks players.

He is soft. He doesn’t play with intensity. He doesn’t play help defense. He doesn’t block or alter shots. On offense, his shot gets blocked too often. He doesn’t play above the rim, misses too many shots, fumbles the ball away and doesn’t have a consistent outside shot to bring the other teams big man out like an Okur or Brad Miller.

When Zaza was our starting Center we had 26 and 30 wins. Now, Al Horford who is shorter than Zaza brings the intensity, shot blocking, help defense and above the rim play that was lacking.

Like Shelden, Zaza needs another big man on the floor to compensate for his shortcomings.

He is not a talented enough player to be the only big man (I use that term loosely) on the floor to stop the players who are driving to the basket, posting up or getting offensive rebounds against the hawks.

By Trackboy1

February 25, 2008 1:20 AM | Link to this

Hawks need a center to move Horford to the 4. Not fair for him to cover the Dwight Howards, the Yao Mings, etc. nightly.

Johan Petro had 10 boards and 2 blocks tonight aganst the Lakers. He’s 22 and has room to improve. Would be an affordbale option.

By wonderingwhatuguysrwatching

February 25, 2008 1:34 AM | Link to this

The next time Jj and Marv foul someone hard will be the first time. Do you realize that JS and Marv are the same size and weight? Childress is more physical than Marvin. Bibby got beat last night and Deron Williams dunked the ball. He turned around and looked at Marvin and Joe who was standing there. He is wondering why they didn’t foul and they looked at him and ran right down court. Joe Johnson and Marvin have been as bad defensively as pg has been all year. People need to give Smith and Horford more credit than they get. They are undersized and have more heart than anybody else on this team. Casey, if you cant tell why Zaza doesn’t play you need help

By Casey

February 25, 2008 1:55 AM | Link to this

reese,

I thought I made this clear, but I guess I didn’t. Zaza is not a center. He is playing out of position. He is a forward. He is physical. He does play tough solid defense. The problem is he is a forward defending centers, same as Horford. The Hawks don’t have a legitimate center, but Horford, Pachulia, and Josh Smith do a good enough job in the low post. The problem is the team defense. The big men either don’t get help in the lane when they need it, or they don’t clean up the boards when they make them miss. I’m talking about everyone helping in the lane and on the boards. The Hawks give up WAY too many open layups and dunks, not because of post up defense, but because no one came to help or someone left someone wide open under the basket.

But, that is not their biggest problem. Look at the stats. The Hawks defense is good enough to win almost every night. The Hawks out rebound their opponents almost every night. The Hawks real problem is offense. They don’t have a half court offense, and they don’t run the fast break nearly enough to make up for it. They don’t even run plays. Their offense is, basically, pass the ball to Joe and watch him shoot it. Where is the coaching?

By Najeh Davenpoop

February 25, 2008 3:03 AM | Link to this

Zaza is a physical, tough defender?

ZAZA?!?!?!

ZAZA PACHULIA??!!?!??!!?!?!!!?!?

Yes, he’s a power forward playing out of position. But he couldn’t play effective physical defense if Earl Boykins was trying to post him up.

Even when he was a semi-productive player at one point, the only thing he really did well was crash the offensive boards. And really, getting offensive boards is a matter of effort more than skill. At this point, since he refuses to do that anymore, there’s really nothing positive he contributes. Nothing.

I’m not a big fan of made-up stats, but since we were talking about +/- earlier, I’ll bring this up — at one point in yesterday’s game Zaza had played 5 minutes and posted a -16. That is almost physically impossible.

Solomon Jones is not physical either (dude is built like a flagpole), but at least he has the athleticism and timing to block some shots and crash the boards, plus he’s a good free throw shooter for a big man. There are some skills there that could be developed with good coaching.

But Zaza? Give me a f-ing break. This guy would have a hard time finding a starting job in the Iranian Basketball Super League. And it’s not because he’s white. If they could trade him for Andris Biedrins I would be doing cartwheels in Centennial Olympic Park. Unfortunately if Billy Knight proposed that trade Chris Mullin would die laughing before he could respond.

By ray

February 25, 2008 3:17 AM | Link to this

Reese, thanks. Nice take on the key players that “pesters” opposing teams. And finally, thanks for elaborating on a point that I was trying to make.

Did anyone else find my last few posts incoherent?

Casey, it’s rather obvious that you are going to believe what you choose, despite the fact that it’s not true. Well, that’s your choice. Unfortunately for you, you’ve burst on the scene with a pompous attitude and a very porous argument. Several porous arguments in fact.

I don’t know why you want to make an issue of a player’s race to try and prove a point that can’t be proven. Nobody here hates Pachulia because he’s white. In fact, I doubt anybody hates him at all. Disappointed? Yes. Pachulia was given ample opportunity to prove himself. He was given a starting role in which he appeared to thrive in one year. He averaged what, 13.7 points and 7.6 rebounds? Since then, his production has gone down, including last year when he still had the post all to his 6’11” 270 pound self.

The problem is, he is a forward defending centers, same as Horford. Explain to me how a veteran big man like Zaza is being soundly outplayed by a ROOKIE who is 2 inches shorter and 25 pounds lighter, genius? Other guys in the league respect Horford. They don’t have squat to say about Pachulia. Horford is playing much better post and help defense. He’s averaging approximately 9.3ppg and 10rpg, despite not having more than 3 to 5 plays a night run for him. And he blocks more shots. So…kindly explain this to me. I have an explanation of my own…but you won’t like it.

The problem is the team defense. The big men either don’t get help in the lane when they need it, or they don’t clean up the boards when they make them miss. I’m talking about everyone helping in the lane and on the boards. The Hawks give up way to many open layups and dunks, not because of post up defense, but because no one came to help or someone left someone wide open under the basket. Heh. You must be talking about Marvin Williams or Zaza Pachulia. Neither player has consistently played good one-on-one or post defense. In fact, they consistently DON’T play well on defense. So, you want the entire team crashing the basket, eh? I wonder who’s going to guard those guys on the perimeter? Genius…

The Hawks have a big physical shot blocker on the team already. Solomon Jones. Now you’re just making me laugh. While I agree that Solomon should play more, he’s NOT a big, physical guy. He needs to get stronger and bulk up some. Getting stronger is good enough by itself. Have you actually watched games? I have, and have seen the paltry minutes he’s gotten. He gets pushed around because he’s just not strong enough. He fouls a lot. Increased playing time will help cure this, but getting stronger and actually having an offensive game is up to him.

As far as your comments on the offense and coaching…congratulations. You’ve just posted yet another version of what has been said on this blog thousands of times for the last few years. At least we can agree on something…even if you ARE late to the party. I have but one question: is the Hawks real problem team defense or offense? You failed to clarify….heh.

By ray

February 25, 2008 3:25 AM | Link to this

Najeh, I couldn’t stop laughing after reading your post. Especially after reading your comments about the +/- thing. I don’t think I could’ve put it better. I hate to pile on ol’ Zaza, but more than a few of those brilliant offensive rebounds came from his own misses…

Playing out of position is nothing but truth. However, one cannot ignore the upgrade and outright impact that Horford has had while enduring the same harships…and actually being a bit smaller than Zaza. Furthermore, Horford doesn’t require that you involve him early and often in the offense for him to be productive. He’s productive on either end of the floor despite the fact that he’s mostly setting screens for guys. When’s the last time we saw Zaza grab 20 boards in a game? 15? Didn’t think so. OH….and Horford doesn’t FLOP…

By Mac-Town

February 25, 2008 8:48 AM | Link to this

EJH, I was just about to mention some of that. We CERTAINLY need a big man but ultimately I don’t think that is the reason why we have been struggling. It’s the little things, the dumb mistakes. All the balls being stripped(not taking care of the ball/poor ball handling), horrible passes, lack of overall effort (especially on D). The lack of effort is what sickening to me.

By Dawgs

February 25, 2008 9:33 AM | Link to this

Umgowa isn’t a new term. My pops was using it 25 years ago. It basically means what ever you want it to mean.

By Traceman

February 25, 2008 9:35 AM | Link to this

Casey, being clumsy and crashing into people when going for the rebound off his own missed shot does not make Zaza “physical.” Zaza has the size and strength to be physical but he is as soft as Charmin, particularly on defense. Guards should be TERRIFIED of getting hammered by Zaza when they get into the lane but he just gets out of the way and lets them lay the ball in the basket.

In addition, when the Hawks run the high pick and roll with Zaza, he RARELY sets a real pick, he just wants to roll in order to get a shot. When he sets a pick, guys should be crumpling to the floor trying to get by him. He needs to go look at some old Bill Laimbeer footage for how he should play the game.

As for the Spurs not having an “oomgoywaye,” their whole team is the “oomgoyaye.” Duncan, Bowen, Ginobili and Parker are all stone-cold killers, just in different ways. Those guys are all tough as nails and they all play a VERY phyysical brand of basketball. Tony Parker is a relatively small guy but he is FEARLESS going to the basket. Bowen is the most physical perimeter defender in the league. Duncan is a beast on both ends. With the POSSIBLE exception of a motivated Kobe Bryant, Ginobili plays harder on both ends than anyone in the NBA.

Finally, as far as Salim goes, I was happy to see him play well against Golden State but come on! Salim is shooting THIRTY TWO PERCENT for the SEASON and TWENTY EIGHT PERCENT from the 3 pt line and you call him a “pure shooter?” In addition, his ballhandling is horrendous for a PG and his defense at the position is weak. AT his best, Salim is a scorer who can get his points in bunches when he gets hot. At his worst, he is a low percentage shooter who does nothing to help his team when he’s not scoring.

You can leave a streak shooter in the game if he can do other things to help the team when his shot is not falling but Salim does not do that. When his shot is not falling, he is a HUGE liability to the team because he can’t create for others and he doesn’t defend consistently well.

By Justanotherguy

February 25, 2008 10:01 AM | Link to this

“Umgawa” explained….

http://www.yhbt.com/article.php?story=2003091403365861

By Clyde

February 25, 2008 10:23 AM | Link to this

FIRE BILLY AND WOODY

By MsDee

February 25, 2008 10:34 AM | Link to this

Possible good news for us Hawks fans!!After noticing the standings from 6 to 11 place, ours Hawks being in 9th presently, can possibly move as far up as 5th place by playoff time. Reason saying is because I saw the remaining schedule ahead for the Wiz, Nets, 76ers, Bulls, & Pacers all of which has between 7-9 west-coast games remaining, whereas ours Hawks only has 4 more being with the Spurs, GS, Hornets, and Rockets. The rest of the games are East coast which non knows Bibby’s moves/”no look” passes due to the fact that the east coast teams only sees him twice a season. West coast teams knew how to play Bibby’s passes. With Bibby leading us the remaining of the season, we should be just fine!! The teams ahead of us are also playing alot of the tough east coast teams such as the Celtics, Cav, Pistons, Magic..where we only have 2 Celtics games, 2 Magic games(which we match up well with) and no more Pistons!!PLAYOFFS HERE WE COME

By Ken Strickland

February 25, 2008 10:58 AM | Link to this

CASEY-this isn’t the forum for the uninformed, and believe me, you are. Did you really mean to say that Bibby was the teams only pure shooter? What about JJ, Marvin, or TLue before he was traded? One can be classified as a pure shooter and still be a streak shooter. It just refers to ones tendencies rather than ability.

Proper footwork is an essential element for anyone attempting to play proper DEF, especially a big man like Zaza. Zaza lacks the proper footwork to be an effective DEF center. Why would you think his DEF footwork and overall DEF would improve playing PF? Zaza lacks the speed and quickness to crash the boards, which is what he’d have to do from the PF position. At center, he’s already at the basket and it’s much easier for him to position himself for a RB.

I just don’t get this new trend that has everyone claiming certain players aren’t playing their NATURAL POSITION, whatever that means. This idea that JSmith is a natural SF doesn’t make sense. He’s a poor outside shooter, below average ballhandler, especially in traffic, and he doesn’t drive well to the basket. Teams would use their quicker faster SF’s to pull him away from the basket, which would limit his shootblocking and RB’s. However, he’d have an OFF advantage posting up. Considering how effective he’s played PF, I don’t see how anyone could say he’d improve by switching to SF.

By I.MUS WRITE

February 25, 2008 11:08 AM | Link to this

Preston- Im with you on the Salim issue. The guy played 10 minutes as the back up point -Im sayn Bibby was hobbling around and Salim only gets 10 minutes. The guy missed some contested shots and quickly got the hook……that is so stupid…. how is the guy supposed to find his rythm. I guess when Law comes back Salim wont see the floor at all. When Josh and JJ miss shots they are allowed to play through it but Salim gets yanked-Woody is a dumb azz.

Marvin Williams is the worst of all our yung guyz-How many times will he get stripped going to the whole, or just flat out lose the ball.

OOMgaye -not really needed here… we have a stable of 6’9 thorobreds and a real point guard now so that makes up for the goon we wont be gettn until summer.

By BeachGaBulldog

February 25, 2008 11:25 AM | Link to this

Get rid of Woodson, and then go look for a physical beast to push the opposition around.

By Clyde

February 25, 2008 12:25 PM | Link to this

FIRE BILLY AND WOODY

By Ken Strickland

February 25, 2008 12:45 PM | Link to this

There are certain players that create concern and/or fear just by their presence on the floor. Remember(the microwave) Vinnie Johnson, (Down Town) Freddie Brown, Junior Bridgeman or our own Charlie Criss? These were 6th men that elevated concern or ,in some cases, struck fear whenever they entered a gm. No team ever left them open no matter what the circumstances were.

Salim can be that kind of player if given a chance. No HC would send Salim’s defender to double JJ, or anyone else for that matter. Richardson can spread a DEF, but only after he’s hit a few shots, but Salim’s presence accomplishes the same thing. It’s too bad Woodson is either too stupid and/or too wrapped up in personal issues to understand that.

Even if Salim isn’t hitting his shot, he can make it easier for others to do so. He’s also quick, fast, a decent passer and a good finisher at the basket. He and Chills would make a perfect combo off the bench. One inside and the other outside. If used properly, or if just used, he can make a difference.

By I.MUS WRITE

February 25, 2008 1:02 PM | Link to this

Saw Justin Williams on you tube playing for Sacremento….. If Magloire is signing with Dallas Williams would be agood big that could help us out. The guy is a lil on the thin side but he is really active in the paint-rebound,dunk,block shots…….. I watched this guy for 4 minutes and im sure he would out perform ZAZA….. I think we should atleast give the guy a 10 day contract.

Cant wait for the summer to see who actually stays with the team and who is traded/released……………………………. Can i get my x-mas present in july? all I want is a different coach and whoever we could get for Marvin and ZAZA….Ive been good all year come on!!!

By randy

February 25, 2008 1:05 PM | Link to this

There has to be a few 7 footers floating around out there with decent defence. I mean even Duke has 1 or 2 on their team. Certainly every pro organization should have a 7 footer on their roster.

By terrell barron

February 25, 2008 1:06 PM | Link to this

Ms. Dee, dont forget about Woody Woodpecker, and did’nt we lose to SEATTLE? My point is, you never know which Hawks team is going to show up. Yes, the Playoffs are in reach, but I would’nt bet the house on it, at least not until Woodrow is out the door.

By jhan

February 25, 2008 1:10 PM | Link to this

Preston says every player on the team was careless with the ball, so when Salim did get into the game, his play was no worse than anybody else’s.

That sounds like you are giving Salim a pass because others played bad during that game. That is extremely flawed logic in my opinion.

Are you going to give Woody a pass because Billy Knight hasn’t done his job very well? That means we should also have to give Billy a pass because the owners haven’t done their job well either.

Ever try using that excuse with your boss or parents? How did that work out for you? Do you think Salim would use that cop out excuse? I don’t.

I’m not here to destroy Salim, just bring a little perspective to everyone who thinks we have Steve Nash sitting on the bench being under utilized. Salim can score against certain teams on certain nights. That is his value.

Like I said earlier Mike Woodson will lose his job this off season because he failed to develop his bench. He also fails to realize game by game matchups that can be exploited which is another nail in his coffin.

By I.MUS WRITE

February 25, 2008 1:14 PM | Link to this

Good Post Ken, Our Coach who’s name i refuse to mention anymore is too dam stupid to figure this out….. Salim standing at the 3pt line opens the floor for the drive and kick…….. biby driving the defense collapses and salim at the line alone for 3…… one things for sure with salim and Bibby on the floor there wont be any doubles on JJ.

By Casey

February 25, 2008 1:50 PM | Link to this

ALL OF YOU NEED TO CALM DOWN!

I never said Zaza was Bill Russell. You don’t have to block shots to play effective defense. If you actually watched the Golden State game(or any of the games), you would have heard Steve Smith comment over and over again about the excellent defense Zaza was playing in the low post. Several times his man threw up a bad shot only to have a teammate step in behind Zaza and put the rebound back in. That’s what I’m talking about. No one cleaned up the glass after a big man defended well in the post. If any of you have ever play the game(which I doubt), you would know it’s extremely difficult to defend in the post then turn around after the shot and get the rebound yourself. You have to have someone behind you helping. I just don’t understand what you all have against Zaza. I’m not saying he is the greatest player who ever lived, but he doesn’t deserve to be benched, and he doesn’t deserve all of this criticism from you losers either.

By tb

February 25, 2008 1:54 PM | Link to this

One of the biggest concerns wiith not replacing Woodson, is that some guys are running out of time to prove themselves. If Woodson was replaced, maybe Salim would still have the time to show he is worth re-signing. He shouldn’t get too big a contract.

Please find us a coach. ASAP

By preston

February 25, 2008 1:54 PM | Link to this

Jhan- I don’t quit understand your last post, and I don’t think that you understand what I’m saying here…..first off, I am in favor of playing Salim more, and that is all I have been saying. I brought up (what you deemed as stats) Salims’ playing time in relationship to the other guards playing time only to say, that a more accurate assessment of his production is only fair if he was allowed to play more. I don’t understand your rationale of me giving Salim a pass because of that. You talk about making a playoff run as if this team is doing a great job at that without Salim. All of the guards that we have are tired and ailing and we are 22-30 with Salim riding the bench. The only thing that I am saying here is give Salim a chance to play more. You have set this bar for Salim that the starters cannot even reach. How effective do you think that any of the starters would be comming off of the bench for 5 minutes every blue moon? When Salim came in on friday night and played for 23 minutes, no one had a bad thing to say about him….I don’t see any post from you at all, concerning his play then, but he comes in on Saturday for 10 minutes, and doesn’t play well, and you immediantly post this about him playing horribly. And you obviously have never read any of my other post if you insinuate or try to relate anything remotely close to me making a pass for Woodson.

By Casey

February 25, 2008 1:55 PM | Link to this

Ken Strickland,

Marvin Williams, Joe Johnson, and Tyron Lue are not pure shooters. They are streak shooters. Marvin Williams hasn’t made a shot in the fourth quarter all year. Joe Johnson is a great scorer, but he has many games when he can’t make a shot. Tyron Lue is as streaky a shooter as there is in the entire league.

By stevr

February 25, 2008 2:24 PM | Link to this

What kind of players like artest are on the waiver wire right now. I hope you were talking about Fantasy leads cuz you must be smoking something

By I.MUS WRITE

February 25, 2008 2:32 PM | Link to this

Casey I dont know what games you are watching,but ZAZA is terrible in my opinion. He should be the third big off the bench…. Solomon Jones does’nt play much but when he is in the game he really gets after it -challenging shots and fighting for rebounds… ITZ CALLED HEART……

The problem is ZAZA thinks he is better than what he is (offense) he’s sumwhat of a black whole throw it inside to him and he will almost always take the shot, pick n roll … u guessed it he is gunning.

I cant tell u how many times i’ve seen the opposing team just waltz through the lane for dunks and layups.A guy that big 6’11 280 should be knocking sumbody in the stands for tryn to drive the lane. He is’nt the worst i’ve seen but he reminds me of ol Jon Koncak…. Dam it y did I get staarted ZAZA plays terrible D -just watch the game tonibght and u will see what I mean……Iz it to much to ask the guy to move his feet or fight for boards He plays with no heart so he should be benched…. more minutes for SOLO

Casey-I’ll tell u what he does do well…. buy expensive clothing……… The KING OF COTURE….. PULLEEZ -earn your check you dam softie -you have all summer to look jiggy n what not

By Casey

February 25, 2008 3:31 PM | Link to this

I.MUS WRITE,

Why don’t you actually watch a game sometime, instead of playing Xbox?

By new jersey faithful

February 25, 2008 3:31 PM | Link to this

LETS RUN THESE OLD FARTS OFF THE FLOOR 2NITE!!!!

By Ken Strickland

February 25, 2008 3:50 PM | Link to this

CASEY-Obviously I don’t understand your definition of a streak shooter. What you have observed that makes TLue, MWilliams and JJ streak shooters, but not Salim, is beyond me. I guess it’s the same with Zaza’s DEF ability. In the gm against the Warriors, our Bigs were benched because Nellie started playing real small ball. JSmith played center most of the 2nd half.

Zaza has started every yr he’s been here prior to Horford’s arrival. So we’ve seen enough of him to determine what kind of DEF he plays. He obviously doesn’t block shots, which isn’t a prerequisite for being a good post defender. But, he also doesn’t rotate to take charges, nor move his feet quick enough or well enough to play good position DEF.

Playing good DEF in 1 gm for a short period of time doesn’t make one a good DEF player. Even Marvin will block an occasional shot or play good man DEF, but that doesn’t make him a good DEF player. It only means he made a good DEF play, period. There is a difference.

I know there are other Hawk fans that are frustrated by the same issues that’s frustrating me. Let’s put all trade talk aside and consider what can be done to maximize the talent we now have.

(1)We run at every opportunity, even on makes. You want to keep the DEF on it’s heels and create open uncontested shots in transition. We now have enough shooters, with Marvin, JJ and Bibby, to make that a viable option. We shouldn’t need 5 players in a set half court OFF before we take an open shot.

(2)Use our entire bench every night and keep pressure on the DEF. We should’ve used full court pressure against Utah. You force a half court team as good as Utah to use as much time as possible before getting into their OFF. It cuts down on their options and often forces them to take more outside shots, which isn’t their strength.

(3)You substitute based on need rather than timing or habit. If outside shooting and/or scoring is a problem, you don’t automatically send in Chills. Salim would be a better choice. If Horford gets in foul trouble because the OFF is attacking inside, Solomon Jones would be a better option to protect the basket than Zaza.

(4)Playing more full court pressure DEF will take a lot of the pressure off our BIGS. It gives half court teams less time to setup and initiate their OFF, which limits how long our BIGS will have to defend inside.

(5)We now have a vet PG who knows how to play the gm. The HC should manage the bench, mins, player foul situation and the gm overall. He should let the players play, and not try and control every aspect of what’s taking place on the court.

THAT WOULD LIMIT A LOT OF FRUSTRATION, ESPECIALLY MINE, I GUARANTEE.

By ray

February 25, 2008 3:57 PM | Link to this

OH yeah, let’s blame the whole rest of the team for Zaza’s lack of production. The reason Steve Smith praised Zaza during the Golden State game was because Zaza was actually playing passable defense (for once) against smaller opponents at that particular time. The commentators aren’t going to say how terrible a guy is, or they wouldn’t have their jobs for long. Notice how Steve Smith didn’t mention how many times skinny-a$$ Brandon Wright was outhustling, outjumping, and outrebounding Pachulia. Go ahead and take a look at the box score from the Golden State game. There’s a reason Pachulia was only out there for 10 minutes, despite the fact that Horford was out most of the game with foul trouble. It says a lot about Pachulia when the starting center only plays 18 minutes, yet the Zaza as the backup center still only gets 10 minutes….try and read between the lines here…

Casey, what in the hell are you talking about?? There are many games when Joe Johnson can’t make a shot. Which games might those be? There have been FEW games where JJ didn’t score in double figures, and when that DID occur, I doubt all of his points were from free throws. Joe Johnson is a scorer/shooter. Most of his baskets are scored from the outside. The man is scoring over 20 points per game! If you’re going to talk about his shooting percentage consider two things: he is taking a lot of his shots from the outside, and he has been double and triple-teamed ALL SEASON LONG. Do that to ANY shooter and watch their field goal percentage drop. As for Marvin and Lue, they are both known for their shooting. Lue hits from long range (have you watched ANY games he played as a Hawk), and Marvin hits consistently from midrange. As long as he’s partially open.

It is obvious that your hypocrisy knows no bounds. Calling people losers because they disagree (with facts to back it up)? Saying that people have probably never played the game of basketball and don’t understand it….I have to laugh at that. You don’t even know the qualities of the players on this team, let alone the rest of the league. Your comments about the effects of physical prowess alone have made that painfully clear.

Look, I hate to see someone get hammered as badly as you did (and by several people at that). But you jump in with both feet with arguments that just don’t hold any water. Eventually, you’ll have both feet stuck in your mouth and have to hop around on your butt for transportation.

By richbrave

February 25, 2008 3:59 PM | Link to this

I MUS:

We have a white hole on the Wizards, a rookie named Pecherov. A 7’0” jump-shooter who weighs 220. Nicknamed because the ball disappears once its in his hands. And no defense. Sounds like your man ZaZa. Lets trade. You can get back your #2 pick in ‘08 as well.

By ray

February 25, 2008 4:06 PM | Link to this

Richbrave, ha ha! That was a good one. But tell me, does Pecherov actually make shots? If he does, he’s worth keeping.

By ray

February 25, 2008 4:23 PM | Link to this

Ken, those are good ideas. Wish we could put them into action. However, one tends to think that Woodson is a bit of a control freak (I say this with grave understatement). I can only hope that he’s gone at least at the end of the season. But as Gearon more or less said, he’s got a veteran pg who knows how to run. There’s no excuses whatsoever. And enough with the cliched responses. Our effort was tremendous. Woody would make a better commentator.

By Najeh Davenpoop

February 25, 2008 4:42 PM | Link to this

Casey,

You are an idiot.

I was gonna write a longer, more thorough post describing in detail why you are an idiot, but I think this is sufficient.

I am eagerly awaiting your response, in which you will no doubt reply with some clever 6th-grade level comeback about video games or what not.

It’s one thing to spew some b****** and not have a clue what you’re talking about. That is perfectly acceptable, and I think everyone here has done that at some point. It’s another thing entirely to spew b******, not know what you are talking about, and then act like everyone else is stupid and only you are correct.

By Casey

February 25, 2008 4:50 PM | Link to this

OK, let’s do this. Since, YOU obviously don’t watch the games, here are some FACTS for you.

Joe Johnson: 11/7 vs. Pho: FG: 3-17, 3pt FG: 0-5 11/30 vs. Nor: FG: 5-20, 3pt FG: 2-8 12/4 vs. Det: FG: 2-10, 3pt FG: 0-3 1/4 vs. Ind: FG: 3-11, 3pt FG: 0-2 1/5 vs. Njn: FG: 4-16, 3pt FG: 0-5 1/16 vs. Mil: FG: 4-16, 3pt FG: 1-5 1/29 vs. Pho: FG: 3-14, 3pt FG: 0-2 2/2 vs. Njn: FG: 4-15, 3pt FG: 0-2 2/9 vs. Hou: FG: 3-12, 3pt FG: 0-2 2/12 vs. Det: FG: 3-13, 3pt FG: 0-3

I guess I made all that up, huh? I just don’t know what I’m talking about, and you guys are so informed. Give me a break.

I am not bashing Joe or anyone else, for that matter. You guys are so sensitive. But, you are the ones bashing people. What I’m saying is Joe is a streak shooter. I’m not saying he sucks, or something. Get a grip.

By atlman

February 25, 2008 5:01 PM | Link to this

Casey i dont know what kind of love affair you are in with ZAZA but he sucks dude, he never plays defense and he is too slow and he always this text will be boldFREAKIN BRUSHES HIS HAIR FOR NO F’N REASON.

By atlman

February 25, 2008 5:01 PM | Link to this

Casey i dont know what kind of love affair you are in with ZAZA but he sucks dude, he never plays defense and he is too slow and he always this text will be boldedFREAKIN BRUSHES HIS HAIR FOR NO F’N REASON.

By Casey

February 25, 2008 5:03 PM | Link to this

Najeh Davenpoop,

OOOHH. That hurt. You’re the same moron who was bashing Salim Stoudamire all day long right up until game time against Golden State, when he torched Golden State. You’re hilarious.

By Najeh Davenpoop

February 25, 2008 5:16 PM | Link to this

Yes, and I gave him plenty of props for doing well against Golden State. Then when he went back to sucking against Utah, I pointed that out too.

Clearly I would like for everyone on the Hawks to do well. But clearly everyone on the Hawks is not that great. In fact, quite a few members if the Hawks are quite terrible. You seem to have some kind of man-crush on the scrubbiest of the scrubs at the end of the Hawks bench, and not only that, apparently if the rest of us are not feeling the same man-love for these scrubs we are some ignorant video-game playing fools. Get the f*** outta here.

I wonder if there are fans like you for other teams too? Like if I were to go to the Charlotte Bobcats’ blog right now, would there be someone telling everyone else that Jermareo Davidson is a future Hall of Famer and anyone who doesn’t agree has never played b-ball before and needs to quit playing Xbox?

You’re an idiot.

By richbrave

February 25, 2008 5:22 PM | Link to this

ray:

Glad you asked. He’s a rookie. His made-percentage is .323 for the season unless recently updated. He has been in because Daniels, Butler, and Stevenson have been out, hurt. And he got 5 the other day, but I don’t recall the raw numbers. I suppose he could develop offensively, but I think his “D” will rate with ZaZa’s. This assessment of ZaZa is based solely on the majority of posts here, as I don’t actually recall seeing the man when the Hawks and Wizards have played.

That’s what brought it to mind. SLOW FEET and not too agile. RESERVE MATERIAL ALL THE WAY. I can’t see him ever shooting his way into a starting role, but I guess it could happen if pigs fly.

By the way, when ASG finally gives in and sells me the team, would you be willing to sit on the Board of Directors for the Hawks? I know several of us here can do as well as your management does now.

See, your informative posts are starting to sink in. Good board-rooms solve more problems than they create. Hawks fans are pointing to that exact problem, only with ASG its reversed. That situation is the definition of bad management.

By I.MUS WRITE

February 25, 2008 5:26 PM | Link to this

Wow- Casey did you come up with that all by yourself?…… Jus for the record I dont own or play XBox -I have better things to do with my time. Casey -see itz like this-most of the regulars here really know hoops and when u start posting here and dont know what the hell u are talking about people are’nt gonna play nice -u are gonna get exposed just like today-… does your wife know you have this love affair going with ZAZA ……WARNING: MAN CRUSH- wWhy dont you read basketball for dummies and try again tomorrow……………..MUS

By I.MUS WRITE

February 25, 2008 5:28 PM | Link to this

Richbrave -I see that guy everytime the wizards come here- him and haywood come to my work -he looks like a player but looks can be decieving….. jus look at ol ZAZA jus redicilous

By richbrave

February 25, 2008 5:45 PM | Link to this

I MUS:

Only having seen one on the court and neither in person, I HAVE to defer to your assessment of the two. But I’ll take ZZ for “the white hole” and a #2 in ‘08. Where’s that fantasy league when you need one? Dude, funny post. You gave me a chuckle. Thanx!

By richbrave

February 25, 2008 6:00 PM | Link to this

Guys:

You should wander over to Dave O’Brian’s current blog and check out the comment regarding Phil Stockman and Peter Moylan. Both are Aussies with special good luck charms!!

By cp

February 25, 2008 6:10 PM | Link to this

I think we can beat the Spurs, doing it is a whole different story.I hope this is a very competitve game but the Spurs have size and experience and great coaching. Three things we lack. Maybe Woody will halucinate and think we are playing the Warriors and let the horses run. Then again it is Mike Knapp coaching here.

By Casey

February 25, 2008 6:23 PM | Link to this

Najeh Davenpoop,

What is it with you and the homosexual comments? Just go watch some gay porn if that’s what floats your boat.

By Casey

February 25, 2008 6:27 PM | Link to this

I.MUS WRITE,

I guess your a closet homo as well.

By Casey

February 25, 2008 6:30 PM | Link to this

You guys really are pathetic. You don’t agree with me, so you call me stupid. Then when I respond, you can’t take it. So, say I’m gay. Just come out of the closet already.

By Volman

February 25, 2008 6:36 PM | Link to this

To those who are fighting like little children,

Please don’t turn this blog that is great into a blog like the Atlanta Falcons one…This blog has been the best thing about the AJC for YEARS. We do not want to hurt that reputation, do we?

Grow up.

By tyger

February 25, 2008 6:36 PM | Link to this

SS,

Dont know the correct spelling either but the term was used frequently in the mid to late 80s on HBCU campuses.

“Uumgowah, black powa” was the marching chant of non-working wanna be revolutionaries prior to the wake up call of the work force.

We havent signed Magloire yet??? No money I assume.

By Casey

February 25, 2008 6:38 PM | Link to this

Hey, I.MUS WRITE and Najeh Davenpoop you 2 should get together. You both are obsessed with homosexuality.

By terrell barron

February 25, 2008 6:52 PM | Link to this

The Hawks need this game tonight, to gain some confidence on the ROAD. It’s going to be tough, no doubt, but they’ve gotta learn how to win games away from Philips Arena.

By terrell barron

February 25, 2008 7:03 PM | Link to this

Instead of forcing the Spurs to play our style of basketball, Woody will try to match up with the Spurs, therefore, I cant see how we can win tonight, but stramnger things have happened. Can he not see, that we play our best, when we play teams that RUN, ala Phoenix, Golden State, etc… WHAT AN IDIOT!

By ray

February 25, 2008 7:17 PM | Link to this

Volman, agreed. I am not one to shy away from healthy debate, but it is obvious that this individual is completely lacking the tools needed to engage in one. You’re right, though. Name calling and sexuality referrence take us way off of the beaten path.

Najeh and I.Mus, no blog is safe from invasion by keyboard commandos and trolls. Rather than continue to beat a witless and helpless adversary, it would be better to choose to simply ignore him. After all, how can you expect to debate or hold reasonable conversation with someone when they don’t even know that they don’t know anything? Sounds like a teenager, doesn’t it? Hmmmm…oh well. It’s like having a boxing match with a guy who has no arms. Are you really accomplishing anything? Heh.

By Casey

February 25, 2008 7:27 PM | Link to this

ray,

Are you sleeping with Najeh Davenpoop and I.MUS WRITE?

You don’t agree with me so I’m the BAD GUY.

Ha!Ha! Hilarious!

By Casey

February 25, 2008 7:28 PM | Link to this

ray,

Take a lot back and see who started with the insults. But, I’m the one who’s at fault?

By richbrave

February 25, 2008 7:37 PM | Link to this

ray:

Have you spurned my offer of board membership? Come on dude. The Hawks management is clueless, lost, wandering and need a way out of the wilderness. I promise to also recruit doc and darkryder.

By Ken Strickland

February 25, 2008 7:55 PM | Link to this

The Spurs are another team that should be pressured full court. Force their BIGS to come out and help get the ball accross half court. Run some backcourt double teams on Mano and Parker to force the ball out of their hands. We should limit them to no more than 11-13secs to start their halfcourt OFF. That would stop their post and repost OFF sets with Duncan. The less time he has to position himself for a high percentage shot the better.

Every deflection gives them less time to initiate their OFF. Every violation, steal or turnover is another opportunity for us to score. Play everyone because the only way to determine who’s going to have a good night is for them to be in the gm. Salim and Bibby should keep Parker busy tonight. Marvin has to play big since he has a size and ht advantage over Bowen.

If Bibby’s foot holds up, I have a feeling we will pull out a win tonight. Let’s hope so. LET’S GO HAWKS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

By truth

February 25, 2008 8:02 PM | Link to this

just bench the starters for the beginning of a game, let the second team play for a while, and it will all be better. one game will be all it takes for them all to play better. they need to be humbled and understand that what they are doing they are takin for granted. if they understand that, they will play a lot better.

Also,if williams comes off of the bench, the team will be a whole lot better

By smartguy

February 25, 2008 8:04 PM | Link to this

Casey, the regulars usually stick together when imposed on by an outsider. I didn’t bother too spend the time researching everything ya’ll said, but Najeh is my boy. I don’t agree with everything he says, but he is always funny, and usually has something good to say at some point. I also appreciate ray and IMUS, and the other consistent bloggers who contribute in one way or another. And don’t mess with Clyde, either; others have gone there and not come back.

FIRE WOODY THE WOODPECKER!

By doc

February 25, 2008 8:08 PM | Link to this

richbrave, since i think you ended that post with a boys i have to go to dinner now that the real boss had vetoed your motion.heh heh, now count me in!

dont worry guys if you dont feed the fire it moves on very quickly. otherwise when the comedy routine stops then he might get a seat at the blog z liars table. we do welcome newcomers as richbrave joins in to be obsessed with kangaroo nuts. yeah, you know i read over there and am bi-blogual, so be careful. i also know your allegiance to the braves but not to our hawks so i got an eye on ya. :@)) all in fun.

cant wait for tonight, hope springs eternal. even if we lose i do enjoy seeing that soft rainbow shot of bibby. notice the pure and slow rotation? just doesnt look any prettier than that. even if we get crowned tonight the guys doing it will be doing some schooling. spurs play good basketball, reminds me of the braves in their hey day, no mental or physical errors.

By wink from lithonia

February 25, 2008 8:45 PM | Link to this

I feel for Horford, he is the only one on the roster remotely qualified to use the word “Oomgowaye”. We use to complain about lack of guards & bigs. Now no Sheldon ( who should have molded himself as an “Oomgowaye” and no Wright. Lost two point guards and a second round pick in addition to our pick to Phoenix in the 1st round.

Now we really have no bigs, Pachulia,Jones,Josh & Horford the only real big with any real desire to possibly use the term “Oomgowaye”. We are loaded with little people. Baron Davis & Monte Ellis attacked our rim at will when they were down 23 points, we were lucky to hold on.

Once Bynum is back with the Lakers, maybe we can get Mbienga for starters!

By hawksfanfordawin

February 25, 2008 8:47 PM | Link to this

yes j smoove doing it all..

By Murphy

February 25, 2008 8:48 PM | Link to this

lets go hawks!!!! we can beat these guys

By hawksfanfordawin

February 25, 2008 8:49 PM | Link to this

man joe is passive in the first half as usual

By preston

February 25, 2008 9:01 PM | Link to this

JSmoove is really hustling tonight….he is playing like a man possessed…….but everytime I see him or Marvin W. trying to dribble the ball up court I cringe……..Why is anyone other than JJ or Bibby trying to dribble the ball up court, unless we have a fast break?

By hawksfanfordawin

February 25, 2008 9:01 PM | Link to this

nooooo Zaza aka hawkiller has enterd the game…

By Murphy

February 25, 2008 9:08 PM | Link to this

Yo Preston your boy Salim has come to play tonight

By richbrave

February 25, 2008 9:11 PM | Link to this

Pecherov -6 in the first half including being dunked on by Bonzi Wells of all people. Wells has to wind up to bust a move for christ-sake!. Pecherov is lost and wandering in the wilderness on defense. 0 for the half on offense. Too rough on the kid I suppose, but he’s a #1 from ‘06. Wizards sleepwalking through their game so far - down 11 at half.

By hawksfanfordawin

February 25, 2008 9:11 PM | Link to this

man i am getting so p** of at ZAZA’s stupid mistakes, he cant even fkin spin around KURT THOMAS

By richbrave

February 25, 2008 9:15 PM | Link to this

doc:

Evenin’ dude. Is O’Brian a hoot or what. Did you see my post to him about how they’re supposed to be used? I thought that was funny as mell - we-l-l-l. It’s a little cute!! How ya’ dooin’ Are you gonna’ join my board when I clean house at the ownership table? Countin’ on ya’ my man.

By richbrave

February 25, 2008 9:19 PM | Link to this

DAMM!!! The Lizards are enough to P$$$ off the pope! Gotta’ go. Second half ready.

By Najeh Davenpoop

February 25, 2008 9:19 PM | Link to this

I continue to amaze myself.

A few days ago, I pointed out the many shortcomings in Salim Stoudamire’s game. He went on to have a very good game against Golden State the same day.

Yesterday and today, I’ve been pointing out the many flaws in Zaza Pachulia’s game. Today, he’s still done some stupid things, but he is actually making an overall positive impact on the floor.

So with that in mind, I think I need to say the following:

Joe Johnson, Josh Smith, Josh Childress, Marvin Williams, Mike Bibby, Al Horford, Salim Stoudamire, Zaza Pachulia, Jeremy Richardson, Acie Law, Solomon Jones and Mario West are all horrendous. None of them have any basic basketball skills, and each one is a cancer to the team. If the Hawks knew what was good for them they would trade them all. I have no idea what Billy Knight was thinking when he acquired these players.

That is all.

By terrell barron

February 25, 2008 9:20 PM | Link to this

The Hawks look good tonight, however, but the 2nd half is where they ALWAYS STRUGGLE. Hopefully they can keep it going for 48 min.

By hawksfanfordawin

February 25, 2008 9:20 PM | Link to this

I TAKE IT BACK I TAKE IT BACK zaza is doing outstanding!!

By preston

February 25, 2008 9:21 PM | Link to this

Murphy-……I want to see Salim play 10-15 minute a game, and then lets start assessing his play.

By new jersey faithful

February 25, 2008 9:21 PM | Link to this

ZAZA looks good 2nite!!

By terrell barron

February 25, 2008 9:23 PM | Link to this

Those were the best min. Zaza has played in a lon time.

By Murphy

February 25, 2008 9:27 PM | Link to this

Thats true preston but u cant deny he has made a positive impact tonight

By Mac-Town

February 25, 2008 9:29 PM | Link to this

what do you kno…marvin goes to the hole again..and produced nothing except gettin stripped and missin his put back

By hawksfanfordawin

February 25, 2008 9:32 PM | Link to this

chillz is looking like a lost lamb out there..

By Najeh Davenpoop

February 25, 2008 9:36 PM | Link to this

That wasn’t the prettiest half ever (not even close) but a 7 point lead going into halftime at San Antonio is great. The best part? The Hawks could have played a lot better. The worst part? The Spurs also could have played a lot better. It’s important that they come out of the locker room with the same energy level, or else they could see this lead vanish real quick.

By terrell barron

February 25, 2008 9:39 PM | Link to this

The Hawks held the Spurs to 5 points in the 1st quarter. WOW!

By preston

February 25, 2008 9:50 PM | Link to this

lol-The spurs held themselves to 5 points……..they actually looked like the hawks normally look on the road in the first quarter.

By hawksfanfordawin

February 25, 2008 9:54 PM | Link to this

this doesnt look so good…

By Mac-Town

February 25, 2008 10:00 PM | Link to this

here we go…back to classic hawks SLOP ball..

By Najeh Davenpoop

February 25, 2008 10:05 PM | Link to this

Uh… yeah. I think the Spurs woke up during halftime. Meanwhile, the Hawks seem to have strained a couple of muscles patting themselves on the back.

By hawksfanfordawin

February 25, 2008 10:08 PM | Link to this

man joe doesnt get and fkin calls, are the refs blind omg!!!!

By hawksfanfordawin

February 25, 2008 10:12 PM | Link to this

put in salim woody are you blind!!!

By terrell barron

February 25, 2008 10:13 PM | Link to this

The 2nd half blues continue!

By cp

February 25, 2008 10:14 PM | Link to this

Nice game so far by Marvin aka duck aka the invisible man. If we get a good offer for this kid this summer we might need to take it. I have not seen him do anything since the game in Seattle. TURNOVERS TURNOVERS TURNOVERS AND SILLY JUMP SHOTS. I wish the Hawks could forfiet halftime and go right into the 3rd quarter when they have a lead. Anytime we have a lead and have to go in the locker room for halftime we come out flat and tonight is no differnt. What the hell is Mike Knapp telling them during halftime? Nice to see him use the bench after seeing the starters struggle since the bench played nicely in the first half (note the saracasm about him using the bench once the starters struggled). It is not the 4th quarter yet but this game looks like a wrap.

By hawksfanfordawin

February 25, 2008 10:22 PM | Link to this

omg marvin do you not know how to catch a pass!!!

By Murphy

February 25, 2008 10:25 PM | Link to this

This dude Marvin is pitiful. if he isnt scoring he isnt helping at all

By cp

February 25, 2008 10:25 PM | Link to this

Man smdh@Marvin Williams. At this point I would start Richardson or anybody else over this guy. Im tired of waiting for this potential. The guy fumbles the ball away at every opportunity.

By honest_abe

February 25, 2008 10:27 PM | Link to this

marvin sucks. bad. real bad.

By ......

February 25, 2008 10:28 PM | Link to this

We’ll never be winners counting on LOSERS like ZaZa and Marvin to be KEY contributors, and what do you know, as I’m typing this another turnover.

By terrell barron

February 25, 2008 10:29 PM | Link to this

It’s about time for the Woody Woodpecker Show.

By richbrave

February 25, 2008 10:31 PM | Link to this

Stevenson torches Hornets with 33 and Lizards become Wizards on the road winning on last second Stevenson three. Whoo, what a second half!!

By honest_abe

February 25, 2008 10:33 PM | Link to this

yes. anyone but marvin. he can’t do anything right. i was screaming at my tv when woody put him in for jj at the end of the 3rd. yak!

By Im Gonna be Sick!!

February 25, 2008 10:34 PM | Link to this

These ROTATIONS are NOT WORKING!!!!! SHAKE things up WOODY!! Put Marvin Williams azz on the friggin BENCH!!! Look up SLUMP in Websters and you will find an 8x10 of his azz. The Spurs had 7 TO’s in the 1st period and were 1/17 FG’s. They average 9 a game. So much for some great D. There is reason why we have the 29th payroll in the league. We have some 29th rated talent. We have 20 plus TO’s. Josh plays hard but he has to for all the BONEHEAD mistakes he makes. He will be great next to a true center, which he will never see in a HAWKS uni. But the ASG called it right not to sign him and Chill. Al really looks like he is getting shorter maybe 6’6 6’7 now. Out of everything Za Za wants to wake up out his Rip Van Winkle nap. Take ur azz back to sleep. Woody’s azz does nothing!!! ASG Give this team to DREW dammit!!!!!Dont p** the chance for the Playoffs away. Oh and AGAIN put MARVIN’s azz ON THE BENCH!!!!

By ray

February 25, 2008 10:34 PM | Link to this

Richbrave, count me in. I’ll be the mob enforcer, heh! What a crew we’d make, aye?

Najeh, that is too funny. Can we get you to write colums instead of Mark Bradley? The advantage would be that your info would actually be currently known basketball knowledge, rather than that which was obvious to all a year or so ago. What a change that would be. And we’d probably all laugh more.

By hawksfanfordawin

February 25, 2008 10:35 PM | Link to this

no josh missed the layup nooo that couldve been our momentum

By ray

February 25, 2008 10:37 PM | Link to this

terrell, that show has been on the whole time….chuckle.

By hawksfanfordawin

February 25, 2008 10:38 PM | Link to this

Mike cmmon where are your 3’s

By hawksfanfordawin

February 25, 2008 10:39 PM | Link to this

Al Al where art thou al!!!

By Tiger Woo

February 25, 2008 10:39 PM | Link to this

Bibby is awful tonight.

Josh Smith is awful tonight.

Marvin is a bum.

Where’s T-Lue when you need him?

By Bob Weiss

February 25, 2008 10:40 PM | Link to this

Mike Woodson is one of the worst coaches I have ever seen.

By hawksfanfordawin

February 25, 2008 10:43 PM | Link to this

marvin what are you doing man!!!!!!!!

By ......

February 25, 2008 10:44 PM | Link to this

Mike Bibby 1/11 0-5 behind arc

no way in hell AJ and Lue could match those blockbuster numbers

By honest_abe

February 25, 2008 10:46 PM | Link to this

seriously its time to start josh, al, and zaza in the frontcourt. marvin needs to find his way to the back of the bench.

bah this is depressing. this game should be closer than it is.

By Murphy

February 25, 2008 10:46 PM | Link to this

I think Marvin Butters his fingers. Maybe its some kind of therapy he uses cause i could grab some of the rebounds he is missing.

By terrell barron

February 25, 2008 10:47 PM | Link to this

Please let Drew finish out the season! Woody has to go. What has he done to deserve this job? Come on ASG, do the right thing, and give us a chance at the Playoffs.

By hawksfanfordawin

February 25, 2008 10:49 PM | Link to this

woody you suck woody you friggin idiot you suck!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

By preston

February 25, 2008 10:50 PM | Link to this

For those of you that have been crapping on Salim……what you witnessed tonight was a “horrible” shooting performance by Bibby and Williams…..oh and as I write this Salim just hit a quick 3….he has just got in the game in the second half with under a minute to play……Woodson needs to be fired tonight!!!

By cp

February 25, 2008 10:52 PM | Link to this

Marvin Williams smdh man words cant express how i feel about this kid. Sit his a* down A.S.A.P. I cant believe im about to say this but start Pachulia. Bring the invisible man off the bench. Move Horford to the 4 and Josh Smith to the 3. I have had enough of the invisible man and his constant fumbling of the ball. Dude looks like Dante Culpeper from years ago with his constant fumbling.

By richbrave

February 25, 2008 10:56 PM | Link to this

ray:

All right!! My man. We’re rollin’ Now to get doc and darkryder with us.

By Clyde

February 25, 2008 10:57 PM | Link to this

The same ole sh## night end and night out. A lot of people on this blog said things would be different this year but I really don’t see a difference. Something has got to give.

Ms.Dee over the years there have been a lot of people claiming the Hawks would make the playoffs. Many have come and gone but one thing still stands: The Hawks keep losing. Say what you want but until they prove to me they can win on a consistant basis then I don’t want to hear any playoff talk.

FIRE BILLY AND WOODY

By Clyde

February 25, 2008 10:58 PM | Link to this

The same ole sh## night end and night out. A lot of people on this blog said things would be different this year but I really don’t see a difference. Something has got to give.

Ms.Dee over the years there have been a lot of people claiming the Hawks would make the playoffs. Many have come and gone but one thing still stands: The Hawks keep losing. Say what you want but until they prove to me they can win on a consistant basis I don’t want to hear any playoff talk.

FIRE BILLY AND WOODY

By preston

February 25, 2008 11:03 PM | Link to this

listen people…this game is all about making adjustment….Woodson comes to the game with a script that he has had all year long…..certain players get a certain amount of minutes regardless of how they play. Everyone knew that after halftime San Antonio would make certain adjustments, while Woody would come back with his etch-a-sketch pad with zero adjustments. After he got a good showing out of Salim and played him 23 minutes in Golden State, and that was only because Bibby had just hurt his heel, he has basically left him and JRichardson on the bench again. When two of your starters are struggling especially like Bibby and M.Williams was tonight, then you try something else, but with Woodson it’s all about sticking to script, and it is mind-boggling.

By Najeh Davenpoop

February 25, 2008 11:04 PM | Link to this

Bibby’s heel is clearly bothering him. You could tell his shots were gonna be short when he released them today. He wasn’t getting any lift off the ground, when he tried to lay it up or shoot the ball. I don’t know how they are gonna get him the rest he needs to heal that heel (heh heh heh) but they are gonna have to figure something out, especially with Acie Law injured.

Ray, thanks… I don’t know about Mark Bradley, but I’m pretty sure I could replace the Hawks Hack…

By World B. Free

February 25, 2008 11:06 PM | Link to this

I agree with honest_abe(one of our best presidents by the way). Start josh, al, and zaza in the frontcourt. Marvin is one-dimensional and brings little else, he stunk up the joint tonight with his butterfingers. Why did Al play only 25 minutes???? He could have had a 20/20. Woody is gone by mid March

By terrell barron

February 25, 2008 11:09 PM | Link to this

At least the Pacers and Bulls lost too. Thats the only positive of the night.

By ray

February 25, 2008 11:09 PM | Link to this

Well that was no surprise.

By ray

February 25, 2008 11:12 PM | Link to this

Najeh, the Hack flat out sucks. You can TELL that is some moron sitting in a cubicle somewhere. Ever see the movie “Office Space”? The Hawks Hack reminds me of the guy who mumbles nearly incoherently and keeps getting his cubicle moved. And they keep stealing his swingline stapler. Yep, must be him…and like that guy, I swear the people in payroll forgot he’s there…

By hawksfanfordawin

February 25, 2008 11:12 PM | Link to this

Man if only we had greg popavich as our coach, preston its time for another round of you know what.

By Andy

February 25, 2008 11:13 PM | Link to this

Billy Knight cannot be blamed for the Hawks now (not until he screws up this offseason). Woodson has no more excuses for the team not producing. His offensive scheme sucks. Guys just standing around (Marvin) without moving. The Hawks need an enema to rid them of the crappy offensive system that clogs the lane and does not encourage movement. Woodson also does not believe in a perimeter presence either. He refuses to put Salim or Richardson in the there to create space which would open the lane for penetration. Duh!Bibby needs space in order to create.

By preston

February 25, 2008 11:19 PM | Link to this

Cp- you are 100% correct. I think that it is time to sit Marvin….I would rather have JChills or Zaza on the floor at this point…….hell it looks like those guys are trying to step up their game, and Marvin is regressing. Maybe Marvin is what he is, and he will never live up to the hype…..maybe it’s too much pressure to try to perform as good as Chris Paul b/c he knows that the fans here are constantly bemoaning missing that pick……I think that it is time to purt Marvin on the bench……..lol……Do any of you guys remember Jo Bling ( for those of you that don’t know, he is Marvin’s greatest admirer)……haven’t heard a peep from that guy for weeks now.

By Casey

February 25, 2008 11:20 PM | Link to this

FIRE WOODSON AND KNIGHT NOW!!! PLEASE!!! I CAN’T TAKE THIS ANYMORE!!!

My golden retriever Riley could do a better job coaching than this.

By richbrave

February 25, 2008 11:21 PM | Link to this

Has anyone got a line on the particulars of Bibby’s misery? I mean, I had a heel injury after a motorcycle injury and ended up in a cast because it was actually the wrap-aroung attachment for the achilles tendon. Is this just a bruise, or a tear? Anybody.

By new jersey faithful

February 25, 2008 11:23 PM | Link to this

Marvin”Duck Butt Butter Finger”Williams was in the house 2nite!! Man cant catch a cold for gods sake! He did take a charge though…whoopie!

By Casey

February 25, 2008 11:24 PM | Link to this

Billy Knight deserves to be fired, if for no other reason than because he hired Woodson and he still won’t fire him!

I would fire Knight just for drafting Sheldon Williams or for drafting Marvin Williams.

By richbrave

February 25, 2008 11:24 PM | Link to this

WORLD:

Dude yours was the off-the-hook name in NBA history. Thanks for the great round-ball. Any influence in moving the entire ownership group out of this franchise?

By reese

February 25, 2008 11:30 PM | Link to this

Some feel that the hawks played well in the first half. I guess I view things differently. I see a team that again failed to score 20pts in the first and 3rd quarters. I see a team that failed to kick a team that was lethargic and missing open shots in the first half.

I see a coach who failed to prepare his team to start the 3rd quarter with a plan to score more points than their opponent. I see a coach that rewarded a player (horford) who had a double double by playing him less than his backup (zaza).

As long as Marvin and Childress are on this team, I just don’t see Woodson playing 2 big men together. Tonight was a perfect opportunity to play Horford alongside Zaza. Yet, no one ever ask Woodson why he won’t play 2 big players together.

If Solomon Jones is not going to play, I just don’t see why we don’t send him to the NBDL. Popavich plays 4 bench players more than 14 minutes and woodson again can only play 2 bench players more than 14 minutes. As a matter of fact, 12 players saw action for the spurs whereas the hawks played 10.

Woodson’s post game statement is that we need to milk the shot clock more because we can’t score. He doesn’t think that the hawks set the defensive tone in the 3rd and 4th quarters.

Maybe its me, but when the opponent scores 89 points for the game, your overall defense is getting the job done. Woodson’s approach of milking the clock shows that he doesn’t have a plan to get more scoring out of this team.

He doesn’t know what players are his offensive players and when to place them on the floor together. It shows that he doesn’t want to fast break and get more points that way. It shows that he doesn’t have a defensive approach that can force the tempo to increase by trapping. It shows that he would rather slow the tempo and therefore reduce the intensity of his own players at the same time.

It shows that he is still clueless.

By terrell barron

February 25, 2008 11:43 PM | Link to this

I know we’ve always needed a true point guard, and a true center, but what about a true small forward? Marvin can shoot, but does nothing else, and Chill does everthing else, but cant shoot. If Smoove could play sf, we would be set, but can he? We have a point(Bibby, a 2(Joe) and a 4(Al). Josh needs to be on the floor, but where is he going to play if we get our true center? This team has a lot of talent, dont get me wrong, but it’s poorly constructed and not well coached, which means BK and Woodrow should be fired IMMEDIATELY!

By preston

February 25, 2008 11:45 PM | Link to this

reeseplease tell me that you are joking regarding Woodson’s comment about miliking the clock b.c they can’t score…….If Woodson let hi slips utter that nonsense for everyone to hear, then he needs to be walking back to Atl. b/c there is no way in hell that the players should stand for that. Just last weekend he boldly stated that he had a one-two punch with Bibby and Joe Johnson, and that the other teams would have to figure out who to guard…aand now he is saying something else….is this supposed to be a joke or something? Is this guy really making this excuse for his teams loss tonight……

By ray

February 25, 2008 11:51 PM | Link to this

Preston,

I still have a hard time with the idea that Marvin was so great to begin with. If he was truly as great as people thought, with all that upside…then he wouldn’t have been coming off the bench for the entirety of his one year at UNC. There are tons of college freshmen who have lots of upside. Marvin wasn’t around long enough for anyone to truly be able to gauge his game. Again, he was never a starter in college. That alone should’ve suggested something. Was Kevin Durant a starter? Yes, and he led the freakin’ nation in scoring, just about. How about Carmelo Anthony, who was yet another stellar freshman? Again, a starter and main player.

The draft wasn’t really strong for forwards that year. So, Marvin was one of the guys with the most upside. To say that he was a the consensus #2 pick or one of the most talented guys in the draft overall is misleading. Everyone knew Billy Knight would pick Marvin if Milwaukee picked Bogut, which they did. Meanwhile, the need for a good pg was ignored completely. My guess is that Woody had some say in this and preferred a veteran point guard. If you think about it, it makes sense. That’s how he would’ve wanted it. The whole time he’s been here (up until this point), we’ve been trying to get by on veteran back-up point guards. It hasn’t worked due to outright inability, injury (Speedy), and horrible coaching. Meanwhile, we watch guys like Chris Paul and Deron Williams (and soon enough…Marcus Williams) doing so well for their teams.

People can talk all they want about how Woodson’s inability to coach would affect those coulda-been draft pick point guards. Until you have the talent in your hands, you never know. And I refuse to believe that the guy who’s dropping 42 points and 9 assists down in New Orleans would be any less spectacular in Atlanta. Like Sheldon, it’s not Marvin Williams’ fault that he was picked so high, and above players that we actually needed. However, it doesn’t change the fact that they cannot do for us what we need done. Deal them…and move on. Dominique Wilkins was wrong: Marvin is NOT one of those “once in every ten years” kind of special talents. The guys that are? Well, they play for other teams.

By coachb

February 25, 2008 11:54 PM | Link to this

We have a point guard to run the team now. We don’t have a coach to put the right players on the floor. These turnovers are sicking because the wrong players have the ball. Josh Smith with eight turnovers is a lack of coaching. Woodson need to take the ball out of Josh hands. If he can’t rebound the ball and give it to bibby put him on the bench. When Josh come down the floor with the ball it’s a turnover waiting to happen. Joe Johnson with six turnovers is killing the team. When the double team comes he hold the ball too long. This team need some new life by the next game. Give everybody a chance and see who plays the best. I don’t know what has happen to Marvin he can’t hold the ball for the last few weeks. Please give us a new coach to get this team moving. Woodson does have a clue.

By ray

February 26, 2008 12:08 AM | Link to this

Reese, I agree with Preston. Woody’s own words point to his ineptitude. As always, nice analysis.

By Najeh Davenpoop

February 26, 2008 12:12 AM | Link to this

Josh Smith needs to realize he’s a SF/PF in the NBA, not a SG/SF. I’m saying this because too often he tries to take smaller, quicker players off the dribble, not realizing that that’s not one of his strengths. He is good at taking bigger guys off the dribble, he’s getting better at posting up smaller guys, and he’s got good court vision (although he forces too many passes). He needs to watch some tape of Lamar Odom this year and Chris Webber when he was a King. Neither one is a pure PF or a pure SF, but both have some skills of each forward position. If he lets the game come to him instead of trying to force things all the time he will be fine. As is often the case with the Hawks, he will improve with better coaching.

By ray

February 26, 2008 12:24 AM | Link to this

What?! Horford scores 12 in the first half, and Woody decides to bench him/not give him the ball in the second half? Ugh!

I’ll give credit to Zaza having a better game than he has in a very long time. Only problem is, he won’t do it again….for a very long time.

By Ken Strickland

February 26, 2008 12:26 AM | Link to this

POP made one major adjustment that took JSmith out of his gm. He started Horry and forced Josh away from the basket. That’s when the layup fest started. That’s what we should be doing with Salim and Richardson. Why hasn’t Woodson designed an OFF set for JJ and Marvin like the one Detroit uses for Hamilton? It would get him more involved in the OFF and make him more effective.

Tonights gm is a perfect reason for not playing Chills PG. It forces him out on the perimeter which isn’t his gm. When JJ took over the OFF, Chills started doing his thing and scored all of his pts.

I’d start Richardson in place of Marvin. He’s a very good shooter with more range. He also shoots better than Marvin with a hand in his face. He’s shown he can rebound and plays decent DEF. Even though Marvin isn’t scoring much, he’s playing decent DEF and rebounding much better. Zaza is really benefiting from Bibby’s presence.

By reese

February 26, 2008 12:34 AM | Link to this

Preston, I wish that I was joking. I couldn’t believe it when he made the statement. The team scores 74 points and he is talking about milking the shot clock.

Woodson, slowing down the pace of a game does not mean that you are playing good defense.

Coach B., Bibby has played with players (hedo turkulu, christie, weber, artest, martin) who were able to dribble the ball down the court without fumbling it out of bounds.

Currently, he is giving the hawks players the benefit of the doubt. I believe that if the hawks are going to have long and lean players (marvin, childress, smith, jj) on the floor, then they should be able to dribble the ball down the court and pass to a player filling the lane.

Childress and JJ have played point and they don’t want to dribble down court to lead a fast break.

Marvin is just too scared to dribble down court and will pass to horford or josh smith just to get the ball out of his hands.

Josh Smith and Al Horford are fearless and capable of dribbling down court. Their problem is that they are not stopping at the free throw line and therefore either charge into a defensive player, jump in the air and have no one to pass the ball or occasionally they make a good pass to a cutter filling the lane.

Coach B. the hawks had 20 turnovers against Golden State. Yet, they still scored 117 points. The Coach and some players do not have the mindset to play an uptempo high intensity game for the majority of the game.

Until the coach and players decide on a style and intensity of play that best suits the players that are on the floor, we will continue to see inconsistency from this team.

By cp

February 26, 2008 12:47 AM | Link to this

I was saying in a previous blog that we now have a pg but we dont have the pg bringing the ball up the court enough. Josh Smith is very talented but damn the coach has to sit him down and let him know that if he gets a rebound give it to Bibby and let him start the break that way Josh can get a alley or an easy pass allowing him to score at the hoop. I really want to see some freaking film of Marvin during his workout with the Hawks. I really want to know what the hell he did in that workout to get drafted second. I heard he was out of shape when he came in. How in the hell do we draft a guy who came in out of shape and probably only shot jumpers. You cant judge a guy’s talent from looking at him shoot uncontested jumpers . Man this kid does not have it in my opinion. I dont think I have ever seen a guy drop that mean easy passes as Marvin. The guy is the basketball version of Michael Jenkins. Nothing but freaking drops. I was wondering a few weeks ago did he have small hands because he seemed to always lose the ball going to the rim or get the ball stripped. During the summer we must convince some team that Marvin will still be that great player he was hyped up to be so we can snag some picks and a player. I would rather call up Dermarr Johnson and let him start over Marvin. At least he has range on his jumper. Rudy Gay is the player these so called experts thought Marvin would be. He is athletic, plays good d, can hit the mid range jumper, the long range jumper, and can finish at the rim with authority. Looks like we took the so called once in a blue moon small foward prospect the wrong year.. We look more and more like the falcons as the games go by. We have Gregg Knapp as a coach and Michael Jenkis as our small foward. REDICULOUS.

By ugaman

February 26, 2008 1:07 AM | Link to this

This is getting to be old. Same song second verse every single game. I agree with the others that we should start ZaZa, Horford, and Smith together. That does leave our bench really small, so they would have to come in and run like crazy. However, I can’t understand why we don’t run and press the whole game. Supposedly we were built to run and that is our strength, but we have too few ball handlers and poor decision makers, hence the flood of turnovers game after game. I will say that the only game we won on the road trip, we were forced to run the whole game. I think teams know that we are too athletic to run with, so they make us play in the half-court and wait on us to shoot ourselves in the foot with turnovers and lapses in defense in the second half. This has become insanity on the basketball court. We all know the definition of insanity (doing the same things over and over while expecting different results), so obviously Woody must be absolutely insane as a coach. I have never seen so little adjustments made during games by coaches in any league. This game was a great representation of great coaching versus poor coaching. Pop kept adjusting until he found something that worked, maximizing his bench and resting the starters and putting his team in position to win while Woody made no adjustments the whole game. He just stood there without instructing the players, leaving them to themselves to figure things out when a coach is supposed to observe what is happening on the floor and make adjustments to win the game. Woody did nothing but call a couple of timeouts, but didn’t change his lineups any to adjust to what the Spurs were doing. Hence, they battled back, caught us and kept on going with no resistance. this is rediculous! And can we please trade Marvin for David Lee in the off-season. We need some toughness and energy in place of what Marvin is giving us!

By Clyde

February 26, 2008 1:25 AM | Link to this

FIRE BILLY AND WOODY

Playoffs Anyone?

FIRE BILLY AND WOODY

By preston

February 26, 2008 1:27 AM | Link to this

Mike “Woody Woodpecker” Woodson’s coaching Handbook:

OFFENSIVE PLAYS:(1) Give the ball to what’s his name, and let him shoot.

Defensive Plays:(1) Go and guard what’s his name and try and stop him from shooting.

The End.

By preston

February 26, 2008 1:34 AM | Link to this

And Sekou, you are wrong about this team needing an “oomgowaye”…….what this team needs more than anything else is for our coach “to-go-away.” Goodnight.

By The 83 Kanas City Kings

February 26, 2008 1:55 AM | Link to this

These guys made the playoffs that year with a 38 44 record: Woody Billy and Drew on the same team!! If they did it ,we can do it!!

Name G Min Pts PPG FGM FGA FGP FTM FTA FTP 3PM 3PA 3PP REB RPG AST APG STL BLK TO Eddie Johnson 82 2920 1794 21.9 753 1552 .485 268 331 .810 20 64 .313 455 5.5 296 3.6 76 21 213 Larry Drew 73 2363 1194 16.4 474 1026 .462 243 313 .776 3 10 .300 146 2.0 558 7.6 121 10 194 Reggie Theus 30 897 474 15.8 170 388 .438 130 173 .751 4 27 .148 83 2.8 210 7.0 29 9 97 Mike Woodson 71 1838 1027 14.5 389 816 .477 247 302 .818 2 8 .250 175 2.5 175 2.5 83 28 115 Billy Knight 75 1885 963 12.8 358 729 .491 243 283 .859 4 14 .286 255 3.4 160 2.1 54 6 155

By mykhalc

February 26, 2008 2:30 AM | Link to this

83, you just put it ALL in perspective for me man!! i NOW realize that is WORSE than I EVER THOUGHT!!!!

By Rod from College Park

February 26, 2008 3:06 AM | Link to this

Marvin “Duck” Williams has got to be the goofiest, weakest, non defensive, worst hands, non finishing at the rim player I have ever seen. How Chris Paul and Deron Williams came to our gym and worked out, and we actually picked Duck, I will never understand!!!!!!! What the @*#% were you looking at Billy. Woody has got to be the worst basketball coach I have ever seen in my life. The AAU coach in Atlanta could have won at least 10 more games with our roster. This is pathetic. When we run, we win. Can we plese run dummies…….. Can Salim get some more time? Can you please play Solomon Jones? Can you make Marvin and AC stay after practice and dont leave until they hit 100 layups in a row…. Can someone tell Joe Johnson to stop waiting on the double team, and go to the hole and draw fouls in the 4th quarter. Tell Josh he is plays power forward and not point guard. Can someone tell Woody that it is obvious that Jeremy Richardson should be starting over Marvin. He can do everything Marvin does, plus he can play some defense and most of all he can hit a 3 pointer. At the end of the game when we we need a defensive stop, can we please see Mario West in the game for defensive purposes. It really is not that difficult guys. FIRE WOOODY!!!!! FIRE BILLY FOR THE MARVIN PICK ALONE, NOT TO MENTION SHELDON WILLIAMS!!!!!!!!!

By doc

February 26, 2008 6:01 AM | Link to this

well i was unable to stay for the whole game, saw the inevitable by the third.

salim worked hard while he was in there amazed he didnt see more action when others were flailing in the third.

anyone else hear the milk comment as instructive to bibby as he begins to take in the reins a bit as bibby ball ends and woody ball begins? yep score less than 80 and worry that a pass more per possession might have made a difference when if you look at it there is no obvious rhyme or reason to the set offenses they run. the guy doesnt have a clue and it translates to his players lack of cohesion on the court.

marvin is swooning again as the end of the season approaches like he did last year. looks confused on each shot and each time he touches the ball. no aptitude for the game now in his third season where the light stiil appears to be off. ok, i will say it first and it is obvious now if MARVIN had stayed in college he would have ended up a second rounder at best. that is because he was fully developed then and wouldnt have shown any up side nor would his game have grown dimensionally. beat you guys to it and will begin to read others coming to the same conclusion.

By doc

February 26, 2008 6:15 AM | Link to this

within two weeks mike bibby will be doing his impersonation of tyrone lue; bounce, bounce, bounce, look right, look left, then shoot. it is called milking the clock. heh heh hee, defense at its best, they cant score if we are bouncing the ball. that is why there is a shot clock to stop the bouncing. all it leads to is ill timed shots and the buzzer going off when you can get a shot off which they did a few times last night. yep, it is called milking the clock.

dumb woody, dumber bk, dumbest BASG!!! remember the comment after the laker game, we have arrived.

By ray

February 26, 2008 6:37 AM | Link to this

Doc, you did beat us to it. Except, read what I said a few posts back about Marvin having never even been a starter on his team while in college (that whole 1 year). Telling…yes?

By doc

February 26, 2008 6:49 AM | Link to this

ray, remember how they twisted that one into a positive? that is real spin baby. though i thought it a stretch i bought into him, ando and clyde didnt among others.

By doc

February 26, 2008 7:00 AM | Link to this

josh, jj and bibby, what?, 5 of 32 from the field and 18 of 23 turnovers and the problem is milking the ball !!! no the guys that needed to step up didnt. call it like it is woody. the coach didnt have a clue when he cant put horford and zaza together last night after both are showing some life and josh is struggling mentally after the first quarter. tell me it wasnt mental fatigue and worn down bodies woody? that means you have to find some combination of bench players to play instead when your horses dont have it … milk it, you mean, milk it?

By kevin

February 26, 2008 7:36 AM | Link to this

Brent Barry and Jamal Magloire are going to be sitting there today for the picking. Atlanta needs to get off their hounches and sign these two guys. It would allow for a lot of depth.

pg- Bibby, Chillz, Law,Salim sg - JJ, BBarry,Mario sf - Jsmooth,Marvin,JRich pf - Horford, Jsmooth , Solo c - Magloire, Horford, Zaza

Then in the offseason - resign barry and magloire and trade marvin and Zaza for another center.

By doc

February 26, 2008 7:57 AM | Link to this

more on marvin … after being aclaimmed mr. consistency with 41 of 43 nights in double figures he is now 6 for the past 11 games.

even more frightening is the fact if you take his rookie numbers for 25 minutes a game and extrapolate them to the present of 35 minutes a game he hasnt improved his numbers one iota. yep, second rounder at best if he had stayed in. he is one of the biggest reasons for a kid to go early. he should be a high school aau basketball poster buy.

By GT80

February 26, 2008 8:15 AM | Link to this

From Sekou’s latest game story “Marvin Williams was a non-factor, going 2-for-9 from the floor and scoring just four points and grabbing six rebounds in an empty 30-minute effort.”

This was the #2 pick in the draft?

Billy Knight and Woody cannot be our GM and Coach after this dead season, another in the line of dead seasons they have produced. If so, then the Spirit Group is as dumb as BK.

God I hate watching this happen to my hometown team(s).

By richbrave

February 26, 2008 8:36 AM | Link to this

GT80:

“If so…?” I’ve seen this pattern before as a long-time Wizards fan. Its called incompetent management. From yours and most everyone else’s comments its obvious ASG has placed a GM and coach who don’t work together. DOC,RAY fix the worst problem first. When you have an evil giant you kill it by cutting off the head. Who is Belkin, by the way?

By SHELDON W.

February 26, 2008 8:37 AM | Link to this

MARVIN SUCKS…SHOULD HAVE KEPT SHELDON AND TRADED MARVIN…I CAN’T BELIEVE I JUST SAID THAT

By richbrave

February 26, 2008 8:54 AM | Link to this

doc,ray:

I apologize to you guys for being unable to offer any constructive advice in regard to the Hawks. Frankly, I just don’t know much about them. Now I follow the Wizards just because they’re the local team. Just as many of you do in Atlanta I suppose. So I only speak in generalities about the Hawks. I apologize for not knowing, and as I rarely see the team, I must be a slow learner. So I’ll make a comment here and there, but you have my best wishes. Good luck. And if you ever need info on the Braves just ask.

By RB

February 26, 2008 9:02 AM | Link to this

If the Hawks fail to make the playoffs, both Woodson and Knight should hit the bricks. I’m as dissapointed with Marvin Williams. He’s as soft as the Pillsbury dough boy. I don’t think he will ever justify he draft position.

By David

February 26, 2008 9:18 AM | Link to this

THE THREE STOOGES!!! BILLY, WOODY & HAWKS OWNERS!!! Billy, you got to do your “JOB”…. Fire Woody and hire someone who can coach! Hawks Owners, you got to operate your “BUSINESS”…. Fire Billy and hire someone who can manage! *Raising ticket prices is not the answer…#1-coach/GM #2-playoff/win #3-then raise ticket prices!!!!!

By Astro Joe

February 26, 2008 9:21 AM | Link to this

Doc, I too called Bibby a better version of Lue. Pound, pound, pound & shoot. The sad thing is that he may very well be the best player on this team. JJ looks awful. While he has had some good spurts, he has mostly appeared disinterested, even after he Bibby trade.

It’ll be interesting how we finish the season. Our schedule is pretty light the rest of the way. We may stumble into the playoffs even with our horrific coach and utter lack of leadership amongst the players.

By yessir

February 26, 2008 9:32 AM | Link to this

Too many turnovers on road trip. 120 to’s in 5 games. I guess thats the coach’s fault????

By The King, baby, THE KING!

February 26, 2008 9:53 AM | Link to this

According to the self-proclaimed geniuses who post here on a regular basis:

• Joe Johnson is a legit All-Star

• Josh Smith is an “untouchable” player that you build your franchise around

• Mike Bibby is a future first-ballot Hall of Famer

• When the Hawks lose, it’s ZaZa’s fault

On second thought, maybe most of you (airheads) don’t know a hoop from a hole in the ground.

Just a thought.

By Ken Strickland

February 26, 2008 9:55 AM | Link to this

How many times have I said Woodson looks for excuses to play his Bobby Knight inspired slow down half court OFF. He also looks for excuses not to play Salim. Since his breakout gm against the Warriors, Woodson has made it very difficult for him to repeat his performance.

I would’ve sat Bibby and JSmith down and played a combination of Zaza, Horford, Richardson, JJ, Salim. That would have put 5 shooters on the court to spread the Spurs DEF. Our BIGs did a good job inside when one on one. We had trouble when they collasped and started stripping the ball. Woodson didn’t make a single adj to counter. JSmith was dominating them inside the 1st half. He started Horry to pull him away from the basket and he disappeared. With Bibby and Marvin unable to score from outside, they just collasped inside and started stripping everything. Inserting Richardson and Salim would have changed all of that, but Woodson, for whatever reason, wouldn’t make that move.

From a DEF standpoint, Woodson seems to have adopted LBrown’s philosophy. OFF, he seems to prefer the Bobby Knight philosophy. The PG passes off to one of the BIGS who then initiates the OFF. That’s why all of the Hoosiers BIGS were such good passers. Most have proven incapable of doing much else on the pro level. That explains why Woodson has refused to design an OFF set like the one used for Hamilton in Detroit. That was Detroits bread and butter under LBrown and still is. No one’s been able to stop it, yet Woodson has refused to see how it would benefit the Hawks, especially Marvin. It would have stopped teams from doubling JJ as well.

Some coaches are very inflexible and locked into a very rigid system and/or philosophy. They believe in forcing players into a system no matter what(the old square peg into the round hole syndrome). Then their are coaches who are very versatile and capable of building a system around the players. They’re like water, which conforms to the container in which it’s poured.

GUESS WHICH PHILOSOPHY FITS WOODSON?

By ugaman

February 26, 2008 9:59 AM | Link to this

Now that I’ve ad time to think about it after a good night’s sleep, I’ve come to the conclusion that the way we are playing is the best thing long term for this team. If we keep losing and don’t make the playoffs, then it become obvious (hopefully) that a change in leadership is needed in this organization. If we make the playoffs, then it just breathes more life into the insanity of Woody and BK keeping thier jobs. Some people are cut out to be leaders and motivate their teams to play beyond their potential. I watch closely how the players listen to Woody on timeouts, and they all seem disinterested and don’t really respect him. I beleive we have high character guys, that’s why they don’t lash out at the coach in public, but you can see it on their faces. JJ has especially been worn down over the past few years buy this coach and lack of movement by the GM. When he came here, he carried this team night in and night out. He is still the best player on the team, but you can tell that he has lost hope that they will really do anything special. He’s expected to do so much and gets little help from coaching that could help relieve him of some of the pressure by positioning the team better and managing the team better. How many times do we see isolation with JJ with very few shooters on the floor to kick it out to. He makes some unbelievable passes (like the on to Chills on the baseline last night), but it is impossible for him to be successful when every team in the league knows what plays they are going to run and load their best defenders on him with douoble and triple teams all night. So, here’s hoping they lose a lot more games this year and then get someone in here who will know how to use what talent we do have.

By kshizzle

February 26, 2008 10:06 AM | Link to this

I have tried to watch the Hawks this year, but it usually gets pittiful and I must turn it off. I missed the first half last night, wow up by 7 at the half in San Antonio. First thought was maybe Tony Parker wasn’t playing. It turns out he just didn’t really start playing until the 3rd quarter. It pains me again and again to think we could have had this guy, but we had to trade it along with the #3 pick that year just to get Shareef. He’s washed up by now and hasn’t been on the team in awhile and Tony Parker is a top 5 pg in the NBA and keeps winning championships. Then Marvin Williams, who when left open for the first half of the year scored points, isn’t even coming close now because people are making him put the ball on the floor. This was an easy adjustment for the rest of the NBA to make because he can’t create his own shot and he must have Kevin Willis sized hands because he can’t catch a pass that’s at shoulder height while he’s standing flat footed wide open under the basket (happened last night). Why are talent evaluators at this level for the Hawks this terrible? I could do a better job. When you have a policy to draft the best available, what the hell sence does it make if you are always wrong about the talent you are saying is the best. Marvin Williams is the best available because of his unknown upside????? Pathetic. Chris Paul was great already and with that speed and scoring ability his upside was potentially the best point guard in the league. It is not surprising that he is where he is now. With Marvin did anybody actually think he could be the best Power Forward in the league, when his whole game is shooting jumpers and he’s not even a Power Forward size guy??? Pathetic. Then we get rid of our 5 pick in Shelden from that year. What a waste. If we didn’t need him why did we draft him. Shelden was the best avaialable at that time???? Josh Childress at #10 (Best Available)???? Nobody with that kind of form will ever be great. Josh is the best garbage rebounder of all time I must say however, what an honor that is. It’s like the owner’s/Billy Night/Woodson are paid to keep the team a joke. It is terible. Why can’t anybody just say our talent evaluation and the moves we have made have been bad the last 8 years. We are sorry. We need help.

By Volman

February 26, 2008 10:08 AM | Link to this

Ray, I hope you know I was NOT saying anything to you in my February 25, 2008 6:36 PM post. I was calling out the others.

Can anyone give me a summary of what went down? I was out at the time of the game and did not get a chance to see what actually went wrong in this game.

It looks like this team couldn’t score the basketball…at all.

thanks

Go Hawks!

By I.MUS WRITE

February 26, 2008 10:13 AM | Link to this

Davenpoop- Im hear you dude,everytime I call a player out for not performing they go out and play well…. IE.Acie, ZAZA was up to his usual tricks early in the game but im glad he turned things around…… Solid game for ZAZA- Wonder how many more times I will say that this season?

Josh Smith is becoming a good passer,but he needs to get the ball in Bibby’s hands on the break-the guy makes me nervous as hell, -when he gets his handles together… look out!
Marvin….. Come on guy-just follow Josh’s lead,if your shot is off or ur having a bad game fill the stat sheet,make it happen for your team in different ways. I just dont see any sign of life form this guy- Iz it me or does marvin rarely score in the 2nd half of games…..Wasted pick IMO.. I would trade him this summer for a big or some picks because he will never become what Billy thought.

Horford was a yung beast again last night,but I think he met his match on the blocks …. -Kurt Thomas - Grown man in the post,I wish he was playing here.

By preston

February 26, 2008 10:20 AM | Link to this

Yessir- you are half right about the turnovers. It is the players responsibity to protect the ball, but it is the coaches responsibity to dictate to his team who should have the ball in certain situations. How many times have you seen JSmoove and Marvin dribbling the ball up court minus a fast break, with our guards right beside them. Those guys have no business dribbling the ball up court b/c it is a turnover waiting to happen. And regarding the game last night, San Antonio practically wanted to give the Hawks the game, but again, I saw a coach who would not know how to adjust the glasses on his face. When your team is struggling shooting the ball as the hawks were last night, why would you not utilize other guys that may spark your team. Why do we love to see Mario West come in games? Is he the best or most gifted athlete on the team? Hell no, but the guy provides energy and a spark that the team seems to feed of off. Could we not have used a spark from our bench against a team that basically sleptwalk thru the game when our starters were struggling? Woodson post-game comment was about milking the clock b/c we can’t shoot? What sort of sense does that make…….milk the clock, and then what? if we are not hitting our shots what the hell will milking the clock do? Yes, players have as much responsibity as the coach to execute in games, but it is solely a coaches responsibilty to adjust his strategy and utilize and maximize the most out of what he has, and not to keep your fingers cross and pray for something good to happen.

By richbrave

February 26, 2008 10:49 AM | Link to this

ray:

I don’t know much about this, BUT aren’t coaches supposed to game plan 1)based upon your players strengths-weakness then 2)consider the other teams strengths - weaknesses then 3) develop a game plan from film of both and the current relative condition of the two, probing the strengths and trying to minimize the weaknesses? How can Woodson have a set plan from game to game which he doesn’t deviate from. Has he done his homework? I would say this is not good.

By terrell barron

February 26, 2008 10:49 AM | Link to this

I dont know if Goofy has small hands or not, but I do know that his feet are WAY TOO FREAKIN BIG!

By I.MUS WRITE

February 26, 2008 10:55 AM | Link to this

AHHH YES, Jo Bling… where are you my man, Would love to hear you defend Marvin right now.

Richbrave- I dont think we would do ZAZA for Pechrov, that would be a loss for us as strange as that sounds. However -What about Marvin for Deshaun Stevenson……. I would pull the trigger on that one in a minute,who knows what the summer will bring.

I really wanted to pick Stevenson or Jarvis Hayes last summer, I saw the need for another scorer and I was’nt sure Marvin was ready……. Im sumthing like a prophet i guess, He still isnt ready………. Upside Upside Upside if I hear that word again Im gonna scream. Upside must mean you can light it up in summer league and the first third of the season and promptly disappear.

By STRETCH

February 26, 2008 10:56 AM | Link to this

This team should be at or over 500 ball! These guys should have been up atleast 15-20 points in the first qtr.

1. And KEVIN, i like that idea…they need to sign Barry and Jamal Magloire now! There is a need for veteran presence.

2. 20 turnovers in the last 5 games?!! Are you serious? WoW!!!

3. Get rid of Zaza and Marvin…i specifically watched those two fumble away loose balls, failing to get down and grab it. Zaza is way to slow and clumsy! Marvin is lazy and always looking for a bail out shot which is 30% efficient.

Things America can see but Coach Woodpecker cant:

1. JJ - when its not all going…he’s NOT going. NO HEART!

2. JS - IS NOT A POINT GUARD! So tell him to pass the ball!

3. SALIM CAN & JEREMY RICHARDSON CAN PLAY!

4. There are NO offensive plays drawn up whatsoever! Standing in the lane cluttering everything up and waiting for jump shots is NOT getting it done!

Last night was the second full game of the season ive watched and clearly the talent is there. These guys looked good in the first half, but melted down later on. They need a better coach…simple! If WOODSON is still in Atlanta after this season well…i dont know what i will do! Maybe check myself in to a mental ward.

By The King, baby, THE KING!

February 26, 2008 11:08 AM | Link to this

How DARE any of you (airheads) criticize BK Deluxe!

I mean, didn’t he just STEAL future first-ballot Hall of Famer Mike Bibby from the Kings?

I thought that was supposed to make up for all of the bone-headed moves that BK Deluxe has made over the years.

Isn’t that what most of you self-proclaimed geniuses were crowing about when Bibby floated into “da ATL” to save the day?

P.S. From this point on, the Hawks have a VERY favorable schedule. In fact, they could easily win 16 or 18 of their final 28 games, thus giving them the “honor” of getting swept by the Celts or the Pistons.

If this happens - and THE KING says it will - how many of you will be talking about how the Hawks have FINALLY tuned the corner?

Suckers.

By terrell barron

February 26, 2008 11:20 AM | Link to this

Ken, you know good and darn well, that Woody does’nt have the brains to put a lineup like that in the game. First of all, He’s in love with Goofy, He loves to see Smoove jack up 3’s, He hates Solo, He hates Salim, and He honestly beleives that Joe is Kobe Dean Bryant. So were in a lot of trouble, from the get go. I truly beleive that he’s an alien, sent down from space, to ruin my season. He just cant be human. Nobody on God’s green Earth, can be that STUPID!

By jerrywest

February 26, 2008 11:21 AM | Link to this

Smoove, Marvin and Horford do not know what to do when certain type of players are guarding them.

Marvin didn’t demand the ball when Damon was guarding him, doesn’t back down smaller men. Smoove shoots jumpers when 38 year old Horry guarding him.
Horf tries to back down tanks like Thomas instead of trying to dribble by them. The team keep going to players who are getting guarded by the best defenders. Rarely they exploit any matchups.

The opposing coach dictates the entire game.

By terrell barron

February 26, 2008 11:52 AM | Link to this

Chauncey Billups was a top 3 pick, and did’nt come around until his 6th or 7th yr. I’m trying to be patient with Marvin, but I just dont see much improvement and we dont have 5, 6, or 7 yrs for him to develop. I’m ready to win NOW. He should have stayed his a* in college. Look what it did for Horford. I actually cringe, when I see him coming in the game. That’s pretty bad. We find ourselves wanting to play a D-Leaguer before Marvin. Woodrow is either blind, deaf, or just plain dumb, if he cant see that Goofy is hurting this team. FIRE WOODY! TRADE MARVIN!

By Dap

February 26, 2008 11:56 AM | Link to this

The Hawks are the worst coached team in any sport.

Woodson has the most blank look of any coach in any sport.

Our offense is as staggnant as any in any sport.

By Chris

February 26, 2008 12:15 PM | Link to this

Two hundred fifty-third!

By DarkRyder

February 26, 2008 12:32 PM | Link to this

Um, “”King”“, I don’t think anyone is going to consider Mike Bibby a first-ballot Hall of Famer unless he leads the Hawks into the playoffs.

Despite the ugliness of last night’s game, the Hawks are in position to still make the playoffs. At worst they will be 2.5 games out of 8th by the time they face Sacramento. The schedule has not been kind to them and they need to face a mediocre opponent (say the Knicks on Friday) to get back into a groove.

Forget about Barry signing here. Unless Boston makes a knockout offer he’ll just bide his time until the Spurs come a-callin’. Magloire is an interesting proposition, but I don’t think Atlanta has any money to sign him thanks to the Bibby trade.

This roster will continue to have to play small ball and hope Al stays healthy the remainder of the way.

Woodson is already leaning more on Bibby to lead the offense since he really doesn’t have a choice, and as a result JJ will feel more rested down the stretch.

I still say the lineup will be better served by having Marvin come off the bench as he did back at UNC. By having Al and Zaza in the lineup Atlanta will be able to play more inside the paint. They can work more of an inside-outside system and start off playing a half court offense. Al will get more shots and can get the other bigs in foul trouble early, thus setting up JS to go to the basket.

Therefore Atlanta could emphasize small ball with Marvin, Childress, Richardson and Acie/Salim. Solomon Jones can come in to offset Zaza or Horford in short spurts.

By A Thinking Fan

February 26, 2008 12:49 PM | Link to this

the broken spirit! must be removed from the ATL landscape… Bad Karma!

By Serge45

February 26, 2008 1:12 PM | Link to this

How about one mega-press conference with whatever owners of Atlanta Spirt are still around. We’ll schedule it later this week, it’ll be at Philips, and tickets will be sold for a good price. At the press conference, they’ll clean house and announce the firings of Billy Knight, Mike Woodson, and Don Waddell? Who’s with me?

By Sir Stealth

February 26, 2008 1:14 PM | Link to this

It is time for the Atlanta Spirit to host the most memorable mega-press conference of all time. This press conference will be held to simultaneously announce the firing of Billy Knight, Mike Woodson, Don Waddell, the guy who does all the fan interviews/contests in the stands at Thrashers games, SkyHawk, and the entire SkyHawk dunking team. There is no reason to draw this out when we can kill a whole flock of dying birds with one huge, historic stone. Lift this giant cloud off of the City of Atlanta - make it happen Spirit!

By terrell barron

February 26, 2008 1:43 PM | Link to this

Sorry Rockets fans, Ming is out for the season. And I was rooting for Houston this year, in the West that is.

By randy

February 26, 2008 1:51 PM | Link to this

It is pathetic watching the Hawks blow yet another first half lead. What is it now? 8 losses in the last 9 games? BK and Woody need fired. Bibby looks aweful, Joe looks aweful, and Marvin looks aweful. I am sure Woody isn’t helping matters with his aweful play-calling or lack thereof. This team is a trainwreck, NO PLAYOFFS FOR 10 YEARS!! Rise up Atlanta! haha.

By randy

February 26, 2008 1:59 PM | Link to this

Is it just me, or do you miss Anthony Johnson already? Atleast now instead of Joe constantly bricking shots, I can watch Bibby brick them. Face it this franchise is cursed. Even supposedly good trades turn bad in BK’s and Woody’s hands.

By randy

February 26, 2008 2:08 PM | Link to this

Marvin Williams looks really smart right now. Going out after his freshman year where he rarely played any except as a backup was a little risky. But he ended up being the second pick in the draft, whereas if he had stayed in college, he would be lucky to get drafted in the second round.

You would think BK would have noticed things other scouts picked up on like Marvin’s lack of athleticism and his questioned passion in the game. All that “potential” turned out to be a pipe dream. By the way, how is Paul, Deron and Roy doing?

By doc

February 26, 2008 2:34 PM | Link to this

well, i called it, that i would be the first to say that and someone soon would say marvin would be lucky to be a second rounder. who comes along but smart guy randy and makes me the prophet of the day. it is going to be a theme as he is falling on his duckbutt derriere. yep he is the poster child for the AAU high school basketball program.

By chenzhen

February 26, 2008 3:02 PM | Link to this

woody wont get fired until after we miss the playoffs. If we make the playoffs hawks fans are doomed!! we should have traded marvin for half a ham sandwich. He is so bad. They should at least start chill over marvin.

By Astro Joe

February 26, 2008 3:07 PM | Link to this

Doc, I’m not really trying to defend Marvin, but I do think that he will struggle to adjust to being the 4th and sometimes 5th option on this team. I’m guessing that this is the first time in his basketball life that he is an after thought, now that Bibby is on board. Couple that with Woody’s strange subtitution patterns which have Childress come in midway throught the 1st quarter regardless of how well Marvin is playing and I think he is lost in this team with Bibby added to the mix. I agree, that lately, he is playing like a 2nd round pick. And I most certainly think that he is no where near as good as Danny Granger, the other SF from that draft (who I like a lot). I truly hope that we trade Marvin and keep Chlldress this summer. ot because I don’t like Marvin. But because I don’t think he can be effective off the bench and I definitely don;t think he will grow into a player while being the team’s 4th scoring option.

By doc

February 26, 2008 3:38 PM | Link to this

yeah aj agree to some degree. he was sliding before the trade and hasnt come close to his one night stand in front of the home folk which was over a month ago. it does look like he is the guy left out with the bibby trade becoming the fourth option as a scorer. what that demands is he refine his game to bring something new and needed like defense and rebounding. he also may need to bulk up and learn more baseline play instead of thinking of himself as an outside shooter. always said he has more the body of a power forward instead of a two that some try to say he can occasionally slide to. the fact that he isnt able to put more emotion into it except for mama is a red flag as well.

still not sure what to make of the trade. like bibby but we could have used a shooter that was cheaper and a wide body also maybe cheaper than bibby without affecting team chemistry as much ala spurs and jazz. if he is allowed to fire up the offense and run then he is worth it, if he is told to make sure the time on the clock runs down then it is a waste.

By randy

February 26, 2008 3:52 PM | Link to this

Chenzhen, don’t sell Marvin short. If I had a Pro BBall team, I would trade a whole Ham Sandwich (no pickles though) for Marvin Williams.

By I.MUS WRITE

February 26, 2008 3:57 PM | Link to this

Nice evaluation of Marvin- Astro Joe, Though I really wanted D.Williams from that draft, Granger would be the perfect SF for this team….. No need in dwelling on the past,we have what we have.

I think Marvin will share Sheldons fate someday, involved in a trade shipped out of ATL…. another BK misfire. I would also rather keep Chills around,sad considering Chillz is the ultimate garbage man and Marvin was so highly touted coming out of UNC. It could be worse I guess, we could be talking about Sean May and Morrison…….

By kshizzle

February 26, 2008 3:59 PM | Link to this

I don’t think Marvin is a small forward, too big and too slow. I don’t think Marvin is a big forward either too small and not strong enough. He’s a tweener a position that has to deal with actual SF’s and actual PF’s in the NBA, which are losing props on both sides. What a waste. The only knock on Chris Paul was his height. What kind of a knock was that? Now I hear that Marvin had the knocks that he isn’t a hard worker, not experienced etcc….That means we pass on a great player already in Paul at #2 (a position we need) and draft Marvin Williams who we are hoping will be a great player???? This is not logical. Billy Knight should be fired on this decision alone. End of story. That was 3 years ago. It didn’t take New Orleans 8 years to build their team from scratch and be the best in the West. Knight is maddeningly terrible and I just can’t continue to take it. Is there any Hawks Fan that wants to keep Billy Knight????? It doesn’t matter if we aren’t in the business. If 100% of the people responsible for your revenue want the guy gone, he should be gone, period, end of story.

By randy

February 26, 2008 4:03 PM | Link to this

Will the Spirit keep Woody around if they make it into the playoffs as an 8th seed with a 34-48 record and get swept by Boston in the 1st Round? What say Ye?

By jerrywest

February 26, 2008 4:04 PM | Link to this

I think Marvin should come off the bench. Bibby/Chillz and Marv/Law are much better combos than the other way around. We are wasting Marv as a 4th scorer. Needs more attention in the offense. He needs to learn how to demand it. Moving to the bench would help him learn to demand. Playing good defense though.

By jerrywest

February 26, 2008 4:12 PM | Link to this

More than 90%(now), 154 out of 171 fans think coach is the weakest link.

Vote now: http://www.ajc.com/hawks/content/sports/hawks/index.html

By Astro Joe

February 26, 2008 4:33 PM | Link to this

Doc, Marvin had his “dream game” in Seattle and I wasn’t thinking we would much of that kind of game again. I was personally satisfied with the consistent 15-20 points, which we’re not getting now. I don’t think Marvin can re-make himself into a tweener ala Jamison or Harrington. He lacks Jamison’s quickness and Harrington’s bulk. I think his valuein this league is what he was doing earlier this season. And with Bibby on board, he will likely need to do that for another team. In the summer, trade Marvin & Zaza to Seattle for Petro, Damien Wilkins & Phoenix’s 1st round pick (that Seattle acquired in Kurt Thomas trade at beginning of the season).

A little off topic, last I checked, Hawks are something like 1-6 in games when Smith scores more than 25 points.

By smartguy

February 26, 2008 4:41 PM | Link to this

randy, that scares the crap out of me.

By Lil E

February 26, 2008 5:05 PM | Link to this

Marvin needs to hit the weight room. He might also need to run the treadmill, too.

By cp

February 26, 2008 5:07 PM | Link to this

Seeing that BK’s brother is a scout for us then no wonder we took Duck second. I really want to see what the hell he was doing in that workout because I just don’t see how he could have done anything that day to warrant the second overall pick.

By jhan

February 26, 2008 5:09 PM | Link to this

Preston, while I don’t agree with your opinion of Salim, I can’t agree with you more on Woody.

Has to be the worst NBA coach around. It truly is amazing this guy still has a job.

By Kenny

February 26, 2008 5:16 PM | Link to this

I was reading one of Ken Strickland’s blog postings today (he seems to make excellent, salient points in all his posts…and I’m not just saying that because we share a first name) and he made some good points about the fact that Josh Smith is not a true small forward: the underlying point being that he should play power forward. There’s only one problem with that: we have Al Horford and I think most people would agree that he is not a true center…but would be a perfect power forward (provided of course, that we can find a true center at some point). So, I guess my question is what should we do with Josh Smith? It’s going to cost A LOT of money to re-sign him (I believe he’s worth the paycheck by the way) but, with Horford, we already have an excellent power forward. Basically, signing Josh long-term would be ignoring the small forward position for the foreseeable future. I personally don’t have a problem with this idea (a lot of teams win with guys that don’t fit traditional position roles) but I was just wondering what everyone else thought.

Also, what about signing Childress? I love what he brings to the table but, you have to admit, he basically brings the same things to the table (at least offensively) that Josh Smith does: hustles, rebounds well, doesn’t hit jumpers, gets points mostly off layups and dunks, etc. Is it worth signing them both?

By preston

February 26, 2008 5:16 PM | Link to this

Would any one agree at this point that Marvin is exactly what we see….. a guy that can only give you a mid range jumper…most of the time. I think that it fair to say, and that it is painfully obvious that Marvin is not a very good ball handler, and he is not good dribbling the ball one on one. Considering how Chris Paul is playing coupled with the fact that Marvin was picked ahead of him, has put Marvin under the microscope, especially here in Atlanta, and he is pressing and trying to show a little more than what he is capable of doing at this time. Yes, Marvin is young, but his time is running out b/c he really hasn’t improve much at all from his 2 previous yrs in the league……he is the same player that he was 2 yrs ago. As frustrating as JSmoove can be at times, at least we can all say that he has gotten better each of his 3 yrs in the league, and we do see some improvements. Even when Marvin was scoring better and hitting his jumper more earlier in the yr, he still had only had one game where his play actually stood out. Maybe the Hawks have put too much pressure on Williams, b/c the expectations were set high, and everyone has been waiting for him “break out”……we all heard at the beginning of the season that this was to be Marvin’s “break out” yr, but looks like we will have to wait yet another year. At this point, I do not think that he should be starting, put him back on the bench like he was in college, and let him work on his game, and maybe he will blossum into the guy that everyone wants him to be. p.s. Where is the great Jo Bling? I remember reading about him talk about his 23 yrs of playing and coaching the game, and his assertion of knowing what he was talking about concerning Marvin’s sound basketball skills…..the funny thing now is not that he made Marvin out to be better than what he is, but that he has dissappeared from these blogs quicker than Marvin’s game……and that is what discredits him the most….if you were off…admit it….but don’t think that we have forgot it just b/c you are not here.

By Kenny

February 26, 2008 5:17 PM | Link to this

And before anyone jumps on me: I’m not saying Childress is the exact same thing as Josh Smith, just similar in a lot of areas.

By preston

February 26, 2008 5:22 PM | Link to this

lol- jhan……forget about Salim for now……if we are united in our disdain for Woodson, then we might just become best friends. Infact, I think that a lot conflicting views about the Hawks among the bloggers, can be set aside, and we should all unite and just fill the blogs with a “Fire Woody” campaign.

By chenzhen

February 26, 2008 5:43 PM | Link to this

I’t would be nice to see some emotion out of joe. He is the team leader or was I should say was. we have bibby now and he’s not a mute. Joe air balled 3 game winners in the last 12 games, after each one he didn’t even look mad. He looked like he just woke up from a little nap.

By hawksfanfordawin

February 26, 2008 6:02 PM | Link to this

Suns get the #1 pick in lottery. Smith and Chillz leave as free agent. JJ retires from exhaustion. Woody and BK sign contract extension. Then happily announce their marriage Hawks move to St.Louis….

By MannyT

February 26, 2008 7:00 PM | Link to this

While it may not make sense to keep Josh, Josh & Marvin, the easiest way out on one of the Joshes is this summer.

I expect BK (or whoever is GM) to put basic offers out to both and wait…(spell Andersen Varejao w/o using this post)

…When someone makes an offer, sign and trade is in the house for players we can use, or we match and loop back to Varejao strategy on the other Josh.

Either way, one probably stays and one is the source of new talent given that free agents don’t sign up to come here and there are no draft picks.

…so Marvin is probably here next year unless there is a draft day deal to get back in the mix for a legit laned clogging center.

By Ken Strickland

February 26, 2008 7:07 PM | Link to this

Before getting traded to the Pistons from the Wizzards, RHamilton was in a simular situation as Marvin. He had problems there because he wasn’t a good ball handler, had limited shooting range and he was a tweener, size and height wise. Rather than focus on his weaknesses, like they did in Washington, LBrown designed an OFF that took advantage of his strengths. The perceptions of RHamilton by Washingtons HC made him expendable, while the adjustments made by LBrown made him an Allstar and NBA champion.

In fact, you can say the same for CBillups and RWallace. If you put Marvin in an OFF set like LBrown did with Hamilton, both Marvin and our halfcourt OFF will become much better. Marvin, like Hamilton, are better suited for more structured OFF sets. Marvin hasn’t duplicated his Seattle performance because he hasn’t been told or encouraged to do so by his teammates and/or HC. Against Seattle, Woodson and his teammates encouraged and expected him to take charge and deferred to him. Does anyone think that’s happened since that gm?

With Bibby on board, we have another strong personality and talent on board. Marvin is now the teams 4th option. Both Marvin and the Hawks need halfcourt OFF sets designed to get players open shots rather than open passes.

By SalimFan

February 26, 2008 7:59 PM | Link to this

Josh Smith is just as big as amare and most premier power forwrds score BIG. Horfod does not have the offensive game for that yet.Also Horford if you ask me is a center. He just got in the leauge yesterday and he’s alreadt bangin and rebounding down low with tha big boys. Give him a season to get bigger and you’ll see another Alanzo Mourning with better offensive capabilities (which horford already poesses of course).

I Agree with ken that woodsen nor anyone else on his staff knows how to tailor the plays to a particular players strength.

Hawksfordawin-Thats just wrong…….

By preston

February 26, 2008 8:04 PM | Link to this

Ken Strickland- interesting take on M.wiiliams, but I think that what has set Marvin apart from Hamilton and Billups is that Marvin seems to be a little one dimensional….I haven’t seen him give much more to his game but a consistant mid range jump shot…..the further it seems that he gets to the 3-point area…the more out of his range he gets. Another thing is Marvin’s coordination….I don’t remember those guys being so consistantly out of control and wild with their play. I do agree about certain players flourishing in certain systems….we have already seen that here with Boris Diaw, and to a lesser extent Royel Ivey, so that is something to ponder. But I have to dissagree about Marvin not being told or encourage to do more in games, infact I see the opposite…..Marvin is trying…he is just not executing, and that is the most troubling aspect of what I see…..Marvin tries to go to the hole..his teammates are getting the ball to him…..but he constantly looses the ball or ends up tripping over his own feet…. and I do recall how everyone on the team including the coach remarked that it was time for Marvin to take over and play as well as he did in seattle on a consistant basis. It’s just not happening now for him, but who knows maybe it will, or he may just be another player that would flourish elsewhere.

By Najeh Davenpoop

February 26, 2008 8:21 PM | Link to this

Josh Smith is somewhere between a SF and a PF, and Al Horford is more a PF than a C. But the thing is, this is the Eastern Conference. Other than Dwight Howard there’s very little quality center play anywhere in this conference. The Suns were pretty successful starting Marion and Amare at the 4 and 5. I’m not saying J-Smoove and Horford are the same as them, but they are close enough to where starting them at the 4 and 5 shouldn’t be a liability.

The real liability, once again, is that the coach refuses to let the team run. On a running team, a frontcourt of Josh Smith and Al Horford would be just fine. You would ideally need a true bruising 7 footer (or close to it) off the bench who can come in and guard the Tim Duncans of the world when it’s necessary, but for the most part in today’s NBA a team can succeed with the personnel the Hawks currently have.

By LAJ

February 26, 2008 9:08 PM | Link to this

any word on Acie Law?

By Ken Strickland

February 26, 2008 9:28 PM | Link to this

PRESTON-what do you think the knock on Billups and Hamilton was before coming to Detroit? They were on someone’s bench instead of an Allstar ballot. They were considered one dimensional or at least limited. Most of you can’t seem to remember what they were like as players before coming to Detroit. That’s because they hadn’t done anything worth remembering. Who really remembers guys on the other teams bench if they aren’t playing or doing much when they play.

What we are seeing now is the finished product excelling on a team that designed a system around their individual strengths and talents. The Pistons didn’t sit them on the bench, like their former employers and fans, and criticize them for their limitations. They didn’t ask Hamilton to become a better ballhandler or extend his shooting range. Their system takes advantage of his tireless energy, his accuracy and determination, which are his strengths. The didn’t ask Billups to run an uptempo OFF and/or break down DEF’s by being a penetrator like TParker.

Woodson’s OFF forces Marvin to create his own shot which isn’t his strength. Chills suffers from this same type of OFF. Fortunately he’s outstanding at playing the baseline and playing without the ball. All of you seem to overlook one fact. After Marvin had that run where he was consistently putting up about 17PPG, teams started paying more attention to him and playing him closer. How in the hell can any player be successful if he’s constantly forced to play to his weaknesses instead of his strengths.

By doc

February 26, 2008 9:38 PM | Link to this

you know it is frightening that woody, knight and drew all came form the same mother, kc kings. way too much inbreeding in this organization.

By Kenny

February 26, 2008 9:57 PM | Link to this

Najeh, good point on the Suns thing. I absolutely think that Josh Smith/Horford resemble Shawn Marion/Amare Stoudemire (though I’m not sure that Horford will ever be the scorer Stoudemire is). As you said, the only problem is that the Hawks would have to run to be effective with an undersized frontline. With this coach, that’s probably not going to happen, but this blog has been over that subject ad nauseum. What do you think about Childress? Is he worth re-signing or do you think we should let him walk?

By Clyde

February 26, 2008 10:05 PM | Link to this

FIRE BILLY AND WOODY t-shirts will be in full effect on Friday. Holla at me if you want one.

FIRE BILLY AND WOODY

By roan st

February 26, 2008 10:22 PM | Link to this

Ken, what in the heck are you talking about? Hamilton averaged 20 points per game his last season in washington which was his second best year ever scoring wise. Yet you try to portray Hamilton as some kind of bench warmer before he landed in detroit. I suppose to try and build some kind of defense for marvin williams. Marvin is not a very fluid athlete, plain and simple. Take the blinders off man and realize that marvin was a big mistake considering the two fantastic point guards billy passed up. Duck is clumsy, slow, indifferent, etc. Time for everyone to get out of denial and face the music on marvin’s limitations as a player.

By hawksfanfordawin

February 26, 2008 10:25 PM | Link to this

Can you believe it!!! The wolves actually beaththe jazz. Hawks are a disgrace…

By preston

February 26, 2008 10:39 PM | Link to this

Ken S.- You are 100% correct with what you say about Hamilton and Billups…it did take them a while to get their careers on track, but who’s bench is Marvin buried on? Unlike Hamilton abd Billups, Marvin is being given every opportunity to show case his talent now….granted he does not have the same system as those guys had, but Marvin is on the floor every night, and you can’t tell me that he has not had opportunities to make plays, and you can’t tell me that the only reason that Billups and Hamilton are soo good because of these perfect offensive sets that are run for them. Billups is not called “Mr. Big Shot” for nothing, and Hamilton doesn’t lead his team in scoring for nothing. Marvin also was drafted higher than both of those guys and the level of expectation has always been a little higher for him anyway. I know that if we had a better coach, we would see a team with much better execution, but unfortunately we don’t, and it is up to the guys that start to show that they belong on the court…..and at this point Marvin is just not looking like he belongs on the floor right now. Maybe he needs to go back to the bench like those guys were, play his way back into the starting rotation……Sorry dude, I just dissagree with you this one.

By Ken Strickland

February 26, 2008 10:48 PM | Link to this

JSmith is becoming a very accomplished inside scorer, but he’s limited as an outside scorer. Horford, on the other hand, is a very good midrange shooter, but his inside gm is limited. Horford should be used more as a highpost C instead of being posted on the block so much. He’s accurate enough to consistently pull his man out of the lane. That would make it harder to double JSmith, which would make him more effective inside. It would also lessen some of the banging Horford would have to endure.

Unless Woodson installs an OFF using a series of picks to free Marvin for open shots, he should be replaced by Richardson. He seems to be as accurate as Marvin and he has more range. With Horford shooting from the key, Richardson shooting from the wing, JJ and Bibby covering the outside, we can spread the DEF and stop all of this ball stripping. That would also reduce turnovers and make it easier for our guards to penetrate and dish. Almost anything is better than what we’re doing.

By preston

February 26, 2008 11:07 PM | Link to this

And ken S., I do agree with you about certain players flourishing in certain systems, but concerning the two guys that you mentioned, Hamilton and Billups, don’t you think that those two have established themselves as elite players at this stage of their careers? Do you not think that those guys would produce on other teams? Good players will produce inspite of the system……Kobe Bryant will be Kobe bryant wherever he plays….the same goes for Lebron. KG, Allen Iverson, Ray allen, Tracy Mcgrady, and a host of others. Players like Boris Diaw are the ones that are truely a product of their environment. The thing with Marvin is that the hawks did not draft him to benefit in a perfect offensive system, they drated him to be diffence maker, they drafted him because he was supposed to take over games regardless of whether comming off of a perfect screen or not to hit a wide open jumper…..they drafted him to basically do all of the things,(that you envision him doing in a perfect sysytem), in their flawed system.

By SalimFan

February 26, 2008 11:09 PM | Link to this

You call him clumbsy. I’ll give you that but him rushing to the basket with a head of steam has its benefits. He gets fouled A LOT probably the most out of all the starters (not in crunch time). He is very efficent at the FT line. So if he can get work on getting to the line twelve times a night you gan gaurentee marvin will have between 19-24 points every night. You gotta work with what you got.

ALSO GREG ANTHONY AND TIM LEGLER SAID WERE GONNA MAKE THE PLAYOFFS SO IM GONNA STOP STRESSIN AND TAKE THEIR WORD FOR IT.

Also is their an updat on acie’s timeline?

By terrell barron

February 26, 2008 11:10 PM | Link to this

He might as well bring Marvin’s a* off the bench, because he puts in Chills as soon as Goofy runs up and down the court a couple of times.

By new jersey faithful

February 26, 2008 11:12 PM | Link to this

It seems to me that the Hawks are DAMNED if they do and DAMNED if they dont. If they try and run, they throw the ball away or just cant convert on the fastbreak. If they slow it down and (try to)run an offense, well we all know what happens, usually not much. It all comes down to execution, and whether they run or try to slow it down in the half court, they just dont execute on a consistant basis. Until they start to execute, they are DAMNED no matter what they do!!

By Najeh Davenpoop

February 26, 2008 11:23 PM | Link to this

What??? Greg Anthony and Tim Legler said the Hawks will make the playoffs? Congratulations Suns on that lottery pick…

By Gypsyjoe

February 26, 2008 11:58 PM | Link to this

forget about Maiglore he just signed with dallas. I thought we where going to bring in a big. but it is tuesday night and nothing while the real playoff teams make moves to get stronger we just sit back and do nothing. Very frusrating.Sorry for whining I just don’t get our managment.we have 12 frigen players with AC hurt only 11. Woody only uses 7-8 guys so what the heck.

By Clyde

February 27, 2008 12:05 AM | Link to this

FIRE BILLY AND WOODY

By Clyde

February 27, 2008 12:09 AM | Link to this

No Playoffs No Draft Picks No Contract Extensions No Free Agents No Hope

FIRE BILLY AND WOODY

By cp

February 27, 2008 12:12 AM | Link to this

Ken you know you are good with me and you are always on point with ya post but i will disagree with you about Hamilton and Marvin. As roan pointed out, Hamilton did score 20 a night one season in Washington. He improved every year he was there. I cant say the same for Marvin. The only reason Hamilton is in Detroit because Michael Jordan a gm who might even be worse than BK traded him to Detroit for Stackhouse. MJ for some reason thought Stack could be the main guy on a team but he quickly found out that he wasn’t. Stack was putting up crazy numbers in Detroit but he really wasn’t a good number one option. Marvin has the tools to be a better player but the light bulb has not gone off. I don’t know if he will ever get it all together and become that player he was enviosned to be. It is just frustrating to see other guys who came in the draft the same year he did progress at a much higher rate. Or to see guys from the draft the year after Marvin already put up better numbers than. I know Marvin is still young but some of the guys who are outperforming him are not much older than him themselves. It is time to stop giving this guy a pass and call it like it is.

By Ken Strickland

February 27, 2008 1:26 AM | Link to this

CP-Michael Jordan has that UNC disease that makes them think all of their players are great. Also, Marvin is still trying to complete his 1st yr as a starter. Did Hamilton average those 20PPG in his 1st yr as a starter? I’ll also bet Hamilton wasn’t the 3rd or 4th option on his team either.

PRESTON=yes, they are now elite players, but they weren’t before becoming Pistons. It took LBrown and JDumars placing them in a system that maximized their talents and allowed them to play to their strengths before they reached elite status. Imagine Marvin instead of Hamilton coming of those picks in Detroit. He’s not as polished or as experienced as Hamilton, but he’s bigger, stronger, more athletic and can be just as accurate. In Woodson’s OFF, Marvin usually has to square up and drive by a stationary defender(definitely not his strong suit). RHamilton is usually coming off screens and his defender is usually chasing him or running at him. Remember, it’s a lot more difficult to drive by a stationary defender than one running at you.

By Charlie W.

February 27, 2008 4:10 AM | Link to this

You might have had your “oomgowaye” had you hung on to Boris Diaw. Instead of calling the Suns’ bluff, the Hawks gave up way more than they had to to get Joe Johnson. A #1 and #2 draft choice with a “take-it-or-leave-it msg” would have been more than enough to seal the deal. And the hits just keep on coming, i.e., next year’s #1. The Hawks dug this hole all by themselves, and the teams in the west are paying the consequences. Thanks for nothing! You’re getting what you deserve.