Big shoes to fill
What’s up, Sekou readers?
Hope you are all doing well. Thanks for your patience in waiting for this blog to get churning again. My name is Ken Sugiura, and I have the unenviable task of following up the master. Sekou, if you weren’t aware, took a job down the street at nba.com after five years of excellent Hawks coverage for the AJC. I’m not telling you anything you don’t know, but Sekou is a great guy, a great reporter and we will miss him plenty.
I’m going to be filling in on the Hawks until a full-time replacement is hired. I’ve got a good bit to learn, but I’m looking forward to it. As Sekou shared with me, it’s a good group to cover and the team, obviously, is on the way up. Hopefully it’ll be a fun ride, however long it lasts.
Anyway, I’m here for you guys, so fire any questions at me you’ve got, either on the blog or e-mail. I don’t have the wealth of NBA knowledge that Sekou does, but I’ll do my best to get you answers.
Enough blathering – on to the two-game trip to New York tonight and Boston Friday.
From Mike Woodson on down, the talk Monday and Tuesday was about defending better, which obviously will be a factor in both games, against the “Seven seconds or less” Knicks and then the three-headed monster in Boston.
Different guys were saying they need to get back to defending the way they did last year. The sample size for this season is small, obviously, but some numbers for comparison – 2008-09 – 96.5 points per game, 45.4 FG percentage from the field, 35.3 percent from three-point range. This year, 102.1, 46.0, 40.0.
One thing I heard a few different times was that the players aren’t doing a good job of communicating – calling out switches and the like.
Said Joe Johnson, “When we’re guarding our man and we’re supposed to switch, we’re not calling the switch. I think we’re assuming more than anything. It’s just guys not on the same page. Therefore, two guys are going on one man and another guy’s laying it up.”
Al Horford also mentioned the communication lapses, but added that “I think it comes down to effort.”
So, something to be watching for tonight (Wednesday) and Friday.
You may find this interesting …
Jamal Crawford, Jeff Teague and Horford all mentioned looking forward to playing at Madison Square Garden. For Teague, it’ll be his first trip. Horford said it’s probably his favorite place to play, citing the arena’s history.
Said Crawford, who played a little over four years there, “It’s like you’re on stage. … The court’s lit up and the crowd’s kind of dark. It’s like you’re on a stage performing. So it’s really cool.”
Crawford also mentioned that over his time there, he became friends with Knicks fans such as Spike Lee, Samuel L. Jackson, Adam Sandler and Fat Joe.
Said the rookie Teague of going on the road, “Flying from city to city, you’re getting on planes, carrying bags and having so much luggage. It was kind of difficult at first, but now I think I know how to pack a lot better. I took too much stuff last time.”
One big difference between college and NBA road trips: “No homework at all. That’s a good thing.”
Your take
Anyway, let me hear from you, readers – Is 1-1 a successful road trip? Woodson has mentioned multiple times that he wants the team to go .500 on the road, so he said that the West Coast plus Charlotte trip was good, because it was 2-2, despite the trip-ending disaster in Charlotte.
What do you want to see from the Hawks?
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460 comments Add your comment
Samuel
November 12th, 2009
9:22 pm
Not crazy, he just doesn’t know any better i’m inclined to believe.
O'Brien
November 12th, 2009
9:28 pm
It pains me to see how JJ pounds the ball, before giving it up too late in the shot clock or forcing a difficult shot. I really wish he would pass the ball quickly, and hopefully get it back later in the possession. (I really like the way Crawford gets other guys involved quicker).
I know its only 8 games, but what I’ve seen from Woody is the same Woody I saw last year, and the year before, and the year before. Sure, there are brief moments when things look better, but once adversity sets in, he goes back to the old Woody. I dont think Woody will change much.
I look for the Hawks to win 50-54 games, and lose in the 2nd round again. I think that will be enough for Sund to give him a new contract.
Undisputed Champ!
November 12th, 2009
9:56 pm
I never thought I see Ray call for the head of the Mistro….Mike” on the money” Woodson….Pray tell us Ray ” what for you be weeping about?”
Mz. Hawkdafied
November 12th, 2009
10:07 pm
Traceman how the heck are we supposed to know what the rookie can do if he doesn’t get consistent playing time? Last night he came in the game with a minute and a few seconds left in the entire game. What the heezy is he supposed to do in that short amount of time? I think questioning the coach’s rotation is a legitimate concern especially when during the off season we were constantly told the Hawks’ depth had improved. You mean to tell me the ATL Hawks can’t win games on a 10-12 player rotation?
Don’t get me twisted, I am not advocating for Jeff Teague to start instead of Bibby. I am not an advocate for Jamal Crawford to start instead of Marvin. It wouldn’t make sense to keep the starting five together and then break them up during the season. In my opinion the starting lineup is set, I don’t disagree with the starting lineup. I am however against a 6-8 man rotation when you have depth on your bench.
I am concerned with another first round pick being wasted. I was disturbed by what happened to Acie Law IV, who on this blog can be certain Acie deserved to be traded? I can’t cause I barely saw him on the court. And when I did I don’t really remember him being so terrible. And now Jeff Teague is being subjected to sitting between the coaches like some little kid who just got in trouble. I refuse to sit idly back and not speak on something that’s bothering me.
The key word is “starters”. Your players who start the game and are supposed to be your best players. The other word is “reserves”. You know players who are supposed to relieve the starters, may not be as good but can contribute nevertheless while the starters rest up.
Come on Woodson supporters, pay attention. Most on the blog are not discrediting the wins. It’s the way he goes about winning. There has to be a more efficient way to get wins using all of your resources. One being the most glaring one: THE RESERVES!
IT’S ALL ABOUT THE HAWKS’ PROGRESS AND NOT HATE!
Ken Strickland
November 13th, 2009
12:15 am
SAMUEL-You’re waaay off track. I have no reason to hate Woodson. At this point, I Know he’s doing the best he can, and there’s no malicious intent on his part. He just doesn’t seem to be able to overcome his shortcomings as a HC, and that’s no reason for anyone to hate him. If I hated him, I’d be like the MWilliam haters, constantly advocating the organization get rid of him immediately. Instead, I’ve been waiting and hoping for Woodson to improve as a HC, and I’ve complained when he hasn’t. To say that I hate the man is nothing more than wishful thinking on your part.
TRACEMAN-Bibby did have a good gm last night, OFFENSIVELY, but so did the man he was suppose to have been guarding, rookie PG TDouglas, who scored a career high 23pts. And please, Woody’s so called system is nothing like LBrowns, or anyone elses. The system LBrown had in Detroit used back picks and baseline picks, and you’d see RHamilton or CBillups running the baseline and coming off those picks for open jumpers or drives to the basket.
In your wildest dreams and imagination you can’t say you’ve seen anything like that run by the Hawks since Woodson’s been the HC. If he installed that system for Marvin, or something simular, he’d be very productive and it would eliminate his OFF inconsistency. If, at this point, Woodson doesn’t trust the OFF capabilites of his players enough to run his system, he needs another system. Preferably one that better suits the OFF talents of his players. Either that or another HC.
BYC
November 13th, 2009
3:33 pm
Fire Mike freaking Woodson, Mr. potato head does not know how to develop his talent, and we are gonna end up the same place we were last year–> Starters overplayed and injured, rookies inexperienced and unable to pick up injured starters minutes. Joe Johnson is playing freakin 43 mins against the KINGS and KNICKS and Teague is playing two total minutes. Woodson is playing for instant gratification (Regular Season wins) without looking at the big picture (Playoffs). The city of Atlanta is pass being a regular season team, we want playoff success!
2 FOR JOHN DREW
November 14th, 2009
10:03 am
Welcome Ken S. !!!!!!
2 FOR JOHN DREW
November 14th, 2009
12:57 pm
LAST !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
2 FOR JOHN DREW
November 14th, 2009
1:04 pm
( LOL ) ……. I couldn’t resist
Buzzer Beaters | Hoops Addict
November 15th, 2009
10:35 pm
[...] Congrats goes out to Sekou Smith – one of my favourite NBA beat writers – for making the jump to NBA.com. [...]