Talking about minutes
Greetings-
Hope you are doing well. It looks like Mike Bibby will play, at least from what Jeff Teague said. For what it’s worth, Bibby looked fine walking around the practice court and locker room. (For the time media were allowed into practice, he was sitting on a trainer’s table)
Mike Woodson said he’d like to know by Wednesday if Bibby can go.
To address some of the debate you all are having about Teague and his minutes, I’ll share something with you that Woodson said last week about playing time that I think might shed some light into his thinking. I’d asked him about Randolph Morris playing well at the end of one of the games – at home against New Orleans – and here is what Woodson said.
“He was excellent. He had a little pop to him and came in and played four great minutes, I thought. Guys have got to be like that. I can’t promise minutes. I’ve gotten away from that the last two years. I tell guys, ‘I’m not promising you anything. You’ve got to earn your minutes, you’ve got to make the most of them or I’ve got to go somewhere else and find it.’”
I think in a lot of ways, particularly considering that the team has a lot more to play for (and lose), this makes sense. It’s presumably easier to hand out minutes to players on a team playing .400 basketball than it is to one that is in an early fight for the division. However, the tricky part, obviously, particularly as it relates to Teague, is that it’s almost a given he’s going to make mistakes given his experience level, but the only way he’ll get experience, of course, is by playing.
That said, Woodson has said repeatedly how much he likes Teague as a player and wants to find minutes for him. For those of you who want to see him get regular minutes, would you be willing to do that if it meant putting more games at risk? I hope we can at least agree that Woodson’s rationale for playing Teague the way he plays him is that he’s trying to win each game.
That said, let’s say Teague got a steady 10 minutes, but instead of 11-3, the Hawks were 9-5, or instead of going 52-30 this season, they go 47-35. (Purely hypothetical) Would you make that trade? (Of course, you’re banking on the team and Teague being better for it, this year and in years to come.) Or maybe you can say what’s your cutoff for wins at the expense of minutes.
On a much different note, I’m working on a story for Thursday about fan attendance. If any of you have thoughts about how the Hawks are drawing – they’re actually 5 percent ahead of last year, but crowds still seem sparse, given the team’s upward trend – and would be willing to be quoted in a story, e-mail me at ksugiura@ajc.com.
I almost forgot – a fan e-mailed me and asked about the possibility of a “Red-out” at the Hawks-Magic game, when the Hawks will debut their red alternate road jerseys. I told him I’d share his e-mail in the blog. Here’s an excerpt:
While watching Al Horford on TNT last night, I saw the Hawks “new” red jersey that the team plans to reveal on Thanksgiving night in our nationally televised game against Orlando.
“Wouldn’t it be great if we could have ALL of the fans wear “RED” to the game on that night. It would be an amazing display from our fans and send a “RED WAVE” across the country.
What are your thoughts? Let’s get the WORD OUT to our fan base!!!”
As far as white-out/black-out/your color here-out goes, I think red would be pretty cool. It would fall on the Hawks to publicize it, but just passing along the e-mail.
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248 comments Add your comment
Truth-Serum
November 24th, 2009
3:55 pm
Big Ray, I missed the Laker game. Ive heard that he showed glimses of talent. If you say the Kid has talent then it must be so. Im just saying that from what I have seen, im not particularly impressed.
The college game is much different than the pro game. In the pros the best of the decade is lurking and preying on the weak and inexperienced. My years of observation has taught me that more often than not, when a player come college to pros he either steps up or hes passive and timid waiting for some one to give him an opportunity rather than making it happen.
I think we may be making more of the Orlando game than need be. Its important because of the division. Whats more important is how we end the season and when we peak. I just hope we are playing consistantly at a high level and are there in the end. We were projected to finish forth or less so I hope we can be a good match in chemistry with orlando. I think ultimately that if we can run well be ok but if its a slow down half court game…we may not be as ready in the middle.
Big Ray
November 24th, 2009
4:03 pm
Truth Serum ,
Everybody in the Hawks organization is saying he’s the real deal, so don’t take just my word for it. I’m just saying that nobody tends to look all that impressive in spot duty. I’m not upset with Woody for not playing him 20 a game, believe me.
As for Orlando, we want to take over the division or break into the top three, this is one avenue towards that end. To be one of the best, you have to beat the best, and it’s never too soon to do that. I agree that how you finish and how you peak is more important than any one particular game. But how you do in the end is defined by how you do right now.
The habits you form, the tendencies you develop. I know Woody wants to win every game. We learned how to beat Boston. We have to learn how to beat Orlando. It’s not the end-all, be-all for the season. But I do think it’s a little more than just a divisional game. Those guys have been treating us like chumps. We have to stop taking it.
Big Ray
November 24th, 2009
4:04 pm
Anyway, gotta run.
Y’all play nice now…heh heh heh..
Truth-Serum
November 24th, 2009
4:07 pm
Ray I remember that story from Sekou. Good link and reminder. I like the attitude of the story. Thats the attitude that separates the bench warmers from the players. I think we also have to look at this may be the youngest person in the hawks organization. It can be imposing at times being around men when you are still a boy. In other words, it may take time for the young man to “man up”. I think you and Woodson aren’t too far apart. I due time Teague will get his developmental time.
I also think he should at least go around the league once. It always helps in confidence when you have seen all the players and the trick moves at least once.
Truth-Serum
November 24th, 2009
4:11 pm
I agree, its not the end all game, so im hoping that well get no over-reaction here, win/lose or draw. I agree. Id like to see us win too. Just so they recognize! Another class, so I too am out.
As always, thanks for the shout!
Mychelfromatl
November 24th, 2009
4:11 pm
Ray,
That’s exactly what I’m saying. I mean I’m all for playing Teague and giving him burn, its just in a game like Thursday, HELLLLLL To The No (Now if Bibby cant go, that’s a different story). The Hawks are fighting for something here and in my opinion, this game is just as important as the one in Boston. We need to not only win, but beat they a** realtalk!!!! This game is about payback, respect, and showing that the Hawks not only can run with, but ARE the bigdogs of the east. I’m sorry but I’m not willing to jeopardize this game just to feed Teague extra time, unless Bibby cannot go (and then we just have to hope for the best from the kid). Mannnnnn I can’t wait for Thursday Night!!!!! REDDDDDDDDDDDOUUUUTTTTTTTT!!!!!!
Somebody Get The Word Out!
WTF
November 24th, 2009
4:16 pm
Grandad
November 24th, 2009
2:50 pm
I think some of you guys are resenting the fact that im gay. You wont talk to me because often times I have a penis in my mouth. Be that as it may, id still like to have a conversation with you.
DUDE, GET A LIFE!
MsDee
November 24th, 2009
4:28 pm
I just think Woodson doesnt know nor care about offense like he say before in a recent article..therefore he doesnt try and show Teague how to run the offense. Bibby is an experienced Vet who ready doesnt need an offense to make plays..thats why he is always in the game. But Teague and even Acie are rookies who needed that extra guidance from their coach/coaching staff to make certain offensive plays for their rookies to be comfortable and make plays for their teammates. Unfortunate Woodson knows nothing about offensive plays and therefore always request for Vets instead of rookies cause he has no ablitity to teach them!!
Also what I’ve notice when Teague is out there: JJ, Josh Smith, Marvin and others dont ever move around or cut to the basket like they do for Bibby. Teague has no alleys and the no-look passes to give them. Teague should talk to the starters sometime and get them to break to the basket sometimes so he could posts some assists to his stat!!
26 years of ATL Hawks
November 24th, 2009
4:34 pm
Thursdays game won’t depend on who is running the point. It’ll be a battle won on the block with D and rebounding. If we truly are the big dogs then Horford and Josh will show the tenacity that killed Boston. We had a streak of late where the D, points in the paint and blocks were absolutely awesome. If we bring that mentality and energy Superman will wish he got hit with cryptonite. Without the inside presence it won’t matter what happens with the backcourt. They’ll be chucking bricks over tight D instead of clean looks from an established inside presence. Thursday is gonna be fun. I just hope this break helps the boys get some rest and energy. We need to make a statement to the world like we did in Boston…not like we did in LA.
Fundamentals
November 24th, 2009
4:39 pm
Key to beating Orlando will be establishing Josh and Al in the post early so that Marvin & Joe can cut and Bibby & Crawford can get open looks in the flow of the game on offense. Tight defense that focusses on aggressive rebounding and shutting down the paint will be the key on D.
JeJe
November 24th, 2009
4:42 pm
Magic coming off b2b vs. us 5 days rusty.
Wow I have no idea what to expect. Gotta think ORL will dominate this game, given the fact that we are awful when rusty, plus Vince Carter chooses Atlanta as the team he wants to be MJ against
darrell starks
November 24th, 2009
4:46 pm
Let bibby sit a couple of games until that ankle is heal.
GO HAWKS!!!!!!!!
Ken Strickland
November 24th, 2009
5:01 pm
If Woodson doesn’t care about OFF, why does he continue playing Bibby so many mins, and why did he give serious mins to No D TLue? It certainly was’t because of their DEF. Woodson has given every veteran PG that’s been on his roster serious mins, regardless of their shortcomings/liabilities. Yet, even if the rookie PG/SG has more talent and/or potential than the vet, he seems to find issues with the younger PG/SG and uses those perceived shortcomings to keep them on the bench.
MYCHELFROMATL-If Woodson didn’t trust Teague’s ability enough to play him more than 5mins against New Orleans with Bibby hurt, why would he trust him to replace Bibby against a much bigger and better team? This is the point I was trying to make the last 2yrs with ALaw. You don’t wait until your starting PG is injured before being forced to consider playing your rookie PG. You plan ahead and treat every gm situation as if your starter is unable to return to the gm.
Forcing JJ and Crawford to take turns dominating the OFF with a series of ISO Joe’s and Crawford’s was downright stupid and contributed to the loss. That stupid move took all of the pressure off the Hornet’s overall DEF and put it on one player, JPosey, and he delivered. We’ve gone to a lineup featuring Bibby at PG, JJ at SF and Crawford and SG regularly so far this yr. All Woodson had to do was put Teague in Bibby’s place to run the OFF, let JJ and Crawford stretch the DEF and Teague attack it.
Against Orlando, Crawford would be much more effective coming off the bench than starting and Teague would be more effective starting than coming off the bench.
Najeh Davenpoop
November 24th, 2009
5:12 pm
I have my red pre-2007 style Joe Johnson jersey on at every Hawks game I attend, and hopefully I’ll be there this Thursday too.
Bi Ump
November 24th, 2009
5:30 pm
It’s also to the point on this blog if you say something good about the HC or something about Teague (who is going to be a good PG in the future)the Woody Haters throws fits also. Do you agree? Or maybe you can only see something the way you want too. When someone disagree with some of these Blooger then they put a label on you. And then when you reverse that then they have a problem.
WHAT
November 24th, 2009
5:37 pm
Well boys Briana, a former Hawks cheerleader, from the last few years or so is now a pornstar!!! If your a real Hawks fan you should know who this gorgeous blond is! Her pornstar name is Brandy Blair and her first video was just released on 11/20. Google her porn name and you will find articles about it. Damn she is hot!!!!
Westurd
November 24th, 2009
6:08 pm
Hey Ken…….can we get some sort of angle from Sund? Whats his thoughts about Teague, Woody, and the Hawks. I’m sure you’ll get some sort of GM answer, but poke at him anyway. Tell his ass to get on this blog for a Q & A. RED OUT RED OUT RED OUT RED OUT!!
Sautee
November 24th, 2009
6:18 pm
Samuel,
From the last blog, when you said:
“The proof is in the pudding.
Larry Brown’s coaching record in the last 4 years is 116-143
Woody’s record is- 125-135″
“So how does that make Brown a better coach? ”
Samuel, Samuel, Samuel,
Are you just posturing here?
Mike Woodson: Reg. season 164-260 -.386%, 2 playoff appearances, once to conference semis. Playoff record 7-11- .388%
Larry Brown: Reg. season 1024-824 – .554%, Playoff record 100-89 – .529%
College: 1 National Championship, 3 Final Fours in 7 seasons
Pro: 1 Championship, 3 Conference Championships, 10 Division Championships, 25 Playoff appearances in 26 seasons
Geez, it looks even worse in comparison than I thought.
But the last 4 years convince you that Woody’s a better coach. Yet you go on and on about the lack of talent Woody had at first. There’s some truth to that to be sure.
How about Charlotte’s or NY’s talent level over Brown’s tenures? Why does Brown not get the same caveat as Woody? According to you, if you don’t have the necessary talent, you can’t win, right?
Sautee
November 24th, 2009
6:23 pm
It is TOTAL CONJECTURE to say that if Teague played X minutes that we would lose more games. We just don’t KNOW that. That said, I’d MUCH rather have Bibby play the lion’s share of PG minutes at this point.
But I’d argue that meaningful minutes (not at garbage time) is more the issue. I’d rather him get 8 meaningful minutes in a close game than twice that in a blowout.
Wink
November 24th, 2009
6:54 pm
@Hawk Str8Talk, Big Ray, Eric, Ken Strickland
Earlier posts regarding the use of Teague & coaching of Woody dead on.
Teague needs minutes to show growth, so he can EARN minutes from Woody the Undertaker. He going to kill Teague’s confidence too. One poster suggested giving him 5 minutes in each of the first two quarters, this will allow him to build confidence & develop his skill set in real game action. If he has no impact on the game then sit him the rest of the game, if need be. Rookies are capable of playing & making an impact in NBA games. The two rookies for the Hornets just handed us a lost,Corlison & Thornton. Corlison is subbing for the injured CP3,remember him. You have Ty Lawson, Brandon Jenning, Flynn etc making major contributions early for their teams. Who knows if Woody would have played them, but they are rotation players for other teams.
Teague was brought in for a reason, they did their research & evaluations and made him our number one pick. The goal is for him to take over for Bibby at some point. Do we have to wait for Bibby to get injured? As he has, why show no confidence in him. Just inform him he is starting and keep Crawford coming off the bench. You think maybe this kind of hesitation in making a decision, shows you may not have confidence in him??? The Teague of today is not the same Teague I saw in preseason games or the Lakers game. His body language is changing, along with his play. The guy is use to winning in college, he did not just stop wanting to compete, unless he is given no opportunity to compete..Woody you brought him here…play him.
The reason Teague can’t get on the floor is because of job security for Woody…which will cost us come playoff time. What would Woody do if we look at the end of the schedule…say we have 45 wins, wrapped up home court for 1st round, with 10 games to play with our stated goal of 55 wins ahead of us, but 2 shy of our 47 wins from last year….WHAT WOULD WOODY DO (WWWD)?
Would he stack more minutes on the starters to get win total goal?
Would he develop the bench in preparation for the playoffs ahead?
What if we lose the first 5 games of the 10, would the starters log heavy minutes to get to at least 48 wins? So the win total would have increased each year since the 13 win season?
Woody lovers & haters, What Do You Think Woody Would Do?
10 games does Teague get heavy minutes??????
doc
November 24th, 2009
7:24 pm
big game on thursday because since the opening of last season when we beat them they have shredded us. time to say, on our floor, we can take you and look out when we come there. psychologically, it is very important.
Ken Strickland
November 24th, 2009
7:26 pm
WINK-excellent post. We can only go by what he’s done in simular situations in the past, and that’s restrict his coaching, shorten his rotation, rely exclusively on his veterans and ride the backs of his starters.
Look, I’m going to hit the road in the morning. My family doesn’t celebrate the traditional Thanksgiving, but uses this time more as a family reunion. Since I’m Black and my Great Grandmother on my mother’s side of the family was a full blooded Cherokee, we choose not to celebrate the traditional Thanksgiving, since these 2 groups had little to be thankful for when the holiday came about. However, we never fail to find something to be thankful for within the family. So, with that said, I want to wish everyone, and I mean everyone, a very happy, and ESPECIALLY SAFE, holiday.
I’ll be sitting in front of the TV Thanksgiving night rooting loud and hard for Woodson and the Hawks to give Orlando an old ALI type A$$ whipping. GOOD LUCK TO YOU HIGH FLYING HAWKS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
KevinA
November 24th, 2009
7:29 pm
Big Ray
November 24th, 2009
3:35 pm
Against Orlando, the last thing I’m worried about is Teague’s minutes. I want to win that game.
But I want Orlando’s respect. Right now, we don’t have it. That makes me hungry and angry. A dangerous combo, and it should be one that the Hawks adopt.
I want that win. If not, it better be the hardest, bloodiest win Orlando gets all year long, making them sick to their stomachs at the idea of having to play us again. Put the women and children to bed. Time to go looking for supper.
Great post Ray. Exactly how I feel. We need to put every ounce of effort into that game.
KevinA
November 24th, 2009
7:35 pm
Fundamentals
November 24th, 2009
4:39 pm
Key to beating Orlando will be establishing Josh and Al in the post early so that Marvin & Joe can cut and Bibby & Crawford can get open looks in the flow of the game on offense. Tight defense that focusses on aggressive rebounding and shutting down the paint will be the key on D.
When we play our best Al and Josh get off early and often. Something I spend to much time talking about.
KevinA
November 24th, 2009
7:44 pm
Ken Strickland
November 24th, 2009
5:01 pm
If Woodson doesn’t care about OFF, why does he continue playing Bibby so many mins
This year Bibby is the 4th-5th option instead of the second and his min are down about 5 per game.
Forcing JJ and Crawford to take turns dominating the OFF with a series of ISO Joe’s and Crawford’s was downright stupid and contributed to the loss.
The difference between the way we think is I put the fault at the feet of JJ/Jamal. They could have passed to Al and Marvin more.Even Josh had a better game.
KevinA
November 24th, 2009
7:53 pm
Wink,
One poster suggested giving him 5 minutes in each of the first two quarters, this will allow him to build confidence & develop his skill set in real game action. If he has no impact on the game then sit him the rest of the game, if need be
Seems like a simple solution.
Truth-Serum
November 24th, 2009
7:53 pm
Kevin that sounds like a game plan. Josh gets his baskets off breaks, slashes and an occasional put back. Al, playing center, need to establish that he can score consistently in the low post. Otherwise they will cheat out side and rotate back rather than make sure a body is on Al at all times. You and I had this” in/out” discussion before and concluded that one of us favors using the outside to open up the inside and the other prefers the inside opening the out side.
I actually prefer your strategy on this one because we are not respected in the NBA for our post game. Therefore we need to make them respect our post game to make them play us straight up. I actually think Al’s play will be the most crucial of all players. In this match up, so goes Al, so goes the Hawks.
KevinA
November 24th, 2009
7:53 pm
doc
November 24th, 2009
7:24 pm
big game on thursday because since the opening of last season when we beat them they have shredded us. time to say, on our floor, we can take you and look out when we come there. psychologically, it is very important.
ditto, cosign, yep
Truth-Serum
November 24th, 2009
7:55 pm
Kevin you gain confidence based on your performance. If you perform well in practice and games your confidence is based on your production, not what another person thinks or doesn’t think of you.
Mychelfromatl
November 24th, 2009
8:04 pm
Ken,
Have a safe trip man.
Craig
November 24th, 2009
8:15 pm
Red Out!! Lets do it. I got my ticket and red shirt ready to go. Hawks baby!!
nunna yo biznezz
November 24th, 2009
8:26 pm
1st off,ken,we liked sekou a lot,but,u are becoming one we could love..i like da way u pinpointed an issue that we brought up and addressed the coach on it..i like that..
now,something woody said..
“For those of you who want to see him get regular minutes, would you be willing to do that if it meant putting more games at risk?”
woody is afraid to coach people up!!maybe he does not know how..thats what im thinking..or,his mind is too lazy to even consider it..
thats right lazy,i said it..nothing personal,its all in his job performance evaluation(woodson that is)..
i would rather he get time in now,even if we go with a 9-5 record in the beginning of the season in order to go 30-2 over the following 32 games..and if u look at our record after 46 games under woody..we were never 39-7..NEVER!!
COACH WOODSON: YOU WOULD NOT HAVE TO WORRY ABOUT GOING 9-5 OR EVEN GOING 9-5 OVER THE NEXT 14 GAMES IF BIBBY DOES NOT PLAY..AND YES,REGARDLESS IT WOULD BE YOUR FAULT IF WE DID GO 9-5 OVER THE NEXT 14 GAMES,BECAUSE IF U WOULD HAVE HAD THIS KID (WHO DOES BRING ANOTHER DIMENSION TO OUR OFFENSE AND IS NOT BAD ON DEFENSE)IN MORE GAMES EARLIER,THEN HE WOULD NOT HAVE HAD TO GO THRU STRUGGLES IN THE EVENT HE HAS TO START OVER THE NEXT 14 GAMES..HE WOULD KNOW HOW TO RUN THIS OFFENSE..
ITS YOUR FAULT..U NEVER DEVELOPE YOUR BENCH OR YOUR ROOKIES..NEVER!!
AND DON’T BRING IN THE JOSH’S OR WILLIAMS OR HORFORD,BECAUSE “U HAD TO PLAY THEM”..THOSE WERE POSITIONS OF URGENT NEEDS..
IF YOU WOULD HAVE HAD CHRIS PAUL,DERRON WILLIAMS,OR EVEN THE GREAT EARVIN MAGIC JOHNSON,THEY WOULD BE ON OTHER TEAMS BY TRADE AND NOT THE PLAYERS THAT THEY ARE..
I THINK WE ARE IN TROUBLE FOR YOU TO COME OUT WITH A STATEMENT LIKE THAT..
KevinA
November 24th, 2009
9:11 pm
Even if JT and Bibby did not play one minute over the next 14 games I think we could go 10-4. All we would have to do is put Evans at the 2 and suit up Hunter for the back up 3 spot. Evans playes better defense than Bibby and JT anyway.
As mentioned before we could go with JJ at the point Marvin at the two and Josh at the 3 and Al at the four and ZaZa at the 5.
Teague is a nice piece to be played at times. He has not yet ready for prime time. I am not one sided. Read this.
KevinA
November 24th, 2009
7:53 pm
KevinA
November 24th, 2009
9:22 pm
One last time, Josh, Chills, Marvin, and Al got huge minutes their rookie years. Ivy, Diaw got enough to show their skills. JT has had a couple of nice outings but had more so so. He will get his shot. In the meantime we could argue that the rest of the bench deserve minutes before JT. Ask Randmo and Collens. Ask Evans and ZaZa.
Al is playing almost all star basketball. If he got more touches he prob would be all star level. I understand the JT debate, however we have bigger issues to fry in my opinion.
If at game 50 JT has not had a real shot – I would agree – it is still early in the season.
KevinA
November 24th, 2009
9:25 pm
Truth-Serum
November 24th, 2009
7:55 pm
Kevin you gain confidence based on your performance. If you perform well in practice and games your confidence is based on your production, not what another person thinks or doesn’t think of you.
Do you think he is amazed that about 20 percent of his drives to the hole are being blocked? This ain’t college anymore.
Truth-Serum
November 24th, 2009
10:08 pm
Yeah, I think that plus how he gets stripped on the base line surprises him. I dont think he recognizes that the pros my you pay if you dont have the best foot work.
Samuel
November 24th, 2009
10:34 pm
Sautee,
I’m saying he’s out of touch with today’s players. His time is up. That can happen you know.
Grandad
November 24th, 2009
10:48 pm
And how does he begin to recognize those aspects of the pro game ? __________ answer (experience)
Grandad
November 24th, 2009
10:51 pm
Jeff Teague in reference to previous posts / sorry / left that out.
MAD-DONNA
November 24th, 2009
11:15 pm
If Woodson said that about earning minutes, then he is a hypocrite! Marvin Williams has done nothing to earn minutes, not to mention a starting spot!
Johhny Walking
November 24th, 2009
11:15 pm
Teague is caught up in a bad click. He wasnt going to play with a regular Woody. But a Woody with no CONTRACT, forget it. I tell you 1 thing, SUND DOES NOT WANT WOODY or JOE BACK! The more the Hawks win, the more Rolaids he takes and the more bargaining leverage Joe and Woody both get. Even though IMO Joe and Woody dont want to come back.
The attendance is what it is. The place will be packed for the top teams with fans of the visiting team filling out the gaps, but will echo when the Grizz Wolves and Kings come to town.
KevinA
November 24th, 2009
11:20 pm
Grandad
November 24th, 2009
10:48 pm
And how does he begin to recognize those aspects of the pro game ? __________ answer (experience)
He has learned that weak stuff to the basket is getting blocked. He has learned that when passed to at the end of the clock ends up in a miss – you find the bench.
He will work through it. He just needs to stay on his feet longer – with his handle he can do it. He has yet to learn to play within himself at this level. Lets look at JT in 30 more games then decide. On JT and the way Woody works.
KevinA
November 24th, 2009
11:21 pm
PS sorry about responding to what I thought was your comment – easy to get confused. I can’t keep up.
rms
November 24th, 2009
11:39 pm
Was that really Mike Woodson or just a wannabe?
KevinA
November 24th, 2009
11:40 pm
Johhny Walking
November 24th, 2009
11:15 pm
What if your right on all points but it is because we won’t go into the cap because of the attendance. NO money on a tight budget.
First players to go would be JJ, Crawford and Bibby. The rest of the players are cheap. To sign Al for bucks means somebody has to go. I predict next year either JJ or Jamal will be gone. If we lose either one we can resign Chills and still win 50 + games.
To go for a championship we will have to go into the cap. I have yet to see any information that says we will. On the other hand I have yet to see that they won’t. I need to do the research but most of the teams at our level pay a much bigger salary.
If we can’t go into cap space it is someone in the backcourt who will be moving on.
O'Brien
November 25th, 2009
12:15 am
The consensus is that Teague is better than Acie. Acie’s averages as a Hawk:
‘07-’08: 15.4 mpg
‘08-’09: 10.2 mpg.
Teague: 9.4 mpg.
And lets not forget that Acie had a few games where he looked good, only to be followed by DNP CD. Plus Acie played really well in the preseason (just as Teague did this preseason). I see Teague going down the same road as Acie. Plus with JJ/Bibby/Crawford, when will Teague ever earn PT over these guys, unless somebody is hurt?
GeeMack, November 24th, 2009, 1:27 pm
“JJ min. have been greatly reduced”. Thats not true. JJ went from playing 39.5 mpg last year to 38.7 mpg this year.
Its funny to me that some people are okay with Teague not playing many minutes, but if Bibby gets hurt for an extended period of time, they expect Teague to come in and play well. How is he supposed to play well during those times if he is not allowed to work through his mistakes from now? And he is not rewarded from one game to the next with PT. Where’s the confidence builder?
For the Orlando game, if Crawford starts, who comes off the bench to give us an offensive spark? And do we really want Crawford to run the offense AND look for his shot?
Teague should start (unfortunately for him, if he messes up, people will be quick to point out “thats why he doesnt get PT”). The guy played 2 years college ball, and he was the 7th (or was it 12th) PG taken, but yet guys expect him to come in and play error free basketball regardless of how many minutes he gets, or when he gets those minutes.
cp
November 25th, 2009
12:20 am
Great post O’Brien.
niremetal
November 25th, 2009
12:32 am
Its funny to me that some people are okay with Teague not playing many minutes, but if Bibby gets hurt for an extended period of time, they expect Teague to come in and play well.
I would love to know one person who has said/done this.
vava74
November 25th, 2009
3:09 am
Is it me or Truth Serum is really becoming a civilized contributor?
The issues at stake: everyone said before the season started that getting a higher seed was crucial for us. As you all know, that will only happen if we win the division.
So, whilst we are either ahead or close to Orlando, Woody will strick to a simple plan which Is to try to win as many games possible. For that – right or wrong – it is obvious that he believes that he needs to limit JT0’s minutes.
Right now JT0 is getting blocked almost every drive to the basket and is looking lost on defense. Yes, more playing time should remedy that, but that could translate into a few losses.
Remember that apart from the Boston game, we have not been trully great. To some extent our record has been influenced by a few lucky wins and some favourable scheduling issues (opposing teams playing us tired, undermanned or during a slump).
I’m optimistic, but I wouldn’t been sad if we just manage the #4 seed since Orl does seem stronger than I thought it would (although I still believe that their game is easier to stop without the Turk).
The 5 day rest should be good for Bibby’s ankle, however it’s a coin flip between us being rusty and Orl tired. It will depend a lot on how deep into the bench will MIA let them go.
I hope that R. Lewis does not get out of his slump and that JJ just keeps a hand in Carter’s face. After all Carter is shooting just .400 from the field and should be one of the most tired players after facing Wade.
Attendance: obviously I cannot give any local input, however, from what I read and see on the tube, 7.00 pm starting time does seem too early for people outside city centre to drive in, park and sit.
Clyde
November 25th, 2009
7:13 am
ZZZZZZZZZ