So what to make of these Hawks?
What to make of these Hawks, who lately have faltered while losing games within their grasps and not always in the same fashion?
“Sometimes defensively,” Marvin said. “Sometimes offensively.”
They are well within striking distance of 50 victories at 40 with 19 games to go. Yet the Hawks are 23-19 since Dec. 26. And in the last two weeks, with the Southeast Division title out there as a carrot, they’ve blown leads in two ugly losses (at Golden State and vs. Dallas) and suffered from mental lapses late in two others they had chances to win (at Miami and at New York).
Overall, the Hawks’ offensive numbers are very good, maybe even elite. But lately when it’s time to win tight games, their situational offense often sufferers from poor ball movement, bad shot selection, untimely turnovers and a general lack of focus.
The Hawks are supposed to be a defensive-minded team under Woody. For about the last month, though, they regularly haven’t defended with intensity for more than a few stretches per game (and, again, this is the time of year when they are supposed to be cranking it up). Then again, as they showed Monday in New York, when they decide to get after it defensively the Hawks look very good.
“We got stops when we needed to get stops,” Woody said. “I am trying to figure out how come we just can’t do that the whole game? That’s what’s been mind-boggling to me as the coach.”
So, what to make of the (40-23, capable of scoring on anyone, good on defense when they lock in, inconsistent all around) Hawks?
“We are on schedule to better our record from last year, and that is progress is kind of how I look at it,” Woody said today before the team departed for D.C. “How it plays out in terms of the conference remains to be seen. We are four games behind Orlando with 19 to go. Do we have a chance to win division? Sure we do. But we are going to have to play lights out to get it done.”
They aren’t doing that lately and–cant’ say this enough–this is the time serious contenders do it. That 21-8 start was nice but of course no one will remember that if the Hawks slide down the stretch then flame out in the playoffs.
What’s the problem?
“I don’t know, man,” J.J. said. “We lose focus a lot and that’s something we have to get back to doing (and) really defensively. Once we get our defense going back, the offense will come back. When we need to get stops, we can get them. We know what we are capable of doing. We just need to do it for 48 minutes.”
What’s the problem with the defense?
“We will play five minutes hard, and then (for) two minutes have some mental lapses,” Al said. “We have to be in tune with what we are doing.”
“We seem to kind of not get the defensive concepts down on a consistent, night-in and night-out basis,” Smoove said. “We go good for three or four games and then we slip. We have to be more consistent on night in and night out basis because we are going to score points.”
And which concepts do the the Hawks struggle to grasp?
“Maybe coverages,” Josh said. “But really just the simple principle of keeping your main in front of you.”
Woody said that simple principle is part of the problem. He said the Hawks have been “pretty good” with his defensive concepts but that it might be time to adjust them.
“I think the fact that I am trying to–I don’t want to use the word ‘hiding’ guys–but we switch a lot of things, we try to be proactive,” he said. “Maybe we need to scale back a little bit in those areas. But I don’t want to take our aggressiveness away. I think we are just doing it (defending well) in spurts.”
– Mo Evans (flu-like symptoms) didn’t fly with the team to D.C. today and isn’t expected to play Thursday at the Wizards.
MC
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288 comments Add your comment
northcyde
March 11th, 2010
1:15 pm
We’re 20th in attendance. We don’t generate the revenue that those other teams generate. Because of that, ownership is less likely to go over the cap, to try to put the best possible product on the floor.
Even though we have the 5th best home record in the league, the ATL fans simply don’t come out on a nightly basis. The place will be packed to see Boston or the Lakers, but you can’t even give away enough tickets to pack the place to see Washington or Charlotte.
It is what it is folks.
Daniel
March 11th, 2010
1:19 pm
First thing you do in the offseason is resign Joe. Everything falls apart from there. Then you get Horford under contract. At that point, you have some options to look at. We have to see what Childress wants to do, even he doesn’t play here we could sign and trade him. We will have a full MLE so a player like a Brandon Bass (who is unhappy in Orlando) would make a nice addition. I think his contract is too difficult but a player along that calibre. Would I trade Marvin? Sure I would, problem is with the length of his contract I am not sure we can get much value back. A team may be able to get McGrady for a MLE next year, which might be worth the gamble.
osama
March 11th, 2010
1:20 pm
Woody doesn’t make alot of second half substitutions. So he’s basically running his starters & Crawford into the ground down the stretch (of the season & in close games). That’s where lapses on defense & offensive slumps become magnified. Woody needs to trust his bench players more when the game matters & not just against weaker teams with a sizable lead.
Daniel
March 11th, 2010
1:21 pm
darrell, what was Orlando’s payroll last year? How’s that 90milion working out in Boston right now? Kobe gets 24 milion and is worth every cent, he more than generaes that revenue for the team.
Daniel
March 11th, 2010
1:22 pm
generates
J
March 11th, 2010
1:23 pm
darrell, you’re retarded … you just compared the Boston/Lakers payroll to the Hawks … hello, both of those cities are BIG NBA cities and have championships. The teams sell out on a nightly basis, hence, they HAVE the money to pay for talent (same as the Knicks/Bulls). When the Hawks start selling out more games & win a championship or two, maybe then you can make that argument. Otherwise, your post makes no sense and you obviously don’t understand the ownership situation either. Do you read the news? And whats this about signing Joe and D-Wade? pipedream and isn’t going to happen, so why mention it
northcyde
March 11th, 2010
1:28 pm
Osama . . . what do you do when the bench guys are playing sorry, and we’re down 6 – 8 points going into the 4th quarter? Do you still trust them?
darrell starks
March 11th, 2010
1:28 pm
J where you from wake your azz!!!!!! up all this bs on this board is crazy, look first of all your not sell out no game in the atl with no superstar you should no this by now o i forgot you from canada.
GO HAWKS!!!!!!!!
northcyde
March 11th, 2010
1:46 pm
My last comment didn’t post. Let’s see if this one will.
The Hawks are 21st in average home attendance while selling out 85.6% of their seats per game ( 19th in the league ). Amongst all current playoff teams, only Milwaukee and Charlotte post lower home attendance numbers.
On the flip side, the Hawks are 8th in average road attendance, seeing 90% of the arena sold when they come to town ( 10th in the league ). This number will probably go down though, as we still play quite a few sub-.500 teams on the road the rest of the year.
So despite our 25 – 7 home record, road fans come out to see their team play the Hawks, more than our home fans come out to see the Hawks play other teams.
northcyde
March 11th, 2010
1:48 pm
By the way . . . that 25 – 7 home record . . is 5th in the league. Only the Cavs, Lakers, Nuggets, and Magic have better home records.
JosephDaKoolest
March 11th, 2010
1:49 pm
Maybe Joe should save those comments for the summer. However Joe is a big part of what we have grown to be in the last couple of years. And Crawford is huge for our team, but crawford is able to do what he does because Joe demands so much attention. And before we excute Joe lets make sure every home game is sold out so we can show Joe how much he means to our city. And dont forget Joe already said he wants to stay and he is very active in the the community. However if Joe does decide to leave we need to brang in a big time player like a Dewayne Wade or a Rudy Gay maybe even make a trade for Danny Granger. But remember hawks nation we are only a True center away from an nba championship. And perhaphs Joe should take heed to the same thing.!!!!!!!!!!!
tiger woo
March 11th, 2010
1:52 pm
OK – I’m reading this blog and I had to go back and check the Hawks overall record – just as I thought – 40-23. 3 games behind Orlando in the loss column – tied with Boston.
You would think the Hawks were 23-40 reading some of these comments.
I can’t wait for the Hawks to get rid of Woody – then you’ll finally see that a new coach won’t do much better with our current roster.
All I heard at the beginning of the season was how the Eastern Conference has improved and the Hawks would have trouble finishing ahead of Chicago, Washington, Charlotte, Miami, Toronto. Who’s record would you rather have at this point?
Stop the fire Woody nonsense – what would be accomplished by firing a coach during the season that has his team in good position going into the playoffs?
jmarable
March 11th, 2010
1:54 pm
How can u start a point guard who cant take anyone off the dribble,cant penertrate.the D knows he cant.this turns your team into a jumpshot shooting team without a doubt.teams are realizing the weakest link in hawks chain is Mr Bibby folks.Marvin is on his tail.Bibby cant be hiding on defense Mr Woodson this is the NBA.TEAMS GET PAID TO FIND AND EXPLOIT YOUR WEAKNESS.U get paid to figure out the best point guard to start.Hello, Coach I give u a hint.IT AINT BIBBY
northcyde
March 11th, 2010
2:40 pm
LOL @ Tiger Woo. That’s a great post. But what I did know, is that the bar would be raised as the season progressed. When it became obvious that those teams wouldn’t overtake us in the standings, the fans started crying about how and why we weren’t elite. “Elite” was nowhere near in the vocabulary at the beginning of the season. But now, let people tell it, this team is UNDERACHIEVING.
The Hawks are simply undergoing the natural developmental process of becoming an elite team. The same developmental process that the Jazz, Nuggets, and Blazers are going through.
Westurd
March 11th, 2010
3:06 pm
FIRE TIGER WOO!
Ken Strickland
March 11th, 2010
3:19 pm
NORTHCYDE-allow me to show you how utterly stupid your comment to OSAMA was. You said, “OSAMA….WHAT DO YOU DO WHEN THE BENCH GUYS ARE PLAYING SORRY, AND WE’RE DOWN 6-8 POINTS GOING INTO THE 4TH QUARTER? DO YOU STILL TRUST THEM? It’s obvious you expect him to say you shouldn’t use the bench players.
HOWEVER, WHAT DO YOU DO WHEN YOUR STARTING PG DOESN’T PENETRATE OR CREATE EASY SCORING OPPORTUNITIES FOR OTHERS, IS CONSISTENTLY TARGETED BY OPPOSING TEAMS BECAUSE HE PLAYS EXTREMELY POOR DEF, AND HAS PLAYED SO POORLY FOR MOST OF THE SEASON THAT HIS OVERALL SCORING, ASSISTS AND SHOOTING PERCENTAGES HAVE BEEN FALLING WITH EACH PASSING GM? DO YOU CONTINUE TRUSTING HIM AND STARTING HIM?
Against Miami, JoSmith grabbed 2REB’s and scored 8Pt’s(3-3FG’s, 2-2FT’s)in 6:44 1st quarter mins without missing a shot. ARE YOU SAYING THAT PERFORMANCE WAS JUSTIFICATION FOR WOODSON REFUSIONG TO USE HIM FOR THE NEXT 7 QUARTERS? ARE YOU STUPIDLY CLAIMING HE PLAYED SORRY OFF THE BENCH? JTeague was allowed to play 5:47 1st quarter mins against the Knicks. He scored 2pts, played solid DEF and had no turnovers, yet he wasn’t allowed to play another second for the remainder of the gm. ARE YOU CLAIMING WOODSON’S REFUSAl TO PLAY AGAIN WAS BECAUSE HIS 1ST QUARTER PLAY WAS SORRY?
With Woodson’s stubborn insistence of starting and giving major mins to the NBA’s slowest, least athletic and generally worst starting PG, both offensively and defensively, how can we get better or more consistent? AND YOU WONDER WHY YOUR BELOVED MORON OF A HC IS STILL SCRATCHING HIS BALD HEAD AND CRYING TO THE MEDIA ABOUT HOW HE CAN’T UNDERSTAND WHAT’S CAUSING THIS TEAMS OFF AND DEF INCONSISTENCIES AND SHORTCOMINGS.
STUPID IS AS STUPID DOES, AND THAT GOES FOR WOODSON AND HIS SUPPORTERS.
MsDee
March 11th, 2010
3:20 pm
I believe the reason why us fans dont come out to support the Hawks on a nightly basis is because we dont know what we are going to get from Woodson & Marvin on a nightly basis. If Woodson coached the way he needs to coach, sub accordingly, rest his starters, play his bench..If Marvin hustled every single game, made a strong effort to get at least 10 boards in stead of hiding around on the floor..and if the team just hustled like Josh Smith every single game and if the team played smart every single game, win or lose, I truely believe more fans would come out to support because we would be truely entertained!! All we need is consistency!!
I know we are 40-23, 3 games back from Orl & tied w/ Boston, but what’s so aggravating to us fans is that we should be better than both of them easily. I say this because for our team to have not made any ‘major’ moves with our line up and to only be down 3 from Orl who has made ‘major’ moves, why aren’t we ahead of them?? For us (Hawks) to havent had ANY major injuries to our core players..well, any players for that matter and Boston has gone thru HELL this season so far with injuries, plus they are much much older than the Hawks, why I ask are we tied with them?? This is the reason us fans dont come out and support as much as we could.
BONE
March 11th, 2010
3:22 pm
DERRELL SHUT YO DUCK AZZZ UP CUZ, YOU ARE THE WORST POSTER ON HERE, PLUS U A NEW NIG6A SO RELAX SMH
osama
March 11th, 2010
3:48 pm
It should go both ways. If a vet is in a shooting slump or looks like he is lacking effort defensively, why not put an ‘energy’ player in there to give the team a boost? I don’t see any scenarios why players like Teague & ‘Rio should NOT be getting at least 5-8 min a game spread over both halves. Oftentimes a coach will go with whoever has the ‘hot hand’ or causes fits for the opposition on either end of the floor. It’s called CAPITALIZING ON MISMATCHES. That’s rarely the case with this team. Evans, Joe Smith, Teague & West should be playing in EVERY GAME. Jason Collins should be in there against the big boys (Shaq, Dwight Howard) not Horford. These are extra bodies that can contribute in a variety of ways, mainly hustle & effort. Those are the elements that energize a whole team and give the starters the necessary time to recuperate for the game-by-game, quarter-to-quarter, possession-for-possession grind that any team that has the aspiration to win a title will face.
northcyde
March 11th, 2010
3:54 pm
Ken . . you’re not going to get me to say that Woody shouldn’t have put Joe Smith back in the Miami game. He probably should’ve gotten a shot to play in the 2nd half.
But we’re talking about a regular rotation of guys, that people feel should play in the 2nd half on a nightly basis, regardless of what the situation is in the game.
Right now, the guys who are playing in the 2nd half are Crawford, Evans, and Zaza. Crawford will play regardless. So will Zaza, seeing that he’s our only true big man on the team. Evans is starting to get a little more burn as well. That right now is the core of our bench.
The facts are these. When the bench comes into a game, and doesn’t positively affect the game, a coach isn’t going to stick with those guys too long, and let them blow the game.
Mr. Strickland, all of your comments are geared toward Teague getting more playing time. I’m actually not against that. But it’s not like he’s affecting the game positively on a nightly basis either. He makes good plays and bad plays. If Woody wanted to give Teague more time . . that’s fine. But Teague also needs to start sparking runs, or really earning his time out there with real good play. That’s usually how bench players get playing time.
As I keep saying, we have one of the worst benches in the league. They’re poor offensively and possibly even worse defensively. Until that changes, Woody is going to live and die with his starters.
The fact that we have a 6th man that can play both the 1 and the 2, keeps Teague off the floor. It’s pretty obvious why Teague doesn’t get more time. You guys simply want to see more of him, regardless of how he’ll affect this team and regardless of the game situation.
Woody will not let the rookie lose games for him. Period.
fudd21
March 11th, 2010
4:03 pm
darrell,
WOW! You really have no idea how this whole salary cap thing works huh. Where is nire when you really need him. I’ll take a stab to see if I can shed some light.
The current NBA salary cap is around 58 mil and the luxury tax is at 70 mil. What that salary cap means is that when you are trying to sign players from an opposing team you CAN NOT go over that cap to do so. There are exceptions to that rule and that pertain to the mid-level exception (5.5 mil) and the bi-annual exception (1.9 mil). This is just for signing players not trades.
If you are signing players from your own team you can go over that cap as much as you want to. That is part of the reason these other teams have these high payrolls. Once you hit 70 mil there is a dollar for dollar tax asscociated with everything over 70 mil.
As for why the Knicks will have so much money is simple they have McGrady 23 mil, Harrington 10 mil, Duhon 6 mil all expiring this summer so that money will be freed up. They only have about 18 mil on the books in salaries for next year. That means at this year’s salary cap they have about 40 mil to play with. However, most experts beleive the salary cap will drop to around 53 mil which will still leave them about 35 mil under the cap. Which is enough to sign 2 max or pretty close to max free agents.
For next year the Hawks already have over 44 mil in contracts tied up and that DOES NOT include JJ as his deal is expiring. So for conversation purposes let’s just say JJ walks that would leave us only 14 mil under current salary cap and 9 mil under cap when it drops to 53 mil. So even if JJ walks we will not be far enough under the cap to sign one of the major free agents. That’s why you never hear us mentioned because its not mathematically possible.
northcyde
March 11th, 2010
4:06 pm
I believe the reason why us fans dont come out to support the Hawks on a nightly basis is because we dont know what we are going to get from Woodson & Marvin on a nightly basis. If Woodson coached the way he needs to coach, sub accordingly, rest his starters, play his bench..If Marvin hustled every single game, made a strong effort to get at least 10 boards in stead of hiding around on the floor..and if the team just hustled like Josh Smith every single game and if the team played smart every single game, win or lose, I truely believe more fans would come out to support because we would be truely entertained!! All we need is consistency!!
I’m sorry MsDee, but that’s a cop out. The facts are that the Hawks are a whopping 25 – 7 at home. Regardless of what this team does on the road, the facts are that this is one of the 5 best home teams in the league. If people can’t come out and watch a top 5 home team, then that’s not on the team. That’s on the fans. No basketball team is going to play perfect. They will lose games that they should’ve won. But the Hawks have won 25 of their 32 games at home. That’s 78%. . . which means that for every 5 home games the fans watch, we’re going to win 4 of them.
I know we are 40-23, 3 games back from Orl & tied w/ Boston, but what’s so aggravating to us fans is that we should be better than both of them easily. I say this because for our team to have not made any ‘major’ moves with our line up and to only be down 3 from Orl who has made ‘major’ moves, why aren’t we ahead of them?? For us (Hawks) to havent had ANY major injuries to our core players..well, any players for that matter and Boston has gone thru HELL this season so far with injuries, plus they are much much older than the Hawks, why I ask are we tied with them?? This is the reason us fans dont come out and support as much as we could.
MsDee . . . honestly answer this question. If I would’ve told you before the season started, that we’d be 40 – 23 after 63 games . . tied for the #3 seed in the East . . and still in the hunt to win the Southeast Division . . would you be happy?
See . . while fans keep saying that we should be better, we’ve also won games that we could’ve easily lost this year. The Hawks are simply playing like 50 win teams have played all throughout the history of the NBA. A 50 to 55 win team is going to lose 27 – 32 games in a season. They’re going to win games vs very good teams and they’re going to lose games vs teams they have no business losing to ( especially on the road ).
That’s just the nature of the NBA.
I know people are frustrated by this team showing flashes of being “elite”, but not quite reaching that level. But that’s simply how the NBA, and sports in general go.
As for the fans . . . the fans in ATL need to UNCONDITIONALLY support this team. A bad loss to the Knicks or Warriors should not take away your enthusiasm from supporting the Hawks. Not when we win almost 80% of our home games.
The ATL fans simply have to fully commit to this team, if they expect management to fully commit to the Hawks.
O'Brien
March 11th, 2010
4:38 pm
northcyde,
How many rookie PGs come into a game and spark a run, when they’ve received very little PT, and when they do receive PT, its inconsistent? Teague played, what, 2 years of college ball? he is going to need a learning curve.
I don’t expect Woody to play him in the 4th, especially if its a close game. But what about games where Bibby sucked, and still got minutes in the first 3 quarters?
Against the Knicks, Bibby played 21 minutes, 1 point, 1 assist, and he was abused on defense. Teague played 6 minutes, and had 2 points. Woody could not find a few more minutes for Teague during the game?
In the last Miami game, Bibby played 30 minutes, 6 points, 1 assist. Teague had a DNPCD. Against Phoenix, Bibby played 39 minutes, had 6 points, 4 assists. Teague had a DNPCD.
We lost all 3 games. If Teague had gotten more PT, maybe the outcome would have been different. And even if we still lost, it would have been a good learning experience for the young fellow. If you look at the game log, there are numerous games where Bibby sucked, but still got his 20+ minutes of PT, and the Hawks still lost.
The way I look at it is, Bibby is the past (and he is getting worse), and Teague might be the future. But the only way to find out is to give him PT. Woody needs to do a better job of picking his spots of when to play Teague, and which players to play Teague with.
I also think Joe SMith needs more PT. Josh played 45, 43, and 40 minutes the last 3 games. He needs a break.
theZaZaguy
March 11th, 2010
4:55 pm
Northcyde,
I absolutely agree. This team has exceeded my expectations already and I have hope for the playoffs. If we fire on all cyclinders, there’s not team that can stop us. I honestly believe that.
I wish others would stop drinking the haterade and start coming out for games. They have some great ticket specials for some of the lesser games. Doc Rivers said that if we win, the crowds will show up. I hope he’s right.
northcyde
March 11th, 2010
5:09 pm
I watched Ty Lawson in Denver back around the start of the season, come in a game, and proceeded to basically take control. Some of the other rookie PGs immeadiately made an impact as well. so while it may be rare to see, it can be done.
But you pretty much answered the question as to why Teague doesn’t play much. But you still fail to address one. When Bibby is struggling, who is the best guy to play at the 1 . . . Jeff Teague or Jamal Crawford?
I mean . . . people have to start HONESTLY answering that question, instead of emotionally wanting Teague to be out on the floor.
This is the same situation we had last year. Who was the better backup PG . . . Acie or Flip?
Regardless of if Flip wasn’t a pure PG, we were a better team when Flip was in the game. Due to the fact that Acie never fully took control as a PG, and because Flip was a far more lethal scorer, Woody opted to go with Flip.
The adjustment Woody needs to make, is to give Marvin more playing time. Instead of playing Bibby extended minutes at PG when he’s not productive, simply slide Crawford to PG and play Marvin 30+ minutes a game.
MsDee
March 11th, 2010
5:17 pm
northcyde,
I never said the Hawks or any team for that matter, will win every game, but they can play hard and smart every single game. Those guys are getting megga paid so they should work hard and play as if they want to win every single game. To support the Hawks, we have to pay anywhere between $50-90 for decent seats or if u are big shot, $100+ to see 1 game, not several games for that price but 1 game to see them give half effort on the court? After each game, fans should leave the game not upset that we lost but we should feel excited & entertain with the performance and effort the Hawks gave. And if we dont get that on a nightly basis, why should we pay to see half effort if we could see that for free on TV?? You wouldnt pay to see a live play downtown to see bad acting would u?
MsDee
March 11th, 2010
5:24 pm
I bet if the NBA changed there rules where players must perform a certain way to get paid the way they do, you would see a whole lot of LeBrons and Kobe’s & Chris Bosh’s, & Wade’s & Josh Smith for that matter in the league cause those guys try to preform on a nightly basis! They may not have their shots falling but they do the little things like get rebounds, block shots, hustle for loose balls, give more assits..in most games they play.
Rod from College Park
March 11th, 2010
5:32 pm
Northcyde,
“The adjustment Woody needs to make, is to give Marvin more playing time. Instead of playing Bibby extended minutes at PG when he’s not productive, simply slide Crawford to PG and play Marvin 30+ minutes a game.”
You can’t be serious. What team have you been watching. In your scenario, we still would not be able to score, and no one would check Marvin, which would make us play 5 against 4. Let me tell you something that you might not know. Marvin is not productive either. Bibby is still an offensive threat. Marvin is not.
darrell starks
March 11th, 2010
5:32 pm
FUD21 I NO ALL THIS COME ON MAN WHAT IM SAYING YOU HAVE 2 CUT PAYROLL AND MAKE TRADES FIRST BEFORE DOING SO.
GO HAWKS!!!!!!!!
osama
March 11th, 2010
5:32 pm
A rookie/young player cannot grow if he is not allowed to make mistakes & learn from them(especially @ PG). He doesn’t have to play the critical clutch minutes (last 4-6min) of the 4th qtr, but that doesn’t mean no playing altogether in the 2nd half. How can a player (not just a rookie) grow from doing that?
darrell starks
March 11th, 2010
5:34 pm
BONE SHUT YOUR BONE HEAD UP WHO ARE YOU WIZE GUY.
GO HAWKS!!!!!!!
Ken Strickland
March 11th, 2010
5:59 pm
NORTHCYDE-Why would you expect more consistency and/or production from the bench than you expect from the starters, who get consisent and extended mins on a regular basis? Why are you expecting Teague, who’s a rookie, to provide this team with contributions that MBibby has definitely been unable to provide for most, if not all of the season?
You keep interating that my agenda is to get more playing time for Teague. Hell, the almost total regression of Woody’s beloved PG MBibby is proving that every gm we play. you said in your last post THAT PEOPLE HAVE TO START ANSWERING QUESTIONS, but I noticed you did a good job of avoiding my questions concerning Woody’s insistence on hurting the team by stubbornly insistenting on playing his beloved Bibby extended mins while all but ignoring Teague. HOW IN THE HELL CAN YOU BE DILUSIONAL ENOUGH TO EXPECT TEAGUE TO SPARK THE TEAM WHEN YOUR DUMBASS HERO OF A HC WON’T PLAY HIM MORE THAN A FEW MINS A GM, AND VIRTUALLY NONE PAST THE 1ST QUARTER?
northcyde
March 11th, 2010
6:55 pm
@ MsDee . . I will give you my answer to your replies in the other blog.
@ Ken . . Since Crawford is a better PG right now than Teague, he gets the call over the rookie. Bibby’s minutes can still be reduced by Craw playing more at the 1 Teague has shown little progress throughout the season, which is why he doesn’t play.
@ Rod . . . I know you hate Marvin, but the fact is that if I were to choose between Bibby, Marvin, and Mo Evans to close a game with, I’m choosing Marvin. At least he’s the most versatile out of the “nothings”. His defense is why I say play him more than 30+ minutes.
BirdDawg
March 11th, 2010
10:06 pm
Why is it that this team and some of the fans seem to settle for “alright” when it’s obvious this team is capable of so much more. Granted, this team has been irrelevant for much of the last decade, but when you have talent like they do, there is no reason to accept less than your potential. I would be more than satisfied is the Hawks were 41-23 and played hard and smart every most nights. If Woodson consistently made the obvious coaching moves to put this team in the best position to win and they just get outplayed, that’s something any real fan can live with. But how can you call yourself a fan and still justify watching this team beat itself on a consistent basis. This team has talent, youth, athleticism and experience in abundance and yet they continue to find ways to consistently play down to the level of teams that don’t have half of what they do. And anyone that would defend Mike Woodson at this point just really doesn’t watch the games. Until this year, I was a “wait and see” Woodson supporter, but when I watch this team make the same mistakes over and over again and continue to have the same shortcomings they had when they were losing, it’s obvious that his coaching just isn’t going to make the most of the talent this team has to offer. You can’t blame the bench for not producing when they rarely get a real opportunity to produce. You can’t blame a talented rookie PG for not having an impact on the game when he rarely gets the chance to experience the NBA game. Regardless of how bad they were in the past, when a team is as talented as the Hawks and still can’t separate itself from the rest of the pack and truly join the elite teams, the glass isn’t half full, it’s half empty.
northcyde
March 12th, 2010
1:06 am
I think the fans who you think that are settling for “alright”, are merely being realistic about this team. The Hawks are what they are. We’re a team with 4 very talented players ( JJ, Smoove, Horford, Crawford ) . . . and 2 players who show flashes of talent, but are inconsistent ( Bibby, Marvin )
But some of you act like we should be around the 47 win mark for the season or something. A lot of you guys vastly overrate our bench talent, and assume that the entire team is one of the best in the league. That could be further from the truth.
We’ve lost games we should’ve won . . and won games we should’ve lost. I know that’s too simplistic for some people, but it’s the truth.
You say we can’t separate ourselfves from the pack. Well click on this link, and tell me which pack you’re talking about?
http://espn.go.com/nba/standings/_/group/1
No one is telling you guys not to want the Hawks to be better. But it seems as if perfection is wanted around here, even if you guys claim that it isn’t. This is the NBA. Good teams lose to bad teams all the time in this league, especially on the road.
But the Hawks are being dogged, because they’re not GREAT . . not because they’re not GOOD.
Fact is . . this team isn’t great.
* We don’t have a true PG
* We don’t have a good low post scorer
* We don’t have 3-point sharpshooters
* We don’t have a big center
Yet, we’ve managed to go 41 – 23 on the year and consistently be a top 10 squad the entire year.
That’s more than “alright”. That’s DAMN GOOD.
And even though we looked lackluster again tonight, we still pulled out the win. That’s what good teams are able to do. Win . . even when you play ugly.
DeloresVixesen
March 12th, 2010
11:21 am
The Hawks need to get rid of their coach (Bozo the Clown (Woodsen)) and hire a good replacement. The Hawks could even trying hiring someone who understands the game thoroughly but has no coaching experience; someone like former nba star and espn nba analyst Marques Johnson. Marques thoroughly understands the game and might do much better than Woodsen ever could. Another good choice would be (former player coach and espn studio analysist AVERY JOHNSON). Either of those two guys would be an incredible upgrade over Woodsen. In fact, ANBODY would be an upgrade over Woodsen.
VickSwitchHitter
March 12th, 2010
4:12 pm
I understand the frustration of some of the fans. We have all seen the Hawks play with sheer passion against Boston and they have thoroughly dominated the Cs this season. I taped the last Hawks/Boston matchup and I tell you it was a thing of beauty. The game was so well played by the Hawks I cant believe its the same team that lost to Dallas, G.S., Miami, Phoenix, and the Knicks (three times). The Hawks played with passion against the Celtics and the Hawks defense was constant, swarming and omni-present for forty-eight minutes. The Hawks were getting plenty of steals, rebounds, assists, blocked shots; etc. The Hawks looked like a well oiled machine on that night, looked as though they would have beaten anyone in the nba, which they would have. I have come up with a startling and riveting thought and observation on the Hawks. When the Hawks are at the top or height of their game and are playing, inspired, energetic basketball with passion on both ends of the floor for 48 minutes, the Hawks are virtually UNSTOPPABLE. Why in the name of God can they not play that way against inferior opponents or superior opponents to the Celtics. I just dont get it and I never will.
Howard
March 13th, 2010
1:33 pm
Hawks – started out strong – 2 players were all stars (should of had 2 more with Crawford and Smith) – now they lack the killer instinct and try “skating by” each game.
They have the talent to go far in the playoffs but lack the desire to do it every night. They all need “Mario West” like intensity – without it they are done in the first round – it won’t matter who they play.