Othello Hunter, the losing streak
Hey, folks-
Hope you are well. I wanted to hopefully shed some light on the Hawks’ thinking in the release of Othello Hunter (some) and also the players-only meeting (probably not a lot more than what was in the story).
First, Hunter. This is Rick Sund’s answer to why the team made the move.
“Basically, it just gives us some options for the roster. Wev’e got a two-week grace period in which we can have a 12-man roster before we have to get to a 13-man roster. It allows us to be able to look at the waiver wires a little bit right now. We have the NBDL Showcase, which coincides with this time period, so all the D-League teams are in one place.”
My sense of things is that they’ll look hard at the Showcase, see if any other NBA teams’ cuts looks intriguing, and if not, they may well go ahead and sign Hunter back. Sund said there wasn’t anything in particular they were looking for.
Said Sund, “I think we’re pretty well-covered in all the positions. I’ve had some dialogue with Woody. We’ll see what happens in the next week and a half.”
I imagine some of you pull your hair out at the notion of the team being well-covered at every position. Certainly, the Hawks could be strengthened at some spots. But I’d say it’s unlikely that there’s someone out there in the D-League or about to get cast off from an NBA roster who’s going to be significantly better than what the Hawks have now.
What was interesting to me was that the Hawks didn’t have to let Hunter go to fish around, but it would certainly appear that budget has at least something to do with it. I asked Sund about why they couldn’t just add a 10-day player if they found one, or something to that effect, and he said, “We’re going to go with a 13-man roster this year.”
In fairness, I don’t think it is that big a deal. Some teams carry the full 15. Having more would help, certainly. If a player got hurt, then you could have someone to dress out who already knows the schemes. But, these are the realities of the league and the franchise. The Nets are, or at least were, leaving one assistant coach at home on each road trip to save money.
Joe Johnson on the losing streak
From Tuesday. Questions approximated.
Q: How is this losing streak different than those in the past?
A: It’s no different. We’ve just got to get back on track.
Q: What do you have to do?
A: Just get back to playing with intensity, having fun. That’s pretty much the difference. It seems as if we’re just kind of out there, just going through the motions.
Q: Do you think players have been reading press clippings about how good they are? (For the record, I didn’t ask that. Not that it’s a bad question, but I would feel very weird asking someone if they had been reading my stories)
A: I know they haven’t been doing that. I think we’re a pretty good team, but we’ve still got a long ways to go.
Q: How long do you think the team has been ‘going through the motions’?
A: I don’t know. I don’t know how long it’s been going on, but we just haven’t been playing up to our capabilities.
Q: You’ve played 43, 40, 45 and 38 minutes in the last four games. How are your legs?
A: I’m a little tired, but I’ve been doing this for awhile. I’ll be alright.
Q: The team has been settling a lot for jump shots. Do you see this as a problem?
A: I do think we have to get a little more aggressive, but we’ll figure it out.
My take on his answers and where the team is. Joe is not the most expansive player on the team, and I got the impression he was either on his way out the door somewhere or didn’t feel like talking a whole lot. I think it’s noteworthy that he conceded that the team needs to be more aggressive. Players, and I suppose all of us, don’t like to admit we’ve been doing something incorrectly. For him to own that, I think, says something.
And, I think, too, the fact that they decided they needed a players-only meeting is pretty significant. It’s the first one they’ve had this season and that, more than anything, is acknowledgement that something is wrong. I don’t exactly what was said – I think it was mostly, “We’ve got to get back to playing how we were before,” meaning defending well, rebounding and running.
We’ll see how things shake out against the Nets and this weekend. I think tonight is important, even if it’s the Nets, for them to establish the rhythms and style of play that has worked so well for them.
Gotta run.
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337 comments Add your comment
ant banks
January 6th, 2010
11:44 pm
WHERE ARE ALL OF THOSE MF’S TALKIN’ ABOUT GARRETT SILER. LOL. Y’ALL LOOK LIKE EFFIN’ IDIOTS. FESS UP BEFORE I CALL Y’ALL OUT.
Big Ray
January 7th, 2010
12:45 am
Ant Banks,
Are you SERIOUS? You come up with the most obscure things to try and stir the pot with, lol!
ant banks
January 7th, 2010
12:56 am
BIG RAY,
i figured since the hawks cut othello, everyone would start that bring in GARRET SILER ish again. lol. i don’t see them pickin’ up anyone with that spot, so othello will be back.
unless woody gives in to the garrett siler faction. lol.
BESIDES, I AM BORED AS HELL. UP WAITIN’ TO SEE IF SCHOOLS WILL BE CLOSED TOMORROW SO I WON’T HAVE TO GET UP EARLY TO DROP THE KIDS OFF. LOL. PRAY FOR A BRUVA.
Just Saying
January 7th, 2010
2:18 am
Maybe if the Hawks would focus more on playing like this each game instead of getting their “Tiger Woods” on, we might actually have a chance even with Woodson running the show.
O'Brien
January 7th, 2010
7:54 am
Kobe must be suffering from the JJ virus too lol. In a loss to the Clippers last night, the Lakers scored 91 points, and Kobe had 33. However, he was only 10-30. I wonder if he’s getting ripped on the Laker boards?
“We just needed to make some shots. Woody=COY” Samuel.
So if the Nets were making their shots, would that have made KiKi (sp?) a better coach? Teams are not always going to make shots. But what does a coach do when his team isnt making shots? What kind of adjustments does he make? Those are better tests as opposed to just making shots.
Ray,
One thing Yi has over Marvin right now is aggressiveness. 5 years in, Marvin still doesnt have it. He is a better defender and rebounder (which is what Woody wants him to do) than Yi, but on our team, I would take Yi. In crunch time, its JJ who guards the premier SF’s, and during the game, there is a lot of switching on defense.
GeeMack
January 7th, 2010
8:16 am
Man Kobe got 4 rings and 6 finals appperances, and 3 buzzered beaters this year. U already know he gets a pass. lol
Fundamentals
January 7th, 2010
8:19 am
Happy to see some life and a win. We’ll see how much energy and aggression they bring over the weekend. We started well, but once the 3’s started falling we shot as many as possible while still maintaining a 12+ pt lead. To me it showed a lack of focus.
Also, did anyone catch Nique commending the “passing” when folks seemed to be dumping their shot to defer to someone else. Several sequences looked rough, like no one wanted the shot.
Glad to see Woody used the bench, but he needs to get them out earlier. 20 pt+ in the 4th isn’t what we need. We need solid rotation/situation type minutes? Why didn’t we see Randmo or Collins in the 1st half against Lopez to give Horford some rest. Why was Joe Smith so slow to get in the game. These are valuable pieces that need run time.
Lookin forward to Fri!
richbrave
January 7th, 2010
8:46 am
doc:
You need to check out MIKE WISE’s article in this morning’s WASHINGTON POST. Our boy may be in serious trouble.
Astro Joe
January 7th, 2010
9:28 am
richbrave, I LOVED Mike Wise’s recent column on Tiger. Wise is a gutsy writer… for sure.
richbrave
January 7th, 2010
9:43 am
ASTRO JOE:
I sure don’t like these turn of events for JAVARIS. I think the kid’s got some real game, but his head and ARENAS have led him into some serious problems evidently. Have you seen today’s piece? It’s ugly man, seriously.
Big Ray
January 7th, 2010
10:23 am
Ant Banks ,
Consider yourself in my prayers, lol.
O’brien ,
You went where I refrained from going, heh heh. Point very well taken on coaching and making shots, I can only agree. Same on Marvin….
Astro Joe
January 7th, 2010
12:25 pm
richbrave, I just read the column. Very sad. And definitely a teachable moment. I’ll be sharing the story with my boys this evening.
Dap01
January 7th, 2010
1:43 pm
Joe needs to realize that the fans are never wrong. A consistant good product will always bring butts to the arena. Face it, ISO JOE is not a pleasant thing to watch. Watching Bibby limp the ball up the court is not a fan favorite. Having a no motion offense at the end of every game is not stimualating for an NBA fan.
Our strenght is running and being athletic. Woody’s strenght is a simple, non running offense. Bibby strenght is a stationary long range shooting offense. Joe’s strenght is dominating the ball. There are contridictions and there you have the problem.
I hate ISO Joe and that style of basketball. Joe Johnson is great player but that is a terrible style of ball.
jean
January 7th, 2010
4:28 pm
jamal should get more isos n joe less he makes a quicker move to the basket or a pass joe holds the ball to long leads to a tough shot of his own or a tougher shot for a teammate
Ken Strickland
January 7th, 2010
5:08 pm
I’m certain everyone that can actually differenciate between the forest and the trees has noticed how passive rookie PG JTeague has become since being exiled to the bench and given a series of DNP coaches decision by HC MWoodson. The message Woody wants to make is, DON’T SHOW UP MY BELOVED VETERAN PG MIKE BIBBY BY DEMONSTRATING THE THINGS HE CAN’T DO. THAT IS OF COURSE, IF YOU WANT TO SNIFF THE COURT AGAIN. Teague is getting the SStaudemire, ALaw treatment, and we’re now seeing the same results we saw with them.
Since there are only 3 draft picks remaining on the entire roster from Woody’s 5 previous drafts, how can anyone with a clue actually say Woodson has established a track record of developing young players? AHorford came into the NBA acknowledged as the most NBA ready Big in recent yrs. So exactly what has Woody contributed to his development?
While this is Smoove’s 6th yr under Woodson, can anyone honestly say he’s come anywhere close to reaching his vast potential, especially in terms of OFF skills, consistency, temperment, understanding of the gm and maturity? Any HC that has the interest, willingness and/or ability to develop young talent would drool at the chance to develop a freakishly talented and determined player like Smoove. And I guarantee you that after 6yrs under a HC with the ability, willingness and committment to developing young players, we would’ve seen a hell of a lot more overall development from Smoove in all of those areas than we’ve seen from him under Woodson.
Anyone want to talk about how well Marvin has progressed, or regressed, under Woodson’s tutledge? The major reason for the annual progress this team has achieved has been due primarily to the annual addition of talent(Remember Bibby’s initial impact). There’s no doubt that Woodson has made contributions to this team, but he’s done nothing of significance that can be established as a catalyst for this teams success.
After almost 6yrs, he’s still struggling with what could be considered HC staples such as, strategy, making adjustments, creating, utilizing and/or taking advantage of matchups, consistency, developing young players, effectively utilizing his bench and taking advantage of players strengths.
I give primary credit for our rise from mediocracy to former GM BKnight and current GM RSund, and their ability to draft, trade for and sign/resign talented players over those yrs. There’s no way a team this quick, fast, talented, athletic, versatile, esperienced and deep should still be going from winning streaks, based on OFF/DEF dominance, to losing streakS that are the result of OFF/DEF ineptitude.
WE NEED BETTER COACHING, PERIOD!
keen observer
January 7th, 2010
5:12 pm
If Mario West played Nate Robinson the Hawks would have one more win. ‘Rio was limited, but could play great D in spots-you win games when you can make stops, sometimes it takes a guy like ‘Rio. Hunter is not a difference maker right now.
GeeMack
January 7th, 2010
5:22 pm
Ken Strickland
I hear your rants, but who would be a better fit? What coach out there would get better results from Josh? Please don’t say whoemver Mr. Sund hires, because having a glimpes of your baskeball knowledge you have someone in mind. It wouldn’t be Ken if you didn’t! Lol.
Lamar Odom was just as athletic as Josh coming into the league. He’s played for one of the best coaches ever and he is still as inconsistent as he was the first day he came into the NBA.
JeJe
January 7th, 2010
6:23 pm
LOL @ ppl here wanting Garrett Siler and Hunter, thinking they were some new-born superstars. And Hunter was CUT. LOL.
This is a reflection on the idiocy of people on here as well as Woodson’s inadequacy
Ken Strickland
January 7th, 2010
7:30 pm
GEEMACK-again, it’s truely revealing how, in your desperation to mask Woodson’s almost total ineptitude in developing young players, you would use HC PJackson and Lamar Odom as your comparison. First of all, LOdom was drafted in 1999 by the LA Clippers, not the LA Lakers, and played for the Miami Heat before being traded in 04 to the Lakers and PJackson.
I guess it’s a lot easier for you to call my comments rants than to deal with truth and/or facts. It’s funny how all of you WOODY LOVERS always blame the players for not being able to maintain their confidence and develop into solid players, while trying to overcome Woody’s inconsistent mins and opportunities, as well as the double standard of getting yanked as soon as a mistake is made, followed by a series of DNP coaches decision.
It’s one hell of a disfunctional philosophy that hasn’t come close to working, no matter how you WOODY LOVERS try to spin it.
doc
January 7th, 2010
7:40 pm
jeje that was just canniblogging at its worst along with a statement as to how liitle relevant happens in the nba for the scrub teamers but still is a chance to be “right” when blogging. i mean isnt that waht we all are striving for here? heh heh you included.
no one should be responsible for that stuff which only kept the blog alive during the doldrums of summer. not many folks take that serious, surprised you did and seem to still do. even this attempt by sund to make this move more relevant beyond merely saving a few bucks by saying we are looking at the waiver lines is a joke.
Astro Joe
January 7th, 2010
7:43 pm
Shhh, don’t tell Strickland Little (who believes that if he keeps saying that the sky is falling that we will eventually believe him), that the Boston Celtics just ended a losing streak and that Orlando is in the midst of a 3-game losing streak (to the Bulls, Pacers and Raptors). He’s convinced that elite teams lose one game at a time over an 82-game schedule.
Shhh, be vwery, vwery qwuiet… he’s hunting wabbits… the wascally kind.
JeJe
January 7th, 2010
7:49 pm
LOL @ article on KG being out. We lost to them last year without KG (Big Baby beasted I recall). We don’t beat anyone when they are down players. We are better off playing them when KG is in
JeJe
January 7th, 2010
7:51 pm
doc, if you are going to address me, please at least try to make sense. I don’t have time to read through your broken English and egregious punctuation and capitalization mistakes.
Thanks
Grandad
January 7th, 2010
8:27 pm
JeJe:
Get off doc.
As a matter of fact; what were you saying?
Grandad
January 7th, 2010
8:36 pm
Ken Strickland:
If I may. Respond to GeeMack that is.
GeeMack – Paul Silas in the interim would be a nice start.
*Plus bring in Charles Oakley as a big man coach.
**Not that Mr. Silas needs it, but, ‘Oak’ might be a pretty good butt kicker for those who may think about mailing in their effort on a given night.
Fundamentals
January 7th, 2010
8:44 pm
Not a lot of content today I see. I did notice doc’s point that folks say stuff in the summer just to stir conversation and hope. It’s pretty sorry to bring it up now like you’re a know it all. I got his egregrious punctuation and capitalization mistakes just fine. I didn’t even need a dictionary to look up new words to incorperate into the conversation either.
Hopefully the weather won’t delay any flights or give either team rest before the games. I’d like to see both teams fresh and ready. Too bad Boston’s got some folks out. I’d really like to see both teams at full power to really evaluate where we are after the “team meeting.”
We did win against NJ, but we didn’t seem to have all the flaws corrected in our system. This weekend will prove to be a real test. I’m looking forward to all 3 games.
Fundamentals
January 7th, 2010
8:45 pm
Oakley definitely knew how to bring it night in and night out. I’d be concerned about how fast Siler lost track of his teams before termination. Do you really think he can handle Josh’s ego and immaturity?
doc
January 7th, 2010
8:52 pm
hmmm, punctuation, you mean punctuation?
it is a blog.
some think i can’t address who i want if i dont do certain things. dont think so as long as i follow certain ajc guidelines. they dont involve capitol letters nor commas or periods: anyone can scroll if they want. all have that privilege.
as i was saying ….. way too serious. heh heh
and thanks for not reading.
i wonder how many minutes it is going to take clyde to come on here?
Fundamentals
January 7th, 2010
8:58 pm
Guess JeJe thinks you should turn this stuff in for a grade to your english teacher or something?
Why can’t we have a point about basketball?
What’s Pierce’s status? Is he 100% for the weekend?
Any word on a 13th man option?
doc
January 7th, 2010
9:11 pm
fundamentals, always folks wanting to police something they dont have any responsibility for, self appointed at that. seems to be going on and on by saying who is stupid, who cant read or write, who doesnt know basketball….etc, again self appointed. man we got all sorts of language on here, like he has something relevant to say. it is kind of boring, over bearing and boorish dont you think?
fortunately, he wont read this. heh heh
whatever happened to gentlemanly discourse here?
Fundamentals
January 7th, 2010
9:17 pm
I just want to talk hoops. Waiving Hunter leaves Sund in a predicament. He has to sign someone for the remainder. Who will that be. Many feel the waiver wire is a joke, but every year good players get dropped. Maybe we’ll pick up a vet Woodson would actually use once every 22 games. I really doubt it, but there is a glimmer of hope. That’s all I really need.
I still say sign some of the D-League bigs for a run on 10-day contracts just to see if they’ll mesh. It is the D-League, but there are some big cats putting up some decent lines. We need a young big for the future. Where else are we going to get one? I say we can’t lose trying them.
doc
January 7th, 2010
9:47 pm
fundamentals, it leaves sund’s cred exposed for the first time since he let chills get away. minor leaguers are not going to make it here based on past performance of the coaching staff. i still have to say what does he mean by watching the waiver lines as though a significant veteran player that woody would play was to come off another team.
was it to save money? if so we arent talking basketball.
doc
January 7th, 2010
9:50 pm
pierce played 43 minutes yesterday on the very competitive game with miami. check his numbers out. not too bad:
http://sports.yahoo.com/nba/boxscore;_ylt=AjeiTqptm2mSpzYenJnXtG28vLYF?gid=2010010614
Fundamentals
January 7th, 2010
10:06 pm
Every year you see a few crafty veterans who get dropped or bought out that are looking for a title contender to sign with. Will it be us? Not sure. I’m guessing there will be someone. We could use a good defensive minded small forward or center. Someone like Posey was for his past teams.
I agree Woodson won’t give anyone runs on 10 day contracts. If not, can he tell me where we’ll ever get a big man prospect? Doubt it. I guess we’ll wait on one to magically drop from the sky.
doc
January 7th, 2010
10:14 pm
i can only hope, like you, it is something like that instead of a parade of 10 day contracts. at first i wanted to see a stackhouse kind of addition for the games that marvin is asleep at the wheel or jamal is in a different world. i would have liked to have seen someone like stackhouse available from the bench as our guards played ole on nate last week.
Fundamentals
January 7th, 2010
10:21 pm
We’ve gotta use the 10 days till someone comes along. They’ll require us to sign someone. Might as well check out some bigs for a potential fit until the right piece comes along. I think people were afraid of Stack. He’s boom or bust for teams. Kinda like Crawford was at times for his other teams. They also feel like he’d steal the minutes that Teague isn’t and won’t ever get. I’m hoping we’ll see something come along. I’d say Rio is the best last minute aquisition if we don’t see an established vet. Either way I see it as an opportunity, regardless of what happens.
GeeMack
January 8th, 2010
9:06 am
Grandad,
Paul Silas & Charles Oakley? Are you serious? Wow! I’m speechless. Grandad you’re normally very insightful with your post, but you got me on that one.