Hawks

By Zach

February 20, 2009 11:58 PM | Link to this

Sekou,

Whats going on with josh, he’s just not himself. Although he just made a couple of good moves to the bucket….

By Reggie

February 21, 2009 12:03 AM | Link to this

Game Over.

By bigdave

February 21, 2009 12:04 AM | Link to this

guess our bigs are boycotting once again tonight… no way in hell we allow a offensive rebound off a free throw.. no boxing out, lack of focus…

By Sekou K. Smith

February 21, 2009 12:05 AM | Link to this

I don’t know that anything is wrong with Josh. He’s playing much better tonight. At least he took the challenge of trying to guard B. Roy, who is sick with it tonight.

The Blazers are sick. They’re getting ready to run the Hawks out of the building with hustle and superior shot making. Roy is such a good face up player and he drives just as well and isn’t afraid to go at the defense. And he’ll defer when he needs to.

Not picking him in the draft three years ago is just as bad as not taking Paul or Deron Williams in hindsight.

By ray

February 21, 2009 12:07 AM | Link to this

Deja Vu. Brandon Roy leads his team to victory, excelling in the 4th quarter. He knows when to shoot the 3 (when open), knows to drive the basketball instead of going for hotly contested jumpers, and trusts his teammates. And now he’s taking over the game. Wow.

Roy to Blake…wow. So much better than dribbling into trouble along the sideline…

By Ariose

February 21, 2009 12:08 AM | Link to this

Our offense is too slow…..Randol should have ben used, he’s the longest guy on the roster.

By Sekou K. Smith

February 21, 2009 12:10 AM | Link to this

Agreed bigdave, the Hawks are routinely getting pounded on the boards. And that’s an effort thing. The bigs have to fight on the glass or they have no chance to win against quality teams like the Lakers and Blazers.

By bigdave

February 21, 2009 12:12 AM | Link to this

for coach to want us to be a jump shooting happy team, he sure does do a horrible job of keeping there legs fresh…

he doesn’t believe in depth what so ever… he plays one other true guard off the bench…

By niremetal

February 21, 2009 12:12 AM | Link to this

Sekou,

For the first time since I’ve known you, I’m frankly disappointed by your post. I had this game scripted before I even saw it, and I’m surprised you didn’t. The Hawks were likely to hang tough in the first half, and maybe even a little into the second half, but eventually Woodson’s use of an 8-man rotation would come back to kill us in the face of a team that goes 9 or 10 deep.

As soon as Portland hit us in the third, we started fading. When they hit us again in the fourth, we collapsed. And you make a post saying they’ve been “relentless” before that collapse that I can’t believe you didn’t see coming from 20 miles away?

You didn’t realize that as soon as the Hawks got tired, they’d fall back into being a jump shooting team, maybe with Joe dribbling around a bit and making the occasional half-hearted drive to the basket - just like they always do? You KNEW that was coming. You had to. Seriously.

Anyway, now I gotta listen to my Blazer-loving better half gloat for at least the next month. Hmph.

By Najeh Davenpoop

February 21, 2009 12:13 AM | Link to this

Why, why, why did the Hawks stop posting up Josh Smith?

This is the second time in three games that posting him up worked very well early, but for some reason the Hawks did not continue to go to him in the post.

It is very frustrating to see a team intentionally avoid doing things that help them win.

Oh yeah, Brandon Roy is a better player than Joe Johnson. In every way, shape and form.

By Harry Hawk

February 21, 2009 12:13 AM | Link to this

I kinda see it this way:

Not drafting Paul/Williams and not drafting Brandon Roy is probably the difference between the Hawks becoming an elite contender and just being a regular playoff team. It’s up to Rick Sund to find a way to correct that.

By ray

February 21, 2009 12:14 AM | Link to this

Well that about seals it. A less than thrilling effort from our frontcourt in a game where they had a size disadvantage (I feel that they could’ve fought just a bit harder though, but I’m demanding). And of course, our backcourt takes over completely.

So, this opens things up for two classic lines by the usual suspects.

“See, I told you we need a center. Horford sucks.”

AND

“The Hawks got beat on the road by a good team. They’re still 9 games over .500!”

Three guesses who will say it….

By Dan

February 21, 2009 12:14 AM | Link to this

Poor defense second, third and now fourth!!!! That says it all. And Josh Smith grow up!!!!

By Najeh Davenpoop

February 21, 2009 12:14 AM | Link to this

At least Marvin is a skilled player who will likely be in the league for a long time, even if he’s nowhere near the player CP3 is. If anything passing on Roy for Shelden Williams is worse, since Shelden will probably be out of the league in a couple of years, while Roy is better than every player on the Hawks’ roster.

By niremetal

February 21, 2009 12:16 AM | Link to this

Sorry to sound crotchety, Sekou. I seriously should just type up a transcript of my conversation with my girlfriend before tonight’s game. You’d think I was Nostradamus, but I honestly think that anyone who follows both of these teams would have scripted that the game would turn out exactly as it did.

By bigdave

February 21, 2009 12:16 AM | Link to this

u know on second thought i think a lot of times our bigs are out of position to rebound on the defensive glass… usually there roaming out on the perimeter helping or switching… yuck..!!

By doc

February 21, 2009 12:16 AM | Link to this

well they arent hanging tough anymore on my tv screen.

someone said earlier this week how could a team survive so well after passing on three (ok i added one in deron) great guards in two drafts. the same thing could be said for the blazers who have survived the loss of the number one draft pick everyone coveted and a palyer on contract for a coll 14 mil of the cap wothout coming close to the luxury tax and maybe one of the thriftiest team aroind monet wise. hmm wonder why, roy only?

maybe a few blazer fans are wondering how durant, aldridge and roy would look playing together. oh my! well they are really playing good ball and NO vets around, just good team play and chemistry. if only the lakers didnt look so formidable i would be wondering if they could go all the way.

By ray

February 21, 2009 12:20 AM | Link to this

Roy is such a good face up player and he drives just as well and isn’t afraid to go at the defense. And he’ll defer when he needs to.

Not picking him in the draft three years ago is just as bad as not taking Paul or Deron Williams in hindsight.

Amen to that. And I don’t care what anybody says about moaning about the past. Imagine this guy in the backcourt with Joe. No, you don’t want to, because that would make backcourts like Devin Harris/Vince Carter shake in their hi-tops.

And I don’t want to hear any BS about it not working with the two of them or Woody gumming up the works. Roy is a star, and stars are stars no matter where they are. Worst case scenario, you’d move Joe to the 3.

Man, let me stop…my blood pressure is rising. I’m out.

By bigdave

February 21, 2009 12:21 AM | Link to this

I guess now Joe is the scapegoat… geesh… every night for most of you..

By Sekou K. Smith

February 21, 2009 12:23 AM | Link to this

niremetal,

I’m disappointed in you for being disappointed in my post that has left us both extremely disappointed. I don’t script ‘em ahead of time. This is the Hawks we’re talking about, the team that was up 17 against these Blazers in Portland last year and lost by a point. Listen, The Blazers are legit bro. No shame in that. The Hawks are not as good. They just aren’t. Any way you slice it, the Blazers are a better team. So let Blazer-loving better half enjoy the spoils of victory.

By Zach

February 21, 2009 12:24 AM | Link to this

Speaking of not picking Paul in the draft,

during the summer before the draft I was playing golf at the Heritage Golf Club in Tucker. Coach Woodson and a friend were in the clubhouse when we came in. I asked him about the draft and what he though about Paul, and he said, “we’re not going to draft him, he’s too small.”

Though it was a pretty interesting statement by coach.

We just gave up in the 4th, of course the blazers were hitting everything. Why did we stop going to the basket when we got in the bonus with 9 minutes left in the game???

By Da Real Real

February 21, 2009 12:25 AM | Link to this

I don’t know anybody that didn’t see this one coming…I was surprised that we were “hanging” in there in the first half. This game is a classic example of what makes Woody a poor coach. (Boy I bet Seattle wished they’d hung on to Nate now huh?). I know we say enough about our offense but when you look at the offense that Portland threw at us…it was screen after screen every time down the court for easy open shots for just about all of their players. Woody needs to take a page out of Nate’s book. Poor defense, poor rebounding effort and just poor coaching. There’s no way I would have let Mo Evans back on the floor after what he did to end the first half…I would have liked to see Solo in there instead. Ah well, not surprised, lets see if we can “hang” in there with Utah….

By bigdave

February 21, 2009 12:27 AM | Link to this

well, we played well in spurts, but overall, yet again, we played losing basketball… the team who should have won got the W…

By Hms

February 21, 2009 12:27 AM | Link to this

“Roy is better than every player on the Hawks roster.”

Yes he is, including Joe Johnson who would rather pound the ball to death from twenty-three feet away and talk down about his teammates in interviews. Drafting Brandon Roy would have given this team a devastating tandem. At the very least, if a trade of Johnson would have allowed the Hawks to get a dynamic low post player, the drafting of Brandon Roy would have made it possible. This much is obvious by watching the tandem of Brandon Roy and LaMarcus Aldridge, who is in fact NOT A CENTER. Therefore, the idea that the dominant post player MUST be a center is altogether foolish. An adequate player is all that is needed if the power forward is the dynamic player. LaMarcus Aldridge will supplant Tim Duncan as the premier power forward in the Western Conference. Not Amare Stoudamire, not Carlos Boozer, not David West, or even Dirk Nowitzki.

By Dan

February 21, 2009 12:27 AM | Link to this

Guys stop it with the previous drafts bullstuff. It’s useless, move on. Nothing can be done about it. Over 25 years ago Portland picked Sam Bowie over Michael Jordan. That was worst. But these things happen all the time. I don’t think its fair to Marvin.

By Sekou K. Smith

February 21, 2009 12:29 AM | Link to this

Hanging tough ended about two minutes into the fourth doc. :)

The Hawks never seem to have the gusto when they need it against good teams. That speaks to the inconsistent use of the bench and the fact that without good rest early, your starters simply won’t be fresh when you need them to be in a tight game like this.

and bigdave is right, when your forwards spent most of their time on the perimeter, there’s little chance to them to make an impact on the glass. That’s a strategic problem that the coaching staff has to address.

By bigdave

February 21, 2009 12:31 AM | Link to this

Roy and the Blazers are well coached…

By darrell starks

February 21, 2009 12:32 AM | Link to this

THE HAWKS WILL LOOSE 5 IN A ROW 1 DOWN 4 TO GO. GO HAWKS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

By 404atlhoops

February 21, 2009 12:35 AM | Link to this

I don’t think passing on Brandon Roy hurt the Hawks as much as drafting Sheldon Williams. If Roy is here, he doesn’t develop into the player he is because of Joe Johnson. Roy dominates the ball like Johnson and has to have the ball to really be effective. Roy would have been a good player but I don’t think he’s the allstar he is now. It’s similar to when McGrady played with Carter up in Toronto. McGrady didn’t become a superstar until he left Toronto because he and Carter had the same game. McGrady would not have developed into a superstar being the number 2 option behind Carter.

By Dan

February 21, 2009 12:36 AM | Link to this

I’ll tell you why Zach, because our go-to-guy wants to drive a try to make every shot, instead of looking for the contact and getting to the free-throw line. I’ve been saying this forever, Joe Johnson is not commited to getting to the foul line 8 to 10 time a night. thats the difference between his lousy 21ppg and the league leaders at close to 30ppg. He’ll never win no scoring titles.

By Reggie

February 21, 2009 12:38 AM | Link to this

Sekou

Josh Smith is too athletic for him to have 3 rebounds against he Blazers & 0 rebounds aginst the Lakers. For us to be successful Josh Smith has to be more consistent.

By Dan

February 21, 2009 12:39 AM | Link to this

Darrell Starks, your in the wrong blog, brother. This one is for Hawks fans, not pretenders.

By Ariose

February 21, 2009 12:40 AM | Link to this

We Need Length Inside……….Randolph is he biggest player on the bench……….We’re not going to get better just playing the guys we have in our normal rotation……we score enough points win games…….why not give the man some burn and see if it effects the outcome of our games?

When we got in the Bonus with Nine left if would’ve been nice to see Acie in there. If anyone can get to the rack and potentially draw fouls, it’s him.

~Sir Links A Lot~

By doc

February 21, 2009 12:41 AM | Link to this

sekou, sorry, just responding to the post that arrived late in the fourth due to “technical probslems”. i got to my tv about the time the blazers were putting their foot down on the our necks. no offense meant but even if we were holding our own it looked like we were gasping to keep t about at 5 down and they were in third gear if you know what i mean. enjoyed watching my girl play a soccer game but it meant i got in late when our boys had no more juice. now why is that?

nique just killed me on his post game remarks about roy. “i thought he was going to be a good player when we thought of drafting roy just not great.” oh my, and he didnt even finish the statement about the travesty of drafting the landlord. where was the next question from the hack next to him, uh nique why exactly did you guys make such a lousy choice of shels and what were you frigging thinking? DA’S, all of them. a group of idiot bloggers could have come up with better choices than them …. oh yeah we did.

By darrell starks

February 21, 2009 12:41 AM | Link to this

ITS not a question of size THAT EVERY NBA TEAM WE PLAY is taller than us, its our COACH not teaching them the FUNDAMENTAL OF BASKETBALL ON how to BOX OUT and makeing shure that EVERY ONE DOES THERE JOB , again NO ACIE LAW what a JOKE. GO HAWKS!!!!!!!!!!!

By bigdave

February 21, 2009 12:41 AM | Link to this

i mean its obvious that Mike Woodson is a poor (head) coach!! how many times do we see Woody make adjustments.. we play the same way every game… every team… we are not that prolific in what we do to impose our will on anyone with this garbage.. on the defensive end even, sure switching everything got us to 6-0 but Woody… they screening that s** now… creating delicious mis matches and eating it up..!!! u are losing effort from your effort players and good talent is looking mediocre…

By bigdave

February 21, 2009 12:43 AM | Link to this

not mad at ya Darrel Starks… pessimistic yet die hard Hawk…

By rms

February 21, 2009 12:44 AM | Link to this

Sekou come on dude aint nobody trying to hear that mess. “Well at least the Hawks hung tough in this one”. They lost the freakin game. Their team is just flat out better than ours. The Blazers rebound the ball and they attack the rim, something our team dont do well at. I dont settle for mediocrity. We need to win, and a convincing win speak louder than just getting by.

By TheHawksFan

February 21, 2009 12:47 AM | Link to this

Heyyyyy the Blazers have a better “Coach” not team!!!!!. I used to hate on Alridge and Roy, but those dudes are just good. I would give up 3 players and more to get either 1 of em. 10 mins to go Blazers in the penalty we drive to the hole 3 times in the next 7 mins??? Thats coaching not better players. Did i miss something?? Acie wasnt even on the bench. Is he ok?? Josh had 3 rebounds???? What the hell is going on?? Thats coaching. Za Za cussing the refs out…for WHAT?? Lenny looked p** as hell. He looked happy when was on the sidelines. My heart goes out to Flip for his loss of his Grand Dad. The Jazz owner passed away today. Think they are going to be inspired to play?? Mannn Hawkks just hold on, and come on Home!! Goooo Hawkks!!!

By doc

February 21, 2009 12:47 AM | Link to this

” Listen, The Blazers are legit bro. No shame in that. The Hawks are not as good. They just aren’t. Any way you slice it, the Blazers are a better team”….. to quote sekou.

say amen to that. burst a little tiny bubble though. maybe we even it up at our place an we can all eat crow. so be it for now their record that is the same as ours looks a while lot better doesnt it?

we grind, they make it look effortless.

By rms

February 21, 2009 12:47 AM | Link to this

I am stealing Aroise line for the rest of the season “Somebody slap Woody. Yeah, I know its getting old, but I like it and it makes the obvious point!!

By cp

February 21, 2009 12:52 AM | Link to this

Well I’m not shocked by the outcome. The Blazers have size and depth. The coach actually plays his young guys. He has found a way to develop talent and at the same time not hurt what they are trying to accomplish. Once again the lack of adjustments and going away from what was working hurt this team again. Its nothing new.

By Reggie

February 21, 2009 12:53 AM | Link to this

Of course the Guy to blame after this game will be Joe. That is stupid. After watching tonight JJ is not the problem at all. He somehow always ends up with the ball with 10 on the clock and is forced to make a tough shot. He doesn’t get enough easy shots. I don’t understand why he can’t get the chance to catch and shoot or catch and drive for a layup. Mike Bibby rarely holds the ball and sets the offense and then looks for open looks after that. Joe is forced to carry the load game in and game out and it is killing his Field goal percentage. I’m not sure if it’s Bibby’s fault that he’s not running anything on the floor or if it’s Woody’s but either way it’s a big problem. Marvin needs to get the ball at the hoop more. He shot 6-9 tonight within the 3 point line and looks good around the basket as of late. Our forwards are just not getting the ball enough. It’s too much sitting around and that does lead to Joe some but sometimes he is holding it because everybody else is sitting around and then once again he has to force something with 5 on the shot clock. Horford needs some work on the O, he is looking pretty sloppy. Also tonight showed again that we should have made a move for a big man at the deadline. I’m not saying we would have had to get a star but just a nice long reserve to give us comfort in the middle. I think Horford has the ability to play center and looks fine some nights but on other nights like tonight when he is just not doing enough inside it would have been nice to know that we had somebody that could come in for us. A lot of the rebounding problems though are just not being aggressive and boxing out at all. Every time it was the Blazers running all over the floor getting the ball while the only defensive boards we could get were Bibby’s JJ’s or when the ball bounced out of bounds. I’m a little steamed tonight because the Hawks are just killing me. Right now for me I don’t think we will even win a game until after the Cavs game. Of course when I cool off tomorrow I will start trying to be positive again. Possible team: Paul, Roy, Johnson, Smith, Biedrins/Horford. Also another draft though is that in 01 we took Jamaal Tinsley and 2 of the next 3 picks were Tony Parker and Gilbert Arenas. Don’t remember it but I was just checking it out.

By Hms

February 21, 2009 12:54 AM | Link to this

“Brandon Roy has to have the ball to be effective.”

So does Kobe Bryant. Same for Lebron James. Tim Duncan. Shaq. Allen Iverson. Dwayne Wade. Carmelo Anthony. Chris Paul. Steve Nash. Deron Williams. Paul Pierce. Dwight Howard. They all need the ball. And if Brandon Roy cannot be successful alongside Joe Johnson, then how is it that he does just fine alongside LaMarcus Aldridge, who also has to have the ball? That is not a valid point. How many Portland players scored in double figures tonight? Roy dominates the ball but he does great things with it, like shoot 12 for 22. Not 7 for 20 like somebody else we know. Therefore, Portland dominated us. Case closed. Brandon Roy is what we needed. Though I do have to agree that Shelden Williams was and is still awful. Randy Foye would have been better, as would have Rudy Gay. Nobody would be talking about Marvin with Gay around. I suppose the popular thing to say right about now is that this is all in the past and cannot be changed and we should forget about this loss. The truth is that this team will suffer for those mistakes long after they were made. The only thing that may save even that is getting rid of this moron of a coach who cannot maximize the talent that we do have. But this too is in the past and will not change. Cest La Vie.

By 404atlhoops

February 21, 2009 12:55 AM | Link to this

We have all been down this road debating how good Josh Smith will be. At this point, I’m done debating. I just think Smith is what he is. Smith is a good player but not a future allstar. The Hawks future rest solely on the development of Al Hortford. If he can become the low post go to guy to pair with Johnson the Hawks so desparately need, then this team could go far in the next 3-4 years. If not, then the Hawks core is no beter than those of the 80’s with Dominique that never got out of the second round.

By Dan

February 21, 2009 12:56 AM | Link to this

I’ll leave you guys with this, Before you get to proud of the nine games over .500, remember, we started the season 6-0, so that means that we have played really 3 games over .500 since then. For a team that has so much talent, that flat out sucks. Food for thought!

By darrell starks

February 21, 2009 12:59 AM | Link to this

DAN im a true HAWKS FAN NOT A PRETENDER brother, its just us true fans are tired of SEEYING THE SAME THING FROM all the sports team in ATL, YOU GET YOUR HOPES up high then at the end of the day your disapointed , DAN where you from brother is it boston where you have WON 17NBA TITTLE 3 WORLD SERIES AND 3 SUPERBOWLS OYEAH DAN. GO CELTICS!!!!!!!!!!!

By Dan

February 21, 2009 1:05 AM | Link to this

No Darrell, I am not a Boston fan. I fell the same way, but I have to stay positive. I’ve been a die- hard Hawks and Braves fan for 25 years.

By rms

February 21, 2009 1:06 AM | Link to this

Reggie even if we drafted those players they would not be the players as we know them because of who we have coaching them. I will tell you from expierence confidence makes a world of difference. Nobody wants to be on the court with one eye on the floor and one eye on the bench. Consistent playing time can make or break you. Thats why so many other players flourish when they leave their first team because they mature and play more with more playing time

By Reggie

February 21, 2009 1:06 AM | Link to this

Man I have to start using paragraphs. Oh no we have two Reggies now, I didn’t post that at 12:38. Hms: Roy would not have developed as quick as he did if he came into a situation with two SG’s who have to have the ball at all times. Also Duncan, Shaq, and Howard aren’t guys that always have the ball in their hand to change a game. They are post players who get the ball and then make their move usually pretty soon.

By Najeh Davenpoop

February 21, 2009 1:09 AM | Link to this

“He somehow always ends up with the ball with 10 on the clock and is forced to make a tough shot.”

Maybe if he and Bibby didn’t aimlessly dribble and pass around the perimeter for the first 14 seconds, he wouldn’t be in that position. The Hawks were playing very effective offense in the first half. Not surprisingly, they spent the first half getting the ball into the forwards’ hands regularly, and Josh Smith and Al Horford responded by either scoring or drawing defensive attention and finding open shooters in rhythm.

The Hawks’ offense runs smoothly when they make an effort to get the ball to a post player, even if that post player doesn’t even make an attempt to score. When they get away from that, and try to do everything on the perimeter like they did in the 2nd half today, they become disjointed, inefficient, and out of rhythm.

By Reggie

February 21, 2009 1:10 AM | Link to this

I’m not so sure why the Smith hype got SOOOOOO high. I mean he has great athletic ability but he has never had the fundamentals of an all-star. Also he was a 17th pick. It’s not like he was the number one pick. He could be an all-star by the time he’s done but I’m not sure why we all expected a super human superstar.

By 404atlhoops

February 21, 2009 1:12 AM | Link to this

Hms

Brandon Roy is the no.1 option in Portland and is the primary ballhandler. The offense solely runs through Roy as he is able to set up his teammates. So you tell me how does Roy does do that here in Atlanta to the same effect with Johnson being the number one option? Neither of those guys are point guards so somebody is taking the back seat. All of those guys you mentioned (wade, james, byrant) do same thing on their teams as the go to guy. LaMarcus Aldridge plays the post so someone has get him the ball. That’s why he can go coexist with Aldridge as can any post player.

By Ed

February 21, 2009 1:14 AM | Link to this

The sad part about all of this is we are stuck with Woody (barring a total collaspe) for another year as our pathetic ownership group won’t give Sund a green light to fire him. I also can’t make a post without once again pointing out no Acie again. Judging from an earlier post about Woody’s comments on Paul being “too small”, it clearly shows how he disses a player over one aspect and not based on the total package. I swear if BK had drafted Paul he would still be languishing in Woody’s doghouse/bench or traded by now.

By Reggie

February 21, 2009 1:18 AM | Link to this

rms I know I’m just showing what the roster could be. I usually wouldn’t be complaining but I’m just upset with the Hawks tonight. So much talent is just being wasted on the floor too much.

Najeh That is true but I also mentioned that in the post and it can be blamed on Joe some. Also though our players just sit there and watch Joe dribble the ball. Our forwards aren’t good enough to just plain post up every time and score. We have very athletic guys in Smith and Williams than can set picks and roll or even pop sometimes and use off-ball screens some. Once again Joe can be blamed but it is ridiculous to say it is all his fault. Plain and Simple the offense is not active enough and you have to bring the blame full around including the coaches.

By Gypsyjoe

February 21, 2009 1:37 AM | Link to this

I have been looking at the boxscore. The thing that jumps out at me is bench scoring they killed us 35-20 we lost by ten.

By SQUAWKER

February 21, 2009 1:55 AM | Link to this

Two equally talented teams, one well-coached team. You can see the results yourself.

By E. G.

February 21, 2009 2:11 AM | Link to this

Bad coaching as usual. The Hawks will leave this road trip having won only one game. They better be glad that they are playing in the weak EAST.

The team in the 8th spot (UTAH) in the WEST has a 32-23 record. The team in the 8th spot in the EAST has a 27-31 record.

We could only beat Sacramento, with a 12-44 record, by 5 points. If we were playing in the WEST right now, we wouldn’t even be in the 8th spot for the playoffs because the teams in the 1st eight spots in the WEST are better than the Hawks. Why? Sorry coaching!

By calico

February 21, 2009 2:26 AM | Link to this

i just dont understand this hawks team al and marvin have to get more touches marvin should be our 2nd option and al our 3rd this all comes down to coaching and i would have fired woody after the back to back against the magic when we had to battle back at home only to take a lose then get 1 days rest and go to orlando and get blown out the gym that was pathetic. lets go hawks

By ant banks

February 21, 2009 2:27 AM | Link to this

e.g. who in the west runs the half court offense like the hawks? they run and gun in the west. like dantoni is doin’ in ny. its the coachin’ philosophy that has the hawks hooked.

that half court crap went out in the jordan era. that’s what got the coach fired wit the suns.

By Joe

February 21, 2009 2:46 AM | Link to this

Enough is enough….FIRE WOODY!!!

By jt in dallas

February 21, 2009 2:53 AM | Link to this

Squawker, very well put. Woody is a horrible coach. I really believe any of the assistant coaches would do a much better job. Everyone should notice that our whole offensive scheme is to iso Joe and let him dribble away the shot clock attempting to find a way to score, whereas the really good teams actually run their players off screens to get him an open shot. Also, the really good coaches actually develop their own players. F-I-R-E W-O-O-D-Y!!

By uga-brave

February 21, 2009 3:37 AM | Link to this

josh smith plays on his heals.

total loser. the dude stinks.

cant make a free throw. he is a bust. .

so all you J SMOOVE lovers, riddle me this?

why not the offensive glass.

we got the wrong josh. should of kept childress.

at least josh childress would of attacked.

j smoove.

but then again he can jack it up/

By tbhawksfan

February 21, 2009 5:30 AM | Link to this

CP would have gotten playing time with the Hawks. About a week into camp, Woodson would have taken a vicious CP upper-cut to the groin, landing Woodson on permanent DL.

FIRE WOODSON

By DAP01

February 21, 2009 6:46 AM | Link to this

Which is worse, not drafting Roy or the Hawks hoping that Woody will become an average coach?

Maybe Sund will give us hope this summer that he has a plan. Right now, we simply have to hope that our players develop themselves and we get hot a win a series.

This is not suppose to happen when you rebuild, pick in several straight lotteries and still have empty spots in your lineup.

Portland did it one way. Atl did it their way.
Which one looks better. Portland has a wonderfully balanced team. Atl had Woody beating down AC on the bench.

By Jeremy

February 21, 2009 7:22 AM | Link to this

Fire Mike Woodson, please!

All of Sekou’s post reflect one thing, lack of coaching…………

By ltdbrave

February 21, 2009 7:26 AM | Link to this

Again, where is Smith? 3 rebounds in 39 minutes?

By Ben

February 21, 2009 9:03 AM | Link to this

**The bottom line is:

This team is not good enough to challenge the #1-3 teams in the East. The Hawks are good, play well at home, and are very athletic, but this does not translate into anything. We have no consistent 2nd scoring option and probably no 1st consistent scoring option.

If Sund is serious at all about winning, this summer he better dangle a package of Josh Smith (BYC will be up), Speedy (expiring), a 1st rounder, & trash / 2nd rounder for: Amare, Bosh, Nowitzki, or a lesser deal for someone like Zach Randolph. I.E. we need a post presence.

I don’t buy into this garbage that we’re still young. You can give Smoove or Marvin 5 more years to mature [b][i]since they’re just so young[/i][/b] and they’ll barely be better than they are now. I have no idea in hell why Marvin doesn’t drive the ball to the basket more.

This team will not compete for a championship and you all know it**

By Ben

February 21, 2009 9:05 AM | Link to this

**The bottom line is:

This team is not good enough to challenge the #1-3 teams in the East. The Hawks are good, play well at home, and are very athletic, but this does not translate into anything. We have no consistent 2nd scoring option and probably no 1st consistent scoring option.

If Sund is serious at all about winning, this summer he better dangle a package of Josh Smith (BYC will be up), Speedy (expiring), a 1st rounder, & trash / 2nd rounder for: Amare, Bosh, Nowitzki, or a lesser deal for someone like Zach Randolph. I.E. we need a post presence.

I don’t buy into this garbage that we’re still young. You can give Smoove or Marvin 5 more years to mature [b][i]since they’re just so young[/i][/b] and they’ll barely be better than they are now. I have no idea in hell why Marvin doesn’t drive the ball to the basket more.

This team will not compete for a championship and you all know it**

By Kaz

February 21, 2009 9:23 AM | Link to this

Another game that Mike Woodson uses his stars to hide his poor coaching. 40+ minutes for Joe who has shown over and over again that a shooter needs rest. These shots and drives take energy. Motivating Josh Smith to work hard consistently and rebound takes energy. Coach is going to grind him into the mud and then wonder why he doesn’t have enough energy to get them through the first round. He is not a good coach and should be fired at season end. Good coaches know how to use their bench effectively and don’t kill their stars in the regular season. Bibby: Welcome to Joe’s world!

By The Truth

February 21, 2009 9:26 AM | Link to this

If there is such a thing as a satisfying lost, then this is it. Offensively, The Hawks played about as well as expected on the road but came up short. As I observed the game, I am moving away from being upset with the Hawk’s frontline lack of performance to actually feeling sorry for them. Let’s face it, they were simply out manned. Al and Josh combined rebound total was a pitiful 9. The Blazers total team out-rebounded us by a total of 8 which translated into the difference in the game. Josh gave-up 3 inches in height to Aldridge while Horford gave-up 3 inches in height to Przybilla (not to mention the weight advantage). The Hawks could usually counter with a mismatch between Marvin and his SF defender for rebounding, but he only got 6 rebounds. Our tweener-team rebounding performance gets even worst when we go small and put Flip and/or Mo in the game. Perhaps it was a mistake to acquire Mo Evans when what we really need is a bigger (board-focused) back-up PF. This would at least off-set Josh short-comings. Zaza is a space eater when he is in the game but also a foul magnet. He seems to wear his fouls with a badge of honor (including that boneheaded technical). An upgrade here would have been nice. As I said in the previous blog, (as much as I am proud of the Hawks accomplishment), it is obvious that they are dysfunctional on the frontline. I mean that with no disrespect to Al and Josh, but both are playing out of position. Our wins will continue to mask this problem but our losses will always expose the size issue. Woody needs to stop blaming the problem on lack of effort. Josh and Al are doing all they can under the circumstances. His constant blame-oversight may be the reason why Josh can’t reach his potential. As I watch Josh, I notice he gets frustrated when he is defenseless against a much bigger opponent. That plays a role in his lack of performance. There is a point when you just can’t guard a bigger man. Yes, he blocks a few shots but that doesn’t mean he can guard the guy for 40 minutes. In addition to rebounding deficiencies, the stats don’t show the easy bunny-baskets the Blazer’s frontline got. That is the usual pattern with Hawks. We have to constantly make difficult shoots to stay close in games, while our opponents are making easy bunny-baskets under the goal with their frontline. Yes, we support our wonderful Hawks, but it is what it is.

It is time to turn the rage against management for neglecting the Hawk’s accomplishment. Why didn’t they enhance the team and upgrade the frontline is beyond me? The trade deadline came and left. This is an analogy to your child who has a history of struggling in school making bad grades. Finally decides to make his parents proud and work hard to accomplish the unexpected and overachieve. He brings home midterm of all A’s and tells his parents he needs a certain calculator to keep his math grade up. His parents laugh and said ”NO WAY, MAKE OUT WITH WHAT YOU HAVE!” What then would motivate this child to even bother?

By Samuel

February 21, 2009 9:31 AM | Link to this

I guess Woody’s speech at the half was: “Guys, we’re playing pretty good right now moving the ball, getting it inside, and spott’n up and knocking down the open jumper.”

“Lets go back to ISO Joe and Josh chuckn from long range”.

Please, give me a break. It’s about the players themselves. They have to recognize that when they are out there.(Especially Josh and Joe). And please don’t give me that just bench em line. If you say that, you’ve obviously never coached. They are the best you got. You gotta roll with em at this point.

I can agreee somewhat that we should be playing Acie and Solo more, 10 minutes or so more but that’s about it.

Bottom line like cuz said is: we’re just not as good as the Blazers. Nothing to be ashamed of. Just the facts. Can we beat them?Yes. Maybe even in a seven game series but they are clearly better.

Still 9 games over .500 and up 3 and 3.5

woody=COY

By Dan Malavé

February 21, 2009 9:33 AM | Link to this

Acie Law is not effective enough to command more mins. In this league point guards have to shoot well from the outside. He is a terrific driver, but that doesn’t mean anything if you can’t finish. I think everybody in the league has blocked his shot once or twice. He has to learn how to use his quickness and ability to get in the paint and get to the foul line. Once he gets that done and comes up with a decent junp shot, then he’ll get the mins. In the meantime he brings nothing to the table. I hope the Hawks don’t intend to not re-sign Bibby, thinking that Acie can take over the reigns, because he is not ready.

By Nate ArchiBALL

February 21, 2009 9:50 AM | Link to this

I know it was late and I could have been dreaming but was Josh Smith (PF) guarding Brandon Roy (SG) for extended minutes in the sencond half?

By Da Real Real

February 21, 2009 9:54 AM | Link to this

The Truth I agree with what you said. It’s not like I didn’t see Al or Josh not trying to crash the boards because they were trying but like you said…Portland had at least three guys in there that were taller and bigger. Like I said last night - There is NO WAY I let Mo Evans see the floor after that stupid foul he made at the end of the first half. I honestly don’t know what Woody was looking at last night to even use a Flip, Mo tandem. Solo came in last night and did a good enough job and should have seen the floor in the second half because this was his type of game.

The Hawks never do impose their will on anybody because there is no true scheme for our offense because Woody is so proud that his guys can play at other team’s tempo. Last night was a prime example of Woody actually needing to slow the game down. You’re not going to win a run-n-gun game on the road especially in a house that had playoff atmosphere. I honestly don’t know how the ASG can not look at firing Woody seriously at the end of this season. He’s got to be evaluated seriously at the end of the season NO MATTER WHAT.

By doc

February 21, 2009 9:57 AM | Link to this

samuel plain and simple though they will not win it:

MITCHELL AND/OR KARL = COY

done more than anyone with less. portland loses a starter for the season before it begins and denver loses star for extended period and has to remake system with early season addition.

before you say again samuel, let me remind you, this is the team you said was the second best team in the nba at the end of the season last year, scoffed at the value of chills and what his loss meant as well as the idea of running the starters into the ground. seems like they arent quite living up to it this year. maybe an exaggeration on your part for emphasis as you made your points or underachieving? just asking as you begin to sound as absurd with the continued refrain as the one you are copying.

By The Truth

February 21, 2009 10:33 AM | Link to this

Da Real Real I agree; the Mo Evans foul right before half-time was also boneheaded. He was fortunate Blake didn’t make all the free-throw freebies. I also agree, no unique scheme to counter the situation, but that’s typical Woody shortcomings. Perhaps, for the ASG to address Woody status after this season maybe a stretch though since they’ve shown neglect in their players.

By Samuel

February 21, 2009 10:45 AM | Link to this

Doc, Wasn’t Mitchell Fired?

I assume you mean McMillian. I know,We all look alike.

Karl is leading right now. A lot can happen before the award is given though.

Injuries!!Who’s has any more injuries that us. Oh yea, but ours are due to all them minutes.

Yes, were the second best team at the end of the year last year. I stand by that. What’s that got to do with right now. Right now, we’re not. Neither were we at this point last year.

Never said Chills wasn’t a decent player just not good enough to demand big money. He hasn’t exactly proven anything different playing against a bunch of EURO PUNKS and Washed Up cast offs from the Big leagues. Would he be an extra body that we could use, yes. Would we be in any better position (4th spot) with him?Not likely. Who knows, we may still see the return of that jacked up Afro and jacked up push shot.

Woody still in running for COY

By darrell starks

February 21, 2009 10:57 AM | Link to this

Im listening to 790THE ZONE AND THERE POINTING THE FINGER AT JOSH SMITH THAT NOT RIGHT, ITS NOT HIM ITs the COACH AND US BLOGGERS have been complaning about woody all season, because we no if you bring in the right coach to this team will be better from rebounding, puting players in the right position, knowing how to run a fast break ,DEVELOPING YOUR BENCH NOT PLAYING JOE 50 MININUTES A NIGHT AND MANY other things , THATS WHY I SAY WOODY HAVE TO GO, AND BRING IN AVERYY JOHNSON AND YOU WILL SEE THIS TEAM IMPROVE ON ANOTHER LEVEL. GO HAWKS!!!!!!!!!!!!

By doc

February 21, 2009 11:09 AM | Link to this

heh heh, meant mcmillan got carried away. i am sure you know what that might feel like, had to make it quick so i could move into pying bills. my bad.

wont disagree with the notion that woody is still in the running though depending on how he manages the team through the toughest part of the schedule though.

it was just a reality check as always bro, you are real.

i bet i could tell you in a crowd if you wore that cute hat. i bet i could even tell the difference between mcmillan and mitchell. shoot i even was able to point out melvin on the jumbotron kissing on his girl. tell him melvin. btw as you grow older you will find names will come more difficult to remember.. be kind to your elders, didnt say respect them. heh heh

have a good weekend samuel, pretty day.

By kgbsfinst

February 21, 2009 11:27 AM | Link to this

Josh looked pretty good in the first quarter when we were involving him in the offense. We had a good two man game going, him posting up and setting up the guards to get open threes, we looked good. Then for some reason we stopped doing that and went back to jacking up jumpers.

As much crap as people are giving Josh, there’s no reason if we keep him involved in the offense, he cant have a great night. He can provide a huge mismatch every game, PFs cant (shouldn’t) stay in front of him, SFs cant (shouldn’t) be able to stop him in the post. Tell me how many times we see a play called for Josh, the offense revolving around his mismatch? Before we throw him under the bus I would love to see what he can do if he is used like he should be.

Did anyone else notice in the second quarter Lamarcus got his second foul and the next two possessions he was guarding Joe, and BOTH times Joe took jumpers instead of driving and looking to get that third foul?

I asked JA Adonde on his Q & A yesterday what the rest of the league thought of Woodson and if anyone took the Hawks serious. I didn’t get an answer, but I wonder what everyone else thinks.

By RedTailHawk

February 21, 2009 11:39 AM | Link to this

The Hawks scheme is set up for everyone to clear out and stand around while Joe and (on occasion) another Hawk play a one or two man game. This means that when they (Joe or other Hawk) shoot, no one else is in position to rebound. This standing around is contagious. The players cannot shift gears from docile to hustle and back.

On defense they are set up to almost always switch. This creates mismatches out front and underneath. Any decent opposing coach either comes in knowing this or immediately adjusts and takes advantage of it. Once again ourbigs are not in a position to box out because they have switched out to the oerimeter, and our smalls are underneath competing with their bigs for rebounds.

All of these problems are correctable with the current roster, but only if the coach is wise enough to recognize the issues and willing to make changes.

Alas, Woody is neither. This is the Hawks team we will have until coaching changes are made. Coaching changes will not be made until the ASG straightens out its mess. Enjoy the team for what they are. Improvements will not be made anytime soon.

By Ben

February 21, 2009 11:43 AM | Link to this

Sekou, I am not surprised the Hawks did not make a move at the deadline. Do you see them paying for a big man the rest of the year? Joe Smith, Mikki Moore, and Sene are available, anybody else. I am sure the C’s will get either Smith or Moore. Suns, Cavs, Spurs, might be looking at one of those guys as well.
How is the court case going? I know our owners are pretty tapped financially but why don’t they ever spend an extra couple of mill. on someone like Francisco Elson instead of going cheap w/ Morris? We need another big down low if we want to keep the 4 seed or win the first playoff series. What are we going to do w/ Marvin at the end of the year?

By RedTailHawk

February 21, 2009 11:46 AM | Link to this

darrell do you really respect anything those washed up wannabees say on 790 the zone? Their carreers are bought and paid for.

By The Truth

February 21, 2009 11:47 AM | Link to this

RedTailHawk Well put. This is not rocket science

By Clyde

February 21, 2009 12:26 PM | Link to this

RedTailHawk

Yes. Yes. Yes. Woody has had this coaching scheme since day one but refuses to change. In other words Woody is Woody and we are going to get what we get.

The Spirit Group is another story. The fact that we made the playoffs last season blinds them from seeing just how bad of a coach Woody is.

FIRE WOODY

By I MUS WRITE

February 21, 2009 1:20 PM | Link to this

Ditto…Sekou, Picking Sheldon over Roy in 06 was way worst than the 05 draft. atleast we got a good Sf who is a nice 2nd/3rd optuion. Just one year later we pick a 6’7 PF with limited athleticism -Who will probably be out of the league in the coming months and pass on an All Star SG.

Ditto Poop -Roy is a better player than JJ IMO. Im getting tired of the Joe Johnson show…. Lets face it the last few months the man has’nt been himself …now that i think about it we got 1 great month from JJ and since then he’s been average to below average.

JJ the dribbling machine…..my god man pass the rock !!!!!

I wouldnt mind trading his and 1 azz for maybe Mayo, or a B Roy…………Besides ATL Portland is my favorite yung team they are gonna be rediculous in the next yr or 2. Battum is my dude that yungn can really play……….. How many times did big Al get his shot rejected last night. We all yell for more touches for him and Smoove but i dont think they are ready to be involved to the point where we run our O thru them …..So its hot potatoe in the back court followed by a long 3 with 4 seconds on the clock………………..Same ol syht man…………..

By jhan

February 21, 2009 1:24 PM | Link to this

Ray you called it correctly!

If Woody is calling for the offense to be run through the low post & Bibby/Joe are ignoring his requests doesn’t that say something about the coach?

A - The players don’t have enough respect for the coach to willingly do as he asks.

B - The coach doesn’t have enough control of the team to demand they do as he asks.

Or maybe he’s not asking.

I’m just asking.

By bigdave

February 21, 2009 4:12 PM | Link to this

so according to Schultz, Sund is evaluating everyone.. nobody is safe… interesting?

By bigdave

February 21, 2009 4:17 PM | Link to this

where is Steve Francis..?

By ILL-logical

February 21, 2009 4:49 PM | Link to this

FYI: Josh is playing out of position both in terms of position (PF) and the offense,ie 20+ feet from the basket. These are correctable EXCEPT, the reason that his career in Atlanta is being derailed(see Sekou; sunshine Shultz, et al) is because of his actions in the lockeroom as an 18 year old rookie and Mike Woodson’s ability to bad mouth him to the media. Remember all of those anoymous comments about his locker room behavior during his free agent tour? Guess where they came from.

Josh will be the scapegoat because he may be asked to guard a 2 or 3 in the clutch-see last night’s Portland game- but Woodson plays his biggest and best defensive line up-Josh at the the 3 a la Tayshun Prince; Al at the 4; and Solo at the 5. Why, who knows, but my money says that he will get fired before he forgets he and Josh’s tussle.

Remember when they run and get him involved early and often , he exibits the talent that has GM’s across the league watching and projecting. But like some of the franchises in town, sociology trumps everything: They don’t want tunas that taste good , they just want tuna’s that don’t offend the sensibilities of their drinking buddies or ” natural constituency”.Especially since the presidential election has upset some classic Southern mind sets.

Maybe it’s time for a change on the sports scene as well. Because you have got to ask yourself why so many pro athletes want to live here but few want to play here?

By glen

February 21, 2009 5:04 PM | Link to this

blazer fan here. it’s good to see other fans as hard on their team as we are. with that said, i think the hawks are a really good team. a team that is fun to watch. i don’t think portland is that much better than you guys. we might have a slight edge with the bench, but that is about it.

honestly, you caught the blazers on a really good night. it was a solid win for portland, it’s been a while since they had a solid win like last night. portland goes down to you guys when we play in atlanta, imho.

and as for the second-guessing on drafting the wrong player. that gets you nothing except high blood pressure. believe dat… we also had jordan/bowie, traded down and passed cp3, then there’s oden/durant. move on.

anyways, the hawks are nice. stay classy, ATL.

By matt Jones

February 21, 2009 5:59 PM | Link to this

ILL-logical. “he exibits the talent that has GM’s across the league watching and projecting” What! Where were these GM’s last summer. Josh had one offer. That was from a team (Memphis) worst than the Hawks. Philly did the bait and switch. We’ll show Josh but we will get Brand. Josh has talent but he lacks fundamentals he needs to be successful in this leaque. ie- ball handling, post moves-w/o dribbling ball of feet, boxing out on defense, mental ability to compete. He is always angry. He needed college. His failure to go will be his undoing. Thus is his 5th year in the league. He is what he is.

GO HAWKS

By Harry Hawk

February 21, 2009 6:27 PM | Link to this

The only time I can really recall Woodson talking about “running plays” was about ten days ago when Flip was red-hot. He said that he “called some plays for Flip” or something to that effect.

By Ariose

February 21, 2009 6:30 PM | Link to this

bigdave, Francis was baught out by memphis……he is a fre agent now.

glen, thanks for the kind words, it’s nice to know teams associate the Hawks with being a quality victory nowadays(the secret is out lol). BTW what is the blazers blog that you frequent?

ILL-logical, exactyl…..and sund got us a big man. Woody just never bothred to see what he was worth.

I wanna see Randolph get some burn Darnit!!!

Also, you guys KNEW this roadtrip was coming so it’s no use in crying now that it’s here……but some W,s would be nice lol.

Can’t WAIT till we have that homestand lol.

BTW, the blazers record would suggest that their not that much better than us……Honestly, I’m almost POSITIVE that it’s woodson…….I think he has to go.

~Sir Links A Lot~

By Ariose

February 21, 2009 6:44 PM | Link to this

“I thought we played a solid game, taking care of the ball and playing pretty good defense against a very good team,” Blazers head coach Nate McMillan said. “Atlanta is a lot like us. Our style of play is very similar. They have good shooters and they make you adjust your game to them. I think tonight we made some adjustments on how to play them.”

Wow!! Nate made adjustments DURING the game….what a grat coach. Wish we had a coach like that.

Portland shot 47.8 percent while Atlanta made 47.4 percent of its shots, but the Blazers attempted 92 field goals to just 78 for the Hawks…Portland made 12-of-16 free throws, while Atlanta sank 17-of-23….Outlaw finished with 12 points for the Blazers, while Joel Przybilla added 10 boards and six points…Marvin Williams scored 15 for Atlanta, and Josh Smith had 11.

We played an exellent game but 90+ poessions for portland and only 78 for us? Thats whay I said our offense is Too damn slow. Woody knows this. Somebody Smack his Arse

~Sir Links A Lot~

By Zach

February 21, 2009 6:53 PM | Link to this

Hey guys, another Blazer fan here.

The Hawks have a lot of really good young talent. What comes with young talent is inconsistency. Take a few breaths, look at how young your team is, and appreciate that you are nine games over .500.

I was worried about this game, as I consider the Hawks a quality opponent. If you want to see some great Blazer/Hawk analysis, go to www.blazersedge.com. The guys were very complimentary of your Hawks.

By Ariose

February 21, 2009 7:06 PM | Link to this

Thanks Zach ;-)

By Da Real Real

February 21, 2009 7:17 PM | Link to this

Good to see a few Blazer fans visiting our blog and seeing what opposing fans say about our guys. I read the article about “nobody being safe” under Sund and I must say…

I don’t think we have the wrong pieces when it comes to our core. I would like to see us do more with our bench. Mo’s definitely got to go, as well as Speedy….I like Mario West but if we could find somebody to play D like him and score it’d go a long way…I don’t think Sund should consider blowing up the core, we just need to add some pieces, and if we don’t make it pass the first round of playoffs we need to fire Woody…I’m still for possibly firing him if we do make it pass the second round but I understand the likelihood of that not happening.

By Hms

February 21, 2009 7:17 PM | Link to this

Vote for the two dumbest lines of the year, submitted by the same person.

“Yes, were the second best team at the end of the year last year.”

No, that would be the Los Angeles Lakers.

“Please, give me a break. It’s about the players themselves. They have to recognize that when they are out there.”

And this line alone debunks the absolutely ludicrous idea of Mike Woodson being a coach of the year candidate. If the blame is to be laid at the feet of the players, then the coach is irrelevant. But then a team is often a direct reflection of it’s coach. He is the leader and guide of the team. If the team is not following him then he needs to go. Is this the message that the poster brings? Going by this poster’s thought process we should keep the coach and get rid of the players since it is all about them and their screwups. The midseason awards on several NBA websites did not even give him an honorable mention. I wonder why. Surely those writers know more than this buffoon, who is probably coaching at the half-way house.

By Ariose

February 21, 2009 7:21 PM | Link to this

Another Blazer blog with coverage of the game…

~Sir Links A Lot~

By Hms

February 21, 2009 7:21 PM | Link to this

It’s nice to know that other teams fans think well of this team. Yes we are somewhat like the TrailBlazers except for a few things. Joe Johnson is not quite the leader Brandon Roy is, Portland has actual centers that are starting material, and the TrailBlazers have a good coach. Other than that yeah we are like the TrailBlazers.

By hawk'shawk

February 21, 2009 7:59 PM | Link to this

FIRE WOODY, SLAP HIM WHATEVER, JUST GET HIM OFF THE HAWKS sideline with his arms crossed looking stupid and dumbfounded.

GO HAWKS!!!

By Ariose

February 21, 2009 8:03 PM | Link to this

Based on what i’m reading on the Blazers blog, they don’t play that well all the time. Apparently LaMarcus Aldridge went off, making up for te toughness lost when Oden went down…..and the only reason Jerryd Bayless saw the court last night is because “Bibby kept blowing past Blake and Sergio…..and apparently Bayless got blown past too” lol!!!! never heard that before heh.

They also thought Bibby was on fire……..we thought he was cold in the second half…lol

Baisically, Teams are worried now when the Hawks enter the building and the bring their A game. * Do you STILL want nationally televised games? Because I don’t. I’d rather us sneak up on teams in their buildings and hit them where it hurts. Even with the little coverage that we get, it appears our cover has been blown.*

~Sir Links A Lot~

By Jeff

February 21, 2009 8:19 PM | Link to this

Face it Hawk fans…Blazers are better. No big deal. Build from here. Simple as that.

By Ken Strickland

February 21, 2009 9:05 PM | Link to this

What do you call a HC that designs an OFF that features the outside shooting of his 2 guards almost exclusively? What do you call a HC that refuses to use his bench, plays those 2 guards over 40mins, yet can’t comprehend for the life of him why his team, especially his 2 star guards, doesn’t have the same energy, hustle, shooting touch and impact they had in the 1st half?

YOU CALL THAT HC MIKE WOODSON, THE HC OF THE ATLANTA HAWKS.

By tyger

February 21, 2009 10:58 PM | Link to this

Roy better than JJ, Smoove and Marvin

By rms

February 21, 2009 11:55 PM | Link to this

Somebody slap Woody

By ray

February 22, 2009 2:30 AM | Link to this

Up next, we face a Jazz team that beat the Celtics down just days ago, and finished off New Orleans this past evening.

I’m dreading the inevitable: Joe Johnson having to defend Deron Williams, who is absolutely out of Mike Bibby’s league. I’d love to be proven wrong about that for just one night and get a victory out of this, but I’m not anticipating one.

I tell you, there’s nothing worse than having to watch consecutive games in which your team battles other successful teams that are led by guards that your former GM should have drafted. That, and we’ll get to see how well Paul Milsap (drafted well after the infamous Sheldon Williams) rebounds. Oh joy…

By ray

February 22, 2009 2:43 AM | Link to this

Brandon Bass and the Mavericks show us how you’re supposed to treat a 12-win team like the Sacramento Kings: Beating them by 21 points. How about that bench, eh? Five guys play double figure minutes (three of them over 20 minutes), and the bench unit combines for 54 points in a game where the starters were struggling.

What a concept. What a foreign concept.

Meanwhile, I bet the New Orleans Hornets rue the day they let the energetic Bass get away from them. They sure could use his a$$ right about now, with Chandler ailing. Of course, keeping your head above water is possible when you have a true superstar guard like Chris Paul. And to think that some people thought he was too small. Heh. Only an idiot of global proportions would think that…

Looks like Miami gained a bit of ground on us. They’re down by 2.5 now. Looks like O’Neal is just healthy enough to contribute for the moment. And that’s all the Heat really need out of him: 15 and 8, 17 and 10, games like that. If he can keep it up, especially with the hard-working and solid-as-a-rock Haslem helping him out, these guys are going to be hard to fend off, especially the way we’re playing right now. Ah yes, depressing thoughts at a quarter to 3 a.m.

By hawk'shawk

February 22, 2009 3:23 AM | Link to this

Someone Please Slap Woody

By Dave

February 22, 2009 3:44 AM | Link to this

another Blazer fan - thanks for your generous comments about our team. Two things I found interesting:

• the complaints about switching on defense. The PTB have enormous problems with that. Point guards that can use the screen, like, Williams, Rondo, and yes Bibby, destroy us. Oden’s perpetual foul trouble results from being isolated on the perimeter.

I like your starting five alot, and Flip Murray, but the biggest difference in the teams is depth. We were fortunate that we can get away with Aldridge playing center tonight, and Frye is not so horrible as many Blazer fans think, but Outlaw and Fernandez and Przybilla are usually solid and sometimes spectacular for us.

And in my eyes, Batum is the Blazer to watch in a few years.

By ray

February 22, 2009 4:17 AM | Link to this

Dave,

Your organization is a great example of how to develop and manage assets. You didn’t waste your draft picks on things you didn’t need, and stockpiled talent that you could not just use in trade, but use on the court. And what you kept, you developed. That is why Pritchard did not need to make trades. The young team he put together has been coached and developed wonderfully. The talent is being maximized, and as you said, it goes about 10 deep when the bench is included.

Unfortunately for us, we are not as well-coached, nor have we enjoyed the fruits of proper player development. The Blazers are the same team night in and night out. We still don’t know who we are from game to game.

By ray

February 22, 2009 4:22 AM | Link to this

There are some who would put the failures and identity issues all on the players, as if we win because some nights the coach is able to overcome the idiocy of our players more often than not. Yeah right.

Being a good coach is a two-part thing: You bring a winning system/formula/philosphy AND you get players to buy into it, adjusting your system to maximize the abilities of the guys you have playing for you. If you cannot do this, you are either NOT a good coach, or you are simply not a good coach for that particular team.

Whichever the case may be….Yes, we are 32-23, and we are beating some of the teams that we should be beating. But I’m not seeing a team that buys into what it’s head coach is selling. But that’s just my opinion.

..yeah, yeah..I know…”just win” and all that..

By Harried The Hawk

February 22, 2009 7:28 AM | Link to this

The Hawks will never be a serious contender under Woodson. I know its not going to happen because the Hawks ownership is too cheap, too broke, and too clueless to let Sund do what he needs to do (hire a name coach), but I believe that a coaching change right NOW would ignite the team for the playoffs..right now they are just sleepwalking and tuning Woody out. Coach Woodson is a good man and a good coach, but he had rotten luck to have his first job with the dysfuntional Hawks ownership. He likely will get another job and do well..but right now, the Hawks need a change. We would have a hard time making the playoffs in the West right now.

By hocker

February 22, 2009 7:40 AM | Link to this

Fire Woody!

By bigdave

February 22, 2009 8:43 AM | Link to this

how many fire Woody’s can we get in a row…?

FIRE WOODY!!!

By Samuel

February 22, 2009 9:55 AM | Link to this

So, you guys that want a new coach. Who do you suggest that we hire? One of the many who have been fired. Or do you have some other guru assistant in mind who just needs to be given a chance.

Look at the teams who fired their coaches. Toronto, Det, Chicago. Where are they now. looking up at Woody and the Hawks.

Lets here it. Who you got?

Ray, who are the teams that we should be beating, that we are not? Sure, we have occassionally lost to teams below us in the standings. All teams do. But for the most part, we have beaten the teams that we are better than and lost to the better teams. To me, we are exactly where we should be. 4th slot in the East. Nothing more, nothing less. Prove to me otherwise and I’ll agree that we should let Woodson go.

H(P)ms,

The Lakers got blown out by Boston by 39 points in Game 6 of the Finals. The Hawks took them to 7. Who was better?

By doc

February 22, 2009 11:44 AM | Link to this

samuel, agree with the assessment of woody for right now. if we get through the next 27 games in the same spot with about 46 to 48 wins for the season may have a tough time arguing against him even then. what happens if we slide to the 6th or 7th spot and end up with say 44 wins? is that enough for you and will you still sign off on him as coy even if they were to win a the first round? is that enough for all to agree woody by hook or by crook gets another pass.

ok i’ll bite on the second question and said it back then and it seems they are showing it his year as well, the lakers were the second best team. the celts were only beginning to get their playoff game face on when they came here for the first round. by the time they got to the end they had matured as a team, had ray allen finally over whatever his doldrums were all of last season, had weathered an even bigger force in labron and the cavs, and were willing to allow rondo to carry them and not look to the bench with every mistake like sam cassell could do better. totally different team the C’s at the end of the playoffs than the beginning. as a true coach among us and as you say the only one you see that and appreciate that.

it wont be long before we know if those three wins against the celts were lightening in a bottle.

By Samuel

February 22, 2009 12:20 PM | Link to this

Doc, I really don’t care about regular season records other than to get a good seeding.

I am more interested in how we do in the playoffs. That being said, if we fall and still win a 1st round series. Woody would have to be an even stronger contender since we will have beaten either: Boston, Cleveland or Orlando.

I seriously think we will stay close to where we are at and play either Miami, Philly or Det. All beatable IMO.

I agree somewhat that the Celtics got better but not that much. I just think we matched their intensity and toughness. The other teams did not. I still think we played them better than anybody else. Call it lightning in a bottle. Whatever. It was real at that point. I stand by my assessment.

By Clyde

February 22, 2009 12:26 PM | Link to this

FIRE WOODY

By Ken Strickland

February 22, 2009 1:03 PM | Link to this

SAMUEL-how can you say you don’t care about the regular season record, except for seeding, when seeding, or even making the playoffs, is totally dependent upon the regular season record. You seem to see our record as the only measuring rod for judging Woodson. His attitude, approach and uneven treatment of his players will have dire consequences when these players become FA’s.

Will they resign, knowing they’ll have to endure more of the same from him? Will JJ, Acie, Solo, Zaza, Morris, Evans or Bibby return if Woodson is still our HC? At this point, unless we draft a BIG the calibur of Horford, we won’t need draft picks. Woodson believes draft picks and younger players should be firmly anchored to the bench. He doesn’t see the logic in developing and playing young talent that can be the teams future.

TRUST ME, IF WOODSON REMAINS THE HC, WE’LL BE IN REBUILDING MODE AFTER NEXT YR WHEN HORFORD, JJ, ACIE AND MARVIN BECOME FA’s. AND THAT DOESN’T COUNT THE POSSIBLE LOSS OF ZAZA, SOLO AND BIBBY THIS YR. REMEMBER THE OLD SAYING, “SOME PEOPLE CAN’T SEE THE FOREST FOR THE TREES”.

By doc

February 22, 2009 3:31 PM | Link to this

pretty reasonable come back samuel thanks. the dilemma for woody is if they dont win into round two is my guess no matter what they do during the regular season. the tough choice will be if he wins big now and falters with say a 4th seed. as much as i see his deficiencies i do see some of the strengths as well. if he does that i would have to pause to think about what to do.

By Nate ArchiBALL

February 22, 2009 4:06 PM | Link to this

Happy 59th Birthday to Julius ” Dr J” Erving.

How different would the history of the Hawks franchise be if management had fought and won to keep him back in 1974. Doc signed a 5 year contract with the Hawks just before he was drafted by the Milwaukee Bucks while playing in the ABA.

By bigdave

February 22, 2009 5:27 PM | Link to this

this record has nothing to do with Woody’s coaching ability…

we actually have better players who have been with each other longer than most of the teams in our conference… our record is a result of worse teams… if we had a better Head Coach we would have a better record…

if it wasn’t for that 6-0 start we would be in some trouble… and honestly i think we are now.. cause teams are gelling…

By ray

February 22, 2009 7:53 PM | Link to this

Whoooeeee….

Miami had gotten a game closer to us last night. But it looks very much like they are going to lose that tonight, with the way Orlando is playing.

By ray

February 22, 2009 8:14 PM | Link to this

Samuel,

I agree that we are beating most of the teams we should be beating. My point (and it’s just my opinion) is that the guys don’t seem to be buying into what Woody is selling half the time. Again, just my opinion. Now the question is “why?” You know what, man? You could be damn right: it’s the players. I say that because I know I could be wrong about this, and you could be right: maybe it’s not the players vs. the coach. Maybe it’s the players vs. the players.

Our talent and organic growth, with the addition of Bibby (for the full season) and Murray (offensive spark) sprinkled in seems to keep us afloat in games that we would have sunk into last year. But the chemistry just isn’t there half the time. Either the players aren’t following the coach because he’s not getting through to them, or they are having issues with each other (and subsequently, drowning out the coach anyway). Either way, you know the coach stands the best chance of paying for it. And so it will be if these guys stumble enough down the stretch and/or have a bad showing in the playoffs. Last year’s playoffs were electrifying, despite the horrific losses when we played the Celts at their place.

This year, it has to be better, as we are not going to get matched against the best the East has to offer in the first round, assuming we retain our current position.

To round out my point, I’m not b!tching about a winning record, Lord knows I am happy to see it. But despite the “just win” remarks, this team does not look happy with themselves, and it is showing. We can’t afford any sort of meltdown down the stretch. Again, you can be winning, and things just not quite look right. Ask Terry Porter, whose team had a winning record when he got fired. They promote Gentry, and all of the sudden, the Suns play differently and “feel better about themselves.”

Read the articles, man. It’s all over the place. Stoudamire blows up (then he got hurt), Barbosa blows up, and it takes the mighty Celtics to take these guys down. Their chemistry is back where they want it. One article stated verbatim that part of Phoenix management was adamant about keeping the highly potent Stoudamire, stating that “firing Porter was sufficient for the time being, to right the ship.” Sufficient? The team was winning! Ahhh, but they knew something was wrong, and were exploring ways to fix it. And just like I say, the easiest scapegoat or “fix” is the coach. And guess what? If Phoenix makes the playoffs (they currently are out) then it will prove them “right.” Once again, the talented player stays, the coach goes.

It has happened there, it has happened elsewhere. Maurice Cheeks knows. The mistakes of the GM always haunt the coach first, then the player second, then maybe the GM.

As for looking for a replacement for Woodson, I will say for the upteenth time that I don’t see the reason in firing him this season. It’s way too late for something like that. It would very possibly be more of a problem than a solution. Better to dance with the gal you brought. However, if it were something that management thought was ultimately necessary this season, the next best thing is to dance with a gal you know, who doesn’t mind dancing with you. That would be Larry Drew in this case. He knows the players, and would more likely flex toward doing what they feel most comfortable doing, rather than come up with a whole different system that would complicate things.

Having said that, if management sees fit to let Woody go, the smartest thing to do is wait until the offseason, and that would still only be reasonably justifiable if we slip in the standings and have a bad playoff series. We win and go to the second round, and it will be hard to justify cutting him loose before his contract is up. And that is only assuming that management wants to go in a different direction. Like it or not, GMs like to make teams in their own image. I doubt that Sund is an exception. And that usually means changes to coaching approach and roster setup. Timing is everything. This offseason may be bigger and more key than last….

By ray

February 22, 2009 8:28 PM | Link to this

Samuel,

We did have a special moment against Boston last year, at least in the home games. That was our unicorn, our cinderella. It was great for what it was. We did play them tougher than their second round opponent, no doubt. Probably better than any Eastern team.

I also agree that Philly, Detroit, and Miami are beatable. But I have some concerns. Philly has our number. We struggle against them big time. They always out-hustle us, and run lay-up or fast break drills on us. I’m tired of seeing that. And they’re more dangerous without Brand. Still, out of the three, I figure they’re the most beatable.

Miami has a hardened, battle-tested superstar assassin in Dwayne Wade. Those guys out-hustled and beat us like a drum without Marion, and before Jermaine O’Neal’s arrival. They too, out-hustle us every time. Teams like Orlando can survive an onslaught like Wade dropped on them tonight (50 f’in points). Can we? Especially when their reserves and role players are not only playing more than ours, but keeping pace with our starters?

Detroit badly misses Chauncey Billups, and Michael Curry won’t be able to make really good game-time adjustments and decisions in the playoffs. His guys could have a melt-down any time. Iverson is still a bright star, but I don’t think you’ll see too many more 40 or 50 point outbursts from him. Stuckey is good, but he’s not quite ready for the lead in the heat of the playoffs. Of course, I could be wrong. The problem with Detroit is that their frontcourt still outhustles ours, and it’s never good to see Richard Hamilton coming off the bench to torch you (or your second unit).

Can we beat any one of these three teams? Yes. Can they beat us? Yes.

Our team will have to develop much better chemistry than they have now though, and sustain it into the postseason for us to survive the first round. I love our guys, but if the playoffs started tomorrow, we’d lose, judging by the way we’re playing right now. Good thing we still have about 30 games left.

.

By ray

February 22, 2009 8:42 PM | Link to this

Sam,

On the flip side, if management wants to keep Woodson, then it won’t be hard to justify doing so as long as the team can stay reasonably strong down the stretch and show out reasonably well during the playoffs. But if they’re going to stay committed to him, they better be all about re-tooling this roster. This team is not built to play his style of ball. It just ain’t. Ya feel me? Look, we disagree on Woody, but I will always agree to the idea of continuity and consistency. Either change the head coach to a guy who can get the most out of the players you have, or change the roster to accomodate the coach, giving him the best chance at winning with his own style/system. Right now, it just doesn’t feel quite right, and our regular season record is a bit misleading in that regard. A person not paying attention to the details would think all is rosy in mudville. But some of us try not to think like blonde-headed cheerleaders….

By ray

February 22, 2009 8:44 PM | Link to this

Kirk,

Where you at man?? I’ve been tryin’ to talk at ya, but you is iggin’ (ignoring) me! Why you always iggin’ me when I’m asking questions (and I didn’t even mention Acie this time, dammit)? Oh wait, are you waging a war on the DOB blog? Man, what a foul series of events….and Garrett Anderson doesn’t excite me….

By Melvin

February 22, 2009 8:50 PM | Link to this

Don’t look now but teams below the Hawks are gelling. Hmmm, I seen this comment or similiar reference several times. Oh,lets see.

Detroit look like there are about to lose their 6 game in a row. Philly has loss 3 in a row. Miami got blown out today…

Uh, yep those teams are gelling. If they continue to gell at that rate then the Hawks may have the 4th spot clinch with 10 games remaining in the season…

By Clyde

February 22, 2009 8:58 PM | Link to this

FIRE WOODY

By ray

February 22, 2009 9:01 PM | Link to this

Melvin,

I hear you. Let’s hope they continue to struggle in the middle of the pack, and struggle worse than us. Of course, none of it will mean anything when the bright lights come on, other than home court advantage. And that, my friend, we definitely need…

By niremetal

February 22, 2009 9:01 PM | Link to this

Anyone else notice how Gardner is lightin’ em up down in Anaheim? He’s in for a rude awakening when he comes back and gets nothing but DNP-CDs under Woody…

By ray

February 22, 2009 9:05 PM | Link to this

From Yahoo Sports:

http://sports.yahoo.com/nba/news;ylt=Ajgbc8qsArshKKxYPk87HYV10bYF?slug=teamreports-2009-nba-atl&prov=sportsxchange&type=teamreport

By ray

February 22, 2009 9:09 PM | Link to this

Ah hell, I probably posted the link all kinds of wrong. I’ll just have to do this:

The Hawks are watching the standings these days the same way they watch opposing teams pound them on the glass.

But if they don’t start attacking instead of watching, their apathy on the backboards will end up chewing up the small cushion they have over Miami (three games), Detroit and Philadelphia (four games) for the fourth spot in the Eastern Conference playoff chase.

Friday night the Portland Trail Blazers pounded them on the glass, closing that gap in the standings in the process.

It’s a connection that could cost the Hawks dearly if they’re not careful.

“They were relentless on the glass,” Hawks captain and All-Star Joe Johnson said of the Blazers. “I don’t think we were determined enough, especially on the defensive boards, I don’t feel as if we were boxing out and being more determined them to get the rebounds. They were getting offensive rebounds and getting put-backs, that was it right there, that was the turn in the game right there.”

If the Hawks aren’t careful, it might turn out to be the turn in their season. At 32-23, the Hawks have to do whatever it takes to keep up the pace they set with a 21-10 start to the season.

It doesn’t take a beautiful mind to figure out that they are two games under .500 since that hot start. And many of the struggles they have endured the past seven weeks stem from their inability to compete with teamS that tower over the Hawks in the frontcourt.

“We can’t use any of that stuff as an excuse,” said Hawks center Al Horford, whose 18 rebounds against Sacramento Wednesday night was a distant memory after Friday’s loss to the Blazers. “We’re not going to either. We have to find a way to get out of this funk and get back to playing as a team on both ends of the floor.

“That’s the only way we shake ourselves out of this mess as a group, is to get back to playing together. We’ve gotten away from that in our losses and it’s obvious that’s what it is. So we have to regroup and get ready for Utah (Monday). And I think we’ll do that and be fine.”

Again, is this a problem amongst themselves, or simply a case of them tuning Woody out? Wish I knew for certain.

I recognize the lack of size, but we’ve overcome that before, have we not? We can’t do it all the time, but the lack of hustle is obvious. Is it stemming from something else that we as fans can’t/don’t see, or is is plain old lack of effort?

By ray

February 22, 2009 9:13 PM | Link to this

Niremetal,

I recall assistant GM David Pendergrast bragging about how they had been scouting Gardner for some time before he was signed. All that bragging for what? A coach that won’t play him? I may as well not even get started on this…but let’s see if he plays enough minutes all season long to equal a single NBA game. But there will be no rude awakening for him. He’s been here all year. He knows the deal. You ain’t nobody till Woody says you are.

By ray

February 22, 2009 9:20 PM | Link to this

I think one of the issues we see against teams that have better size and length is a lack of adjustments. The Blazers saw what Horford did to Sacramento. They countered it. But in turn, we did not counter what they did. We almost never do. And when we do, it’s well past time. By the time Solo came in to help, it was too late. And Morris didn’t come in at all.

Now you can say that Morris and Solo don’t get any PT because they can’t play, and Woody knows exactly what he’s doing. But that turns into a chick-and-the-egg conversation really quick, as you would think that getting some real time minutes throughout the course of the season would help force these guys to get with the program.

Portland countered our 6’9/6’10 energizers with a combination of size and toughness (Pryzbilla’s 7’1” 260lb frame), length, and energy (Aldridge 6’11”, Batum 6’8”, Frye 6’10”, and Outlaw 6’9/6’10”). We didn’t use Solo (6’10”) until later, and Randolph (6’11” 270) never showed up. We kept “countering” with Zaza….sigh….

By doc

February 22, 2009 9:26 PM | Link to this

well ray i agree with so much of what you said except the comment on anderson. i am much more excited about him than druw jones or jr. sooooo glad that we missed on all the folks we missed on as we will surprise a lot of folks this year with who we ended up with. i am even looking forward to seeing some minor league ball as there are several kids that will be coming on soon to get sneaks on them.

david pendergrast , hmmmm do i know him?

By Melvin

February 22, 2009 9:33 PM | Link to this

Ray, lack of adjustments is a understatement. Unless you want to count clueless steers, mouth open while arms folded as an adjustment…

By doc

February 22, 2009 9:39 PM | Link to this

or maybe i should say, hmm, david pendergrast, havent i met him before?

By Ariose

February 22, 2009 9:45 PM | Link to this

Ray, What do you think about Morris. He can create space for smoove inside because he likes to face-up and hit the outside jumper and he’s Long. Do you think if he got consistant playing time between now and the end of the season, he would eventually become a valuable assett to the hawks?

I honestly don’t beleive the guy can be that bad. Like i’ve said before, he’s the biggest and longest guy on our roster……sekou said he’s very polished offensively??? What’s up? We’ve got to try something.

Even if we end up wrapping the season up well with our homestand, we still have to play on the road in the playoffs. We need length. I say we see what the guy can do before it’s too late.

~Sir Links A Lot~

By Ariose

February 22, 2009 9:49 PM | Link to this

NVM, Ray. Your latest post just answred my question lol….

~Sir Links A Lot~

By ray

February 22, 2009 10:05 PM | Link to this

Doc,

I’d bet good money on it (and win).

By rms

February 22, 2009 10:31 PM | Link to this

Dang Woody, how you get fired on your day off! Somebody please slap Woody!

By Samuel

February 22, 2009 11:08 PM | Link to this

Up 3 and 4.5

By rms

February 22, 2009 11:29 PM | Link to this

Where is Sekou hiding? What is he doing, writing a new blog. Does he even pay attention to any of the responses or questions posed here lately?

By Ken Strickland

February 23, 2009 12:37 AM | Link to this

I have a question. Do any of you think Lorenzen Wright is bigger, faster, quicker, a better bebounder, shooter, shotblocker, passer, scorer or DEF player, with more potential, than either Solo or Morris. If not, when did Woodson give Wright so much playing time and Solo and Morris little to none? I’ll ask the same question about PG Anthony Johnson compared to Acie Law.

Portland has a much larger team and Woodson subbornly tried to match them with smaller players. Understand me, I didn’t say this fool of a HC used his teams advantage in quickness and speed to out run them. He tried to match their superior size and height by having his smaller, shorter players go toe to toe with them. Instead of rotating his frontline players to keep them fresh so they can battle Portland’s larger frontline, this neanderthal of a HC played his 3 biggest players, off the bench a total of 20mins(Zaza 15, Solo 5 and Morris DNP). Yet, he expected his starting frontline to be just as effective doing in the 4th qtr what they had difficulty doing in the 1st qtr when they were fresh.

WE DON’T HAVE A WINNING RECORD BECAUSE OF WOODSON, WE HAVE ONE IN SPITE OF HIM.

By ray

February 23, 2009 12:42 AM | Link to this

Ariose,

I say let the guy get some burn. It would probably prove more useful than signing a guy (this requires spending money, remember?) and then watching him sit the pine because he’s not “well acclimated enough” to Woody’s system. Better the devil you know, eh?

By ray

February 23, 2009 12:45 AM | Link to this

Ariose,

I’m a believer in the idea that experience is the mother of all teachers. Having said that, unless Woody believes that Morris is just that bad of a player and will only hurt the team in a game, I’d play him. But I don’t see what Woody sees in practice, and I don’t coach the team. He must not like what he sees. At the same time, I’m not going to blindly go along with that either. I think the guy can contribute, and it bothers me to see coaches that don’t take that point of view.

But hey, Don Nelson is the same damn way.

By ray

February 23, 2009 1:41 AM | Link to this

Ken,

Heh, heh! I have to say I agree with the points you made. I guess I’m too tired right now to match the vehemence, lol! Heh, heh, heh! I can just hear the frustration in your voice, and I don’t even know what your voice sounds like, lol!

By dap01

February 23, 2009 7:40 AM | Link to this

If management keeps Woody after this year, we should start over and get different players. He wants someone who can simply shoot from 30 ft with out any offensive coaching.

The Hawks are NOT headed in a good direction right now.

By ant banks

February 23, 2009 8:17 AM | Link to this

all of you all screamin’ for woody’s head need to stop wastin’ cyber ink. how can you justify firin’ a coach who has gone 13, 26, 30, 37 plus a strong playoff showin’ in ‘08, then matches that with a 40+ win season and a back-to-back playoff, in ‘09 possibly makin’ it to the 2nd rnd.

asg doesn’t have the money to pay off woodson’s year salary, plus pay a new coach to come in, when the team is winnin’ any way. it makes no sense.

i am not a woody lover, but i know economics and common sense and right now neither one of them says fire woody

By doc

February 23, 2009 9:08 AM | Link to this

seems that way ab

suns dropped back to earth didnt they? it will be interesting to see where they go from here, now that they are not playing the likes of the clips. heard their coach say they made it to the finals without amare before, got to do it again. only they traded two of the major cogs in that to the bobcats. man have they run that organization into the ground for nothing. when did they start blow it as an organization and how much return have they gotten with each decision since? sarver/kerr combo when will they get it right?

the suns thank the stars for steve nash to keep them close. he doesnt have the answer to rondo on a tear, any more than bibby does. only problem is bibby is where nash was age wise when nash came to the suns isnt he? he unfortunately is already a huge liability on the defensive side, one on one, which is the way they usually play pro ball.

now, how did we lose to the clips?

By Astro Joe

February 23, 2009 9:38 AM | Link to this

Good morning all, The morning crew on 790 The Zone were shredding Josh Smith this morning… in a way that I haven’t heard before. And I’m not talking about 1 segment for 90 seconds. He is basically a main subject matter this morning. As one of the hosts said, “if we want a team that is more than a 4-5 seed in the Eastern Conference and does more than sometimes wins a 1st round playoff series, we cannot accept this level of performance from Josh Smith”. They mentioned that JJ is clearly “off” and hinted that Hawks officials are concerned. And they said that Bibby is leading this team and that he can walk in the summer. One of the other interesting statements was the comparison between Smith and Vick. Shapiro said that he would love if Smith were more like Vick. He talked about how Vick left it on the field every game, how he would invite his teammates to “get on his back” and how fiercely competitive Vick was as a Falcon. And he said that he doesn’t see any of that type of competitiveness in Smith. JJ is slumping and Smith doesn’t pick up his teammates through sheer hustle and determination. They kept asking, “why isn’t this guy putting up 18 & 10 each and every game? Why is it 11/5 one game and 25/15 the next? He’s been in the league for 5 years”.

It seems like the basis for the rant is that Smith isn’t rebounding/hustling and that with JJ clearly having issues, Smith and his nice big contract should be stepping up his game not going in reverse. Oh and they challenged anyone to call in and use the “he’s still young” excuse. They mentioned several players who are of comparable age (or younger) who don’t seem to forget the need to hustle every game.

Steak is a blow-hard and is prone to “play radio”, so when he does these kind of rants I usually don’t pay attention. But Chris Dimino was on board and likewise going off on Smith. Dimino is not nearly as brilliant as he would like to believe, but he is a serious type who isn’t into hyperbole. It was an interesting rant. And they clearly talked about Smith from the perspective of utilizing his phenomenal physical tools.

Anyway, the Hawks don’t get much mention on sports talk here in Atlanta. So it was interesting to hear their analysis of the players and their pre-show decision to call out Smith. Of course, they only brought on callers who share their feelings and those guys weren’t in short supply.

By ladiesman3000

February 23, 2009 9:40 AM | Link to this

hey ant the same way the Pistons GM justified firing their coach about multilple 50 win seasons and consecutive appearences in the conference championship and the Suns firing D’Antoni about turning their team around but couldnt take them to the Finals. At the rate we are progressing we wil finally make the Finals around 2011. Come on, that slow progression. Someone said earlier, either fire Woody and get a coach that can get the most out the current roster (with some minor tweaks) or keep Woodson and adjust a roster that suits to Woodson’s style of play. I would rather do that than just fire somebody without a plan

By Ken Strickland

February 23, 2009 9:51 AM | Link to this

ANT BANKS-it’s been done before. Phoenix canned D’Antoni and Porter. Houston canned Avery, Detroit canned Brown and Saunders, and LA canned Jackson and Riley. They all had winning records, most of them took their teams to the playoffs, a few won NBA championships and at least 3 of them(Brown, Jackson and Riley) will be HOF candidates.

WHY SHOULD WOODSON BE GIVEN A FREE PASS?

By Astro Joe

February 23, 2009 10:02 AM | Link to this

Can someone who has paid attention to Rodney Stuckey explain his hype to me. I started to pay a little more attention to him a few weeks ago when the Hawks played the Pistons (I think the game before the All-Star break). He had a decent game but didn’t look particularly special to me. Since then, I’ve been watching the box scores and I don’t get the hype. Granted, he had a great month in December so maybe he hit a wall or something. Maybe I started watching him at the wrong time.

I like Joe Dumars A LOT. And maybe in the long-term, he will be proven right about his most recent decisions. But that team looks awful and it seems like they need several pieces to get right again. And I assume that Michael Curry will “grow into the job” because so far, dude looks fairly clueless from the outside looking in. They are leaderless and finding a leader in free agency is extremely hard. I like Joe Dumars but I wish them no luck in righting their ship.

By doc

February 23, 2009 10:41 AM | Link to this

they seem to have forgotten that vick ADMITTED he came and didnt play on one sunday and i assure you it wasnt the first, forgot about his drug addiction, how he wasnt committed to the film room to get better and how he didnt come back from an injury that most thought he should have resolved within 6 weeks. that said i WAS a vick apologist but dont see any comparison to josh smith except a beaten and tired body. thus far none of that resembles josh smith thankfully. did anyone really see how he was hanging over his shorts after being given the assignment to guard roy? he is too easy a target when you have the star of the team being very inefficient on scoring points taking too many shots to get his points every game. remember when folks were lauding his triple double and i said ti was one of the quietest triple doubles i had seen in a long time and was shouted out?

i said smith was going to be broke until the season was over and should be used cautiously. as they did apparently with horford whose injury was less likely to turn into a chronic problem. i’ll repeat and anyone as an athlete in the smallest of sense knows it; tendons and ligaments dont heal nearly as well as bones. he is now off kilter in body mechanics and has to work much harder to do what he used to do with ease. it will be next year before we can expect smith to play as he did before.

better get a reserve ready for meaningful minutes woody as you continue to beat down your horses. it is beginning to look like a alaskan dog sled team right now. need to occasionally put a fresh dog at the front or they die. even when one talks of common sense there will be those that come on here and say quit making excuses. mark it, and who will be the first? they be the hatas. heh heh

By Melvin

February 23, 2009 10:44 AM | Link to this

Astro, I had similiar thoughts about Stuckey. He better comeout of this slump or become more consistent for Dumars sake. Just think, because of Stuckey, they traded away an All-Star (Bullips) and bench another All-Star (Rip) just so they could make this his team. And doing all of this for him in his second year. He’s has moments that remind you of DWade but he’s no DWade…

Also, did you see the Clemson/GT game yesterday. If so, what do you think of the kid Trevor Brooker that plays for Clemson?

By ant banks

February 23, 2009 10:46 AM | Link to this

ladiesman300 and ken the organizations that you all mentioned Dallas firin’ Avery, Phoenix firin’ D’antoni, Detroit “cannin’ Brown and Saunders.” are WINNING organizations!! Phoenix organizations went to the finals with kj and barkley, detroit has several titles, and Cuban is the type owner that we can only dream of.

those organizations fired those coaches because of who they are as an organization. there is nothin’ about asg that can suggest that they can pull this off.

By ILL-logical

February 23, 2009 11:11 AM | Link to this

The question of the week is: What was Mr. Sund looking at while traveling with the team that he couln’t have seen on TV?

On a related note, how about some adjustments to the starting line up that could increase the interior defense that currently is not doing a good job covering up the liablities of the starting backcourt.

How about starting Solo at the 5 and give him his 11 minutes at the start of the game and adding an additional shotblocker to the mix;put Al at the 4 , thus increasing the rebounding phase of the defense ; and, Josh at the 3 where he can expend energy guarding the LaBrons and Paul Pierces of the world and minimize the need to double team them.

Offensively, this unit is faster and would have some physical mis matches that be exploited : Josh at 6’8”,230 is bigger than most 3’s(except ,of course,LaBron) and could post them up at will.

The second unit would have ZaZa at 5; Marvin at 4 ,where he could become aggresive offensively and at 6’9”,245 lbs would not be always at a size disadvantage(see David Lee). Mo would be the 3 and Flip and Acie would be the backcourt.The minutes would stay the same more or less but Joe and Bibby could get more rest.

The real key though is that now there would be some room to be flexible in making adjustments during the game. for instance, if the opponent went small, then Woodon could counter with a line up that resembles the current starting 5. Or, if Joe gets in foul trouble Flip or even Marvin can provide the scoring punch. The point is to use your personnel in a way that maximizes their skills according to the situation .

Since there appears to be a minimal amount of interest in adding to the current mix, better and rational use of the current roster would appear to be an idea whose time has come.

By kwooden1

February 23, 2009 11:41 AM | Link to this

I will step in a defend JS, even though I believe he could be playing better also. One, JS’ ankle isn’t right, and if it is mentally he doesn’t trust that it’ right. He’s not jumping as high as he did last year or even early this year before he got hurt. Against LA and Portland, his jumping and length advantage are nullified by Odom and Aldridge. (their both just as long and have comparable hops, Odom use to!) I do think JS needs to put more effort into boxing out and jumping after every rebound. Overall his shooting hasn’t improved, which is really hampering his growth. As stated to many times in this blog, the team needs to get out and run more, maximize it’s bench and most of all develop a much better offensive system! Horford and JS playing out of position can work sometime, but definitely not all the time!

Utah presents a completely different challenge than Portland because they have a defend offensive system which gets them a lot of open shots. I’m not sure what Woody’s going to do defensively, but I know it will involve slowing the game down. (Won’t Work!!) The real way to beat them is to out score them! They rarely score less than 100, but even more rarely do they lose to a team that doesn’t score over a 100! The Hawks are going to have to rebound the ball and attack Okur and Milsap off the dribble. JJ and Bibby better bring their ‘A’ games because they have almost no chance of even slowing down Williams and Brewer. Utah has only lost once this month, its going to take a special performance to give them their second!!

GO HAWKS!!!!

By O'brien

February 23, 2009 12:33 PM | Link to this

How do you guys think the game is going to go tonight?

I think JJ will end up guarding Deron to disrupt Utah’s rhythm, and Bibby will continue to score. Maybe we’ll get worn down eventually, but we will keep it close early, and then Sloan will make an adjustment, and Utah makes their run.

However, this being the Jekyll and Hyde Hawks, I would not be surprised if we pulled it out either.

By jhan

February 23, 2009 12:50 PM | Link to this

There are no excuses for Josh - if he’s too hurt to play then sit down. What does losing some of his athleticism have to do with not boxing out? You would think that by losing some jumping ability he would box out better.

I’ve said this many times, he got the big time contract & now it’s time to perform. If he can’t or doesn’t perform he has to face the critics.

If this team didn’t depend on him so much he wouldn’t be under such a microscope. But the team NEEDS him to perform well every night to be successful. That is an issue with wanting to be “the man” - you get held to a high standard.

Now is the time for Josh to step up - not just for a 5 game stretch - for the next 5 years!

By Astro Joe

February 23, 2009 12:56 PM | Link to this

O’brien, I can see your scenario. Close game and ultimately Sloan makes a key adjustment and we lose.

If I were going to change the starting line-up, I’d bench Smith and start Solo. Solo can get his 2 fouls in the first 5 minutes of each half and go sit down. But at least we’d start each half with a defensive energizer to set the tone. And since the backcourt can’t seem to jump start 3 front court players, let’s give them only Horford and Marvin to worry about. If Smith’s dealing with an bum ankle, then managing his minutes makes perfect sense. Personally, I’d be afraid that starting Smith at the SF would result in some perimeter shots that would hurt all involved (including the paint on the rim). Smith can still get 32+ minutes and will be on the floor at the end of the game.

By jhan

February 23, 2009 1:11 PM | Link to this

Why should we change anything? We have a winning record, right?! LOL

By Astro Joe

February 23, 2009 1:41 PM | Link to this

jhan, if Smith doesn’t (or can’t) elevate his game to last year’s level, then we have to change something. Or at least make an attempt to do something different. Because being out-rebounded game-after-game is not likely going to lead to the desired result. I’d like to think that Smith doesn’t have “fat cat syndrome”. But whatever the cause is, Woody needs to start testing different options to improve the team’s rebounding and defensive performance.

By Ken Strickland

February 23, 2009 1:46 PM | Link to this

ANT BANKS-yes they are winning organizations, and one of the main reasons is they make the tough decisions that allow that to happen. Like getting rid of a HC if his presence and/or approach no longer contributes to the long term future of the team, regardless of what he’s done in the past or is doing currently. In other words, they’re winning organizations because they won’t hesitate to get rid of a HC if his policies and system are no longer getting the most out of his players. They will also make the tough decision to fire a HC if there’s a chance his players, especially his younger players who represent the longterm future of the team, might not resign because of the way he treats or mistreats them. The same holds true for the ability to sign potential FA’s, and for the same reasons.

IF WE’RE NOT AN ELITE OR CHAMPIONSHIP CALIBUR TEAM NOW, WHAT WILL WE BE WHEN AND/OR IF, ACIE, SOLO, ZAZA, MORRIS, JJ, BIBBY, AND MAYBE MARVIN AND EVANS, DECIDE THEY’VE HAD ENOUGH OF WOODSON’S INCOMPETENCE, INFLEXIBILITY, INCONSISTENCY AND NEGATIVE ATTITUDE TOWARDS YOUNGER PLAYERS AND DRAFT PICKS THAT AREN’T FINISHED PRODUCTS ON DAY ONE?

HIRING, AND BEING UNWILLING TO MAKE THE TOUGH DECISISON TO FIRE, HC’S LIKE WOODSON IS THE REASON THE HAWKS HAVE PRIMARILY BEEN A LOSING ORGANIZATION THROUGHOUT ITS HISTORY IN ATLANTA. BK GAVE WOODSON A HIGH SPEED FERRARI, AND INSTEAD OF TAKING IT OUT ON THE OPEN ROAD AND SEEING HOW WELL IT PREFORMS, HE’S CHOSEN TO SLOWLY CRUISE THROUGH THE NEIGHBORHOOD BECAUSE HE’S MORE CONCERNED WITH HOW HE LOOKS DRIVING IT THAN FINDING OUT HOW WELL IT MIGHT PERFORM. HOWEVER, KNOWING YOU’RE NOT A VERY GOOD DRIVER MIGHT CONTRIBUTE TO THE PROBLEM.

By ant banks

February 23, 2009 1:50 PM | Link to this

durin’ las’ summer, several of you all were screamin’ bloody murder when the hawks did not sign jsmoove immediately.

sund approach was to let the market set smoov salary. memphis tendered an offer sheet of 10mil per, atl matched it.

smoov ain’t worth the crazy jack that he wanted. this summer please package a trade deal with smoove, Craig Claxton (expiring contract), and jchills and a 1st rounder and see what that brings.

jsmoove is a head case.

By newkid

February 23, 2009 1:53 PM | Link to this

One view: A decision on Woody must be made before significant re-shuffling of the deck.

It would be counter-productive for Sund to go on record with this, but I gotta think that one huge unstated explanation for him holding his powder at the trade deadline is that he needs to be sure of the coach (and the system) for next year before he starts to do any serious tinkering. I think it’s highly likely that Woody either gets shipped out after the season, or he’ll get a long-term deal (no more of the 1-2 year business). If he’s not retained, Sund will bring in a new cat who’ll be selected based upon his suitability to run the system for which Sund wishes to build. Then Sund will tweak the roster (with all the flexibility he has this summer) to provide the pieces needed to execute his preferred system.

Woody’s limitations are likely already quite obvious to Sund. But with the ASG fiasco sitting out there festering and several expirings in his tool box, it seems evident that he decided the quick start and being 10 games north of 0.500 was enough to allow him to sit out the trade deadline and wait until circumstances were more conducive for a long-term decision on Woody.

A first round playoff departure will likely be very quickly followed by a ticket out of here for Woody. Sund will want to get ‘his man’ in here swiftly to prepare for the draft and the deck shuffling that’s certain to come this summer. If Woody is competitive beyond the 2nd round, it’s gonna be tough for Sund to deny him a 3-4 year extension, and the pieces Woody wants to try and get to the next level.

Just an opinion.

By doc

February 23, 2009 1:57 PM | Link to this

they play team defense and somehow there is a break down. they are not doing it the way they were before horford went down, also competition is better. if smith is out on a wing player he is out of position to box or rebound. scheme is falling apart is my suspicion and other teams are exploiting it. fresh legs make it go their’s are not fresh.

By ant banks

February 23, 2009 2:05 PM | Link to this

the same people who yellin’ re-sign smoove are the same ones yellin’ to fire woody.

re-signin’ smoove was a mistake and firin’ woody is a mistake, too.

as one gm stated, if you listen to the public, you will find yourself out of a job quickly.

sund was correct on waitin’ to sign smoove and on keepin’ woody

By Blast

February 23, 2009 2:26 PM | Link to this

Doc, we lost to the Clippers because they have much bigger guys that out hustled us, out rebounded us, and the team could not seem to miss a shot. We lost to the Blazers the same way, which reiterates the rants here for a bigger center or at worse, play RandMo more. It’s really sickening to watch the Hawks give up four offensive rebounds only to have the other team score on the 4th attempt. It makes no sense to play solid D for 23 seconds, then do not box out, and allow your opponent to get the ball again and score. Yeah, they might be bigger than us, but isn’t there something called boxing out? All 5 teammates being responsible for rebounds? No leaking out on fast break until your team has actually secured the ball? I believe these are just fundamental rules of basketball that the Hawks seems to have lost lately.

Ill-logical, in a previous post, I said the same thing. When Al Horford returns from injury, we need to start Solo at 5, Al at 4, Josh at three and have Marvin come off the bench. Marvin plays better and more agressively when he does not need to defer to Joe and Bibby. With him and Flip being the go to guys for the second unit, he should be able to shine in that role, and it will also allow the Hawks to go 9-10 deep with Solo and Acie getting quality time, but of course, Mike Woodson did not listen to me. I really think in lieu of no trades this season, no big man pickup, a lineup shuffle might get the Hawks out of their current funk.

I said before the Hawks will lose to LA, beat Sac-Town, lose to the Jazz tonight, maybe win at Denver before coming home. Lets see them prove me wrong tonight.

Glad to see the Trailblazers fans in the house giving the Hawks some love. I was a Blazer fan for years when they had Damon Stoudemire, Steve Smith, Rasheed Wallace, and Sabonis battling LA for the west crown all those years. You guys have a great promising team with a bright future. Nice to the Portland rising back from the ashes after rebuilding that team.

By I MUS WRITE

February 23, 2009 2:46 PM | Link to this

Off season move……………. Josh/Acie/Speedy/1st for Aldridge/Battum/2nd

By doc

February 23, 2009 2:52 PM | Link to this

blast yes i know i was there, you saw what i saw. 1 and 4 unless they surprise in denver. mile high is not where tired legs like to play on the last night of a long road trip. if hey win it is all heart.

By Astro Joe

February 23, 2009 2:57 PM | Link to this

newkid, makes perfect sense to me. I also think that Sund needs a “going forward” budget to develop his roster (and coaching) plans. And I seriously doubt that he has that given the proceedings in Maryland. I also wonder about his own contract status. I recall the rumors that the ASG were looking to hire a GM on the cheap. For all we know, Sund may be sitting on a 2 year contract, with an “owner’s option” based on how this court proceeding ends.

I think we have the perfect intersection between a GM looking to evaluate players and coaches and an ownership group hoping for resolution in the next 12-15 months. Fortunately, while all of this chaos happens behind the curtain, we get to watch some entertaining basketball from a playoff-bound team. We just need to ignore that grinding/banging/gnashing sound coming from the recesses of the arena. The ASG would tell us to “Shut up and enjoy the show”.

By Mychelfromatl

February 23, 2009 3:10 PM | Link to this

Wow, looks like the Hawks vs. Cavs this Sunday will be nationally televised on ESPN @ 8:00. Here’s the link.

By Mychelfromatl

February 23, 2009 3:13 PM | Link to this

Also, I seriously hope these dudes don’t come out and embarrass Atlanta Sunday by getting blown-out by 20+ in front of a national televised audience.

By O'brien

February 23, 2009 4:24 PM | Link to this

I have been very disappointed in Josh’s play this year, but I wonder how much of it is due to the Woody factor? I think it was Ray who asked the question some time ago if it was Josh who chooses to hang around the 3 point line, or was it the scheme?

The disappointing thing about Josh right now is you cannot point your finger at one area and say he’s doing well. If I’m not mistaken, his defense (and blocks) are down, his rebounding is down, his scoring is down, his FT% is down, his energy and hustle is down.

Dude’s been a starter in this league for 5 years now. Do you we still say he’s young and learning? Can we blame this all on his injury? I still wouldnt give up on Josh yet though, because I dont know what effect a better coach would have on his game.

By newkid

February 23, 2009 5:09 PM | Link to this

Anyone here understand the thinking associated with sending Gardner and Hunter down for 2-3 games, then immediately recalling them? Why now and not in November? Could it be they were sent down so that they could get their legs in anticipation of some actual playing time with the big club?

By Ken Strickland

February 23, 2009 5:22 PM | Link to this

Hawks just recalled Hunter and Gardner from the D League. It appears Sund thought enough of their performances to feel they could help the Hawks down the stretch. However, unless he’s given Woodson a mandate of some kind, they’ll rot at the end of the bench. Why would Sund expect Woodson to shoot himself in the foot by giving both players an opportunity to prove he was wrong in not playing them in the 1st place.

Just watch, as the pressure to win and make the playoffs mount, Woodson will become even more stubborn, more inflexible and far less willing to make adjustments in his approach or trust players he hasn’t used much all season, especially the younger players. Something tells me we are in for 3 possible beatdowns over the next 3gms.

By ant banks

February 23, 2009 5:23 PM | Link to this

Hawks recall Gardner, Hunter…WHY?

By doc

February 23, 2009 5:34 PM | Link to this

they were always going down there for just the three games they played. never were they to stay longer. gardner got to shoot and score, hunter got to make boards.

By O'brien

February 23, 2009 5:46 PM | Link to this

If you were going to send them down, they should have been sent down from November. Why even send them to the D-League nnow? You send them down, they (especially Gardner) play well,and then they come back to sit on the bench for the rest of the year. What’s the point?

Maybe it’s Sund’s subtle way of letting Woody know that he has his eyes on him and the way he doesnt use his bench consistently.

Sekou, any thoughts?

By Ariose

February 23, 2009 5:55 PM | Link to this

ant banks, well if Josh doesn’t deserve his money then Igoudola, Emecka Okafor and Leoul Deng should all be making their original rookie salaries because what they got over the summer was highway robbery. Especially when you look at the impact(or lack there of) theat they are having with their respective teams.

You can all gripe about Josh all you want but if he don’t play, we don’t win, period……yes the injury has set him back bigtime but he will rebound from this. Like Joe, he is slumping also. He played a lot better whn he first came back from the injury so i am sure it is just a slump.

~Sir Links A Lot~

By Blast

February 23, 2009 7:10 PM | Link to this

Josh will be fine, and I would not ship him anywhere yet, though I would love for us to get Aldridge. Josh is in his 1st offical slump of his career, as is Joe. He will bounce back, I just don’t know when yet. I don’t think he’s recovered completely from his injury, maybe mentally than not. We are so used to him playing at a high level, improving his game every year, that we are kind of spoilt when he does not bring it consistently. The whole team as a whole is not playing well, save for Bibby and Flip. (Stop wasting a 28 point effort by Bibby!) Josh and Joe have particularly stunk it up, Joe more than Josh. And funk or not, Josh deserves his money. The other guys Ariose mentioned have not improved their teams really well. Iguodala seeems to have picked it up, but he still doesn’t deserve those max $$$. His team is a .500 ball club.

Crazy about Gardner, 23.5 & 5.5 and Hunter, 10 rebounds in two games. What are the Hawks doing? I thought they were trying to open up roster spots when they shipped those guys off to the D league, which should have happened in Nov?. Now they recall them after two games? Hmmm….Things getting interesting……Will Woody play those guys or wear Joe to the ground?

I’m not too crazy about Hawks Cavs game being on ESPN. FSS is good enough for me. Anybody noticed that most of those national TV games turns out to be blowouts? Which does not make for thrilling basketball unless your team is winning? The Cavs are gonna have the Hawks on their gunsight after losing here in Phipps last year. Z is back, and West too. It should be a great ballgame, hope not a blowout on us!

By Najeh Davenpoop

February 23, 2009 7:15 PM | Link to this

I don’t know whether Josh Smith is still suffering effects from his injury (Sekou if you could let us know that would be cool) but he clearly hasn’t been himself on the defensive end, which is where he makes his biggest impact. That said, the offense works a lot better when he gets touches in the post, and it’s not his fault that he doesn’t get the ball more often in that position. His numbers being down are at least partially attributable to whoever decides he shouldn’t get more touches in the post.

As far as the comparisons to Vick… Vick put a poorly coached team with average talent on his back and made it competitive every year he was a starter. I can see a comparison of Josh Smith to Vick in the sense that both are unique players who suffer from unimaginative coaching. But Vick was the kind of game-changing talent that could overcome poor coaching and make a team into a playoff contender essentially by himself. Josh Smith is a nice player, but he ain’t Vick. Expecting him to make the kind of impact Vick made is not fair to Josh Smith.

Astro Joe — Stuckey has been playing much worse in the last couple of months than he did in November and December, but I kinda agree with you too… people may be tempted to blame Iverson for the Pistons’ struggles this year, but I think the real problem is that Joe Dumars overvalued Stuckey, Amir Johnson and Jason Maxiell, who all are forced into significant minutes for their team now and who are not quite up to the task yet at this point in their careers.

By jhan

February 23, 2009 7:16 PM | Link to this

Ariose - teams that do well in this league don’t have continued slumps from players they count on. That’s all we’re trying to say. Nothing personal against Josh we just need him to play better. Who cares about players on other teams right now. The Hawks are my team & that’s who I’m concerned with.

AJ - You’re point is right on the mark. If it’s not working try something different. It doesn’t have to be a permanent change unless it works.

Do you think players egos are so fragile that Woody is scared to do something like that? On the other hand Woody doesn’t seem like the type that would care about coddling these guys. Who knows?

By MannyT

February 23, 2009 7:32 PM | Link to this

Hunter & Gardner had fixed time in the D-League because it was easy to drop them off while the team was on the west coast. No need for them to miss the ride home. Otherwise, we’d have to pay for 2 plane tickets to get them back to Atlanta. Almost like the share a ride bulletin board in college.

Remember, no matter what you think of LeBron, Cash is the real King!

For those who say play RandMo, I have to ask you…does taller mean better. If so, call George Murhesan & Manute Bol. They won so many titles for the Wiz/Bullets in the 80s. Maybe richbrave can get the numbers for you.

Either our smaller front court players have to play quicker, or meaner, tougher. Where’s Dennis Rodman when you need him to coach? Hanging out with the Donald. Oh well.

Maybe playing against the Stat Stuffer Ghost of Christmas Past (AK47) will spark something in Josh tonight. If not…

Josh gives Sund a cap appropriate option to trade for a big man over the summer. If he isn’t filling the stat sheet, it gives Sund easy cover to move him in the offseason for a center. Nothing will happen before the summer due to base year compensation rules that make it too tricky to trade him. However, I could see him in a Clippers uniform next year. Not wishing any of this, just recognizing that based on salary He is the only option to get someone back that makes more than the mid level exception.

I just wish Sund could package the radio contract in that deal to get a station that actually broadcasts Hawks games. Between the late night signal and the Tech games, I have more luck getting other NBA teams on AM radio at night.

…and in the shameless plug for more season ticket holders, if you put down your $250 deposit for next season (first 100 new folks), the Hawks will give you lower level tix to the Cavs game.

Everybody has a Monte Hall-Let’s Make A Deal card in a bad economy.

BWAF

By Najeh Davenpoop

February 23, 2009 8:02 PM | Link to this

By the way, Carlos Boozer is a game time decision for tonight’s game.

By Astro Joe

February 23, 2009 8:05 PM | Link to this

I don’t know what coaching has to do with rebounding. Would anyone expect Marvin’s rebound numbers to change with a different coach (assuming his minutes stayed constant)? Woody may impact Smith’s offensive numbers, but that’s not usually a factor in the team winning (Smith’s offensive output). Most of the games we lose is when we allow the opposing team to score at will, not because we can’t score points. When we start losing games 92-85, then I will get concerned about our offense. But when we lose 108-98, well, that’s a defensive issue.

Other than a bad wheel, is there another rational for 16 boards in his last 155 minutes of action (5 games)?

Manny, that was an ugly beat-down you laid on me last week. You treated me like I stole your favorite popcorn container or something.

By Melvin

February 23, 2009 8:22 PM | Link to this

Look at these comments from a sports writer in reference to 3 upcoming free agents. Do yall really think Bibby and Marvin new deals will break the bank next season???? Not a good time to be a Free Agent this offseason. Advantage Owners…

He’s (Shawn Marion) a free agent and likely to be another along with Iverson and Rasheed Wallace to be fortunate to get an exception deal at about $5 million. I wouldn’t be surprised given the level of his on court disruption for the Nuggets and Pistons that Iverson isn’t picked up by anyone and his NBA career could be over.*

By Melvin

February 23, 2009 8:33 PM | Link to this

Watching the 76ers/Nets game. Sean Williams looks like D-League talent at best. Clyde, not sure what you see in this guy. I may have to question your eye for talent….lol

By MannyT

February 23, 2009 8:46 PM | Link to this

AJ I don’t recall taking you on lately. In fact, I have been on a pitch/post count.

I DID credit you for being wise (Yoda vs Anakin).

There was that Ray J thing, but that was all in fun and video self expression! However, I would say a better video role model might be Colin Farrell…but I’ll leave that choice for a more adult home movie blog ;-)

Melvin Your sports writer is begging to be called in for a drug test. Unless Iverson pulls out his Latrel Spreewell Guide to Teamwork, or his Mike Vick Guide to Animals, Iverson gets a job. Coach Curry doesn’t have enough cred in this biz to blackball Iverson. Coach Karl does not speak badly of AI either.

He won’t make $20 mil, but I don’t see him getting soup from doc on Wednesday’s while he talks about his old job either.

As for our guys, Bibby takes a pay cut. The question is how much and how many years. Marvin gets a raise. I suspect the Hawks will at least tender him. That means his worse case is 1 yr/ 7 mil and a chance to wait out the bad economy.

If Sund deals Josh for a center, Marvin might get a multi year offer around 6-7/yr which would be close to mid level exception plus raises.

Later, I may have to trickle over to the Hacks and highlight Sund’s preference to stick with BKs players at the trading deadline. I’m sure Ando would enjoy admitting that Sund likes BKs players…even with a coach that makes adjustments like a sundial. (The sun always has more effect on the dial than the other way around. Nate McMillan is like the sun, Woody is like the dial.)

BWAF

By MannyT

February 23, 2009 8:48 PM | Link to this

Melvin,

During warm ups did Sean Williams have on an old FIRE BK & WOODY t-shirt? Just curious…

By Astro Joe

February 23, 2009 9:01 PM | Link to this

MannyT, fantasy hoops. That’s what is was referring to… you kicked my cheesesteak-loving fanny last week.

By bigdave

February 23, 2009 9:05 PM | Link to this

there is no comparing Vick to Josh… love em both but its no contest…

By bigdave

February 23, 2009 9:06 PM | Link to this

it would be nice for us to pick up another win in a building we havent won in for years…

By Astro Joe

February 23, 2009 9:12 PM | Link to this

Melvin, in this economy, a player like AI who sells tickets is more valauble than a player who produces a handful more wins. He will take a paycut, but the notion that not a single owner will allow him to sell another few thousand season-tickets on behalf of his new team is ridiculous.

By bigdave

February 23, 2009 9:14 PM | Link to this

does Horford jump anymore…?

By Najeh Davenpoop

February 23, 2009 9:18 PM | Link to this

Joe Johnson is looking really good early. Defense could get better, but I like what I see offensively right now — an attempt to attack the rim and not settle for jumpshots.

By Clyde

February 23, 2009 9:21 PM | Link to this

Call up Othella and send Horford to the NBDL for 10 games.

It looks like its gonna be another a$$ whippin’ for the home team.

By bigdave

February 23, 2009 9:26 PM | Link to this

Josh was never this bad of a free throw shooter… what went wrong?

By Najeh Davenpoop

February 23, 2009 9:39 PM | Link to this

The most annoying thing about Josh Smith’s free throws is that he is doing a very good job of being aggressive and getting to the line. You want him to play like that, but obviously it means nothing if he doesn’t make the free throws. It’s getting to the point where you wonder if the Hawks would actually be better off with him just shooting 3’s.

Defense has to get a LOT better. Is it really that hard to stick a guy like Korver who can’t drive by anyone on this Hawks team?

By ray

February 23, 2009 9:40 PM | Link to this

This is hilarious.

After the Lakers game, I blasted Josh Smith for not getting a single rebound. I got met with a plethora of reasons and excuses as to why he performed so badly. I wasn’t having any of it, but was still told it was too harsh of a criticism.

Now we have a few drivers for the “It’s all Josh Smith’s fault” van. You know, the same one that Golden Boy Joe Johnson drives over his teammates after every loss here lately….

I have no problems recognizing that Smith is not getting the job done. I disagree with anyone who says that re-signing him was a mistake. It’s definitely on him to make the effort to do better. But how is that when he is not playing well, it’s “the guy is a worthless bum”, and when Johnson isn’t, it’s every excuse under the sun. At least Smith doesn’t blast his teammates to the media while underperforming his own self.

Yes, this team needs him to perform at a high level to succeed consistently. But that has to do with offense as well as defense. And last I looked, two guys have the ball in their hands all the time. Now, the guy said that physically he still isn’t “right.” I don’t know precisely what that means, but I’m disappointed with what he’s done lately. But he isn’t BY FAR the only one.

If the players on the floor can’t get it the hell together, then the coach needs to change who’s on the floor. If he can’t do that, then what the hell good is he?

But why even bother saying all this? After all, it’s Josh and only Josh who is the bane of the Hawks’ existence. Right.

This is what really kills me: First people want to say the guy is dumb. Well, if he’s dumb, then why are you expecting so much from him?

Then people want to say he’s not worth the money. Ok, so what fantabulous player are you expecting to get that will make us better than we are now, and which team will be dumb enough to give us that player for a worthless Josh Smith and whatever lesser pieces we can add?

For crying out loud…

By Najeh Davenpoop

February 23, 2009 9:41 PM | Link to this

The Jazz have extended this lead in the 2nd quarter while resting ALL their starters. This is their 2nd unit doing damage right now. Must be nice…

By bigdave

February 23, 2009 9:42 PM | Link to this

Bibby aint got it tonight fellas…

By ray

February 23, 2009 9:43 PM | Link to this

Josh wasn’t this bad of a free throw shooter last year. What could be wrong?

By ray

February 23, 2009 9:46 PM | Link to this

MannyT,

If there wasn’t an Ando-ism to pick at, some people would just not have anything to aspire to. I’d wait until this summer to see just how much Sund likes BKs players. Something tells me he doesn’t like the roster set up as much as he likes the useable pieces. But what do I know…

By Ric

February 23, 2009 9:49 PM | Link to this

Hey Losers, New Blog up!!!!

By bigdave

February 23, 2009 9:50 PM | Link to this

brewer is a bunny rabbit…

By ray

February 23, 2009 9:52 PM | Link to this

bigdave,

There must be an echo in the building. Oh no wait, that was me…

I can see the line already for the night: Hawks lose to Jazz 110-97.

Bibby goes 5-18 from the field and has only 3 assists. No problem. Joe goes 9-23. Not a big deal. Deron Williams has 27 points and 13 assists. So What. Kyle Korver comes off the bench for 21 points. Who cares. Josh Smith misses 6 free throws. Hmmm, I think that’s why we lost the game.

heh….

By Ken Strickland

February 23, 2009 9:53 PM | Link to this

Does anybody think the Hawks players are paying any attention to anything Woodson is saying. They’re not hustling, playing any DEF, or moving the ball on OFF. WOODSON HAS LOST HIS VETERAN PLAYERS AND HAS NEVER TRIED TO CONNECT WITH ANY OF HIS YOUNGER PLAYERS. THE HAWKS HAVE STARTED TO BECOME NONCOMPETITIVE AND AN EMBARRASSMENT SINCE THE ALLSTAR BREAK.

By kirkinga

February 23, 2009 10:34 PM | Link to this

ray, sorry if I missed your questions. I figure I’ll just skim thru the ranting and venting until the Hawks are back home and order is restored. The Circus Is In Town trip out West is usually unsettling for some fans and this season is no different.

People will come to like Anderson, I had him as 3rd on my wish list of free agent LF’s, behind only Ibanez, and Abreu.

As I am almost singularly focused on wins, I’m a big believer in clutchness. No team in any sport can become championship contenders without clutch players. Garret Anderson is such a player. His stats that stick out are what he does when it’s time to score runs and score them late in the game.

It’s the same debate we’ve seen rage here, who are the clutch players for the Hawks? That was my argument for Amare, I believe the Hawks need another clutch guy. Even Jordan needed help and he was the essence of clutch player.

So, yeah, you had questions…lol? Play Acie more you say?

Go Hawks!!