General Hawkspital
Luke and Laura or Josh and Woody?
HAWKSVILLE – So we’re back to this are we?
Feuds between Hawks coach Mike Woodson and his players isn’t anything new around here. But I have to admit, I thought it was a thing of the past.
I foolishly assumed that last year’s playoff run and this past summer’s realization that things had to get better from there was the end of all the drama.
And then Friday night happened and the Hawks locker room turned into an episode of General Hawkspital, the Hawks produce more drama in a season than Luke and Laura did in 20 years together.
It’s not clear exactly what words got tossed back and forth between Woodson and longtime co-star Josh Smith. But it’s safe to assume that they weren’t talking about catching a movie together on the next off day.
What became abundantly clear as the media scrambled through the Hawks’ locker room before tonight’s game against Detroit at Philips Arena is that whatever fences that needed to be mended got the treatment required.
Smith was smiling. Woodson, too. It was no doubt the product of an earlier face-to-face between the two where they (once again) hashed out their differences, promised to try and do better and then went their separate ways.
The only glitch in this entire process is that these two guys are joined at the wrist (no handcuffs needed). They’ll share the blame this summer if this season continues to spiral out of control for the Hawks, who are in need of major boost with just 20 games left in the season and the official chase for the fourth spot in the Eastern Conference already in full stride.
You’d think that would be clear to them by now. Smith is the only player still here from Woodson’s first day of training camp in 2004.
I suspect they’ll never be super close. Sometimes guys just don’t mix well, their personalities clash. But in the meantime, they might want to find a way to work together so the Hawks don’t take a promising season and dump it in the trash.
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289 comments Add your comment
Harry Hawk
March 9th, 2009
10:15 pm
Wanna know why Acie played so much tonight?
Paul didn’t do a damn thing when Acie was on him. The easiest way for Acie to get minutes is for defense. CP3 didn’t do much when Acie was on him. If you can guard an All-Star like that, you deserve more minutes. Woody realized that and stayed with him. Good job by Woody and big props to Acie.
Really nice win tonight. That’s more like it.
Ok Give it to HIM!!
March 9th, 2009
10:16 pm
Give Woody his props. He COACHED tonight!! He did the right thing. There still is hope for this TEAM this SEASON. Joe coming back to form and BIBBY WILL BE BACK to form shortly.Mann with the HAWKS at full strength and Woody really “Coaching” like tonight, give me the HAWKS against any team in the playoffs. Even the Lakers cause it will take 7 games.
Harry Hawk
March 9th, 2009
10:16 pm
Let’s say that again…
Chris Paul did not do much with Acie on him.
I’m glad I’m able to type that a few times tonight.
doc
March 9th, 2009
10:17 pm
coy will be based on regular season. no chance for a fourth in the east coach to get it. just wont happen.
joe was joe tonight.
josh was huge with the effort.
acie was a factor, still dont know why he and solo dont see more games than days a full moon has in a month. acie and his energy shut down pual and company in the second quarter. he even got a chuck behind the head from woody.
nice defense in the last three quarters again. after holding the pistons to 57 points over the last three they held paul and co to 51 points. again, really felt acie gave a huge boost and zaza was flawless. josh and al snuffed em as well.
great night for rod from college park. marvin didnt play because of his tweaked back so he didnt have to watch marvin to keep count of his falls and could enjoy the game.
Samuel
March 9th, 2009
10:18 pm
Reg,
Everyone’s entitled to his/her opinion. At least you don’t think he should be fired and replaced with the equipment manager or video man, do you?
Reggie
March 9th, 2009
10:21 pm
Samuel: No I don’t think that. I’m satisfied right now. He actually did a solid job tonight coaching and made some adjustments going into the second quarter.
J.J.M.
March 9th, 2009
10:25 pm
2 many josh haters on here
Samuel
March 9th, 2009
10:34 pm
I told yall, Woody was saving Acie for the stretch run. Just watch and see. His minutes will increase.
Woody is a stretch run coach. He does have a ring so he knows what it takes down the stretch.
The Hawks have their second wind.
Did you guys see where Boston has already said they would hold out 5 players on Wednesday against the Heat.
Doc, didn’t Mitchell win COY in 06-07 with 47 wins and 4th in the east?
RLP
March 9th, 2009
10:44 pm
The Heat and Bulls are in their second OT in Miami. A Bulls win would be big for the Hawks.
Najeh Davenpoop
March 9th, 2009
10:49 pm
Just got back from the game. I haven’t seen the box score yet, but I can’t really fault the play of anyone tonight. Horford needs to be able to knock down that top of the key jumper consistently, and Bibby was absent today, but for the most part the Hawks played really well. Loved the defense in the passing lanes in the first half, limiting CP3’s chances to rack up dimes (don’t know how many he ended up with, but there weren’t a lot of the flashy alley-oops or easy dunks that usually make the highlight reel). Acie Law played a solid game on both ends of the floor. Best of all, the crowd wasn’t deadly silent like they were against Cleveland (the last game I attended).
Najeh Davenpoop
March 9th, 2009
10:51 pm
Oh yeah, and I wonder if the people who were ready to crown Marvin’s ass (word to Dennis Green) and ship Josh out after the last few games were watching tonight. Josh played great on both ends of the floor and the Hawks’ front court as a whole (Josh, Horford, Zaza) outplayed the Hornets’ front court in my opinion.
kirkinga@gmail.com
March 9th, 2009
10:51 pm
And with a little rest and playing at home…Hawks Win!
Hawks beat a legit team that was on a roll tonight and looked good doing so. The Hawks aren’t going to tank as some insisted mere days ago. This team continues to be who they have been all season long. The Hawks will continue to win more than they lose the rest of the way. They will lose to teams that are more than just marginally better. They will lose more often than they win against teams with serious low post execution.
Let’s hope the Pacers wear down the Jazz tomorrow night as Wednesday’s game is going to be a tough one for the Hawks. It will be interesting to see how they respond.
The cliff was right there. This team could’ve jumped right off, but apparently, they’ve decided to once again defy the most pessimistic forecasts.
Go Hawks!!
RLP
March 9th, 2009
10:56 pm
Bulls and Heat tied in 2nd OT with 11 seconds to play and the Bull have the ball and have called a TO.
otrhawksfan
March 9th, 2009
10:57 pm
yea najeh if the crowd had gotten to the cavs game a lil the hawks could have pulled that out. the hawks fans got to be ready to show support and get into playoff form. its never too early. chicago has the ball with the game at 13 secs left. gordon has 41
J.J.M.
March 9th, 2009
10:59 pm
wade just made a crazy shot for the win
RLP
March 9th, 2009
11:00 pm
Heat wins. Too bad.
Melvin
March 9th, 2009
11:00 pm
I can’t believe the ending to the Bulls/Heat game. My gosh, the Bulls gave the game to the Heat. Great steal and amazing shot by D.Wade…
otrhawksfan
March 9th, 2009
11:00 pm
wade is on fire man i got to tell ya. he stole the ball and made a 3 with about 2 secs left. heat wins
otrhawksfan
March 9th, 2009
11:07 pm
will the hawks play big boi ball and out rebound the jazz on wen?
Reggie
March 9th, 2009
11:07 pm
Dwayne Wade might be the BEST player in the NBA right now.
Reggie
March 9th, 2009
11:09 pm
To beat the Jazz I think we have to get Acie in a good bit again. We can catch DWILL off guard by putting Acie on him to really annoy him on d and get some penetration. We can beat them without Acie but that would really help to have him bring some energy off the bench. If marvin is still out Acie needs to be the 8th man in our rotation.
Melvin
March 9th, 2009
11:15 pm
Samuel, how come you ommitted the Heat coach. If they finished in the 5th (possibly 4th) spot than would you put Woody accomplishments over his. Considering a Heat team who didn’t make the playoffs and won like 15 games last year….
otrhawksfan
March 9th, 2009
11:19 pm
i think thats the game plan i would believe. the hawks just let ronnie brewer get his shots like he did in the 1st game.zaza and solo has to own the boards from their bench players. carlos will be testing out his ankle on tuesday.
doc
March 9th, 2009
11:21 pm
are you saying woody deserves to be fired in two years? maybe voters will realize their mistake. maybe they will look and see the raptors went from a 27 win team to 47 wins in one season as the factor for his getting the award, samuel.
now what we have done? 37 to maybe 46 wins depending on how we do against the likes of utah, dallas, portland, san antonio, the lakers and boston the next few weeks. did i miss anyone in that gauntlet? if they finish strong with 48 or above wins including that stretch you will be able to stand tall and say i told you so for sure samuel. tall order and i expect to have a lot of fun cheering to see them achieve just that.
otrhawksfan
March 9th, 2009
11:24 pm
the hawks play the cavs on the road doc
rms
March 9th, 2009
11:27 pm
here we go with that COY banner! Ya gotta support ya man when they lose and win, not just when they win! Still dont think he is going to win COY nor do I think he deserves it. I would give it to Sloan out in Utah before I give it to Woodson!
Najeh Davenpoop
March 9th, 2009
11:29 pm
Wow… I was looking at the box score for the Heat/Bulls game… you think Woody runs his starters into the ground, look at the minutes Vinny Del Negro has Derrick Rose and John Salmons playing today. I know it was a double-overtime game, but that’s still a TON of minutes. Wonder if someone was injured?
otrhawksfan
March 9th, 2009
11:34 pm
hopefully we can get some jet lag out off portland. they play the nets friday then fly to atlanta for that 1:00 game sunday.
doc
March 9th, 2009
11:54 pm
otr are you adding onto the theme the road is long and tough from here on out? with the schedule left if they really sniff 50 wins then give it to him. think sloan, mcmillan, karl, pops, adelman and a few others make a bigger argument than woody. he just hasnt utilized what he has to the max samuel as seen tonight. how many times have we watched other guards take it to us. still cant quite figure out why solo doesnt get regular minutes even if it is for 5 to 10. he has always filled in admirably well and would have been excellent when the regs were off. you know this as do so many others it is hard to defend him though he is a good guy.
hawkfan
March 10th, 2009
12:03 am
hey has anyone been keeping up the lakers vs blazers game, portland is blowing LA out, i hope they dont play like that against us on sunday, it’ll be a long game
Da Real Real
March 10th, 2009
12:08 am
Good win tonight, and again the Hawks show us all what they are capable of when they play as a team, play with 100% focus and effort, and oh yeah…well coached. Woody finally deploying Acie was good to see and then seeing Acie slice up the Hornets was great. Finally the man understands that its going to take more than a select few to win games on a consistent basis. For some reason the Hawks of late have been playing better when one of the main guys is missing…
Ah well…one win away from matching last seasons total win. Let’s say we go out and stop another hot team Wednesday and pick up that 37th…..
Fritz
March 10th, 2009
12:20 am
“Josh played great on both ends of the floor..”
Najeh,
I was at the game tonight and while Josh had his moments I wouldn’t exactly call it a great performance. Airball, hopeless three attempts, and some awkward moments around the basket when he looked like he had two left feet, were offset by some decent rebounding, and a couple of acrobatic dunks. The key to tonight’s game were Zaza (who was a beast on the boards), a fantastic peformance by Acie (who proved his mettle by sticking with CP all over the court, and a few pretty penetrate and dish assists), and a JJ who finally looked like he was feeling it again in the third period.
No need for you to bash Marvin, and if you intend to support your point by referencing JSmoove’s work tonight you obviously were not watching the game. IMHO.
richbrave
March 10th, 2009
12:23 am
doc:
J-CRIT continues to improve and impress. He penetrates, is quick on D, and distributes extremely well. He takes few shots and is not particularly good at that aspect of his game to this point. His fifth year in, this kid is going to be a load in the NBA.
TskOoOo
March 10th, 2009
12:28 am
Does anyone know on what play Marv hurt his back? Damn, this sucks.
I still dont get how Marv told James Verrett that his back was fine, then the next sentence is that it’s serious and he’s getting it checked out…
HB Ando
March 10th, 2009
12:31 am
Attended the game with jhan tonight. These guys are befuddling. They lose to the Knicks and Bob-sters, show signs of imploding, then re-emerge as the kind of defense-oriented team that made them dangerous at the beginning of the season, to hold home court against both the Pistons and Hornets. Maybe the ASG should change the team name to the Atlanta Sybils, as they have more personalities than I can track.
There has been a massive amount of energy spent on this blog, as well as the Hacks’ blog, regarding Woody’s handling of Acie Law. He looked rock solid tonight. And what I saw seemed consistent with my ongoing read on the situation: he’s far better, on the court, than his numbers, in limited minutes, support. Truth is that once he initiates the offense, he rarely sees the ball again, so there’s not much you can derive from his scoring and assist numbers. What you DO see on the floor, is a guy who can play the game on both ends of the court, with the size, at the point position, and the quickness/athleticism to be a legitimate NBA player. My subjective opinion is that, given the right coaching support, this guy could run this team.
Winning the last two games was huge, as folks consider the remaining schedule, and the imperative that the Hawks maintain home-court advantage for the first round of the playoffs. After suggesting, after the disappointing loss to the Bobcats, that an 8-12 finish was probable, with a slip to the bottom half of the Eastern Conference playoff bracket, these 2 victories render increasingly unlikely that the Hawks would subsequently go 6-12 for the last 18 games.
It’s now all about avoiding the perplexing trend of losing games they seemingly shouldn’t, to maximize the end run into the playoffs.
Wonder of wonders to see both Law and Solo playing meaningful minutes tonight. I think I saw dust coming off of Solo’s jersey when he entered the game tonight……….
HB Ando
March 10th, 2009
12:35 am
BTW, the Hacks blog does NOT have cooties. Y’all bring your “A” game opinions on over there, and feel free to spin it like you see it………….
Gumby Williams
March 12th, 2009
10:13 am
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Gumby Williams
March 12th, 2009
10:20 am
The Hawks played an outstanding game against Utah and beat one of the best teams in the NBA despite the fact that they were missing Marvin Williams. If the Hawks played this tough every night their record would be among the NBAs elite teams, even though they are not that far behind. I believe the Hawks are probably one good player (difference-maker) away from being a serious title contender. I believe that player would be someone as skilled as a Dirk Norwinski or somebody who is a very accurate shooter. An athletic big man who could rebound the basketball and score would be ideal. If my assessment of the Hawks is true, then the Hawks are only ONE PLAYER AWAY from being a championship calibre team.
SouthernHunay
March 23rd, 2009
8:49 am
Woody & JSmoove’s feuding/ blow ups remind me of a parent/rebellious child relationship. Were the parent is trying to help and sees things from a different perspective and makes a certain judgement using experience where as the child who is immature and still has growing up to do wants to use impulsive judgement. I think they will be fine and iron things out. I don’t expect them to drag this out.