The great (leadership) debate
Don't let the turtleneck sweater fool you. John Shaft is a bad man!
MIAMI - Long after his Miami Heat had finished wiping the AmericanAirlines Arena floor with the Hawks Saturday night, Dwyane Wade said something that crystalized the difference between these two playoff combatants.
Asked about the leadership he provides for his team, the Heat superstar described his evolution as a team leader so perfectly, it almost sounded as if a Hollywood script writer had penned the response for him.
“One thing about being a leader is that it’s 24/7, 365 days a year,” Wade said. “It never stops. I was very disappointed with myself in Game 1. I was quiet, and that is not what my team needs. In Game 2 and Game 3 I took it upon myself to make sure that my voice is heard. To drive the points the coaches made and make sure they hear it again before they get on the court.”
You won’t hear anything resembling that from the Hawks. They don’t have a vocal leader in the mold of Wade (they don’t have a player with game like Wade’s either, but we all knew that going into this series). So their won’t be anyone rescuing the Hawks from themselves between now and the start of Monday night’s epically important Game 4 (a third straight loss by the Hawks spells almost certain doom in this series).
All those cliches about leaders being born and not bred don’t register in this case. Leaders emerge in times like this. Leaders rise to the occasion and impose their will in times like this. Leaders of men and leading men are two distinctly different beings in the NBA landscape and beyond.
Wade’s both a leader of men and a leading man. He’s John Shaft (talk about a leader of men and a leading man) in a pair of funky looking shoes and without the sideburns. There are a handful of Shafts in the NBA these days (Kobe Bryant, LeBron James, DWade, Chauncey Billups and Paul Pierce come to mind with others floating in and out of the Shaftosphere). The mettle required of your team leader in the playoffs isn’t hard to spot. And Hawks’ captain and All-Star Joe Johnson has yet to show if he has it in him in this series.
The contrast between his demeanor Sunday and that of Wade over the past few days was striking. Wade vowed to revive his crew after that humiliating, 26-point loss in Game 1 and has done exactly that with two backbreaking efforts since then. Johnson didn’t sound a similar alarm Sunday when asked if he was ready to do it himself, speaking in terms of “we” and “us” when it’s clear that he has to pick up the mantle and carry his team back to even in this series.
“We’ve just got to grow up, man,” Johnson said, his voice trailing off with every word. “We hit a little adversity and now it’s as if we’re out of it. But we have to think positive the rest of the way. You’ve just got to believe. And we have to put it in the guys who have never been in this situation and we have to make them believe we can do this. We have to keep talking to them and keep putting confidence into them.”
The words are fine, but in the playoffs a man can only be judged by his actions.
Two of these guys will face off in the next round and the third will get to watch it from home.
AND NOW, A MOMENT OF SILENCE for the Detroit Pistons.
James and his Cavaliers tossed the last shovel of dirt on a deceased Eastern Conference behemoth Sunday afternoon at the Palace of Auburn Hills, sweeping the Pistons out of the playoffs in four games.
It’s only fitting that the Cavaliers did the honors, seeing as how they were the first team expose the flaws of the once-mighty Pistons (in the Eastern Conference finals a couple years ago). The interesting thing going forward is what direction the Pistons go with their rebuilding project.
They’ll have plenty of cap space now that the Allen Iverson deal/fiasco is finally over. I suspect Pistons boss Joe Dumars has a plan mapped out already, and there’s no doubt it includes some big names (wish I knew which ones).
It’s certainly going to make this summer a bit more intriguing come July 1, when free agency begins. It’s supposed to be a sleepy summer with everyone waiting on the 2010 free agent crop. But why wait when you can make a splash now?
THE MORNING AFTER GOING DOWN 2-1 IN A PLAYOFF SERIES might seem like an odd time to have a players’ only team meeting, but Hawks coach Mike Woodson gave the session his blessing after the Hawks’ Sunday practice.
”They’ll meet today and try to figure out some things amongst them,” Woodson said. “For me, from a coaching standpoint, this is not the time for me to scream and yell and curse guys out. We’re right where we need to be. We just have to figure out [Monday] night’s game.”
Secret meetings? Josh Smith and the Hawks are pulling out all the stops to get back into this series.
Johnson didn’t give up the particulars of the time or place and barely acknowledged that any meeting would be taking place. Sorting out whatever internal issues they need to before Game 4 is an excellent idea. Because if it’s going to take a secret meeting to get the Hawks back to playing like they did in Game 1, so be it (no one wants to see one-sided blowouts in the playoffs, well I don’t).
”We beat them pretty bad in Game 1, and they beat us pretty bad in Game 3,” Josh Smith said Sunday. So we’re even. We just have to look at ourselves as individuals and as teammates and come together with a solution. There has to be a philosophy where we have each other’s back. In Game 2 it was a hostile environment in Atlanta, it was just them and the crowd. They played together and everything clicked. They had fun. We have to do the same thing.
”Our backs are against the wall. What are we made of? Are we going to fold and let them win, or do we step up and show them this is going to be a series and turn it around?
WOODSON WAS IN FULL SPIN MODE Sunday, casting the Heat as the veteran crew with all the playoff seasoning and his bunch (everyone knows the Hawks are youngest team in the Eastern Conference postseason field) as the “underdogs” according to my man Ira Winderman of the Sun-Sentinel.
When asked about the Heat’s supporting cast Woodson said, “When you have O’Neal, who has been a six or seven-time All-Star, and [Udonis] Haslem who has played championship basketball, they have veteran guys who have been through the battles. My guys haven’t been battle tested. This is something new for our team. When I came into the series I thought we could make it to the next round. I want them to think that too. This series is a long way from being over if we take care of business tomorrow.”
Are you buying what Mike Woodson is selling?
If this was some master media stroke to ease the pressure on his team, consider that mission accomplished. But it didn’t look that way to me. I honestly didn’t hear it that way. Woodson’s comments on how his team would bounce back against the Heat seemed far more interesting to anyway.
”Our team has been committed all year long, so I’m not ready to put them out to pasture so fast,” he said.” They have been committed. We’ve had some tough times and some tough games, stretches where we didn’t play well. And we bounced back. We haven’t played well the past few games. We have to find what we’re made of. Until we’re eliminated I’m going to keep fighting and I’m going to push them to keep fighting.
”Again, when we won the first game, I’m sure they were down after that. They had to be thinking we had to win three more to get to the next round. I’m thinking the same thing. I have to get these guys thinking the right way. The last two games, we’ve been kind of punched out a little bit. We have to rebound.”
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1,132 comments Add your comment
calico
April 27th, 2009
2:23 am
I say hand the keys of the team 2 Al & Josh they have the personality for it and we have to reduce joe’s role he is missing in action and im not sure if he will show up for the biggest game of his life we need the joe johnson that killed the celtics in atlanta last year
The Average AJC Hawks Blog Poster
April 27th, 2009
2:54 am
Josh Smith is still young and developing…..just give him 5 more years.
The Average AJC Hawks Blog Poster
April 27th, 2009
2:56 am
Where all the Joah Smith haters at now?
(after 5-7 games of being pure garbage….and finally having 1 game where all the dunks and ugly shots happen to fall for a 20+ pt performance)
The Average AJC Hawks Blog Poster
April 27th, 2009
2:56 am
Josh Smith* LOL
Rajon Rondo
April 27th, 2009
2:58 am
Hawks have nothing but fairweather fans
Birddawg
April 27th, 2009
3:58 am
The only things holding this team back are leadership and coaching. They have everything else. Shooters, rebounders, shotblockers, penetrators, veterans, young guys…everything except a leader to bring it all together and a coach that can make in-game adjustments. No matter how high this team climbs, they will never be a championship contender without those two things. Miami has both and far less talent than the Hawks and look what the Heat are doing to them. This team has no leadership, no clearly defined roles, and no coaching. How can your entire offense consist of one on one basketball for an entire game? I like this team, I like Coach Woodson…I just don’t like the two together.
Brian
April 27th, 2009
4:00 am
Sekou,
It doesn’t take much to call out Joe Johnson when he is barely averaging double figures in this playoffs. He is playing poorly b/c his game is predicated on taking highly contested shots. He is what he is…he’s never been a guy who leads vocally. He leads by taking the responsibility of being the Hawks best scorer, best ball distributor, and on the ball defender.
What is disappointing to me is that Mike Woodson has yet to make any adjustments throughout the series. Outside of Wade there isn’t a player on the Heat’s roster that can create their own shot off of the dribble. Yet the Hawks continue to help unnecessarily and give up a ton of open 3’s and they continue to give Wade enough room to get off his much improved jump shot.
The Hawks don’t have an opportunity to commit hard fouls b/c the Heat aren’t really challenging the Hawks at the rim very often. In order to speed up the game they have to put more pressure on the ball. And in order to get Joe Johnson more quality looks they need to run him off more off the ball screens so he is catching and shooting or driving against a defense that is closing out on him.
Atlanta is like the poor man’s version of the Chauncey Billups led Pistons where they would prefer to downplay any setbacks that they receive. Outside of Josh Smith no one really has a volatile personality on this roster – and at times you need that to shake things up.
Hopefully Marvin Williams recognizes that everyone is playing with some pain right now and we can go into Game 4 in a desperate mode. Everyone on the roster needs to play better – especially Flip Murray b/c he is really the only Hawk that can consistently break the first line of defense when he is on.
But as far this piece Sekou, Joe Johnson has to be told by his coaches to let the game come to him better b/c the more aggressive he is the more likely the Hawks will be in a situation where the ball isn’t moving and the team isn’t scoring.
Mike Woodson
April 27th, 2009
5:46 am
Adjustments? Well… I bought a new suit for today. Good enough?
MAC-TOWN
April 27th, 2009
6:05 am
Hey, speaking of emotional leadership on the court…and that one guy to pump life into his team and stadium…..I don’t know if anyone else caught this…but…there were at least 3 possessions I noticed when Wade was in BEAST mode…where like, Mo Evans was guarding D-Wade…and as Evans reached for the ball…..Wade kinda swatted at his hand in a “MOVE BACK B***H!!” kind of fashion…then just shot over the top for a killer three..
even as a Hawk’s fan…just someone that pumped up and determined on the court..got me pretty pumped my self….
wish someone for the hawks would get that pumped
Some other problems I see with the hawks
1) When one guy gets cold…seems like they alld o
2) When things arent going right, they seem to be the “lets cry about it and roll over” type…..rather than the “lets fix this” type…majority of the time.
White guy with the slicked back hair and designer suits you always see on the Hawk's Bench
April 27th, 2009
6:08 am
I helped Woody pick out that new suit, so you know he’s gonna be sharp for the game!!
EAST ATLANTA HAWKS FAN
April 27th, 2009
7:04 am
YOU RACIST WHITES KILL ME WITH FIRE WOODSON,WE WENT FROM 8TH SEED LAST YEAR TO 4TH SEED THIS YEAR,THESE ARE THE SAME MIKE VICK HATERS,WHITES DONT WANT A BLACK QB OR A BLACK HEAD COACH IN THE EVIL SOUTH.
THE HAWKS NEED A BIG MAN IN THE MIDDLE,ITS NOT WOODSON FAULT THAT HES PLAYING MOSTLY ALL FORWARDS.
AND ANOTHER THING YOU RACIST WHITES JUST GOT ON THE HAWKS BANDWAGON THIS YEAR,WHERE WERE YOU HICKS LAST YEAR WHEN WE WAS THE 8TH SEED?
Fritz
April 27th, 2009
7:34 am
“I’m not saying Woody is running people off. But something is not right here. Either he’s misusing his staff, or his staff isn’t much good. Good luck on figuring that one out, and there’s nothing to say that it’s not a bit of both…”
**Big Ray**
I can tell you based on reliable information that Woodson doesn’t listen to good advice from his assistants even when it’s available. Don’t fault his assistants….Woody’s oversized ego’s in the way.
Enough’s been said on this blog about Woody’s too many faults. Let’s face it – the ASG don’t have the spirit to make what everyone on this blog (save Samuel) agrees should be done.
Can we beat the Heat tonight? How will we defend O’neal? Horford can’t contain him on the block. Will we double Wade? Will we leave Smoo on Beasley (in case no one noticed he’s gone by Smoo off the dribble numerous times)? Will we abandon the dribble/shoot offensive plan for more passing/movement? Will we give our guys a rest when they need it by giving young guys with energy and something to prove a chance to contribute? Wii Marvin play??? We desperately need him.
I hope I’m surprised…I want desperately to be surprised but I’ve hung with this team too long and watched too many games to delude myself into thinking we’ll make adjustments. I hope the player’s will figure it out in their meeting because I don’t believe Woody can.
Sekou Smith
April 27th, 2009
7:37 am
Why wouldn’t the heat (pun intended) be on Joe Johnson right now? As the Hawks’ captain, All-Star and best player, that is his burden. I’m only pointing out what he already knows. If your teams plays through you 95 percent of the time, as the Hawks do with JJ, your performance determines your team’s performance. Wade took the Heat after his team’s dismal Game 1 showing so why wouldn’t Joe do the same after Games 2 and 3. If he plays lights out tonight he can shut me, and anyone else that is questioning his leadership, up for good.
doc
April 27th, 2009
7:37 am
quotes from jj:
“It’s a little different when you’re expected to win and then you come out and have two letdown games like we’ve had,” Johnson said. “We just haven’t been competing and haven’t been playing at the level we’re capable of playing.
“And it’s about coming out and not setting the tone from the start. We’ve gotten off to bad starts in each of these last two games and a lot of it comes down to the starters.”
if jj changes every we to an i, “the starters” to me and i would say he finally got it. last year it was about young guys running around, this year it is about starters which were 3 vets. at what point does it come down to i havent played well and it has brought the team down. read above joe at wade’s comment. it was what he hadnt done or needed to do, not we. the old saying is; “lead or get out of the way”. woody it is your job to make sure he hears it and does it as he is your appointed leader. i guess that about sums up the leadership issue i was writing about in the last blog.
east atlanta you might be the racist if that is all you see. you are way off on this one. we co-exist here. i will let one of my non-white brothers give you the specifics on this one that it has nothing to do with color only ability. btw, for the record i think he is a very good man, maybe even great; i just think he is an avg coach.
doc
April 27th, 2009
7:39 am
ditto sekou as we posted at the same time.
Arshon
April 27th, 2009
7:58 am
I’ll say this….
Woody needs to find a way to incorporate both Acie Law and Mario West in this MUST win game tonight. Hell…use all six of West’s fouls on disrupting/frustrating Wade and his supporting 3 point shoting cast! Because Mario’s type of in your face defense will make Wade (and anyone else he’s on) earn every drop of sweat he exerts while he’s on the floor. Case in point: When the Lakers were in town in late March, West was match up with Kobe for a 10-12 mins stint. West was absolutely fearless and played with reckless abandon. During a timeout, I was sitting behind the Laker bench and I heard Kobe ask an assistant coach: “Who the f–k is number 6! Who is he…where did he go to school…I aint never heard of him!”
Take that as you will….but to me…coming from Kobe ….that spoke volumes to Mario’s hustle/lock down defense!
Also, the flow/complexion of the game changes when he’s inserted. Offensive rebounds are sntached down, we run more when West is in the game, and he frustrates the hell out of who he’s guarding (hence, the Kobe quote). I’m not saying West is the X factor in this series by no means. But I do feel that he can big a contribution off the bench….putting him in there in for 10-15 spurt….if to only frustrate Wade. It can’t and wouldn’t hurt us at all. It’s all up to Woody to extend his seven man rotation to eight or nine!
As for Marvin, I need him to play tonight….hurt or not. No one is 100% health wise at this point in the season anyway….and in the playoffs, players play hurt all the time. If his wrist isn’t severely sprained or broke…he needs to suit up tonight, period. We all need ALL of our horsepower for tonight game…and he needs to man up, play through the pain and get out there and play! If it’s only for his length on defense…we need him!
Rise up ATL!
Jones (atl born and raised)
April 27th, 2009
7:58 am
Name me one player that lets another come to there house and destroy them on there own court?????? JOE JOHNSON game 2 d-wade spit on JOE JOHNSON in our house thats when the series change you have a whole city a team looking at there all-star getting stepped on. The suppose to be leader,savior,team captain,all-star team,usa olympic reserve,multi-million dollar role player JOE JOHNSON if the rest of the team see JOE get punished like that how can the not hang there heads. He was scared to take a shot in the game. Go ahead blame it on mo,flip,josh whoever but JOE JOHNSON doesn’t take the spotlight well he basically ran away from it. I would really like to see his combine scouting report he probably runs a 4.2 40. I love my hawks but somebody even if its not JOE someone else has to fight for us like JOSH did the last game push them all knock them to the floor no easy lay-ups , hard fouls play ball this is Atlanta we might not be that good in anything else but we can fight show us something !!!!!! LET’S GO !!!!
dap01
April 27th, 2009
8:13 am
SEKOU: Do you screen rants like “EAST SIDE HAWKS FANS”. Someone can have an opinion without being racist.
Nice article and very timely.
doc
April 27th, 2009
8:25 am
dap01 any comment can be reviewed and removed. all one has to do is push the “report this comment” for review by someone other than sekou. that is not his job, this is our issues as users. he cant screen every post i assure you that is not his job. so it is your responsibility to take issue with it if you want.
SouthAfrican09
April 27th, 2009
8:25 am
I love the players-only meetings. We always rebound from those.
I am very perturbed with these Woodson remarks. Sounds like he isn’t confident/has no idea what’s going on. I wish Joe would step it up.
Big Ray
April 27th, 2009
8:27 am
I’m the arrogant guy whose writing is in gray, who hogs the blog. I am an annoying piece of crap
Jerry
April 27th, 2009
8:28 am
“And we have to put it in the guys who have never been in this situation and we have to make them believe we can do this.”
–JJ
Well does JJ believe we can do it?
dap01
April 27th, 2009
8:39 am
Doc: Thanks.
Mike is back
April 27th, 2009
8:41 am
Sekou is right. The whole TNT CREW said as much…its no secret…JJ GOT TO STEP THE F UPPPPPPPPPP!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Dan
April 27th, 2009
8:44 am
God….it’s moments like these when I wonder why I care so much about this team. We have a coach trying to spin that it is OK for the team to not compete in Game 3. We have players having a “players only meeting” during the playoffs. Is this a f’ing joke?
How about this….f’ing guard someone! F’ing boxout! Actually f’ing try! Those guys should be ashamed of themselves for Saturday. That was one of the most sorry postseason efforts (or lack of effort) I have ever seen. If these a$$holes don’t care, why should we?
smartguy
April 27th, 2009
9:05 am
WOODY FOR COY!!
JJ FOR MVP!
SPEEDY FOR SIXTH MAN!
The Sheik
April 27th, 2009
9:06 am
Look, I’m from Atlanta- live/work in Dubai, and i got to wake up at 3 in the morning just to watch the Hawks game. I can’t keep doing this on workdays just to watch the Hawks get blowed out. I still got faith in my boys though, . Hopefully they will shake it off like the Heat shook off game 1. What is it with Atlanta teams and big games?
smartguy
April 27th, 2009
9:07 am
When speaking of our bench players, Woody said “my guys aren’t battle tested.” Well, NO SHT SHURLOCK. You ain’t played them guys in three years. What an absolute joke of a head coach.
Daniel
April 27th, 2009
9:15 am
Great article Sekou!!! Probably your best work yet. Joe Johnson does need to step up as a leader. I mentioned this before in terms of his on court behavior. I really admire his quiet, business like demeanor, but unfortunately his demeanor allows him to disappear and thus allowing the rest of the team to do so as well. Let’s Go Hawks!!!
BTW- East Atlanta Hawks Fan, I feel really sorry for you.
Astro Joe
April 27th, 2009
9:33 am
Najeh and Ray, I recognize the health issues with those current Clippers. But most teams aren’t likely to trade leaders off their team (except Dumars in the case of Billups and we saw how that worked out). So unless there is another GM who simply out-smarts himself, then you have to roll the dice. I think a guy like Baron would find himsself to be remarkably healthy if he were playing in big games for a playoff-bound team. Camby has one year left, so he is ultimately a “throw-in” to try to give the team a great shot at going deep in the playoffs (before he and Joe potentially walk).
Najeh, do we know for sure that Artest doesn’t break plays and does his own thing? Or T-Mac in past years? Houston appears ready to break out of the first round with Artest and without T-Mac. Artest brings the right amount of “crazy” to the Rockets. Maybe we could use a little of that too. A reunion with Horford and Noah might be nice (Noah appears to certainly have that crazy thing happening).
Hawks73
April 27th, 2009
9:47 am
Damn man, that Heat crowd on Saturday was crazy. It’s going to be very tough stealing a game there. I wish Philips could provide that same type of homecourt advantage.
SouthAfrican09
April 27th, 2009
9:52 am
Yeah WTF does Smoove mean when he says:
“In Game 2 it was a hostile environment in Atlanta, it was just them and the crowd.”
The bottom line and the truth is that this team really sucks at offense. I rewatched the March Lakers home game (we won) yesterday, and our offense sucked just as much. We made contested shots and ZaZa got good minutes.
ANd then Woodson’s specialty is “defense,” yet he has no solution for Jermaine O’Neal, whose knee pads are about the size of an Xbox 360. We’re giving up 12+ 3’s a game to a team 22nd in 3pt shooting.
WOODSON STOP ACTING LIKE THERE’S LEEWAY FOR ERROR. JOE STEP THE F UP. PUT THE F’ING BLAME ON YOURSELF FOR ONCE. YOU CLAIM THE YOUNG GUYS AREN’T BATTLE TESTED AND DON’T KNOW WHAT THE EXPERIENCE IS LIKE. SO SHOW THEM ON THE COURT.
OMFG
SouthAfrican09
April 27th, 2009
9:59 am
This team is a serious mess
1) Owners are cheap/poor and can’t afford to provide us with shorts
2) Fans suck and don’t care unless Smoove dunks or Bibby hits a 3. 2/3 of the people who go to Hawks games probably can’t name the roster
3) Woodson coaches the worst “offense” in NBA history.
4) Marvin gets injured anytime someone touches him
5) Bibby is fat
6) Joe gets flagrantly fouled and doesn’t react
7) Horford is skinny and not big enough to guard bigs
9) Smoove sucks if teams don’t let him dunk (Just ask Barkley)
10) Mo provides nothing on offense besides the occasional 3
11) Acie Law…Who?
12) We have TYRONE HILL as an assistant coach. That is not a typo
13) We have a GM satisfied with making the playoffs with a winning record and who doesn’t care about winning IN the playoffs
FML
Dan
April 27th, 2009
10:01 am
The Sheik,
I don’t blame you for not watching. This team is not worth the time, energy, and money we put into them. I have never been more down on the Hawks then I am right now.
We all know they are losing tonight. We know it. They are in one of their stupid funks that they get into all the time during the regular season. The ones where they have to lose 5 straight before playing better. Only problem is that they will be going home after this funk.
Put me in the group that is ready to send Marvin packing. Everytime I see him, I just think ‘that’s not Chris Paul’ or ‘That’s not Darren Williams’. Add on the fact that the guy is made of glass. He manages to get hurt anytime the team needs him. Do a sign-and-trade or just let the f’ing p*ssy leave this offseason.
And, Sekou, is there really a debate about leadership? There is none on this team.
Heat Check
April 27th, 2009
10:03 am
As painful as it’s getting to watch this team fall apart on national tv, the silver lining is that this is (for the love of GOD) Woodson’s red carpet towards the door. Right, DASG? Please tell me that’s the plan. This fraud is getting ripped by any national analyst who’s got the stomach to watch the entire 48 minutes. Hopefully Sund is paying attention. Or wait….maybe if he promises 1 additional regular season win next season? No…no let’s just cut bait. It’s better this way.
Does Mike Woodson think he’s a gorrilla? Does he not realize that he can speak during games? Why does he feel the need to stare holes through players and officials instead of speak to them (or maybe occassionally even an Asst Coach? well…..never mind. What good would it do to speak to one of your several Asst Coaches? ha)? Mike, you are not a jedi master. Flashing a brick of a championship ring (which I’m convinced you had as much to do with winning as I did) and attempting to telepathically connect with Danny Crawford accomplishes nothing. But keep going for it, buddy! If it ever works, maybe you could write a book. Lord knows your “how to” on coaching could be sold on a postcard: “Stare at player. Fold arms. Slightly roll eyes. Unfold arms. Point towards 1st or 2nd player on bench (but NEVER under any circumstances beyond said 2nd player). Stare at nearest referee. Shave head to unite team.”
WHO DIED ......?
April 27th, 2009
10:05 am
i wish hawks would but west on wade, i keep telling y’all it dont matter if you tie joe johnson with west they still couldn’t stop wade. most coach dont play young player, do you think chalmers or beasley would play as much if pat riley was coaching. woody has tried everything he possible can he doubled not working,tried full court pressure that didnt work only bring hawks energy level down b/c wade dont have to bring ball up court all the time,talent level, you have no one to deal with a resurging oneal in the box plus aint he supposed to be washed up(only 30 yrs old),horford is pf playing out of position(was horford supposed to avg. 20 rebound this series),this series is not over yet but chating with y’all i truly believe it is though. plus before series start all i was here was flip this, mo that, speedy or ac this, zaza that. if team played with emotion zaza plays with then jus maybe this series would be closer. o’yea to all who wanna put guy in jus to use up 6 fouls y’all will lose by 40 since shaq is no longer here. thats a bad why to coach your team. this the playoff not the regular season that where all this confusion is coming from. DAMN SEKOU I DISAGREE WITH YOU ON JOE, ONE GAME WILL NOT MAKE ANYBODY CHANGE THEIR MIND ABOUT HIM, EVERYONE KNOWS HE IS CAPABLE OF GOING OFF ONE GAME BUT WHAT ABOUT A SERIES OR WHEN NEEDED THE MOST
SouthAfrican09
April 27th, 2009
10:05 am
If anyone watches Deron Williams play, they should be pissed we have Duck. Deron is an absolute killer on the court. The guy does 3 crossovers on every play and has complete control of his team. Too bad they got stuck with the Lakers.
I am not even sure i want to play the Cavs in the 2nd round. We are scoring 70 points against the freaking HEAT. how the hell are we gonna score against the Cavs, who have over a week off til round 2 (Ben Wallace will be healthier) and have a freaking 7″3 center who makes shots.
Highlight Factory is a freaking joke. I am too scared to stand at Philips Arena because I’m worried some idiot behind me will yell at me and tell me to sit down for showing my enthusiasm
oldmike
April 27th, 2009
10:06 am
This team will wallow in above average for as long as Woodson is the HC. They will win games when everything is going their way at home and lose big on the road. It doesn’t matter what players he has at his disposal. His “system” is predictable and eminently stoppable, as we see over and over on the road. ASG loves this guy and we are stuck with him. Too bad Blank doesn’t own the HAwks. Woody and Sund would history and we might have a GM and HC in place to build for competing for a chamionship. Here’s myt pick for tonite. Lose by 30 again. Then lose by 20+ at home with their tails between the legs both games.
hawksfan
April 27th, 2009
10:12 am
The Hawks need to get it together this is a must win game it is all or nothing right here if they lose tonight this greats season is shot! no pun intended we have got to control d wade and make other heat players shoot the ball where is the Josh Smith that was in Game 1 lets go Hawks!
Hawks4Life
April 27th, 2009
10:15 am
Guys, the Heat are just seriously underrated and PEAKING right now. They’ve got the best player in the game and JO has found the fountain of youth. They’re going to give any team the play fits. Granted, the Hawks are playing horrible, but I believe it has just as much to do with this motivated Heat team as it does with the Hawks. Sucks that we got matched up with Dwyane Wade and the Heat. Why couldn’t it have been Philly!?!?!?
WHO DIED ......?
April 27th, 2009
10:16 am
LOOK AT IT FROM WOODY SEAT’ BBALL COURT ONLY SO BIG,NOW WITH SUCH LIMITED SPACE,ONCE A PLAYER GET THE BALL FROM REF HE HAS 5 SEC TO INBOUND HOW MANY BACKCUTS,SCREENS, PICKS CAN U MAKE IN THAT TIME. NOW IF PLAYERS ARE LAZY IN THEIR APPROACH HOW IS THAT THE COACH FAULT, PLAYERS SET SCREEN, PICKS AND CUT TO THE BASKET,SO IT WOODY FAULT FOR THAT TOO HUH.I GUESS WOODY GOT TO GET IN THEIR BRAINS AND MANUAL TURN ON PLAYERS SWITCH. AND I PROMISE IF NEW COACH COME IN SOMEBODY BESIDES WOODY WILL LEAVE TOO MAYBE 2. COACHING IS IMPORTANT TO YOUNG PLAYERS NOT SO-CALLED SEASON VET. WOODY NEED 10 MORE WOODYS TO FOLLOW PLAYERS YEAR-ROUND TO MAKE SURE THEY ARE PRACTICING THEIR GAME IN OFFSEASON TOO HUH
Michael Gearon, Jr.
April 27th, 2009
10:16 am
I wish Hawks “fans” didn’t come to the game wearing dress shirts, slacks, and snake-skin shoes.
Of all the playoff crowds, ours is the LEAST cohesive and the MOST pretentious.
Jeffrey
April 27th, 2009
10:17 am
The Hawks will do what they ALWAYS do and that’s “fold under pressure”..they’ll lose tonight and will ultimately lose the series cause that’s what they do best..LOSE!!! time for a new coach and new leadership! this team has WAY too much talent to fall by the wayside to a much lesser opponent in Miami..they have D’Wade and little else..the Hawks have the team to go far in the playoffs but they just can’t get it done when it counts the most..
Booty Sauce
April 27th, 2009
10:18 am
For an arena sponsored by Philips, the TV sure do suck! The big screen was red in Game 2!
Time for some owners with money to turn this around AND TRADE JOE JOHNSON!!!
Jeffrey
April 27th, 2009
10:20 am
Oh yeah, and here’s a little advice to Coach Woodson entering tonight’s Game 4 loss..your half court offense will NOT beat this team!! “living and dying” by the outside shot with NOBODY in position to rebound the missed shots NEVER wins games!! just food for thought, Woody..
WHO DIED ......?
April 27th, 2009
10:21 am
O’YEA Y’ALL WANT HIM TO DRAW UP MORE FASTBREAK SET
WHO DIED ......?
April 27th, 2009
10:23 am
UNTIL PLAYER TAKE OWNERSHIP FOR BAD PLAY, NOTHING WILL CHANGE
Joe Johnson the Choke Artist
April 27th, 2009
10:25 am
*gag*
Vic
April 27th, 2009
10:26 am
I have NEVER seen the Hawks come out of a timeout with a set play that involved BALL MOVEMENT that led to a basket. That point was directed at the head coach. Josh Smith does not deserve the money he is asking for because he doesn’t not have a consistent game in any aspect except for weak side defense. Every other aspect of his game is suspect. For the amount of money Joe Johnson is making, he should take some speech classes or hypnotism to teach him to be an assertive leader because the team is in desperate need of one and no one is stepping up.
Too much whining, players taking plays off, bad coaching decisions. This team won’t get better unless they get some kind of fire in their heart and under their a$$e$.
Swingin' Richard
April 27th, 2009
10:26 am
Another game, another limp effort.