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.

248 comments Add your comment

Daniel

November 24th, 2009
11:17 am

Ken-
I like your blog, it addresses the topic at hand well. But, I presented that exact argument in the blog about a week ago. Can your man get a little props?

I say you don’t give Teague any set minutes right now, we are still working out how to mix in Crawford, with Bibby and Joe. Let Teague play in situations where he can be most helpful, but I would say that as the season moves along, i.e. 25-30 games in I think that Woodson would do well to have Teague play with a more defined role.

Daniel

November 24th, 2009
11:19 am

wow- I was first, but didn’t say first, I am so proud of myself… oh, wait a minute does that count as saying first? Man, this first thing is tough…

Mychelfromatl

November 24th, 2009
11:19 am

Ken,

You shouldn’t try to explain, it will fall on def ears to the Woodson haters anyway. Some of these idiots just HAVE to find something to complain about. I’m starting to believe these dudes have some type of secret backroom plot they’re trying to conduct SMH.

Ken Sugiura

November 24th, 2009
11:23 am

My bad, Daniel – your wisdom must have seeped into my subconscious. thanks for pointing it out.

I hereby relinquish rights to the blog topic to Daniel.

How’s that?

Daniel

November 24th, 2009
11:24 am

As far as attendance, I would always like to see more people at the games, but I honestly don’t mind not having to deal with huge crowds on those Mon. games. The Hawks are currently right in the middle of the pack in terms of attendance figures. Right there with teams like San Antonio, Miami, Orlando, Detroit. No one seems to give those cities a hard time about attendance. I do think that the figures will go up particularly with the home schedule during the holiday season.

Daniel

November 24th, 2009
11:26 am

That is ok, Ken. But, I was hoping to be granted a title as well. Something like Grand Poo-Bah. I also want to apologize for my blogs being so seepy.

(Ken, I hope you know I was just kidding with you.)

Eman

November 24th, 2009
11:26 am

Ken,

The economy has played a big role on this year attendance; People just are not going to play to see a basketball game when they have to pay bills or buy food. Also, Atlanta fans are some of the most fair weather fans around!! They are band wagons jumpers!! This is from an Atlanta native and hawks, falcons, and brave fan!!!

Ken Sugiura

November 24th, 2009
11:29 am

i know you were kidding, G.P.

i tend to agree with you, Eman.

Doug

November 24th, 2009
11:34 am

Would Teague make more mistakes at present than Bibby?? Yes…he would also create much more on both ends and give the Hawks an added burst of speed-quickness. I have a hard time believing that he would cost the Hawks any games. Bibby is, at present time not even a league average point guard and is incapable of guarding the better points…and he is a very streaky shooter.

Big Ray

November 24th, 2009
11:37 am

It’s never that cut and dry. Losses should not be directly related to a rookie’s minutes. If that is even a question, I would suggest that there are much larger problems involved.

On the flip side, the Hawks have a shooting guard, two point guards, and one combo guard. Teague is one of the point guards. They chose to roll with such a setup, forgoing a contract for another guard, so they must believe that either Teague is ready to contribute meaningful minutes, or Crawford is ready for some heavy lifting. That, and they apparently aren’t too concerned with injuries (or have a backup plan to sign a decent vet if certain injuries occur).

A steady diet of minutes for Teague may be the difference between desperation/short rotation, and well….NOT. If Bibby is hurt, then either Teague starts and plays some decent minutes, or Jamal starts, and you lose both his contribution off the bench, and someone to spell JJ for decent amounts of rest. It’s all a chain reaction, and it goes much further than that. (Jamal starts, the only thing close to a guard off the bench besides Teague is Evans, and then you lose your backup SF, and so on).

Let this happen come playoff time and watch the butt holes tighten up. But a short rotation is nothing new around here, and all the alibis are set.

Whatever. It will all be chalked up to “well, we won”….until the winning stops.

The Hawksta

November 24th, 2009
11:38 am

Attendance always falls back on game start times. It’s been stated several times by myself and fellow bloggers that 7:00 start times are tough for those of us who live and work outside the perimeter. Hence the late arrivals by most fans. I’ve noticed games that start on Friday’s at 7:30pm usually do better.

The Hawksta

November 24th, 2009
11:39 am

Sorry Ken, guess I should have emailed that(lol)!?

Mr. Teacher Man

November 24th, 2009
11:45 am

13th!!!! But, who really cares. I’ll be at the game on Thursday and I’ll be sure to have on RED (just hope that I’m not the only one)!!!

Mychelfromatl

November 24th, 2009
11:49 am

Oh Snap!!!!!! I missed the part about the Redout!!!!!!

Ken,

Have you talked to the Hawks or maybe to people @ AJC about getting the word out in the newspaper???!!! That would be great for everyone to come in red.

REEEEEEEEEEDDDDDDDDDDDDDDOUUUUUUUUUTTTTTTTTTTTT!!!!!!

I’ll have my red sweater on Thursday fa’sho!!

Grandad

November 24th, 2009
12:02 pm

Mychelfromatl:
Once again, why does one have to be labeled a hater just for being objective. If myself and others are labeled “haters” for having an opinion, then Woodson “lovers”, certainly cannot withstand any test of objectivity in his regard.
As for J.Teague; Ken: Your premis limited the outcome to only one variable. What if (over the course of the season) J.Teague recieved 16 min. per game [actually this is my perspective] ? During that time frame we lost 2 – 4 games early on due to inexperience and rookie mistakes. But say Mr. Woodson actually coached him up, so to speak, and our record may or may not reflect more wins by the end of the season, but, we are demonstratively better in the play-offs…now would you make that trade ? [longest sentence i've ever constructed / not even sure it's grammatically correct]

AthensSG

November 24th, 2009
12:04 pm

Doug, Bibby is better than average, especially on the road. We’re getting about the same production as last year, but keeping his minutes to about 30. That bodes well for the late season and playoffs. I think it was no coincidence – losing Bibby Sat nite and losing to an inferior team.

The Hawksta

November 24th, 2009
12:05 pm

In the infamous words of A.I. “Practice? We talking about practice! Practice!” Last I checked OJT plays a large part in becoming a professional. If you have a plan as I have stated in previous blogs you play these guys as much as you can now. That includes set minutes that can be adjusted depending on game time situations. A far better result than communicating you earn your minutes and not really have an opportunity to do so. Once a player earns his minutes then what’s the plan? It seems MW’s only strategy is to be reactionary. How about dictating the flow of the game? I believe the only plan MW has is playing to win the game. Well…can’t argue with that if your a box seat ticket holder entertaining a client needing some positive energy to make the deal. However, if you critique the coach and grade him on all aspects of his job. His propensity to develope his bench is base in large part on what Management gives him. Said player’s earning their minutes. And game time situations. All of which means he’s a “Not my fault” type of dude!

Go Hawks!

EW

November 24th, 2009
12:06 pm

If you’re arguing for Teague to get more minutes then you would have to assume we are a better team with him on the floor than we are with Bibby. I can’t buy that. I like Teague to spell the starters and provide a change of pace on the floor.

That said, you can’t put him in only when the game is decided to get his reps and experience. He has to be put on the floor in different situations and different times to learn. I would hate to see us handicap his growth by not playing him ENOUGH, but at the same time you play to win the game. I have a feeling Teague has his head on straight and will do his part to earn time on the floor and stay motivated.

The Hawksta

November 24th, 2009
12:07 pm

Sounds good to me “Grandad”. Ask Mr Teacher(lol)!

Bi Ump

November 24th, 2009
12:11 pm

Samuel, Truth Serum, Gee Mack, Daniel

It don’t matter to some of these Wannabe Terrence Moore if the Hawks went all the way to the finals or won it. They would still be complainig
about something. It’s their nature. It’s hard to break old habits.

Big Ray

November 24th, 2009
12:11 pm

I’ll co-sign Daniel’s initial post ….

teedub

November 24th, 2009
12:12 pm

I’m not a big fan of gimmicks to get fans to show up. Sure the red would be cool, but everyone in every city for every sport is doing a fill-in-the-blank-”out”. How about we just start with a packed house for something other than a game 6/7??

Todd

Lacsho

November 24th, 2009
12:12 pm

Wow, four posts in 7 minutes, and you still don’t get it. You’ve been on the blog for a year or two and you still don’t get it, so therefore one must move on. It’s ok to agree to disagree.

Dude from the Atl, that’s so elementary calling adults names on blogs. Two thumbs up for you Mr. Internet killer.

This blog will remain split. There are those who really think Woodson is a great coach, and there are others who think he’s a horrible coach. It’s like that, and that’s the way it is (RunDmc)!!!!

Big Ray

November 24th, 2009
12:13 pm

Agree with Grandad’s post on Teague…

Mychelfromatl

November 24th, 2009
12:16 pm

Grandad,

Take off your rose filled sunglasses. Your perpective(Although it would be nice), I seriously doubt will happen that easily.

What if those 2-4 games that we would lose turns out to be the deciding factor between having the 1rst or 2nd seed in the playoffs(and we all know how good the Hawks play at home)??

Big Ray

November 24th, 2009
12:17 pm

Lacsho ,

I think the problem is extremism. There’s very little of the true yin-and-yang. Woody can’t be an absolutely horrible coach, or this team would never win anything. Yet some of the same problems that existed 5 years ago still exist today. I won’t say more than that, I’m tired of arguing with people who actually want to fight about it. Heh…well, virtual fight, anyway…

Lacsho

November 24th, 2009
12:17 pm

Grandad, nice post!!!

The Hawksta

November 24th, 2009
12:20 pm

Don’t remember this much mudslinging between bloggers last year. Must be the money! I mean really… we have more Bigs than the Hawks(lol)!

Daniel

November 24th, 2009
12:20 pm

Thanks Big Ray… but I think I will be the Grand Poo-Bah from now on.
Gotta get outta here. will check in tomorrow then off for a few days.

Seriously, I wish everyone a happy Thanksgiving. (even Rod, Truth, Ken…et. al) (just messing with you guys) Everyone be good to each other.

Big Ray

November 24th, 2009
12:21 pm

Mychel ,

How are you going to quantify which exact wins or losses will determine a seeding? Again, I find the idea of a team losing any number of games solely because of a coach giving a rookie a few extra minutes to be utterly preposterous.

Teams lose for many more reasons than that. If that’s why you’re losing games, then something is wrong with part of, or perhaps the REST of your starting lineup and/or rotation.

What if a starter (Bibby) is out, and it FORCES a rookie to get more playing time. Shall we then blame the rookie? Or shall we blame the starter for being out? See what I mean…

Big Ray

November 24th, 2009
12:22 pm

Peace be to you, Daniel . Enjoy and be safe…everybody…

Mychelfromatl

November 24th, 2009
12:22 pm

Lacsho,

What the hell??? Me saying “Woodson Haters”, is considered to be a blog killer SMDH. Homie I’ve seen far worst names thrown around on this blog homie. And if me saying “Woodson Haters” make you mad then **Kanye West at VMA’s Shrug**

Lacsho

November 24th, 2009
12:27 pm

You know me Ray, I tend to see things just black and white. However, you’re right. He’s not a horrible coach, but he’s a very suspect coach. How do you still make the same mistakes year after year?

Big Ray

November 24th, 2009
12:31 pm

Lacsho,

That would be the question, and must also factor into the lack of an extension at this juncture….

Mychel,

Kanye…you had to bring his silly ass up? LOL..

Mychelfromatl

November 24th, 2009
12:39 pm

Ray,

Simply put, I’m saying suppose Woodson decides to give Teague this mandatory 15-20 mins per game that some on the blog is demanding.

Now suppose some of Teague rookie mistakes in those minutes “Clearly” causes us to lose games however many games this year.

Okay now after the season is over, and it was possible that the Hawks could have had a higher seeding if Bibby or Jamal would have played those minutes Teague was being force-feed,

You don’t think these SAME people that complain about EVERYTHING, you don’t think they not gon all-of-sudden accuse Woody for playing Teague too much, or in the wrong situation??????? I dare anyone to tell me different.

I mean I like the kid and all(Dudes better that AC without a doubt,and have played more already than AC played in his whole time here), but there has just been some situtions where me personally…I haven’t even felt comfortable with him in the game. But heck what do I know, I’m just a blogger that blogs during his downtime at work lol.

Mychelfromatl

November 24th, 2009
12:45 pm

Actually, I’m not even that opposed to Teague playing more. It’s just me responding in frustration due to all the constant whining and complaining. Good Lord!!! I can only imagine the level of b**ching that would be going on if the Hawks was 3-11.

Najeh Davenpoop

November 24th, 2009
12:59 pm

I don’t think giving Teague more minutes necessarily jeopardizes your chances of winning. Although Teague is a long way from being a consistent NBA point guard, he does provide that speed which changes up the tempo of your offense — in other words it’s not like he’s a complete liability. Giving him 15 minutes a game, especially against bad teams or in games like Saturday where the regulars went through extended stretches where they couldn’t buy a basket, probably isn’t going to hurt you. I have no problem sitting him in a close game like the Houston game, but he has only seen limited floor time in other games that were not so close.

That said, y’all seem to be severely underrating the positive impact Bibby has when he’s on the floor. He may not be quick anymore but he knows exactly how to do the little things, like hitting Joe Johnson with a pass in rhythm, spacing himself perfectly to allow Joe a driving lane and an easy kick-out pass, knocking down clutch shots and even setting screens. Do not underestimate his importance. Playing the point well involves a lot more than just quickness.

Robert

November 24th, 2009
1:03 pm

Love to see Teague play but I can’t argue what (coach of the year 2010) Woodson have done 11-3 on the top of the eastern conference got to give him props Teague will be better as long as he put in the work and the Hawks will be a better team for that.

Ramon

November 24th, 2009
1:05 pm

I think against sub .500 teams Teague can get a lot more playing time in the first half. Usually the Hawks are always in striking distance in the second half that it makes up for the first half mistakes. I would be for seeing Teague get 10 min in the first half. And depending on his play, deciding how much through the second half he plays. If Teague is in, and the +/- goes to -8 or -10 take him out right there. You need to know what you have in Teague this season, because after next year Bibby is done! So you need to know what to do with this year’s draft pick.

Najeh Davenpoop

November 24th, 2009
1:06 pm

Another thing is, we’ve been over this on these blogs before… good teams routinely continue to win games while giving their young players in-game experience. This is how the Celtics have developed Rajon Rondo, Kendrick Perkins, and Glen Davis into solid NBA players despite being a title contender. This is why the veteran-laden Spurs find a way to give DeJuan Blair consistent minutes. The surging Mavs have been starting rookie Rodrigue Beaubois in the midst of their injuries and continued winning instead of bringing Jason Terry into the starting lineup. Again, I’m not saying it has to be done every game, but the Hawks can very easily find ways to give Teague enough minutes to be a consistent contributor.

ILL-logical

November 24th, 2009
1:13 pm

From a fan/outside’s perspective, if the focus is on the near term then minutes may matter more in the case of Teague because he would probably cost the team some victories with rookie mistakes. However, if you look at the longer term and raise the bar from second round playoff appearances, then perhaps you operate differently.

From Woodson’s perspective: if he doesn’t win now, he is redundant. So as we debate-and this shows the level of interest in the Hawks-maybe a bit of perspective is in order.

NEW CARS

November 24th, 2009
1:14 pm

That whole don’t play the rookie because we’re trying to win games just doesn’t cut it with me. Part of Woodson’s duty is to develop his younger players and create continuity on the squad. As a coach, you have to take all of your parts and make them work for the betterment of the team. The goal is to win games and grow your younger players. If you can’t trust a young guy in November then how is he going to get on the floor in March and April.
I rank this coaching argument up there with Coach Mark Richt benching freshman running backs who miss a block that led to a stupid interception. You can play the kid without putting him in a position to fail. If we don’t, then Johnson, Bibby, and Horford are going to be worn out by playoff time, sort of like last year.

mike

November 24th, 2009
1:15 pm

the attendance number are not bad.. its the actual people that show up vs tickets sold.. also the late 2nd qtr arriving crowd is just horrible.. i get mad at myself if i miss the player intros.. IF YOU ARE NOT GONNA GO AND YOU HAVE TICKETS, GIVE THEM AWAY!!

Eric

November 24th, 2009
1:18 pm

This is the biggest knock I have with Mike Woodson, he’s seems to be falling back to playing his star players (Joe Johnson and Josh Smith) too many minutes. The one game against Denver Woodson played Teague and Evans good minutes, the Hawks blew-out one of the elite teams in the league. Since then he’s fallen back to the same ol Woody who shortens his bench and doesn’t trust his players. In his mind he only has a bench that consists of ZaZa and Crawford, this could hurt them in the long run. I look at the way Denver plays Tye Lawson and it kills me because Teague is as good or better than Lawson, but Woody just won’t let it happen.

The Hawksta

November 24th, 2009
1:20 pm

Woodson is coaching for his next contract. The more he wins now, the better chance he has of being offered a new deal. What’s the use in developing a player he might not coach if it’s his belief said player will cost him wins in the short term. Give him a new contract and you might get a different strategy.

Mychelfromatl

November 24th, 2009
1:24 pm

Najeh,

Cosign 100%. Especially about Bibby.

Ken Sugiura

November 24th, 2009
1:24 pm

good points all around. you raise an interesting question, grandad. i was thinking something similar.

and to those who say that teague’s minutes alone cannot be the sole factor in winning or losing, i’d agree. there’s always more than goes into it. i realize it’s more gray. but ultimately, every decision a coach makes is “will this help us win?” and that includes “how long can teague play?” obviously, he helps the team in different ways, otherwise he wouldn’t be out there at all. but obviously woodson doesn’t think he helps as much as bibby, otherwise he’d be starting. so i think it is fair to say that at some point, playing teague too much would be detrimental to the team’s immediate success.

and i do think part of woodson’s decision making is longer term, because he keeps saying he has to get teague minutes. (i hope this makes sense) if woodson believed that playing him would directly lead to a win in each specific game, then of course he would play him more, for the same reason he gives Josh Smith or Joe Johnson a lot of minutes. but woodson saying he wants to give him more time indicates that he realizes the long-term value of playing him.

GeeMack

November 24th, 2009
1:27 pm

Daniel gd post.

As long as Jamal is getting 30 to 35 min between the 1 & 2 guard position then I am ok with JT getting 10 min per game. JJ min. have been greatly reduced. Like I’ve said before this aint the Boston Celtic that has a group of olders players that needs resting. These guys are young let them play 38 to 40 minutes per night. If Kobe can do it year after year playing in the Olympic and going to the finals and stil play more minutes than our guys, and be more effective. Let these guys play they need the experience.

Grandad

November 24th, 2009
1:30 pm

Mychelfromatl: I agree, you did exactly as I did, when I changed the variable, You altered the outcome. We are saying the same thing – there can be more than one endgame to the original premis. Also, if I may, I am pulling for Mr. Woodson to succeed. Absolutely no venom. After the Boston game I was quick to come on board and offer congratulations to Mr. Woodson. I gave certain accounts of growth as a coach. But as K.S., and Big Ray have stated eloquently Mr. Woodson has returned to his old habits. I would say he has regressed. Some say we have only a 13 game sample, when really, we have a several yr. sample of his work. However, as always, his success = Hawks success. Last item; “rose colored glasses” nah, I quit wearing those when I was a young man and thought everyone was honest, loyal, truthful and nice.

Eric

November 24th, 2009
1:30 pm

The point is not to wear out your star players and starters, the season is long. You are going to need Joe and Josh to be fresh for a playoff run. Look around the league this rookie class of point guards are taking the N.B.A. by storm, Jennings with the Bucks Tye Lawson with the Nuggets. I think Teague is just as good, but he can’t prove it unless Woody gives him a chance!!!

GeeMack

November 24th, 2009
1:34 pm

Najeh Davenpoop & Ramon

Gr8 points.

I really think it would be good if we played him 10 minutes in the fist half. 5 in the 1st 5 in the 2nd quarter. This dosent take away from JJ, JC, & Bibby

Lacsho

November 24th, 2009
1:35 pm

New Cars, that was a great post.

Lacsho

November 24th, 2009
1:43 pm

Whatz good Najeh, nice post. I miss the fantasy days.

26 years of ATL Hawks

November 24th, 2009
1:46 pm

IF JTO knew in advance he was going to get 5-6 minutes of solid play per half he could go in a bit more relaxed. To me he’s trying too hard to impress Woody to get minutes. If he was allowed to just run the offense and play solid D he’d develop into an assett. Right now he’s fighting for every second and forcing stats.

I’m almost hopeful that Bibby will take the night off Thursday to fully recover. Let JTO come in and run things initially. Bring Crawford in as the spark. Allow him the confidence to know that he’s got the reigns and let the vets support him. If he’s dishing to folks who are doing their job and running the offense effectively he’ll succeed. We’ve got enough veteran leadership around him to make it happen. Just instill the confidence. If we don’t, we’ll have another good kid leaving the NBA after 3 years.

Big Ray

November 24th, 2009
1:48 pm

Mychel,

There is going to be some complaining regardless. And in case you haven’t heard, complaining ABOUT the complaining…is still complaining …LOL..

Seriously, do you really believe that Woody will give Teague that many minutes if it’s clear that we’re losing because of him? Yeah, right. The Woody I know will play Joe and whoever else for a full 48 minutes if he believes that this is what it will take to win the game. Not a complaint, just an observation.

I will say this, however. I do NOT want to see a good, healthy playoff performance sacrificed for a number of regular season wins. For example, wearing guys out to win 55+ games does you no good if you have to LIMP through another first round series (like we did last year), only to get flattened in the second round (like we did last year).

Take that for what you will…

26 years of ATL Hawks

November 24th, 2009
1:49 pm

Weren’t we limping in with 5 of our 8 rotation players dragging from injuries last year?

Big Ray

November 24th, 2009
1:51 pm

Yeah, have to co-sign Najeh as well.

What makes me laugh is when guys talk about Teague missing shots or missing defensive assignments, etc. You can chalk that up to experience. However, last I looked, there were guys who play 30+ minutes with a hell of a lot more experience who are also missing shots…and totally blowing some defensive assignments.

Now just what are you going to chalk that up to, exactly?

cp

November 24th, 2009
1:56 pm

Its to the point on this blog that if you say anything negative about Woodson the Woodson lovers throw fits. As ray said, Woodson is still making the same mistakes he was as a rookie coach. The same questions people had about his coaching style when he first got here are still being asked today. I just don’t see how playing Teague a few more minutes a game is going to cost us wins. If that’s the case then what are the other guys on the court doing? like Najeh pointed out, if teams that are constantly in the championship hunt can find time to give their youngsters consistent minutes then how come this team cant. Every year its a player Woodson says he has to find minutes for and every year he seems to not be able to do it.

Big Ray

November 24th, 2009
1:57 pm

Here’s a preemptive strike for the Orlando game:

If we lose, we’re still 11-4. Heh!

My only thing will really be how we compete. I don’t care if it’s psychological, physical, or what. We better not get blown out like we did last year during the regular season, or this year during the preseason. We are too good for that. We really are. Even with a sample size as small as 14 games. We showed that by beating Boston IN Boston. We hadn’t beaten them since game six of the 07-08 first round playoff series.

Ramon

November 24th, 2009
1:58 pm

Big Ray, for veterans they call that not being in ‘mid season form yet’. Lol. Or they call it volume shooting. Or keep shooting until your shot falls.

cp

November 24th, 2009
2:02 pm

Exactly ray as far as winning all those games but being tired for the playoffs. But I know someone will come on here and post minutes of other players and say how those guys are not tired and etc.

Eric

November 24th, 2009
2:05 pm

Teague dropped 12 pts, 3 assists, 2 steals and went 5-7 from the field with a facial dunk on Lamar Odom vs the Lakers in 17 minutes, and the next game Woody congratulates him by giving him 5 minutes against the Kings. Yes the team is winning, but this is what got Woody in trouble in the past. You got to get Joe and Josh some rest!!!

KevinA

November 24th, 2009
2:07 pm

JT will get his minutes against weaker teams that like to run. His game is best during an up tempo free for all. This is also the best type of game for Josh. In the future we will all ooooohhh and aaawwweeee when JT is playing in the right situation.

The season is long and we have been playing against tough teams. The second 15 games of the schedule fits JT much more than the first 15. I have no crystal ball but I would guess JT will be playing more.

Ramon

November 24th, 2009
2:08 pm

Seriously though, Woodson is doing good in win/loss column. But when was the last time any of you guys saw Woody try to teach a guy during the game? When was the last time you saw a rookie come out of the game, and Woody take 2-3 minutes and tell them a couple things? Some reason it feels like every time I see a rookie or 2nd year player come out the game, Woody is giving his look, and the player goes straight to the end of the bench. Do you guys remember how Pop used to coach Parker on the sidelines DURING the games? And truthfully Teague is a better player now than what Parker was when he came in the league! Do you guys remember seeing Byron Scott coach up Chris Paul, Sloan coach up Deron Williams, or Paul Silas whisper some things to Lebron? When do you recall seeing that with Woody? That’s what he is lacking that hurts the most. Its like he is constantly glaring at young players as if he is thinking ‘You little knucklehead, you’re going to get me fired’.

Eric

November 24th, 2009
2:11 pm

Jeff Teague is no Acie Law, If Woody plays him he’ll secure his job!!!

Ramone

November 24th, 2009
2:15 pm

I think Woody is doing the right thing in making ALL of his players EARN their minutes. When you start doling out the minutes just to make sure that the guys are getting enough, then you do run the risk of adversely affecting the team. Teague will get his minutes as Woody sees fit, but I would not expect to see him playing very long in really close games (e.g. Hornets, Rockets, etc…). We need to understand that the Hawks have a chance to really make some noise this post season and Woody is trying to best position our team for the playoffs (anyone other than me thinking #1 seed in the East?). He has held true to his goal of reducing the minutes for the starters (Joe in particular) thus far and we can only hope that he can continue to reduce minutes as the season progresses.

BTW – I like the idea of a “Red Out”

Lacsho

November 24th, 2009
2:22 pm

Ray, I think you are on fire today!!!!

concerned voice

November 24th, 2009
2:26 pm

hey mama’s boy, by time you get to the pro’s you should need some one to hold your hand. What the hell are we paying you for? Git yo sorry ase to the bench

concerned voice

November 24th, 2009
2:27 pm

some one help my little bitcch play.

Willie Coyote

November 24th, 2009
2:31 pm

Attendance would be greatly helped if there was some kind of public rail transit into Atlanta from the rest of the metro area extended. In a lot of these other areas (Chicago, NY, etc) people can hop on a train (bypassing traffic) and get to their respective sports venues even if they live 50-75 miles away.

Truth-Serum

November 24th, 2009
2:32 pm

Bi Ump

November 24th, 2009

12:11 pm

Samuel, Truth Serum, Gee Mack, Daniel

It don’t matter to some of these Wannabe Terrence Moore if the Hawks went all the way to the finals or won it. They would still be complaining

about something. It’s their nature. It’s hard to break old habits.

Thanks for the shout Big Ump, I must agree, it would be nice to enjoy the season than spend the time arguing about how bad a coach a person is who has two consecutive playoff runs, named number 9 on last year’s voting for coach of the year, and currently has a team with the best record in the NBA. Talk about an idiotic conversation. I’ve decided it’s pretty much a waste to have dialogue exchange on the subject. I’m not going to entertain it as a serious, respectable conversation.

I must agree with Woodson, lets compete for the minutes. Lets earn the stripes. I’m not one who believes that every mothers son should receive a ribbon for participation. Last I checked this is the NBA and We are trying to Win a championship.

Eric

November 24th, 2009
2:34 pm

Ty Lawson averages 21 mpg for Denver opposed to Jeff Teague average of 9 mpg, and I don’t think he’s hurting Denver. Lawson is playing behind a better point guard also (Chauncey Billups), you can’t tell me that Woody can’t give JT more minutes.

mike

November 24th, 2009
2:35 pm

if you get tickets to hawks.. show up on time.. also, if you dont plan on attending.. give your tickets away! Sick of the empty seats and people that show up in 2nd qtr

welikebaseball2

November 24th, 2009
2:38 pm

How refreshing, a ATL team blog that actually sticks to the sport! LOL. Anywho, good points about Teague’s minutes (or lack of). I submit this: What if upping Teague’s minutes costs a few wins early on but, as he grows from game experience, he becomes the catalyst that turns would-be-losses into wins? Would that not balance it all out…and we’re that much deeper for the playoffs? You’ve got to believe that he would grow as the season progresses (if Woodson actually gave him some crunchtime burn) & become more of a point of strength than liability. Again, this is assuming that Woodson actually allows him to develop. I’m just not convinced that rookie development is anything less than Woodson’s biggest failure as a coach.

Crashing the Glass

November 24th, 2009
2:44 pm

Woodson doesn’t hate Teague, he’s just been saving him-

http://crashingtheglass.com/

Grandad

November 24th, 2009
2:47 pm

sybil – does Mr. Woodeverymothersonson go home at night and chant: ” I’m # 9…I’m # 9…I’m # 9 !

Truth-Serum

November 24th, 2009
2:48 pm

I cant tell that Teague is better than Acie. They may both be scrubbs. I hope teague is better but what Ive observed of him so far is befitting a pick that is equivalent to the 7th best point guard in the college draft. Hes not the number 1 or number 2 pick at the position. On many teams he would have to sit his first year just to learn the game. He is competing against the best and most experience NBA players for the last 10 years. He may be a poot instead of a fart! Give me a break, earn those stripes. Lets see you break down a defense…post a triple double, run an offense to precision, do something to make the coach take time from a trio of what may be the best back court in the NBA!

JJ is better than Billups and Crawford is too, Bibby is the quarterback so if Lawson was here hed pick splinters too! And for good reason. We have a first class back court and even marvin gets minutes at the 2.

It doesnt hurt my feeling one bit for Teague to ride the pine this year, let him learn from observation and then show something to merit some time. He seems clueless at times…

OK lets blame it one….All together now….Woodson!

Big Ray

November 24th, 2009
2:59 pm

Ken ,

That would be your cue…. ;)

Big Ray

November 24th, 2009
3:05 pm

Actually, I haven’t seen Woody give Teague “that look.” Not unless he blew a defensive assignment particularly badly, in which case, anybody is liable to get that look.

I’ve actually seen Woody have Teague sit next to him on the bench when he comes out at times. Never really saw that with Acie Law.

Woody doesn’t hate Teague at all. And yes, experience is the only way to prove yourself. It will come.

KevinA

November 24th, 2009
3:07 pm

Crashing the Glass

The rash of early home games and the initially lenient workload could make for rough going down the stretch this season.

10 out of the first 14 games have been against last years play off teams. 7 games at home and 7 on the road.

KevinA

November 24th, 2009
3:08 pm

I’ve actually seen Woody have Teague sit next to him on the bench when he comes out at times. Never really saw that with Acie Law.

cosign that.

KevinA

November 24th, 2009
3:11 pm

Grandad,

Take that garbage elsewhere.

Hawk Str8Talk

November 24th, 2009
3:15 pm

I’ll answer Ken’s question first. Yes, I would accept fewer wins this season (at the expense of seeding and win/loss record) in exchange for gaining experience at the backup point guard position. I would prefer to have a more playoff ready team (i.e. 4 guards capable of playing meaningful minutes and/or having 3 fresh vets to play in the postseason) than a team who has a higher ceiling, but susceptible to what happened to our team down the stretch last season with no back up plan.

Now, we’ve been debating this on my blog (www.hawkstr8talk.com) for a few days as well. Listen, I think for those who say they are ok with putting Teague on the bench should be saying in tandem with that – we need to have a real backup point guard. The team made a decision to go with 4 guards. So, that said – Teague was going to be the backup point guard. We can’t count on Crawford to be the point guard – he is a shooting guard (as was Flip), so that’s the thing that we’re really trying to determine here. If he’s your backup, play him. Yes, there may be some growing pains, but you guys are acting as if Teague can’t win you a game either. Collison and Thornton just won the game for the Hornets, so you can’t just buy the negative side to win this argument without accepting that Teague very possibly provides production that contributes to wins as well, which SHOULD be the reason we drafted him. So, you should also be saying – we need to sign someone to be the backup. Now, I personally would like to see 5-10 minutes for Teague in the first half of every game and then, if he sucks – he sits. If he contributes well, he plays more as necessary. It would establish a role for him and build his confidence and undersatnding of the NBA game. More than any other position – point guards need minutes to understand how to manage the game. It doesn’t happen for the bench. The words from Woodson regarding ‘earn the minutes’ rings hollow b/c he’s not going to earn more minutes than the top 3 guards on this team. Woodson is going to have to give him opportunities to show his skills set. Only one PG has ever come into the league displaying championship level effort and talent and that’s Magic Johnson. All others needed minutes…

Hawks Fan

November 24th, 2009
3:15 pm

I’m TOTALLY WITH THE RED-OUT!!!!!!!

I can’t wait!!!!

Go Hawks!!!!!

Corey

November 24th, 2009
3:19 pm

Thanks Ken!

You are indeed a man of your word.

I sent a message over to sports talk radio personalities to see if we can really get the word out.

You did your part…. Atlanta, let’s do OUR part!!!!

See you on Thursday in my RED!!!!!!!!!

Let’s Go Hawks!!!!

Grandad

November 24th, 2009
3:20 pm

KevinA:
What garbage? You should know the vulgar one was not me.

Eric

November 24th, 2009
3:20 pm

What everybody is missing is the fact that basketball is a rhythm sport, when Woody plays JT 17 mpg one night and the next game he gets a dnp you can’t get in a rhythm. Woody’s killing JT’s confidence, consist minutes is the key Woody. You got a rookie who can shot,has a first step out of this world, and can get up.

Ricky

November 24th, 2009
3:20 pm

I don’t know if it will help us win the game, but I’m there with the REDOUT. See you in the sea of red on Thursday

Corey

November 24th, 2009
3:21 pm

If you come to the game, HAVE ON YOUR RED!!!!!!!!!!

Let’s GO HAWKS!!!!!!!!!!!

Bill "Native Alantan"

November 24th, 2009
3:23 pm

I think that the REDOUT is a great idea, but can we get everyone to participate?

Even if they don’t, I will surely have on my red.

Ken Strickland

November 24th, 2009
3:23 pm

I know BS when I hear it, and what Woodson said qualifies. He’s still making excuses for not developing and/or playing his players.

Case in point. He said, “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 GO TO GO SOMEWHERE ELSE AND FIND IT. His accessment of RMorris’ performance against New Orleans was as follows: “HE WAS EXCELLENT. HE CAME IN AND HAD A LITTLE POP TO HIM AND CAME IN AND PLAYED 4 GREAT MINUTES, I THOUGHT.”

If any of what he said was true, then explain why 4gms later, RMorris hasn’t sniffed as much as another second of PT since his excellent performance? We certainly could have used his inside scoring potential against both Houston and New Orleans down the stretch. Exactly when and how does he expect a player to prove himself if he’s forced to keep his butt anchored to the bench? And if he doesn’t consider what RMorris did as proof of what he can do, then what in the hell is he looking for, and where else did he go to find it?

How many times did we seen SStaudemire, ALaw, BDiaw, SJones and SWilliams have an excellent gm only to have it followed up with the same string of DNP CD next to their names that Morris has suffered, instead of an expanded opportunity? ACTION SPEAKS LOUDER THAN WORDS, AND WOODSON’S ACTIONS PROVE HIS WORDS ARE NOTHING BUT LIES.

KEN-your analogy was well taken, but obviously slanted. It assumes we will lose if Teague is given more consistent mins. Are you telling me you wouldn’t be willing to risk nothing more than the possibility of losing 2-3 regular season gms to develop Teague’s skills and confidence for a serious playoff run? Wouldn’t it be nice to have a backup PG that’s capable of taking over for Bibby just in case he suffers through another shooting drought like he’s done before in the playoffs? DEF, not OFF, has been our biggest problem so far this season, and Teague has definitely demonstrated his overall DEF, especially his on the ball DEF, is far superior to Bibby’s. Add his superior penetrating ability, and the experience he’d gain, what would we actually lose in the long run by playing him a consistent 10-12MPG?

If he’s unable to figure out how he can find an additional 3-5MPG to develop Teague, then he’s demonstrating a definite level of incompetence. If he reduce the mins of Marvin, Bibby, Horford, Crawford, Smoove and JJ by 30 seconds each, he’d have 3 additional MPG to give Teague. If he reduced their mins by 45 seconds each, he’d have 4.5 additional MPG to give him. HOW DIFFICULT IS THAT FOR A COMPETENT HC, OR ONE THAT ACTUALLY GIVES A DAM? I GUESS IT’S EASIER FOR HIM TO MAKE UP EXCUSES. There’s certainly no shortage of fools out there willing to accept them.

Phillip

November 24th, 2009
3:25 pm

RED OUT! RED OUT! RED OUT!

I think Woodson is fighting for his job and that is the reason that he isn’t playing Teague as much as he should.

RED OUT!

RED OUT!

Big Ray

November 24th, 2009
3:25 pm

Truth Serum ,

I think that Teague is undoubtedly better than Acie was. In fact, so does Mike Woodson. He was quoted as saying so when they drafted him, and after they traded Acie to Golden State. If I can find the link, I’ll post it. Basically, what Woody said was “no offense to Law, but THIS kid has the skills to get it done.”

Right from the horse’s mouth.

Your comments are obviously heartfelt, but take a look at what you’re saying. If you think this may be one of the best backcourts in the NBA, then how reasonable is it to expect a rookie to do something that would break him into such a rotation?

“Lets see you break down a defense”

Seen that already. Kid can penetrate almost at will. Remember that game we lost to the LA Lakers? Teague played 16 minutes off the bench. He came in, dunked on Lamar Odom and proceeded to score 12 points on 5 for 7 shooting, dished out 3 assists (which accounts for 6 points at least), and picked up 2 steals. The Lakers ended up having to put a starter or two back out on the floor to keep the game under control. Were it not for Teague, the final score would have read 118-92, not 118-110.

The very next game, Teague got 5 minutes of playing time. I’m just sayin’…

“On many teams he would have to sit his first year just to learn the game.”

I hear you, but is that a fair assessment? Didn’t you just say that Ty Lawson would be sitting the pine as well if he played here? And yet Teague DESTROYED Lawson in college. Put Johnny Flynn here. Does he get more PT than Teague? How about Tyreke Evans? Brandon Jennings? We can’t be sure, all are hypothetical situations. Yeah, we look at Brandon and how much of a bad ass he is out there in Milwaukee, but can we say without hesitation that any of the top picked pgs would be taking serious minutes away from our starting rotation of guards?

At the same time, I agree that Teague has looked a bit clueless at times. But I’ve watched our starters make some of the same mistakes. Ever watched Jamal Crawford on defense? It’s ugly, dude. It’s ugly. LOVE him on offense though! :)

Mike Woodson

November 24th, 2009
3:31 pm

Teague is going to get his minutes. What more inportant is that when he gets the opportunity, he comes in and take advantage of them.

He’ll be fine.

I want to see all of our fans come out on Thursday in your red and show the league what type of place this is to come and play.

Big Ray

November 24th, 2009
3:32 pm

KevinA ,

That wasn’t the real Grandad posting that. It’s a short explanation, but I’m not in the mood for it right now. :)

Cain

November 24th, 2009
3:32 pm

Go Hawks!

Go RED!!!

Corey

November 24th, 2009
3:33 pm

Right Cain.

Why go green when you can GO RED!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

That’s our RED OUT slogan

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. And I want our guys to want it more than we do. Boston has to respect us now because we whopped that ass.

Portland has to respect us because we beat them. TWICE. Already.

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.

Big Ray

November 24th, 2009
3:42 pm

Big Ray

November 24th, 2009
3:46 pm

This stuck out to me the most in that article:

The Hawks traded Acie Law IV and Speedy Claxton to get Crawford and watched seven other point guards go off the board before grabbing Teague.

“I’m not knocking Acie Law in any way shape or form,” Woodson said. “But this kid [Teague] is what I’d call a true point guard. I gave Acie some opportunities, and it just didn’t work. That’s no knock on him as a player or me as a coach. Injuries probably hurt Acie the two years he was here, and honestly we just didn’t have the luxury of waiting on him when he first got here. We had to win.

“Jeff Teague has a different situation, and in some ways I think a better situation, in that we have a solid foundation of veterans here that he’ll be able to learn from and lean on. Make no mistake about it, he has the tools, and we need to provide him with the opportunity to become the player we think he can become.”

Teague said he’s not operating on a specific timeline, but he’s not coming just to watch.

“I think it’s a great situation, where I don’t have to come in and carry the weight of the world on my shoulders because we already have some great point guards here,” Teague said. “But that doesn’t mean I’m going to come in and lay down or anything. This is a dream come true to finally be in the NBA, and I’d be a fool to waste a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity like this.

“I’m here to be the best and I’m going to work hard and do whatever it takes to be the best.”

I don’t see a coach who doesn’t like his rookie.

I don’t see a rookie who will be a failure.

But that’s just what I see…

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

Truth-Serum

November 25th, 2009
7:29 am

vava74 I haven’t changed perhaps your perception has.

At this point I invoke the Big Ray rule and avoid conversation with bloggers who end result is obvious, whose purpose is clear. May be i m premature in my assertion but as Ben Franklin would say, experience keeps a dear school. Perhaps you have changed, in which case I will welcome the positive results.

SOS

November 25th, 2009
7:31 am

You cannot liken the minutes that Josh, Marvin, and Al got as rookies, to that of a player like Teague. Really, you can count Royal Ivey in that group as well. But put Ivey on THIS Hawks squad, and he wouldn’t see a single minute. Dude couldn’t shoot, and he while he did play defense, he couldn’t come close to running a team, and wasn’t as all-out-energetic as Mario West.

Simply look at what the Hawks had roster-wise at the time, and there is your answer. Who did we have to play in front of those guys? Al Harrington was around for a little while, then he was gone. Jason Collier (RIP) was a rotation player. But can you name the guys who started in front of these guys? If you can’t, then that should tell you something. If you CAN, then you already know the deal.

The closest situation you can come to is with Al Horford. But even then, it was obvious that he was the best center on the team. Once again, who did he have to beat for the starting spot? Zaza and Lorenzen Wright….

Truth-Serum

November 25th, 2009
7:49 am

SOS lets add the Great Roy Marble to that category. Its amazing how we fans try to force the coach’s hands. Your insight is spot on!

Truth-Serum

November 25th, 2009
7:55 am

SOS, as far as Teague’s lobbyist, I haven’t heard anyone address the fact that one successful
method of training middle of the pack rookies is to bench them the entire first year and let them learn from observation. Unless you are a Blue Chip draftee or on a team that’s decimated at your position, most will let you tour the league once or twice before throwing you to the wolves.

Dap01

November 25th, 2009
8:14 am

Excellent point Ken!

If Woody is being serious about not caring about offense and only caring about defense, why does he play Bibby. I like Bibby but he is one of the WORST defenders in the NBA.

He coaches as if he cares nothing about defense. Look at his rotations, look at his lineups.

Perhaps, Woody should say, “I know nothing about offense, so I will concentrate on defense”. But that can not be true if he continues to play the offensive minded players. That comment should not be made by a NBA coach.

Translation: Teague, good luck developing yourself.

Daniel

November 25th, 2009
9:02 am

Truth-Serum:

This is not meant as a knock on you, but you have clearly changed your style of posts for the better. It is a compliment. Keep up the good work.

vava74

November 25th, 2009
9:25 am

Yeah, just by invoking the Big Ray rule there is significant progress!

vava74

November 25th, 2009
9:28 am

As mentioned on a previous post that I might do, I ordered a copy of The Book of Basketball by Bill Simmons and got gift wrapped and remitted to JJ asking him to read the chapter where Isaiah Thomas talks about the secret behind the Piston’s championships in the 80’s.

Since I was limited to 240 characters there was not much that I could say to beyond that I thought that we could be a champion in the making if everyone understood Isaiah’s message and sticked to it.

I hope that the package arrives to the right hands and that JJ accepts it with a good spirit!!!

GeeMack

November 25th, 2009
9:49 am

I got a question for Hawks fans…..Do ya’ll thing JSmoove will make the all star team? Personally I think he should, however here are the guys I think the national media & coaches will put ahead of him.

KG (eventhough JS is having a better year) star power will get him there, Bosh; I think he is one of the forward having a better year than JS.

LBJ no explanation needed. Danny Granger scoring is much better, but JS destroys him all the other areas plus JS team is a Eastern Conference contender. That should count for something.

These are the guys I see could make it before him. What ya’ll think.

GeeMack

November 25th, 2009
9:54 am

Ken

Enjoy your trip homie!

GeeMack

November 25th, 2009
10:18 am

I for got about Paul Peirce.

The real reason why fan attendance is low...

November 25th, 2009
10:22 am

…is because the local teams are doing a terrible job at marketing their product. I’m a native Atlantan and when I travel to other cities, you see their local team logos everywhere, you hear commercials promoting teams and upcoming games (even against bad teams) all over the dial and (most importantly) they don’t have to use gimmicks to get people into the stands.

Ted Turner was a master at self-promotion and showed everyone how to make ALL DEMOGRAPHICS within a city fall in love with its team, even when the team doesn’t have much of a winning history — but none of these other local organizations seem as though they want to even put forth the effort.

Winning doesn’t automatically make the people come out. The team brass must make the populace feel like they have a stake in this, as well. It happens everywhere. Arthur Blank is currently doing a pretty decent job of it, but he spoent so much of his time promoting a single player back then that, well, we all see how tough it’s been to unite the city behind the Falcons since that player departed.

Clean house in the marketing departments of each of these pro teams and get some new fresh minds in there to market these good young teams and watch attendance go through the roof.

GO HAWKS!

November 25th, 2009
10:30 am

Well, we’re only one month in, so I guess we shouldn’t panic about Teague’s minutes just yet, especially considering the great start the team is off to.

There will come a time when Jeff will be needed, so we can only hope that he stays ready in the mean time. Until then, I think he’s got the right mindset.

GO HAWKS!

November 25th, 2009
10:37 am

Gee Mack,

Josh has gotta be among the East all-star forwards. I think they choose five of them, so I’d take Bosh (if he’s considered a PF), KG, Lebron, Josh and Granger. Antawn Jamison has been a beast since he returned so he may get one of those spots if Bosh makes it on the roster as a center.

niremetal

November 25th, 2009
10:38 am

Ted Turner was a master at self-promotion and showed everyone how to make ALL DEMOGRAPHICS within a city fall in love with its team, even when the team doesn’t have much of a winning history — but none of these other local organizations seem as though they want to even put forth the effort.

Uh…were you around when the Braves were at or near the bottom of the majors in attendance throughout the 1980’s? And when the Braves couldn’t sell out playoff games during their heyday even while Cleveland (a team with even worse success and choking in the playoffs) was selling out every single regular season game for 6 straight years?

More to the point, Ted Turner owned the Hawks for 20 years, during which the team never ranked higher than 8th in the NBA in attendance. In fact, the Hawks have never gotten higher than 8th in the NBA in attendance since they came to Atlanta, and the last two times they won more than 55 games (in ‘94 and ‘98), they ranked 21st and 27th in attendance. We ranked 27th in attendance in the lockout year, even though we ended up being the #3 seed in the East.

Marketing won’t do much in Atlanta, where two-thirds of the population was born outside Georgia. Loyalty to sports teams in Atlanta simply doesn’t run deep. And to the extent that it does run deep, no one can say with a straight face that NBA basketball is in the top 4 sports followed by Atlanta fans – college football, pro baseball, pro football, college basketball, and probably even high school football are all bigger events among the “natives” to this region.

Atlanta is not New York, LA, or Chicago – cities with supermassive populations and correspondingly huge TV markets. Atlanta is not Portland, San Antonio, or Salt Lake City, where pro basketball is the only show in town. It’s not Boston, a city with a well-established population, most of whom have lived in the area for at least a generation or two. It’s a spread out metropolis whose residents were mostly born elsewhere, and whose natives mostly grew up on sports other than pro basketball. Simply put, when compared to NBA teams in other cities as well as to other sports teams in our own city, Hawks attendance takes longer to get going even when we are winning (and even then they don’t come in high numbers), and tails off much more quickly when they start losing.

ILL-logical

November 25th, 2009
10:39 am

Playing someone doesn’t necessarily mean developing them,case in point: Josh Smith played shooting guard his first year, then small forward his second and has been sent to power forward land by the drafting of Marvin. At no time was there any eveidence on the part of the coaching staff to develop his skills; it was always about Josh playing defense and not disrupting the offense.
Josh went to Houston to work with Hakeem on his own; then got no plays run for him for his trouble. When he develops a 15 footer it will be because he decides to. Imagine if Mr. Sund had not hired Price, where would the players get support and development for their shooting skills?

Another note: Mr. Sund hired Mark Price not Woodson. He has worked on the free throw shooting of some players and Al mentioned in a recent interview that he had been working with Price to develop his outside shot. To me, that is what player development is about, enhancing the skill sets that will make the player better not just fit into a particular style of play.

Teague needs to work on his outside shot as well as his decision making skills as the year progresses but he also needs to play inorder to develop his style and rythmn.

GeeMack

November 25th, 2009
11:04 am

Go Hawks

Good point. I forgot all about Jamison. Looks like it’s still gone be tough to get Josh in there. Hopefully we will have better success with AL with the shortage of centers in the east.

GO HAWKS!

November 25th, 2009
11:15 am

Yeah, I think the real question is whether Al can make it.

Right now, I’d say he’d have to fight it out with maybe Noah and maybe Bargnani to be named the third center if the selection committee takes three. If the Hawks keep winning, I don’t see why it wouldn’t happen.

rusty

November 25th, 2009
11:40 am

jt already is a differant player than he was in pre season. woody has already done damage. how can anyone think that jj has been playing so great. he is already disrupting our offense,he slows down our uptempo game with his constant ball hogging. i have also noticed that crawfords game suffers when he is in with jj. i have also noticed that when jj is ball hogging jj smith always comes out to the perimeter which really hurts our offense

Hawks Fan In New Orleans

November 25th, 2009
12:05 pm

Niremetal
“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.”

Woodson said this.

Daniel

November 25th, 2009
12:11 pm

It seemed obvious to me at the time that when the Hawks drafted Teague we were looking to develop him as the starting pg in 2-3 years. I am really not sure why after only 14 games we are so worried about his minutes.

Daniel

November 25th, 2009
12:14 pm

GeeMack- I definitely think that Josh deserves to be an All Star. Honestly, Al is playing well enough to make the team. You are right about National Media bias though. However, they both play well on Thurs. and you start to really make a name for yourself.

A Thinking Fan

November 25th, 2009
12:28 pm

2nd tier HCs always find a rational that supports their dysfunctional points of view.

PLAY T & STOP OVERPLAYING JJ!

jean bk

November 25th, 2009
12:37 pm

enough of this teague bs he looked like a nba player in one of the games vs lakers other then that he has done nothing…..he shouldnt play unless iz a blowout or we get blowout

vava74

November 25th, 2009
1:05 pm

Rusty,

We are 11-3 and we have not seen too much ball hogging this year… All star players monopolize the ball here and there all the time and it is not only with JJ and the Hawks.

In case you have not noticed, all other teams lost games and had sub par showings. It is a repeated occurrence when a team loses that players and coaches point out the following causes:

1. Lack of defense and or rebounding
2. Lack of ball movement
3. Too much reliance on jump shooting and almost no driving to the basket

Even so, knowing the above does not prevent teams and players to repeat the same mistakes over and over.

When the legs and heads are worn out, like in NO, nothing works as it should.

Also, in at least one of the few occasions in which we did see JJ having the ball for extended minutes and several possessions he bailed us out against Portland completely overplaying a guy which many around here were proclaiming as being a lot better than JJ (Roy).

Right now we are on pace for 64 wins so we should enjoy the moment.

Truth-Serum

November 25th, 2009
1:09 pm

Daniel, I appreciate your compliment?
If you mean I’m using a different style, well, yes, you can thank Ray for that. I have no problem being offensive if that is the method used to approach me. Believe that. I can be offensive with the best of them. I can communicate on many levels.

Yes, I’m reaching out to the more serious minded poster and trying to live above the negative element. There are a few here that I enjoy sharing exchange with.

When I first took note of this site, the first thing that stood out was the, anti Woodson, element, which was something that I had not experienced on any other sight. When I inquired what the negativism was about, many of those who were against Woodson vented their anger on me for asking legitimate questions that exposed often irrational and emotionally charged responses. There was/is a definite hate cell here that is not present on any other site. I just responded to them as they responded to me. To the ignorant, I responded ignorantly, to the foolish, I responded in kind.

I began to think that everyone here was ignorant and foolish, full of irrational hate. I thought that way until, Sekou, (to whom I apologized), and Big Ray, made it clear they were also aware of the “element”, felt my pain and showed some leadership in giving direction as to how to deal with it. That’s why you hear me invoke my “Big-Ray-Rule”. It’s a way to avoid the rift raft and move on to positive conversation.

Guys like Samuel, Gee Mack and KevinA and doc too have spoken in dignity and respect and that’s what they have got back from me. To sum it up, no, I’m still a buster to those who approach me in foolishness; I guess their number is dwindling. It could be that they’ve grown tired of my nasty responses and have moved on, or the big ray rule is in effective, working. The conclusion is, maybe you are getting less non diplomatic responses from me because less garbage is coming my way.

I haven’t changed. I’m just given a greater opportunity to speak with the class of the blog page to whom I respond in kind with class.

I guess it’s a good sign that you’ve notice that something has changed.

Truth-Serum

November 25th, 2009
1:15 pm

OK, Daniel, Gee Mack, name me three power forwards in the east, or if you like the NBA who is playing better than Josh or in your opinion is better than josh.

I’m clear. Josh is in the top 3 NBA wise and maybe the best in the east. In fact he may be the best in the NBA if he keep staying with in Josh.

richbrave

November 25th, 2009
1:15 pm

Well, something has changed in WASHINGTON. No not politicos. They’re still up to their time honored tricks. No a genuinely good guy with deep pockets has passed from the D.C. sports scene. Ownership of the WIZARDS will probably go to TED LEONSIS and his group. Let’s hope for the NBA’s sake it does, rather than IRENE POLLIN attempting to carry on ABE POLLIN’s crusade to bring another NBA crown to D.C. I’m keeping my fingers crossed, and hope DAVID STERN does some heavy lobbying to make it happen.

Truth-Serum

November 25th, 2009
1:19 pm

vava74

November 25th, 2009
9:25 am

Yeah, just by invoking the Big Ray rule there is significant progress!

Very true, its helps. Some continue to pursue conversation with you or about you even when you have distanced yourself. Im not above a back hand slap… But I will try to remain above the fray.

Thanks for the shout.

Daniel

November 25th, 2009
1:33 pm

Alright Truth- KG is a better power forward than Josh (but I am honestly not sure if he playing better this season). Chris Bosh(although he may be on the center list). LeBron Obviously (although kinda more a SF) Jaimison is having a great year as well.

All that said, I think Josh’s overall game this year (particularly the rebounding numbers) puts him in the All Star game. If he keeps playing this way, I don’t see how they can keep him out.

I also think Horford should be getting consideration for the All Star game as well.

Daniel

November 25th, 2009
1:36 pm

Josh had a pretty rough game against Houston, but stayed with it and made an incredible play at the end of the game. That kind of maturity and effort is All Star calibre for sure!!!

Truth-Serum

November 25th, 2009
1:48 pm

No doubt Josh is an allstar. Garnett is good but he peaked the last two years and is on the down slope of his career. Chris Bosh?They are comparative, but I wouldn’t overwhelming say Bosh is better than Josh, but in a battle of four letter names id give Bosh the edge because B comes before J. Lebron, no doubt. Jamison? Ill take Josh Any day here. I think there are four selections at each conference per position. Josh should be one of them.

Just win baby!

Truth-Serum

November 25th, 2009
1:52 pm

I wont say Al is a top four center and if he were competing in his natural power forward spot I dont think hed be top 5 power forward. Yes, He should get honorable mention at either spot. Hes a hard working blue collar guy.

Daniel

November 25th, 2009
2:02 pm

Bosh- has a better body of work. But, I am with you on Josh’s upside.
Who in the East is better at the center position? OK, besides Howard.

Daniel

November 25th, 2009
2:11 pm

I mean after Howard…. Rasheed Wallace(?) or Perkins(?), Brook Lopez? (I mean your team has to at least win a game first right?), Barnangni or Noah?… I just don’t see any of them playing better this season than Horford.

Daniel

November 25th, 2009
2:12 pm

Of course I am limiting this to the Eastern Conference

MsDee

November 25th, 2009
2:14 pm

I say Horford is the next best center behind Howard!!

GeeMack

November 25th, 2009
2:23 pm

Daniel & Truth

If they were doing the All Star nods based on SF & PF then yes we could get Josh in based on this years performances. However the eastern conference carries 4 or 5 forward spot for the All Star game. Josh is competing against (Bosh, KG’s (popularity), Paul Pierce, Jamison, LBJ, & Danny Granger; The new kid on the block. I think he should make it because his team is a contender in the east.

Trutb-Serum

November 25th, 2009
2:23 pm

OK we got Howard and by default and name recognition Shaq, Rasheed will get some rec, as will jermaine oneal as will Zydrunas Ilgauskas and Emeka Okafor. Do I think Horford can compete favorably with three of the six. No doubt.

Trutb-Serum

November 25th, 2009
2:28 pm

I wanted Lopez on my list too but bit my tongue.
Hey. we as just as good as the other guys. Name recognition and fans stuffing the ballots boxes is what counts. Maybe we can stuff the ballots in droves and get our guys on there. After this year we wont have any problems with name recognition.

Just Win Baby

Truth-Serum

November 25th, 2009
2:28 pm

*Truth-Serum

GO HAWKS!

November 25th, 2009
2:32 pm

Horford is the second most talented center in the East after Dwight, but Noah, Lopez and Barnani will all probably have similar numbers to Al by the time the voting ends.

One thing Al has going for him is that Noah isn’t even on the Eastern ballot. Add that to the struggles of Brook’s Nets and it might be in the bag. Can’t take anything for granted though. Still a couple months away, we gotta keep winning to stay in the lead of these highlight shows.

Truth-Serum

November 25th, 2009
2:34 pm

Mz. Hawkdafied

November 25th, 2009
2:47 pm

I agree if we put just as much passion into voting for our Hawks All Stars as we do blogging then perhaps they will be on the Eastern All Star team or better yet become starters. A great opportunity to do this coming up tomorrow. Take some ballots home and bring them back the next game on December 2nd.

GO HAWKS!

Daniel

November 25th, 2009
2:47 pm

Gee- I think “IF” Josh keeps playing this way, the national attention will be greater for him than Granger or Jaimison.

Truth- If Shaq, Jermaine or Ilgauskas get selected, then I won’t even watch the All Star game.
Go Hawks!- I think you are right on with your assesment.

To be honest (as Gee pointed out) Horford actually has less competition at his spot than Josh.

Hey, I already submitted 50 votes.

Daniel

November 25th, 2009
2:48 pm

Mz. Hawkdafied- word up!!!

Daniel

November 25th, 2009
2:49 pm

Truth- Okafur is in the Western Conference now.

Daniel

November 25th, 2009
2:56 pm

Ms. Dee- I think you are right.

GO HAWKS!

November 25th, 2009
3:03 pm

We should also beware of the Boston-hype machine pushing to get Perkins on the roster. Rondo can’t shoot nor hit free throws, but I guarantee he makes it over some other deserving guard (like Brandon Jennings) just off the whining/lobbying from the Celtics’ fans.

Daniel

November 25th, 2009
3:03 pm

Horford is currently averaging a double-double, is second only to Howard for number of double/ double’s with 8. Is fifth in blocked shots. Is averaging 2 assists per game, only Noah has more APG with greater than 10 rebounds a game. (I just don’t count David Lee’s numbers- plus Horford dominated him)

Daniel

November 25th, 2009
3:06 pm

Perkins is only averaging 10 ppg and 7 rpg at roughly 26 minutes a game. I know the media bias thing, but he will get hurt by splitting time with Wallace.

GeeMack

November 25th, 2009
3:15 pm

What about Jamal making it as a guard with JJ?

Truth-Serum

November 25th, 2009
3:38 pm

pc

November 25th, 2009
4:22 pm

speaking of attendance, it was embarrassing the other nite at the Portland game. I honestly believe there were about 2000 people in the stands at tip off. that wasn’t counting the people in the restaurants eating & such, but it was embarrassing. I think theofficial attendance for that game was 13k+, but it sure didn’t look like it. some of the blame is on the economy, i guess…i can say that i don’t go to as many games as i did in the past due to being down to one income. hopefully us hawks fans can get out more & show support.

the once and future Josh Smith

November 25th, 2009
4:35 pm

Bi Ump

November 25th, 2009
4:40 pm

Truth Serum

Enjoyed reading Your 1:08 Post I thought it were were very good.

GO HAWKS!

November 25th, 2009
4:41 pm

My 5 all star guards right now would be Joe, Wade, Jennings, Gordon, and Arenas… Joe and Wade as atarters.

Attendance will increase once football season winds down, and all of the college bowl/BCS mess is sorted out.

MsDee

November 25th, 2009
4:59 pm

HEY U GUYS GUESS WHAT?? I just spoke with our PA Ryan Cameron on his radio station, just now, to inform the Hawks fans to wear RED on tomorrow!! He said OK!!

Truth-Serum

November 25th, 2009
5:05 pm

Shout out Big Ump! Get that all star voting going early to have an impact. And dont forget to get out and Vote on the Mayor race in Atanta, win it for the home team!

drmaryb

November 25th, 2009
5:39 pm

Yo Bibby is a game changer..

Before he arrived this team was strictly a one-on-one group of individuals. JJ pounding the ball at the 3-Line and turning it over when the game was on the line. Much like all-thumbs Jason “Jet-Terry” used to do..dribble like hell and turn it over!

Bibby settled this team down, and got these kids organized..He even made Mike Woodson turn into a real coach. If not for Bibby, Woody would have been long gone. Having said that, this is Bibby’s TEAM!

Now as far as Teague goes…he’s really fast, but he has no rythm-sp and never waits for the screener. He has to learn how to slow down his game and set his team-mates up..Get them the ball where they can prosper, i.e where they like it! That takes time and chemistry to learn..You should never experiment while winning at a torrid pace – like the Hawks are doing right now!

Be patient, just like we were with Josh & Al & Marvin. Teague is no CP3..Same Alma-Mater, but totally different mental acuity! CP3 is a grown as man who never wore pull-ups! Teague is the best point guard we have drafted in a while, but he needs to sit and learn a little more, watch Bibby and learn. Give him his spots when we get to 25-30 games! Let him practice with the 1st unit in the practice gym and gradually give him the reigns over time. Teague needs to learn his gears.. 100mph is not playing the – point…he needs to develop the skill of seeing the play BEFORE it happens! That’s called maturity and skills! That’s when the GAME slloowws down for you. Patience is a Virtue!

Start Mo at the point or let JJ run the point until Bibby is back! Keep bringing Crawford of the Bench for now! That’s my prescription!

wordsmithtom

November 25th, 2009
6:03 pm

Ditto DrMary and Truth-Serum on Teague.

Lots of talent…not NBA ready. So, as coach said, he’ll sit and watch and learn. Long season: he’ll get plenty of minutes against weaker teams mid season, especially if there is an injury problem. Even then, Hawks can sign someone; they’ve 2 roster spots open.

Let Mo and Crawdaddy do the heavy lifting and let Teague sit.

He was a sophmore and he wasn’t ready. He can be ready in a couple years if he keeps his head up and keeps watching these top tier guys ahead of him.

Patience grasshopper. But, sophomores rarely have patience…..LOL

Astro Joe

November 25th, 2009
7:03 pm

Happy Thanksgiving to all! I hope to be back on the regular before Christmas. I’ve been through a tough stretch but “morning by morning new mercies I see”.

Woody should be giving Teague, Joe Smith and Mo more playing time. Marvin and Josh still can’t seem to have great games at the same time. Josh has been remarkable. Crawford far better than I thought. And Woody has grown as a game-manager (which is not to say that he is perfect). Glad to see the blog is thriving. Y’all hold it down.. GO HAWKS!

Truth-Serum

November 25th, 2009
7:22 pm

Wordsmithtom, I agree with DrMary’s conclusion, but not necessarily her editorial. Moe can play a little bit of the two but in not a great ball handler, I’d rather have Marvin play the two and let JJ and Crawford swing in and out to the point. Between Marvin and Mo, Marv is a better ball handler. Buy the same token mo, can play the 3 or a set up 2 but not a motion 2. Either way you I and DrMary are not far apart on this rotation. I suspect well get a bit of variety encompassing a triad of back court offenses and options.

Where DrMary’s view and mine differ is this being Bibby’s team. Granted Bibby is the lug nuts that allow the wheel to roll Josh is the tires and JJ is the engine. It’s JJ’s Team. He was brought here for the purpose of building a team with him as the focal point and anchor of the offense. He is still our ranking all star albeit a second tier one. He has given us an anchor and consistency. He’s the captain. It’s his team. He and Bibby and josh and Al, all get along about as well as million dollar athletes can.

Further, 99.9 percent of all coaches survive their careers based on the successes of their star players. Woodson is no different.
Phil Jackson rode Michael Jordan and Kobe Bryant. Chuck Daly rode Isaiah Thomas; Pat Riley rode Magic Johnson, Bill Fitch, Larry Bird.

Many star coaches retire after their legendary players do. Some get tapped and tagged as coaches who can handle championship teams. Whether they have a special talent for championships may or may not be true. What is true is that they were successful in guiding a team that had a superstar to championships.
Some coaches get tagged as transitional coaches, which is to imply that this type of coach works best when you are not rebuilding but shifting a nucleus into a new base.
Other coaches are known as rebuilding coaches, who have the foresight and patience to teach to and develop the game with rookies and inexperienced players.

Coach Woodson has definitely proven that he has this capacity. Over the past five years he has demonstrated that he can take a team from rebuilding to intermediate. Over the past two years he has shown he coach a team from intermediate to seeded favorites. My best guess is that he has there by earn a chance to compete at the higher levels over the next 3, (yes I said three), to see if in fact he can grab a championship. He’s earned that right.
Like many I agree that Woodson is evolving like his players are. He has a very strong back ground in who he inherited the game from, (see bobby knight and Larry brown). I can see he has a passion for the game and I suspect that when his career is over you may have witness the rise of a great coach. The game has been entrusted to a hard working a responsible man that has done this city proud.
I think it may have been Samuel who talked about the time issue and the changing of coaches and how the old can lose touch with a new generation. Woodson is spot on for this current generation. He reads them and they him. Between the coaches and players on the hawks there is very good chemistry. This team is destined to succeed. All of these players need each other. It’s a great fit, great chemistry. Only thing I’d change would be an addition not a subtraction. I’d like to have a Robert Parrish, Dekembe Mutombo type center for this team and start racking some championships!

Truth-Serum

November 25th, 2009
7:25 pm

Wordsmithtom, I also agree with you and Drmary’s view on the method of teague’s development.

hawkfan

November 25th, 2009
8:15 pm

did hubie brown just say that the hawks are “10 deep”? GO HAWKS!!!

Sautee

November 25th, 2009
8:46 pm

Astro Joe,

Good to see you back, man. We’ve missed you.

Welcome home.

seashell

November 25th, 2009
9:08 pm

Ok so why not bring in AI? We only have 14 players on the roster & AI wants to play for a ring. If we bring in AI shouldn’t he push us to another level. If we don’t want a log jam for minutes why not make a trade after we sign him. Marvin + Mo should give us a 1st rounder in next years draft. JT0 can be the 3rd pg for insurance while he sits and learns.

Blast

November 25th, 2009
9:52 pm

Just can’t have Joe hogging the ball tomorrow, man.

Hawks should have a 5 second rule. If you don’t have a shot or make a move within 5 seconds of getting the ball, then you must pass the rock. That will reduce passing the ball to Josh around the perimeter to launch a desperation jumper at the buzzer. And eliminate Joe pounding the ball endlessly against triple teams. Hawks have to move the ball and strike quick. If they play unselfish, defend and rebound, they win their first Thanksgiving game on TNT in a minute!

Josh and AL must attack the rim and try to get Howard into foul trouble.

They must keep Jason Willaims under control.

They must close in on the 3 point shooters.

I hear Hawks players are revved up to play to a national audience this Thanksgiving. I hope they make a good showing and win the game!

Hawks, this is a big one!

Mychelfromatl

November 25th, 2009
10:03 pm

Wow!!! Wade is killin the Magic. I Love it!!!!

richbrave

November 25th, 2009
10:16 pm

Hey DR MB:

Still workin’ that cheetah thong girl? You go. How’s the woman’s football league holding out? Your fab five minus one have sure taken the HAWKS to the heights of success this season. Great to pull for a winner, even as my lowly home-team loses their owner. The WIZ are really put out by our homeboy CRITTENTON getting hurt this off season in the ATLANTA. Probably caused them to not extend his contract. J-CRIT has game though and will surely land on his feet.

richbrave

November 25th, 2009
10:20 pm

BTW, if you know any local talent that’s not quite showcase ready, but is a whiz of a student, post me up. I’ll put the UNIVERSITY of RICHMOND’s recruiters on the case. Men or women in football or basketball. We’ve got standouts in both that are excelling here. We’d like a couple more.

Blast

November 25th, 2009
10:28 pm

Orlando Lost!

If they can’t beat a Heat team Hawks whooped by 15, then I think Hawks have a great chance tomorrow! Bibby should be fine to go.

rusty

November 25th, 2009
11:20 pm

blast
i guess you are the only one seeing the game as i am

richbrave

November 25th, 2009
11:34 pm

HAWKSA over the HEAT.

honest_abe

November 26th, 2009
1:53 am

ken s: just wanted to give you props for a helluva an article. great read!

i’m thankful for the team that billy knight built. heh

Crashing the Glass

November 26th, 2009
2:36 am

wordsmithtom

November 26th, 2009
7:52 am

truth-serum
Shout out on that Woodson post. No coach is going to do things “My” way, thus we bloggers will always have something with which to take issue. He does ride his stars. But, most good managers anywhere do this.
He has developed talent: Josh Smith was rated a borderline pick. He’s averaging almost 10 rebounds a game now and should make the all star game. Marvin was picked on “potential”. He was a one year college player, and there a sub. Green as a gourd. Despite a slow start this year, he’s still developed into a solid team player who will do anything coach asks. (Oh, and I have NO problem with MW playing the 2 and JJ 1 if Bibby can’t go; Mo still gets MW’s 3 minutes… Crawdaddy coming off the bench and JT sits and learns like sophomore rookies should against top tier opposition. When they play New Jersey, let JT have some minutes with the first team.)

Interesting note. 10 players have played in all 14 games. Better players; better distribution of minutes by coach.

Samuel

November 26th, 2009
7:54 am

White “CHOKE-late”

nunna yo biznezz

November 26th, 2009
9:53 am

this should be a wild fun game tonite..joe,and starters rested will have incredible energy and we’re playing in the national spotlight tonite too!!

i heard hubbie saying this team is 10 deep also,but,woody does not coach them like a 10 deep team..

how do u coach a 10 deep team u ask?
you play a 1st and 2nd unit..simple..

1st half:
starters in,starters out..
bench in,bench out..

2nd half:
starters in,starters out..
bench in,bench out..

as game wears down and if its close..
u mix it up with da best of yo performers dat nite and consider your best matchup options too..put them together and u won’t have da tired legs every nite..u will have upbeat players everynite..u will have a 13 deep instead of 10 deep team..and,if any injuries occur,you will be ready and not have to throw your bench into the fire..
its so simple and easy to coach this team..i could do it..

nunna yo biznezz

November 26th, 2009
10:16 am

drmaryb,
i like the points that u brought up..
but,teague needs to be in now..
mo evans is strictly a shooter,and he will be like flip at the pg..THE BLACK HOLE..ONCE THE BALL COMES IN,IT WON’T COME OUT..he is a shooter..

wit bibbs out,put in teague now,keep crawford on the bench and let him play pg but still give him the green light on offense and let him score,and this team won’t miss a beat..mo evans will come off the bench as the SG..zsa zsa,evans,crawford,smith,and othello hunter should be in the 2nd tier with randmo and collins playing in spots..

now with teague on the offense u will miss 2 things that bibbs bring and he don’t..a better grasp on the offense and the outside shooting..

what teague has already shown is his ability to play one on one defense better..quick hands on defense for steals..the ability to drive to the hole and score and break down the defense and dish the rock..and thats all you need..his positives will make up for the weakness,easily..

the only thing i have to worry about now is because of his 7 minutes every 2 games and how will his legs hold up for playing 24-29 minutes a game..i think he’ll be alright..

nunna yo biznezz

November 26th, 2009
10:34 am

seashell said,
“Ok so why not bring in AI? We only have 14 players on the roster & AI wants to play for a ring. If we bring in AI shouldn’t he push us to another level. If we don’t want a log jam for minutes why not make a trade after we sign him. Marvin + Mo should give us a 1st rounder in next years draft. JT0 can be the 3rd pg for insurance while he sits and learns.”

heck,why not bring in AI,trade bibby, and keep teague in with the 2nd unit..he can learn just as fast..

we have crawford,and jj,to run the point if AI or teague goes down..

and,i love marvin williams..i think he would be a legitimate star,but with this lineup and coach,he will be just a silent starter..yea,he can score,has decent range as a shooter..but,if joe is playing then williams won’t get the plays ran his way nor the touches like he did when jj went down last year before the all star break..REMEMBER??

marvin,although he did it for 3 games,averaged almost 30+ per game..
he also,got players in foul trouble,lived at the free throw line,and once joe got back into the lineup,we have a marvin sighting every now and then..if we could get him in the offensive mix with joe,then we’d be that much dangerous..but we won’t..so,why keep him?? save him for a rainy day?? he’ll soon get tired,and will do the joe johnson and not re-up and test the FA waters when its time..

truly1

November 26th, 2009
1:20 pm

I dont understand how 12 minutes a games is going to cost us more wins its not like we are asking for 25 to 30 minutes.

dub366

November 26th, 2009
2:13 pm

Woody just don’t trust Rookies the bottom line.

Samuel

November 26th, 2009
2:52 pm

Guys,

I see you’re still yappin about the same ole thang. Guess what, Woody aint changing what he believes in cause guess what. We’re winning. Again, why change and risk losing if your GM is unwilling to give you an extension. Would you?

Props to Woody and the Hawks. It don’t get no more prime time than Turkey Day night. We should do pretty good since Orlando is coming off a tough game and we have 3 days of rest. We will get a steady dose of Vinsanity though so we better be ready. He should be a little pis_ed since White “Chokelate” messed up his game winner last night.

What’s the over-under on Mathew Stafford’s interceptions today. I say he get’s 5.
The key of course will be how we handle Howard though. This is a real test for us. We have a chance to show if we belong among the elite. Let’s do it.

nunna yo biznezz

November 26th, 2009
3:12 pm

truly1,dub366..
i feel your pain..
T1,i don’t understand how 12 minutes would affect or cost us games either..its just like dub said,woody don’t trust rookies..

woodson,is not a coach to develope young talent..he wins and that happens in spite of his coaching..
the only way he can be successful is to have a team of vets who already know the game and know how to adjust and play well together..

the less coaching he has to do,the better it is for this guy

food for thought.....

November 26th, 2009
3:20 pm

how old is your conversation? Do you find your self saying the same old things over and over again?

No, girl friend huh? life is stale right?

I have no suggestion for you I just want you to know, we notice, you say the same old things .

Bi Ump

November 26th, 2009
3:24 pm

Samuuel

Seem like some of these bloggers can’t get it into their head that the Hawks and HC are having a good year so far.

Truth-Serum

November 26th, 2009
3:58 pm

wordsmithtom, when josh got here he was a high school player. The only pro coach he has ever known is Woodson. Josh’s development is directly connected to Woodson. No other coach can take credit for Josh’s pro development. The very fact that Woodson stood up to him last year caused Josh to refine his game the way it is today. Oh yeah. No doubt about that.

nunna yo biznezz

November 26th, 2009
4:16 pm

Samuel says,”why change and risk losing if your GM is unwilling to give you an extension. Would you?”

and that point too,has already been brought up..
if your willing to go with the flow,and not do nothing to your lineup,scheme,and just players play and make your gm get looked at as being the one who brought them in but u don’t do nothing to make them over perform and make your gm look like a genuis,then u know what? he deserves to be fired just for that..

your gm brings in a proven starter/scorer that comes off the bench in crawford,a crafty vet as in joe smith..re-signs bibbs and marvin,drafts a PG for the future that you still slack in developing,and you start off 11-3??

no buddy..you are supposed to be 14-0..
we had the lakers game,but you let that slip away into a outscoring 3rd qtr. of 34-18..we were 7 for 23 on 3 pointers,and the teams that beat the lakers do it inside-out..start with the banging with the big boddies that SUND brought in,instead we go for the 3’s often and early especially in the 3rd of that game..

GM rick sund, is not particularly watching the games you are winning woody,he is watching the games you lose,and how u are losing them and when do you actually catch on that the game is getting out of hand..dats right,your reflexes..
you see,when you have vets in the game,then you can let them ride off of a staved attack or 4-6-8 to zero runs,and they know how to bounce back..but,you don’t know how or better yet when to pull them to the side and see what they don’t see because they are too much in the game..

just telling them to crash the boards is not enough..
in other words,ADJUSTMENTS..
they come too little and always too late..
even if we go to the nba finals with this team,its gonna be in spite of woody..and even then,he is gonnalose his job..

sund knows that this is a home fav team..and most of the victories will be at home..
its how u play and lose on the road he is looking at..
he is asking,
“are they playing on the road like they are winning at home”?

if not then,”what are we doing different at home than we are on the road”?

then,”why aren’t we at least consistent on the road,like we are at home even if we lose,why not the same confidence and level of play as when we are at home”?

and guess what woody??
it starts from the top..
not the spirit or rick sund sir..
YOU!!
it will look pretty embarassing if we lose you to a firing even though we are in the playoffs..and your excuse will be what u did with this team over the past few years..
when u could have done more with your entire team,and show that u can develope players,and make them better..

your gm and others who are watching you,don’t want to hire a coach that you have to tell what to do..develope bench,etc….
they want u to assess your enviroment and then proceed to tell them whats wrong,whats right,and what you can and will do..

so,if your thinking that u can walk into another situation and ask them to look at your record over the past 4 years and they will be impressed,they won’t..

they will look at your starters,and then ask,what did you do with the rest of the team because it was your starters who carried you..

i know,i would be shrugging my shoulders too woody..

Samuel

November 26th, 2009
4:34 pm

NYO,

With that post, you’re officially a “Scrubb”, in the same class as honest abe, Ken Strickland, Clyde and the rest of the Woody haters here who refuse to acknowledge what’s clear for all to see.

The Hawks are in 1st place and Woody is their leader. Add it up. You guys are making yourselves look more and more stupid by continuing to question the COY. Maybe when we drop a few notches in the Power rankings but right now your weak as_ arguments hold no water.

nunna yo biznezz

November 26th, 2009
5:23 pm

i own 2 homes,im married,3 wonderful kids,business owner(but times are kinda slow),so,if you would listen to the lyrics of TLC’S “NO SCRUBBS”,a scrubb i am not..

lets go back to last year mr.samuel..
and the hawks were in 1st place,and we were 6-0..
since then..they went .500..

so your point is……….what???
ohh,did i forget that we took the heat to 7 games,and we were shut out in round 2 by the cavs..and didnt’ even put up a fight or looked competitive untill the bench came in,in game 3 @phillips arena..and nearly brought us back..

they played well,AC,GARDNER,OTHELLO HUNTER,but,if they had been playing during the season and jelled somewhat in games played instead of practice minutes,then who knows what and where would have ended up..

we,maybe would have at least won one game SIR!!

I SEE U ARE HAPPY WITH MEDIOCRE..WELL,THE NAMES MENTIONED ALONG WITH ME ON YOUR RESPONSE ARE NOT!!

IT SHOWS THAT U ARE A BANDWAGON JUMPER,AND YOU DON’T KNOW THE HISTORY OF THIS TEAM NOR THIS COACH..

YOU ARE JUST LOOKING AT THE RECORD NOW,JUST LIKE MOST DID LAST YEAR WHEN WE STARTED OUT 6-0,THEN WENT 34-34,LMAO..

YO,WHEN U JUMP OFF OF DA WAGON..STAND UP CAUSE I’LL BE DRIVING BEHIND YOU AND I WANT U TO BE BENT OVER SO I CAN PUT THE HOOD ORNAMENT IN YOUR REAR…

Truth-Serum

November 26th, 2009
6:49 pm

Coach of Year voting
Coach (Team) Votes: 1st place 2nd place 3rd place
Mike Brown (Cavaliers) 55 21 17 355
Rick Adelman (Rockets) 13 24 14 151
Stan Van Gundy (Magic) 13 20 25 150
Nate McMillan (Trail Blazers) 15 14 10 127
George Karl (Nuggets) 11 16 14 117
Jerry Sloan (Jazz) 9 9 6 78
Erik Spoelstra (Heat) 2 8 19 53
Mike Woodson (Hawks) 1 3 3 17
Phil Jackson (Lakers) 1 3 3 17
Doc Rivers (Celtics) 1 2 4 15
Vinny Del Negro (Bulls) 1 1 1 9
Larry Brown (Bobcats) - 1 3 6
Scott Skiles (Bucks) - - 1 1
Tony DiLeo (Sixers) - - 1 1
Rick Carlisle (Mavericks) - - 1 1

Truth-Serum

November 26th, 2009
6:50 pm

Hey Samuel he made number 8 last year, wanna bet hes higher this year although his team is projected to finish no better than 4th?

Blast

November 26th, 2009
6:52 pm

New blog up!!!!!

Mike Woodson

November 26th, 2009
7:00 pm

This is dedicated to nunna yo biznezz and the others busters

http://www.dailymotion.com/video/x2gx36_tlc-no-scrubs_music

Samuel

November 26th, 2009
8:43 pm

NYB,

You sound like you have a wonderful family. On that, you get an A+, however, you’re still a scrubb in basketball knowledge. Big difference between 6-0 and 11-3. Best start in 12 years. We’ve been #1 in the power ranking for two weeks in a row. We’ve added Crawford and Joe Smith, Josh is playing within himself, we’ve been relatively injury free and the entire world “believes” we’re for real.

Last year, we were injured going into the match up with Cleveland (even though we had no chance anyway). This year we are much better and I haven’t heard anybody outside of this blog mention the need for giving Teague more minutes.

I label you a scrubb because you are a Woody “HATER” with no facts to back it up.

Woody=COY

nunna yo biznezz

November 26th, 2009
11:14 pm

ITS NOT WOODY THAT I HATE..
ITS JUST HIS COACHING PHILOSOPHY..
THATS IT..

dub366

December 9th, 2009
5:13 pm

why Woodson talking to Crawford about Defense when he need to talk to Bibby & Joe