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
WHO DIED ......?
April 27th, 2009
3:28 pm
notice im not drinking and drive just smoking tonite, stallworth just really wake me up with that sh*T, so no drinking and driving save it for home
tiger woo
April 27th, 2009
3:29 pm
gusman354aa,
What you gonna say when the Heat lose tonight – don’t baby sit the blunt? You may need a toke or two.
WHO DIED ......?
April 27th, 2009
3:30 pm
melvin spell it out for me, reality im in 300 section across from heat team bench
cp
April 27th, 2009
3:31 pm
Woodsons recent comments sounds like he is already waving the white flag and looking for excuses as to why this team will lose. Can we please get a real coach in here. I’m sure Woody is a nice guy and all but I have never seen a coach come up with as many excuses or throw his team under the bus as much as this guy does. Is anything ever his fault?
RickNole
April 27th, 2009
3:32 pm
Can we fire Woody even if we win this serise?
bigdave
April 27th, 2009
3:34 pm
Not to mention me Doc… Ive said FIRE WOODY a long time ago… back when i was defending Joe, and how Woody was still living in Game 4 Boston….
Im black, sure, ive played the race card in sports… Vick, Coach N. Richardson, P. Kearny, R. Clemens… to name a few; but this is not a Race issue… this is X’s and O’s get us a coach with what we have, plus a few other additions and we contend… but we definitely win this series, and more than 7 other regular season games if we had better coaching…!!!
WHO DIED ......?
April 27th, 2009
3:35 pm
ps dan crack coke pills meth and even cigarettes are drugs not bud(good bud)
Jones (atl born and raised)
April 27th, 2009
3:36 pm
TRUE COMMENT !!!!!!!! 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 !!!!
Josh Smith is the only guy on this team that will fight why should he fight for someone who doesn’t fight for there self. He cant do everything Josh is not a scorer get that through your head he is a ben wallace/mutombo type his offense is extra he cant guard the paint then guard the 3 point line at the same time. Bibby has just as many blocks as horford this series.Then he guard everybody on the floor in a game when all they do is pass away from him because no one else plays d. He does his job defend every play every game point blank period. Joe is a 3rd option thats why phoenix traded him. Out of 10 games Josh has outplayed Joe in the playoffs i dont want to here about double teams he still doesn’t pass the ball. That game when josh had no points and rebounds check his blocks,assist and steals stats in that half, he played ball even though he was in foul trouble. Last time I check when Joe was in foul trouble his stats mirrored those of speedy claxton.
D.Carter
April 27th, 2009
3:36 pm
The hawks lose because there half courts sets are by far the worst i have seen… They play zero helpside defense as witnessed by the number of uncontested layups that teams shoot… Most teams step up the defense in the playoffs, the hawks continue to play with (regular season intensity)
Woody’s big adjustment during games is to fold his arms and stare…… The hawks must force the tempo by playing the double team and scramble game which will get the ball out of D. Wade and JO’s hands and force the other guys to beat them THE WHOLE GAME——–THAT MEANS 48 MINUTES WOODY….. The other guys feed off of D.Wades energy…. FORCE THEM TO SCORE THE WHOLE GAME WOODY!!!!! FOR CRYING OUT LOUD MAKE A FRIKEN ADJUSTMENT!!!!!!!
Offensively put Joes ass on the block or let him bring the ball down in the MIDDLE of the floor so that will force him to give the ball out and the wings can cut…… Please Marvin get off your ass and play!!!!…. Get marvin on the block and let him go to work….. Josh Smith PATTERN YOUR GAME AFTER JO KIM NOAH’S WATCH HIM REBOUND , BLOCK SHOTS , AND GET PUT BACKS… HE IS THE DIFFERENCE IN THAT SERIES…. SOMEBODY ON THE HAWKS PLEASE CUT WITHOUT THE BALL JUST 1X !!!! STOP WITH THE JUMPSHOT CONTEST… GO TOO THE DAMN HOLE WITH AUTHORITY…. JOE JOHNSON YOUR 6′7 240 POUNDS STOP TRYING TO AVOID CONTACT LOWER YOUR DAMN SHOULDER AND GET BUSY….. (WATCH PAUL PIERCE)
tiger woo
April 27th, 2009
3:41 pm
Jones (atl born and raised)
April 27th, 2009
3:36 pm
TRUE COMMENT !!!!!!!! Name me one player that lets another come to there house and destroy them on there own court?????? JOE JOHNSON
…………………………………………………………
I can name a bunch of players – anybody on the Detroit Pistons that LeBron James torched in the 4 game sweep.
bigdave
April 27th, 2009
3:42 pm
HAVE A BALL WHO DIED… LIVE IT UP MY FRIEND…!!! DOWN IN PLAYBOY’S PARADISE…
NikkiFree
April 27th, 2009
3:45 pm
Oh, has Joe Johnson been playing in the postseason? I hadn’t noticed.
Al
April 27th, 2009
3:45 pm
WHO DIED I better hear your ass screaming from my TV. Damn I really wanna go. I think I’m gonna check ebay real quick.
Reality
April 27th, 2009
3:49 pm
Yea I’m tempted too, my buddy just called me and said there are 300 level tickets, 1st row, near center court for $100. Not bad at all.
Reality
April 27th, 2009
3:49 pm
On craigslist
tiger woo
April 27th, 2009
3:50 pm
WHO DIED ……?
April 27th, 2009
3:28 pm
notice im not drinking and drive just smoking tonite, stallworth just really wake me up with that sh*T, so no drinking and driving save it for home.
…………………………………………………………..
WHO DIED ……?
After the Hawks beat-down tonight, you will probably need a drink or two as well – just make sure you wait until you get home – we surely don’t need any drunk, irate Heat fans on the road!
gusman354aa
April 27th, 2009
3:50 pm
gusman354aa,
What you gonna say when the Heat lose tonight – don’t baby sit the blunt? You may need a toke or two.
haha ill be waiting for you tonight on this forum to see your next excuses.
gusman354aa
April 27th, 2009
3:56 pm
KITTY WOO say with me LEST GO HEAT
BrutusWilson
April 27th, 2009
3:56 pm
Mike Woodsen needs to sit down (cop a squat) and relinquish his post as head coach. Woody is unable to motivate his troops to do anything more than collect paychecks. The Hawks have the superior talent to the Heat but are brainwashed into thinking they are inferior and thus the poor, dismal play the last two ballgames. The Hawks have enough talent, I believe, for them to win the NBA title this year. But until the Hawks begin to believe that they are great (which they are) they will continue to play uninspired, listless, ridulous basketball and keep getting pounded and beaten into submission.
tiger woo
April 27th, 2009
3:57 pm
gusman354aa,
You won’t hear any excuses from me . . . as long as I don’t hear any excuses from you! Rise up, Hawks! The Miami Heat will show their true colors tonight – look out from above as Cook, Chalmers, and the other over-achievers fall back down to earth.
Reality
April 27th, 2009
4:01 pm
The Heat and their fans don’t make excuses.
Reality
April 27th, 2009
4:03 pm
BrutusWilson, I think everyone can agree that the Hawks are very talented. However their talented players apparently have some major flaws. I’m not sure any coach could change the fact that Josh Smith can’t dribble, shoot, or think.
Astro Joe
April 27th, 2009
4:06 pm
Win or lose, Hawks have 5 FAs to care for, Marvin, Flip, Zaza, Solo & Bibby. Whether we dump Woody or not, this team will likely be VERY different next season. And different may not mean better. I wouldn’t expect to replace all those guys with proven talent. I’d expect more guys like RandMo then I would guys like McDyess (just an example of a guy I would REALLY like to add to the bench). So all who are requesting a change, you will likely get it.
tiger woo
April 27th, 2009
4:09 pm
BrutusWilson,
Do you REALLY think the Hawks have enough talent to win the NBA title this year? I’m a Hawks fan and all, but I’m not delusional. They would certainly need the home court advantage to even THINK about competing with L.A., Cleveland, or even Orlando, Denver, or Houston – and that wouldn’t be enough.
If the Hawks, however unlikely, go on to lose the Heat series, they need to build on this experience and realize the effort and sacrifice that is needed to succeed in the playoffs – especially winning on the road.
Just firing Woody will not instantly make the Hawks a true title contender. It’s going to take hard work and a committment by the players to get to that level.
tiger woo
April 27th, 2009
4:12 pm
Reality
April 27th, 2009
4:01 pm
The Heat and their fans don’t make excuses.
……………………………………………………………..
Oh – I don’t know about that – I heard a lot of excuses last year when the Heat were cellar-dwellers – boo-hoo!!! – D-Wade is hurt – Shaq is fat – S-Marion can’t shoot.
Al
April 27th, 2009
4:14 pm
I gave in and bought some tickets. Lol. 9th row upper level for $55.
tiger woo
April 27th, 2009
4:15 pm
Reality,
There’s one bright spot to you guys nightmare season last year – you got Michael Beasley . . . my bad – I know it hurts to talk about last year’s Heat squad – sorry . . .
Daniel
April 27th, 2009
4:20 pm
Woodson really does make for a reasonable fan to know how to feel about him. On the one hand, he has improved this team every year. He does state his goals publicly and then backs them up, and he does not cower to players even when they have a more secure contract.
On the other hand, a team this talented should not get blown out as much as they do. I mentioned this during the regular season, that a team that finished 12 games above .500 have way too many double digit losses. I was hopeful that we would not see that kind of play in the playoffs but… we have.
Woodson is very much like the Hawks… sometimes he/they look like they are going to give Clevland a run for their money, then they look like they couldn’t play/coach out of a paper bag.
If the Hawks do pull off the win… Woody will be back.
gusman354aa
April 27th, 2009
4:22 pm
over-achievers ? cook is 2009 tree-point shootout champion , and shalmers is the best 3 pts shooting rookie in heat history.
TheAntiMe
April 27th, 2009
4:23 pm
If you can’t get any real leadership from your coach (Woody) then it’s not very likely that you will get the needed leadership from your players.
rumbler
April 27th, 2009
4:27 pm
Someone earlier mentioned that Woodson isn’t making adjustments and keeps sending guys to help on Wade leaving their 3 point shooters open. Well there isn’t a player in this league that is going to consistently check Wade one on one without him killing them. If they do that Wade is just going to have a field day with whoever is guarding him by either driving to the basket drawing fouls all game or hitting his jump shot when his defender lays off to keep him from driving. So its either send a second defender and see if Wade can find the open guy (which he usually does) or let him kill you by himself driving to the basket and hitting jump shots. If you do the latter, Wade likely ends up with one of his killer 40+ point games and still somehow has a teammate or two that scores 15-18 points. The Heat appear to just be clicking at the right time while Atlanta is trying to find their identity. The Hawks don’t appear to have a half court offense at all. Everything is helter skelter/fast break. Slow the game down, make them play half court, and they appear to have no clue what to do.
jbo
April 27th, 2009
4:30 pm
woodson must be fired, thats all i have to say. D-WADE MUST BE DOUBLED MIKE
Al
April 27th, 2009
4:35 pm
Alright Reality, now we BETTER win tonight
Reality
April 27th, 2009
4:46 pm
That’s right Al! Way to go! Make sure the fans are as crazy as Saturday! Wade BLOWS UP TONIGHT! Beasley will break out!
Tiger woo, you are just being silly now.
I’m actually still high from the Heat’s championship in 2006, so nothing can bring me down.
Last year was ugly but necessary. Look where we are now, quick rebuild huh? And it makes NOW that much sweeter. Life’s ups wouldn’t be so good, if you didn’t have the downs…..
….And injuries are not excuses, they are facts. Do you think it’s a pure coincidence that Miami is now in the playoffs again and fighting, when Wade is healthy? Please enlighten me hello kitty woo.
Whatever, it’s sad how you have to resort to last year (1st time Miami missed the playoffs since ‘04) to help yourself feel better about this current playoff series.
Melvin
April 27th, 2009
4:48 pm
Who Died…? Rolling around On The Floor Laughing (ROTFL)
WHO DIED ......?
April 27th, 2009
4:49 pm
up from nap a lil early, baby come home crying and sh*T but its cool. get to hjolla for awhile be fore routine kicks off
Melvin
April 27th, 2009
4:50 pm
Who Died…? Rolling On The Floor Laughing (ROTFL)
WHO DIED ......?
April 27th, 2009
4:50 pm
thx melvin
Melvin
April 27th, 2009
4:51 pm
Who Died…? Dang that was a quick nap. did you actually shut you eyes…lol
tiger woo
April 27th, 2009
4:55 pm
Reality,
I’m not being silly – you guys had a nightmare season last year and there were a lot of excuses being thrown out there, even though Wade played most of the season – that’s okay – last year is last year and so what if you guys tanked it last year to get a high draft pick – it worked out pretty good I guess – you got Beasley.
By the way, I feel good about this current series – Hawks in 7.
Hawks73
April 27th, 2009
4:56 pm
WHO DIED …..? I think this blog needs a pic of you hitting a blunt. How bout it?
WHO DIED ......?
April 27th, 2009
4:57 pm
SEKOU CAN YOU PUT PAGES VIEW AT TOP OF SCREEN B/C SOMETIMES I WANNA GET STR8 TO THE MEAT AND POTATOES, WITHOUT SCROLLING DOWN TO TURN THE PAGE
WHO DIED ......?
April 27th, 2009
4:58 pm
NOT REALLY IM WORSE OFF THAN BEFORE I LAID DOWN EVER HAVE THAT HAPPEN, BUT THANK GOD FOR THE BUD
WHO DIED ......?
April 27th, 2009
5:01 pm
I WISH I COULD PUT UP PIC BUT THAT’S AGAINST THE LAW, AND I WOULDV’E BEEN POST PIC OF JOSH SMITH SITTING ON FLOOR OF AAA LOOKING LIKE HE ACTUALLY CRYING,AL OR REALITY DID YOU SEE THAT ONE IN THE PAPER AFTER GAME 3
Reality
April 27th, 2009
5:07 pm
Tiger woo, but what does last year have to do with now?
Bottom line: the Heat sucked last year – fact. Wade was hurt and not himself – fact. And I don’t get when and where you were hearing all these excuses? What’s the point of making excuses when the team is terrible? What I’m saying is that, I don’t get why Heat fans would make excuses about last year if there wasn’t ever a time to justify the team.
I agree, last year ended up working great for us….a blessing in disguise. So I’m glad last year happened. It lit a fire under Wade’s ass and now he’s better than ever! Truly a blessing!
I’m glad you feel good about the series. There’s been no evidence in these last 2 games to support that (and you guys don’t have Dwyane Wade), but hey, that’s what being a fan is all about.
Al
April 27th, 2009
5:08 pm
Yeah I saw it online actually WHO DIED.
WHO DIED ......?
April 27th, 2009
5:10 pm
IM I LYING HE LOOKS LIKE HE IS CRYING
Reality
April 27th, 2009
5:13 pm
Hahaha I saw that WHO DIED. It captures Josh in his true baby mode, the mode Hawks fans can stop ripping him for.
tiger woo
April 27th, 2009
5:15 pm
Reality,
I agree – don’t know myself why folks (ATL Heat fans) were making excuses for the Heat last year . . . I know plenty of them, including my son!
I feel good about the series because just when you think the Hawks are toast, they rise up to the challenge! It’s been that way all year with them. Go Hawks!
kwooden1
April 27th, 2009
5:21 pm
WHO DIED ….?, AL
Where’s your HEAT blog, I looked for one but didn’t find any worth writing on?