Woodson cooks up minutes plan for Hawks

By Sekou Smith

The Atlanta Journal-Constitution

On paper, Mike Woodson's plan looks like something the folks at AT&T might have cooked up.

There are shared minutes, rollover minutes and just about enough minutes to go around for everyone.

But in reality, there's no telling how floor time works out in the flow of a game, let alone an 82-game season.

That's one reason why the Hawks' coach is so anxious for his team to hit the floor Wednesday night in the preseason opener against New Orleans at Philips Arena, even if it is just a dress rehearsal for the real thing.

"I've got an idea of how we want to do things," Woodson said. "But that could all change as we go through this. The fact is guys won't play big minutes in the preseason. Our team is a little different now in that you're not trying to get guys reps so they'll be in tune to what goes on when the regular season starts.

"So I'm going to use this exhibition season a little bit different. I don't have to play Josh Smith and Joe Johnson 30-plus minutes a game. In the past we might have."

Johnson and Smith piled up the minutes last season, leading the Hawks with 39.5 and 35.1, respectively. If Woodson executes his plan as scripted, no one will average more than 34 during the regular season.

That's a tough sell for players used to finding a rhythm and playing however long they need to get comfortable.

"I'm a rhythm type cat but I'm also a younger cat," Marvin Williams said. "So I'd probably like to play a little bit more. But if you take a guy like Joe, who's also a rhythm guy but also a vet, it's not going to take a guy like that long to get into a flow. I'd expect him to play fewer minutes, though, with the team we have this year.

"Every player is just different, though. I do think it's something that the coaching staff is going to have to take a look at, especially if you're talking about making a big postseason push. It's a long season."

It should be noted that Woodson came into last season with the same plan, to reduce minutes across the board to keep his team fresh for what they all hoped would be a long season. However, a 6-0 start to the regular season and the urge to push for more curbed Woodson's enthusiasm for curbing minutes.

"We sold that last year, pretty much," Woodson said of the rationed playing time. "And this year, more than anything we have to make sure guys buy in because we are a little deeper and we want to extend our rotation a little bit more. Unfortunately, to get to where we were last year, I felt like we had to extend their minutes."

There has been no discussion of minute distribution during camp so far, save for Woodson's salvo at the team dinner the night before training camp when he alerted Johnson and all his starters that they would have help.

On the eve of their first action against live preseason action, Woodson isn't the only one anxious to see how it all works out.

"I think that’s what we're all kind of looking for," Al Horford said. "We’ve been talking about all the new pieces and stuff but finally we'll be able to get out there and see what we've got. And while coach hasn't told us how many minutes anybody will play, I'm assuming it won't be that many. I feel like he's going to want to see everybody play."

It makes sense in theory. In the backcourt alone, the Hawks have to find quality minutes for Johnson and Mike Bibby as well as Jamal Crawford and rookie Jeff Teague.

"I haven't heard anything," Teague said. "I'm just going in there open-minded. Just get in there, if I get in the game, and play my game and get in the flow of the offense, play some defense and have fun."

That's the attitude Woodson is looking for.

"Listen, I've been saying it over and over to these guys for years," Woodson said. "It doesn’t matter who plays or how much. You just have to get the job done when you are out there and help us win."