It’s show and tell time Hawks
CHARLOTTE – Hawks coach Mike Woodson tried to send one to his team early Friday morning.
He warned them that the time for resting on what got them to 34-27 is officially over.
It should have been over weeks ago.
But now that the Hawks have put themselves in a position to either finish what they started or wilt under the pressure of trying to hold on to the fourth spot in the Eastern Conference playoff chase, we’re going to find out what they’re made of.
Charlotte and Detroit are going to provide just the right amount of pressure on these Hawks in the next 48 hours, enough to make them bend and break or stand up and fight for what they’ve been saying for weeks is theirs (home court advantage in the first round of the playoffs).
There’s no reason to do anything other than let them prove it on the floor the next two nights. I’m tired of hearing tough talk about what’s going to happen. They need to show me, and you and everybody else that they’re serious. Shoot, they need to show themselves that they believe all their tough talk.
Because they’re no longer “right where they need to be” and in “a position to handle our business at home” and all those other cliches that have been offered up to explain away their uneven play of the past two months.
It’s show and tell time for the Hawks.
Show us you’re for real and then tell us about it later!
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233 comments Add your comment
TskOoOo
March 7th, 2009
3:25 pm
FIRE MIKE WOODSON
TskOoOo
March 7th, 2009
3:25 pm
FIRE MIKE WOODSON.
Rollins Tree
March 7th, 2009
3:27 pm
“That was coach’s call,” Hawks captain Joe Johnson said. “This is coach’s team. Whoever he wants to play plays, and if he doesn’t want you to play, you don’t play.”
SOUNDS LIKE TROUBLE AND I THINK THE PLAYERS ARE GIVING UP ON WOODSON. NOW IF ONLY THE FRONT OFFICE WOULD ALSO.
Astro Joe
March 7th, 2009
3:34 pm
Do we have any idea how patient Woody has been with 4-rebound a game Smith these last 8-10 games? I don’t recall reading anything other than all 5 players need to attack the glass. Instead of calling out his PF’s paltry board performance, he called out the five players on the court at any given time. If there was anything else said specifically about Smith during this recent drought, I need to be reminded.
Should a coach never lose his cool? Probably. Have great coaches blown their stack before? Sure.
Woody needs to go and needed to go about 2 seasons ago. But it’s not because of the way he has managed any one player… there is no one player bigger than the team. Woody’s sins revolve around under-utilizing the collective talents of the team, being too predictable with his offense and not making proper adjustments during the game.
Smith needs to go because Sund should not have to factor in “who can handle Smith” as he chooses the next coach. He should not have to eliminate candidates like Flip Saunders, Jeff Van Gundy or Bill Laimbeer because they will either butt-heads with Smith or because Smith will eat them for lunch. Sund needs to choose the best coach for the collective team.
Samuel
March 7th, 2009
3:39 pm
rms,
You looking for me?
Here I am. I still support the Hawks and Woodson. I’m not like you guys praying for us to lose so we can Fire Woodson and hire whoever.
Yes, we are playing bad right now. It’s a long season.
I could see that Josh blowup comming.
Dang, if George Karl had been the coach, Josh could have just said F-You and refused to come out. Maybe we could have won.
Hopefully, we’ll fight through it and make a run in the playoffs. Either way, i’m with the Hawks and I’m with Woodson.
kgbsfinst
March 7th, 2009
3:45 pm
Ray you couldn’t be more right! I have said it once, I’ll say it again. Josh is one of the most talented players in the NBA and provide a great mismatch EVERY GAME. We just have the worst coach in the league that wont exploit that. We have seen that Woody CANT coach with or without Josh. What we haven’t seen is whether Josh can be successful with a GOOD coach.
99 percent of the time I will say that getting into it with the coach is wrong and the player should be punished, but I am willing to bet there are more players in that locker room on Joshes side then on that trash of a coaches side.
One more thing, you want to replace Josh with who? Another big man that Woody can neglect? Seriously, with the game plan that he runs out there, does it really matter who we bring in?
SEKOU, I have the next poll question. Would you rather have Woody and another player, or Josh and another coach? I am curious what everyone else thinks, please let me know.
Ken Strickland
March 7th, 2009
4:15 pm
Charlotte and Miami made in season trades, and with new players they’ve become better teams. Detroit’s HC made a major decision to start Hamilton again and it’s worked perfectly for them. Good coaching and making strong coaching decisions has had a positive impact of all 3 teams.
This is a time in the season when the Hawks should be getting stonnger, gaining much more consistency and attempting to move up in seeding. Instead, the team is at it’s most inconsistent, and Woodson is having personal fueds with key players, while deliberately ignoring others. The Hawks are rapidly falling apart as a team before our eyes under Woodson’s atubborn and neavy handed coaching approach.
Charlotte’s OFF allowed its players to attack the basket(often without the ball) with back cuts and receive passes, which ended up in easy layups. Our OFF isn’t designed to send players or the ball towards the basket. How many times did you see their frontline players above the fowlline trying to get the ball back to the guards, instead of getting closer to the basket? That seems to be the essence of our OFF, and when it breaks down, which it most often does, we see a lot of last minute one on one and ISO’s.
CLYDE said it best when he stated WOODSON IS WHO HE IS, and there’s nothing any of us can do about it. I’ve said just about all there is to say about him and his shortcomings as a HC, and I have nothing new to add. The fate of the Hawks, at this point, isn’t up to Woodson, it’s up to GM RSund and/or the SAASG, because Woodson has demonstrated he will not change or adjust no matter what.
cp
March 7th, 2009
4:18 pm
My problem is how certain players can get away with things but others get yelled at and put in the dog house for the same exact thing. Joe and Flip probably take as many if not more bad shots as Josh and I have yet to see Woody get in their face. They flashed to the bench last night and I thought Woodson was going to jump on Marvin for not rotating. When Bibby and others were letting their man blow past them Woodson has nothing to say. The way this team is playing I would not be shocked if they lost the 4th seed. I ain’t saying Woody has lost the team completely but right now he needs a navigational system so he can ask for some directions.
hawk'shawk
March 7th, 2009
4:41 pm
Its ridiculous how he favors any player over another. Joe has the most offense talent as of right now, but he’s not a leader. he just lets bibby do whatever and dont question him or Joe. Zaza is ok but when we play against quicker teams specially at the 4 or 5 he is just like bibby on defense. WOODY i know u wont change, and i aint asking to, just be man enough to say I cant do a good job and leave, take a buyout or something. just leave Pretty Please, before the Playoffs wouldnt be too bad either.
Gilley
March 7th, 2009
5:02 pm
Exactly. Mike Bibby plays terrible D and miss tons of 3s but he is “one of our better players” and vets and can do no wrong. Joe Johnson makes turnovers and tons of mistakes but “he is our guy and we can’t light a fire in him” It is true from my viewpoint that Woodson only chastises Josh Smith or Acie Law or Solo. He doesn’t appreciate what Josh Smith does and it seems like he doesn’t encourage his players either or motivate them.
Something else I was going to say but I forgot. Oh yeah, when was the last time Mo Evans hit a 3-point shot! My gosh!!! Reckon, he played good last night with Josh Childress type plays on the board but he has been playing terrible as of late. Just like Mike Bibby, Joe Johnson and Josh Smith but they diss Josh for playing bad but none of the others. Al has been playing good. Flip as well. Marvin has been up and down and inconsistent but we do not need to point fingers but unite and have a gut check. Joe Johnson where is the emotion. You are our “all-star” play like it. Mike Bibby if you are still sick then sit down because you are hurting us missing shots and playing poor defense. Josh Smith humble yourself and play ball. Let Mike Woodson talk. Channel him out but respect him and do your job. We need you man. Marvin bring it every game. ZaZa hustle like we on national tv Acie begg Woodson to let you play! Rise up Hawks!!! My gosh!!!!!!!
MAC-TOWN
March 7th, 2009
5:14 pm
I just feel like Acie and Solo need WAAAAY more playing time.
Lets let Acie, Flip Murray, Josh, Solo, Marvin, Horford ..RUN! RUN! and RUN! some da*n more…
Joe Johnson and Bibby are so called “stars”…they should be able to get theirs in regardless….
so lets just start runnin
kirkinga
March 7th, 2009
5:16 pm
“Big” Ray, isn’t it ironic how perspectives and expectations have changed over the season’s course?
I once cautioned against expecting the Hawks to finish 4th or better. Such caution was met with derision and suspicions that I, “didn’t want the Hawks to improve”. What we have now is nearly a complete reversal. I believe the Hawks will finish 4th based on schedule, and those who previously raised expectations are now retreating back to preseason pessimism.
I understand that people can look at the schedule and at the teams and come up[ with different thoughts. But this idea that the Hawks, who have played .500 ball since the 6-0 start, are suddenly going to become a losing team, something they have not been all season long, is a big reach for me.
Second, everyone seems to be loving Miami, Detroit, and the Sixers now. Suddenly these teams are superior, again, something they have not been all season long.I’m not buying that either. Those are flawed teams just like the Hawks, so it really does come down to schedule and particularly the large disparity in the remaining road games.
If these teams were great road teams, then I would be more concerned. But like the Hawks, they play better at home. The Hawks still play better at home, they still tend to win more when not having to play 5-in-7’s.
No, these teams are who they have been all season long. The Hawks will need those home games, but they will take advantage of them and the days off as well. The Hawks lose to teams that are better than them, and they lose when playing 5 games in 7 days. While they will play some better teams, they will do so more rested than this recent spate of losing.
We’re all disappointed, certainly can’t cheerlead the team’s recent performances, but this Hawks all bad, the teams below all good kind of thinking I’m reading from many on here is just too easy, too emotional.The remainder of the season is going to be a war of attrition, and our guys have an advantage.
Go Hawks!!
newkid
March 7th, 2009
5:16 pm
FlyOnTheWall, thanks for the insight @ 3:04. If you can tell us without blowing your cover, what’s up with Mo’s comments about off the court stuff? And does Woody always – behind close doors – use Josh as a whipping post when he wants to make points to others (read that JJ or Bibby)?
Rev. Moring
March 7th, 2009
5:25 pm
Woody is playing the wrong style. He needs to run hard and slash to the basket. Kick out second. His pace is too slow. He also needs to rotate five for five. He need to let Acie, Murry and Solo them run as one unit. He can play ten deep. That is how he won games in the begining.
jubb
March 7th, 2009
5:35 pm
this team makes me pull my hair out…No heart (except for Al, now Marv, and Flip). I just don’t get how we lose to inferior teams like NY and Charlotte. We give up too many 2nd chance points and let teams get into the paint at will. I’m afraid if we don’t right the ship we are going to get embarrassed in the first round by whoever we meet, homecourt advantage or not.
Fred
March 7th, 2009
5:52 pm
Hey Doc,
I like the stats you put up about Josh’s 3 Point attempts, but that does not take into account all the shots he takes from ONE STEP INSIDE THE LINE. Why don’t you go back and watch every minute of every game, like I do, and calculate how many shots Josh has taken from just inside the line. It’s the worst shot in basketball, and it’s Josh’s calling card.
falcon21
March 7th, 2009
6:08 pm
Look at Woodsons record as a coach. I don’t think you will see another coach with that record in the NBA,ever and never.
chuck
March 7th, 2009
6:23 pm
Josh Smith has to go. Learn from what the Falcons are doing. Get rid of the bad attitudes and Josh should go first as his attitude is the worst.
Josh is too weak and too short to play power forward and too slow and can’t shot outside to be a small forward.
Draft, receive in a trade for Josh, or sign as a free agent a center. Play Horford where he belongs at power forward.
The team will be MUCH better off in the future.
E. G.
March 7th, 2009
6:29 pm
**AFTER TONIGHT, DETROIT, MIAMI AND OUR PRECIOUS HAWKS WILL HAVE THE SAME RECORD IN THE LOST COLUMN.**
**IN ADDITION, I WOULDN’T EVEN BE SURPRISED IF WE SLIPPED INTO THE 8TH SPOT BEHIND PHILADELPHIA 2 WEEKS FROM NOW.**
WOODY WILL MAKE SURE THIS HAPPENS BECAUSE HE DOESN’T HAVE A CLUE, AND HE IS TOO PROUD OR SET IN HIS WAYS TO MAKE BOLD DECISIONS OR CHANGES WITH WHICH HE IS NOT FAMILIAR.
E. G.
March 7th, 2009
6:37 pm
Hey SAMUEL!!
Way to stay positive SAMUEL: The Hawks will make the playoffs, but they will be ousted in the first round by Boston or Cleveland, and they won’t make it to 7 games.
Diehard ATL Fan
March 7th, 2009
6:38 pm
Mike Woodson IS WHO WE THOUGHT HE WAS.
Warning to the starters: His tough talk means you’ll be logging massive minutes each night and wearing you out… guaranteeing an early 1st round exit.
ray
March 7th, 2009
6:54 pm
Kirk,
It is ironic indeed. Don’t get me wrong, I want them to finish 4th, but I don’t believe they will if they don’t regain some chemistry. My views are sort of “if/then.” If we get back to playing together and fighting together, then we’ll be fine. Again, it’s not the losing, itself. It’s they “why” we are losing.
Maybe I’m seeing something that’s not there, and they’ll be fine. Sure hope so. But at the moment, it doesn’t look that way. When it comes to hard, emotionless facts, our production is a problem. Up until the first half of last night’s game, Smith was not earning his money for the last 10 games, and it was hurting the team.
So is JJ’s penchant for bogging the offense down. Those are definitely fixable problems. Team chemistry? A bit more complicated. Not to put too fine a point on it, but we went 21-10 to get things started. Since then, we’ve gone 13-18. Do the math, man. We were a winning team for the first 31 games. We have been a losing team for the last 31. Not trying to prove me right and you wrong, just lending a bit of weight and explanation to my concern.
But I’d rather you be unquestionably right about this. Believe me.
Astro Joe,
Based on your remarks, I’m assuming that you think Josh Smith will be a problem for any head coach. Well, let’s run with that idea (instead of arguing it) and move to the next phase. Who should we try and move him for? And please don’t say “a center.” I’m sick to death of hearing people give that tasteless, total lack of thought response….
ray
March 7th, 2009
6:57 pm
Unable to get into the Hawks Hack latest blog. I don’t know why, either
Clyde
March 7th, 2009
6:59 pm
KEN STRICKLAND for Blogger of the Year
I told yall back in November and early December that good teams play their best in March and April. Some of yall were getting excited too early.
All that playing your starters heavy minutes at the beginning of the season is catching up with Woody. He still hasn’t learned his lesson.
Sautee
March 7th, 2009
7:01 pm
Fred
About this: “Hey Doc,
I like the stats you put up about Josh’s 3 Point attempts, but that does not take into account all the shots he takes from ONE STEP INSIDE THE LINE. Why don’t you go back and watch every minute of every game, like I do, and calculate how many shots Josh has taken from just inside the line. It’s the worst shot in basketball, and it’s Josh’s calling card.”
OK, I’ll bite. Josh is shooting 48.8% from the field. How is it possible for him to brick as many shots as many claim, and yet shoot almost 50%?
It’s not like it’s a dunk, or else a missed 20 footer. He’s shooting from all over the court. I don’t like him taking 3s early in the clock when he could drive, but (as has been beaten to death), he often gets the ball with only a couple of seconds on the clock.
kirkinga
March 7th, 2009
7:20 pm
ray, geez, how many iterations are there? There’s “Big” Ray, then there “ray”, one is shady, the other not, how does one keep it all straight?
Well while none of us are unquestionably right about anything, I do feel that the schedule, which looked stark at first blush, will ultimately prove to be our saving grace.
Except for someone claiming the Hawks would go 3-17 the rest of the way, I don’t discount all of the shortcomings raised by the blog. This includes players and coaches alike. I just think that this team is tired. They have more days off coming up, but haven’t we been through this each and every time they’ve played 5 in 7 days?
The teams below are flawed. Despite all of the anxiety about the Hawks, those teams have yet to surpass and remain ahead of the Hawks. They played more games at home so they should’ve taken full advantage of that but failed to do so.
Any way, they need a win tonight. Winning is a great tonic.
Go Hawks!!
dmortone
March 7th, 2009
7:27 pm
WHOA! JJ is the first Hawk to sit on the bench when he’s not in foul trouble? There’s still more than 2 minutes left in the half! Woody must be high or something right now.
Astro Joe
March 7th, 2009
7:31 pm
Ray, I don’t know. That’s one reason I have not been all gung-ho about trading one of our forwards for a center… because I truly don’t know a center that would be an even trade. (Wow, I just Smith grab an offensive board… GREAT).
If there were a way to get someone like Kirk Hinrich and Brad Mailler from Chicago in a 3-way trade, that would be ideal. Some how, trade Smith to the Clips, Kaman goes to the Bulls and we get Miller & Hinrich. Obviously, we would need to trade more than Smith (maybe Clips get Chill or Bulls get Speedy’s last year) or something like that. Frankly, I wouldn’t trade Smith straight up for Camby, Dalembert, Chandler not Okur. But if he’s packaged for a combination of a PG who sticks for 2-3 seasons and a center… then that would be the ideal.
Sekou K. Smith
March 7th, 2009
7:34 pm
New Blog Up!!!!!!!!!!
renegade
March 7th, 2009
7:54 pm
Dont you people know that Hawks management don’t read blogs if they did Woodson would have been fired long ago. Maybe they will catch on that Woodson can’t conpete with the elete coaches in the NBA or even the not so elete. Its time for the guys in their ivory tower to leave the snooze button alone; we could wake them up if we quit going to the games.
terrell barron
March 7th, 2009
9:34 pm
What a game! I’m still a nervous wreck. Hey Doc, what can I take for my nerves? This team is driving me crazy. lol!!
Ken Strickland
March 7th, 2009
11:22 pm
GILLEY-make no mistake, Bibby IS NOT one of our better players, he’s one of our better shooters, and one of Woodson’s favorites, period.
QUESTION: if you were Smoove, how would you feel or react if Woodson openly chastised you during a gm, and benched you for not blocking every shot or making every DEF rotation? Keep in mind everyone on the team is aware that the problem our frontline players are having on DEF is being caused, in large part, by a PG who thinks he’s a world class matador when it comes to playing DEF.
You’re expected to go all out battling players that are usually taller and/or bigger than you are, and you’re being yelled at and punished for not compensating for the consistent lack of DEF by one of your HC’s favorite NO D PG’s.
Gumby Williams
March 9th, 2009
9:21 am
It is show and tell time for the Hawks right now. A very good and timely article. I was thinking about the Hawks season last night and I came to the conclusion: they are much improved over last year, but they have tendancies to slip back into bad habits from last year when they were inconsistent and lost games that they should have won which resulted in them finishing EIGHT GAMES UNDER .500 making the playoffs! What an embarrassment. But then, somehow, miraculously they righted themselves by playing the Boston Celtics even in the first round and shocked the NBA world and probably themselves. The Hawks can and should win 50 games this year, but in order to do it now they will have to go on a significant win streak over 10 games where they win by going either 9-1 or 10-0 over a 10 game stretch. If they can accomplish that right now, the Hawks will be in a good position to win 50 games. If they DONT go on that winning streak the Hawks season will still be an improvement, but they wont win 50 this year and have great momentum going into the playoffs. Hopefully, the Hawks will realize that they are the team that started the season 6-0 by knocking off powerful Orlando and will revert back to that 6-0 team and win 50+ for the year. Go Hawks!