Atlanta Hawks at Raptors: Woodson gives Bibby some needling
Toronto–Made it to Canada, where somehow it’s a nicer day than any I can remember in Atlanta for like the last week. (When I saw the border agents, for some reason all I could think about was: “She got a cousin at customs that get (stuff) through . . .”)
– Chris Mannix of SI.com asked Woody if he’s concerned about Bibby’s problems with quick point guards as the Hawks head to the playoffs.
“You think Bibby has trouble with quick point guards,” Woody said, smiling. “I’m going to tell Bibby that. Maybe he better speed it up in the playoffs.”
Bibby and one of those quick guards that can give him trouble. (Johnny Crawford, Jcrawford@ajc.com)
Chris Sheridan of ESPN.com got to Bibby before Woody could and relayed the exchange.
“You keep some things, some things you can’t,” Bibby said, and it looked like he would let it go and that would be it.
But after a bit he added: “I aint’ the only one who has trouble with quick point guards, I can tell you that.”
Bibby was offered the hand-check rule as an out but he wouldn’t take it.
“I’ve got other things to worry about,” he said.
My take: Bibby is Woody’s guy, and the coach knows Bibby gets motivated by talk about his decline. So Woody will use such slights to coax him.
When Woody met with Bibby a few weeks back, he told him he needed to be more aggressive offensively. He was back on that theme again last night.
“He’s passed up a lot of shots he should have taken this year,” Woody said, adding with a smile: “Maybe he’s saving it up.”
From what I’ve seen, Bibby is a prideful player who cares about winning. He’s a gamer, too, so it’s no surprise he was back in the lineup last night after sitting out practice on Monday.
Look for more of Woody’s sly needling of Bibby to get him fired up for the playoffs. Or maybe more of this will do the trick.
– Woody keeps insisting he’s not really looking at the playoffs picture beyond still trying to catch Magic from 3 games back with 16 to go: “We still have a legit shot to win the division”
His standard line about the postseason: “We’ll figure that part out when we get there.” I believe him.
He’s been getting questions about Milwaukee lately but he keeps deflecting them.
“It could be Milwaukee, Toronto, Charlotte, Miami,” Woody said. “Or if any of those teams fall back Chicago could slip in there. It’s not just Milwaukee we’ve got our eyes on. But I haven’t given much thought to the playoffs. We are focused on the regular season.”
– The Raptors have become the anti-Bucks. They are reeling, losers of five straight and nine of 10. Assuming the Bulls get healthy at some point and that avoiding D Wade still is a good idea no matter what he’s got around him, the Raptors might now be the team everyone wants to see in the first round.
Raps coach Jay Triano might replace Jarrett Jack with Jose Calderon in the starting lineup tonight. Not that the Raptors think that’s the ticket. Calderon in the Toronto Star:
“It doesn’t matter who starts, it doesn’t matter who plays more minutes, we’ve got to win games. We’re upset because we’re losing games. We’re not upset because I’m not playing or I’m not starting or something like that. Let’s keep things simple: We’ve got to win, and everything else doesn’t matter.”
Here was the part in that story that should make the Hawks’ eyes get big: “(The Raptors) once again are being hammered on the defensive glass – Golden State had 18 offensive rebounds and Portland 19 in Toronto’s past two losses – and their transition defence is lead-footed.”
– The Hawks might be for sale.
MC
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565 comments Add your comment
MsDee
March 17th, 2010
3:56 pm
MC and northcyde,
The funny thing about the Curry and Teague comparison when it comes to Woodson is that WE WILL NEVER KNOW because Curry is there and Teague is here.
northcyde
March 17th, 2010
3:57 pm
No answer from MsDee about a coaching grade for Woody yet. I’ll be on and off the net at work, so I’ll check back for her grade for Woody.
MsDee
March 17th, 2010
4:05 pm
northcyde,
Both Curry and Ellis are “ballers” b/c they are playing for a coach who lets them be free to make mistakes and to improve. I also used Curry for an example, not to really compare the 2 cause I know he is much better than Teague, but I used him to show the diffence coaches can make on a player.
northcyde,
To answer your question, I would give Woodson a D in grade, simply b/c like I said b4, the team improved due to them, not woodson. The only reason he didnt get an F is because we are 3rd in the east..LOL!!
northcyde, I got a question for you. If Teague was with GS under coach Don Nelson, can you TRUELY say Teague would look and play the same???
cp
March 17th, 2010
4:25 pm
Improving your win total each year from 13 shoudlnt be hard if every year you add more talent and the young guys you do have develop… I think im going to stop talking about Teague. Anytime you say something positive or have any optimism for the youngster the same posters write titanagraphs about why he is so bad and why Woodson is so great…Hope we get a win tonight.
Lacsho
March 17th, 2010
4:28 pm
^^^^^^^^^^BINGO
Rod from College Park
March 17th, 2010
4:44 pm
northcyde,
“I believe Big Ray or Sautee asked was Marvin a baller?
My answer to that is NO . . . and I hate to say that about the kid. But I have to answer NO.
I say that because he’s way too content to play his role, instead of striving to do more. Even if he doesn’t get touches in the half court offense, he could at least be a better rebounder. He definitely helps the team on the defensive end, but it seems as if Marvin is content to be what he is . . a complimentary/glue guy. There’s nothing wrong with that. But “ballers” don’t settle for that status.”
Could mot have said it better. I’m not really that big on him defensively either. He has no chance against the top scorers at his position defensively (Granger, Melo, Durant, Lebron…), and Joe ends up trying to guard them.
One thing I will say about Woodson, and young players like Teague is that I have never seen more guys come into the league as above average to great jump shooters and end up being terrible. I am not a Woodson basher either. I watched Teague a lot while at Wake, and his jump shot was not that bad. His jump shot now looks totally broken. His form is terrible and it looks like he is pushing his shot. Something about Woodson and confidence for young guards does not work. Salim was every bit as good as Curry was in college offensively. They actually were very similar because Curry did not run alot of point either in college. AC Law was very clutch and rarely missed a wide open jump shot in college, but could do nothing in the pro’s. Teague destoyed most of the other point guards in the ACC including Lawson, but looks terrible in the pro’s. Just not sure what Woodson is telling these guys to make them not be able to hit a wide open jumpshot. Marvin can be put in this category as well. He at one time had a decent jump shot, where has it gone?
SWAT Native
March 17th, 2010
4:55 pm
Marcus, why don’t you reverse it? Don’t be [blank] whupped, whup that…
ant banks
March 17th, 2010
4:55 pm
the 3 yrs that i have been comin’ to this blogs has shown me that a majority of the people don’t know what in the h-e-l-l they are talkin’ about.
1.you wanted ac law to get more time. HE WAS GARBAGE.
2.you wanted to trade josh. HE IS OUR BEST PLAYER.
3.you wanted teague to start. HE AIN’T READY.
4.you say horford ain’t a center. HE WENT TO THE ALLSTAR IN HIS 3RD YR.
5.you wanted woody fired. WHY? HE HAS IMPROVED THE WINS/LOSS FOR 6YRS.
SHUT THE EFF UP AND LET WOODY AND SUND DO THEIR JOB!!
Y’ALL KEEP THE DRIVE-THRU LINE MOVIN’. LOL.
Link Report this comment
hahahah
March 17th, 2010
4:56 pm
At least your cover picture has Bibby playing defense while the freeloading center is waiting for a free rebound…
Is Mike Con & Ham an officer in the Bubba Crew? He certainly slants his stories and picks his pictures to do every thing but cover the lack of a center!
MsDee
March 17th, 2010
4:56 pm
Good point, Rod from College Park..I believe these guys are truly trying to be better ball players. We often hear how Marvin is the 1st one in the gym and the last one to leave working on his shoot. Acie was working hard in the gym as well. I remember reading in one of S. Smith blogs where Tony Delk and others mensioned how well Acie looked with his shots in warm-up practices and how all around he had improved, that he just needed some PT to show them off. I just dont understand Woodson and his philosity at all when it comes to rookies.
Dick Long
March 17th, 2010
5:02 pm
Its Woodson fault that Teague is a scrub and its woodson fault that Horford is 26th amongst NBA center in block shots and only picks up rebounds when some one else plays defense.
Hey con & ham, your boy teague will continue to sit on the pine no matter how much you whine!
Dick Long
March 17th, 2010
5:06 pm
If Woodson was the coach of , Cleveland, Boston, Orlando, Denver, Dallas , lakers or phoenix, hed easily win a championship. By the way, is that a world championship ring on his finger?
Astro Joe
March 17th, 2010
5:13 pm
This what draftexpress thought of Teague heading into the draft last summer. Check out panel on left side and read the situational analysis. I don’t think we’ve seen enough to validate/invalidate this write-up… just something fun to review now that he is getting so much discussion.
http://www.draftexpress.com/profile/Jeff-Teague-5293/
Astro Joe
March 17th, 2010
5:17 pm
And nbadraft.net’s review of Teague.
http://www.nbadraft.net/players/jeff-teague
Ken Strickland
March 17th, 2010
5:28 pm
It’s truely comical to hear WOODY LOVERS make sarcastic comments about people who complain about how their beloved WOODY mishandles rookie players, especially rookie PG’s. They make silly comments about expecting players like SStaudamire or ALaw to be Allstars. However, these same WOODY LOVERS have nothing to say about Woody’s love affair with an aging PG that’s regressed to the point everyone considers any gm in which he reaches double figure scoring a very good gm. I’ll bet any of you that if given the same consistent mins, support and encouragement Bibby has received from Woodson, ALaw, SStaudemire and JTeague could consistently give us better overall production than we’ve gotten from Bibby’s so far this yr, especially on DEF.
Najeh Davenpoop
March 17th, 2010
5:31 pm
MC, you can’t just link that video without giving us the story behind it. Come on, man!
Westurd
March 17th, 2010
5:37 pm
MC,
Give us a little background………This is fuuuuuunnnny. Bibster!
http://sports.yahoo.com/nba/blog/ball_dont_lie/post/Video-Don-t-touch-Mike-Bibby
Westurd
March 17th, 2010
5:40 pm
after you watch the link above, watch it again. At the end Bibby give Z the stick eye!
Wabe
March 17th, 2010
5:50 pm
CP said it best on last nights blog. The kid is still RAW. He’s not gonna THAW sitting on the bench. He you want to see his play pickup, then the kid actually has to PLAY.
northcyde
March 17th, 2010
6:02 pm
If Teague were at Golden St, he would’ve have to prove that he was a better option at PG than C.J. Watson, to get consistent playing time.
That’s essentially the problem Acie had. Acie had a dang good preseason, but Nellie’s crazy self was playing Acie at SF at times. They played a Curry – Ellis – Law lineup at times. But Nellie knew that once CJ came back from injury, that he would be the 3rd guard. Plus at that time, they had Stephen Jackson, a guy who could play both guard or forward.
*******
So for Teague to play in Golden St, he would essentially have to beat out C.J. Watson. LOL . . nah . . no way he does that. The ONLY reason why Teague may have gotten a little PT with the Warriors, is because of their injury situation. On some nights, G St could only dress 8 or 9 players.
If the Warriors didn’t have Curry, that would increase the chances of Teague playing. But it would depend on if Nellie went with a bigger 2 guard like Morrow to start alongside Ellis at the point . . . or if he went small, and started both Ellis and Watson at the guard spots.
All of the Warriors guards can at least make the mid-range jumper and get to the rim and score. Teague would have to prove he could do that, in order for Nellie to play him.
Professor Krumps
March 17th, 2010
6:05 pm
Ken Strickland youve and buddy love have never paid for all the bets youve lost! Why should we take you up on another bet. Teague is a wanna be, and hes right where he should be on the bench. Maybe we can trade him for a center. Get Jerry Buss on the phone, maybe we can trade him for Pau Gasol if he is as good as you say he is.
Leroy
March 17th, 2010
6:17 pm
Where do I sign up for the “I hate Woodson” club. Is this a hate Woodson blog-o-sphere?
I hate Woodson too, and would like very much to be a part of your guys.
Jeff Teague
March 17th, 2010
6:18 pm
Welcome brother!
Slam!
March 17th, 2010
6:53 pm
One would think that Woodson would know a thing or two about guards….. He wasnt as bad a player and the Bubba crew says he was and I can see for myself he is a terrific coach.
1981-82 23 NJN NBA 7 20.7 4.3 9.7 .441 0.0 0.1 .000 3.3 4.6 .719 0.7 1.1 1.9 2.3 1.0 0.3 1.3 3.0 11.9
1981-82 23 KCK NBA 76 74 28.8 6.7 13.2 .507 0.1 0.3 .292 2.6 3.3 .780 1.3 1.8 3.1 2.7 1.8 0.4 1.9 2.6 16.1
1982-83 24 KCK NBA 81 3 30.0 7.2 14.2 .506 0.1 0.4 .212 3.7 4.7 .790 1.0 2.0 3.1 3.1 1.7 0.7 2.1 2.5 18.2
1983-84 25 KCK NBA 71 12 25.9 5.5 11.5 .477 0.0 0.1 .250 3.5 4.3 .818 0.9 1.6 2.5 2.5 1.2 0.4 1.6 2.5 14.5
1984-85 26 KCK NBA 78 3 25.6 6.8 13.7 .496 0.1 0.3 .238 3.4 4.2 .800 0.9 1.7 2.5 1.8 1.5 0.4 1.8 2.8 17.0
1985-86 27 SAC NBA 81 51 29.8 6.3 13.2 .475 0.0 0.2 .154 3.0 3.6 .837 1.2 1.6 2.8 2.4 1.1 0.5 1.8 2.7 15.6
1986-87 28 LAC NBA 74 66 28.7 6.7 15.3 .437 0.5 1.7 .276 3.2 3.9 .828 0.9 1.3 2.2 2.6 1.4 0.2 2.3 2.7 17.1
1987-88 29 LAC NBA 80 77 31.7 7.0 15.8 .445 0.2 1.0 .231 3.7 4.3 .868 0.8 1.6 2.4 3.4 1.4 0.3 2.3 2.6 18.0
1988-89 30 HOU NBA 81 79 27.9 5.1 11.6 .438 0.4 1.1 .348 2.4 2.9 .823 0.6 1.8 2.4 2.5 1.1 0.2 1.7 2.4 12.9
Slam!
March 17th, 2010
6:54 pm
The last number on the short rows is his PPG ave in those years.
Lie detector
March 17th, 2010
6:57 pm
Ive watch Teague sense it got to the pros and I can tell you he is better suited for high school and college. He may not be pro material.
vava74
March 17th, 2010
7:00 pm
Don’t you find it odd that all rookie guards regressed as their careers progressed under Woody?
And that regression has eactly the same characteristics: progressive lack of confidence and shot worsening?
Teague has started his regression already: zero confidence and an awful shot when just a year ago his fearlessness was his “thing” and his shot pretty decent and one of the reasons why he was drafted…
Banks
March 17th, 2010
7:00 pm
Woody does not develop young players. I think he does the easy thing berate the young guy and destroy their confidence. He never praises Teague for good play but constantly yells at him for mistakes. How much in game teaching is Woody or his staff doing with this kid
Blast
March 17th, 2010
7:01 pm
Would be great if Spurs can deliver Magic a loss tonite!
Lie detector
March 17th, 2010
7:02 pm
Astro Joe How am I suppose to give credibility to your pre-draft analyst of Teague when they cant even agree on the dudes height. One says he 6′2″ the other says hes 6′0′. Yeah, and hes lights out from the 3 point line!
Dude, We have standards here……
LOL
vava74
March 17th, 2010
7:06 pm
I have a theory:
Back during the media day, Woody shot about 25 shots on camera.
He missed a grand goal of zero.
I think Woody kills the rookies’ confidence in their jump shots because he is still a terrific shooter and nails every single attempt he makes during practice and the rookies (and now Marvin) can’t match him!
Grandad
March 17th, 2010
7:10 pm
Sybil:
If Wdsn were the asst. coach on alot of teams, he may or may not have won a championship.
Fact: He’s never won one as a head coach.
vava74
March 17th, 2010
7:13 pm
Grandad,
TS/Sybill/… is not worried about stupid details like “accuracy of remarks”…
Blast
March 17th, 2010
7:14 pm
Great start, Hawks!
Melvin
March 17th, 2010
7:14 pm
7-0 start for the Hawks. Nice…
Melvin
March 17th, 2010
7:14 pm
I see Woody took Teague out of the starting line up after 1 game…LOL
Taylor
March 17th, 2010
7:17 pm
Marvin…
niremetal
March 17th, 2010
7:17 pm
Five missed layups in one sequence. Wow.
HawksFan11
March 17th, 2010
7:19 pm
Alley-opp to Bibby, it finally worked
Grandad
March 17th, 2010
7:19 pm
northcyde:
I agree, Marv is not a ‘baller’ to use your terminology.
Neither would Shane Battier, under the same definition.
Battier was drafted 6th if memory serves. Only 4 spots down from Marv.
He is considered a ‘valuable’ component on every team he’s ever played.
My point – one does not have to be a ‘baller’ to be an integral member
of a good team.
I’m not arguing your point, only observing a different perspective.
Taylor
March 17th, 2010
7:21 pm
Who didn’t see this coming?
Taylor
March 17th, 2010
7:22 pm
Marvin is such an embarrassment
HawksFan11
March 17th, 2010
7:22 pm
I’m about to get off the Teague bandwagon and get on Horford’s poor defensive efforts of late
VenomSpitter
March 17th, 2010
7:23 pm
Look at that great defense by Bibby
Melvin
March 17th, 2010
7:23 pm
Time for Jamal
Sautee
March 17th, 2010
7:23 pm
Taylor,
We’ve only played 6 minutes.
tyger
March 17th, 2010
7:24 pm
Falcoons Easy Button 1.0
1.19 Golden Tate, WR, ND
3.81 John Jerry, OL, Ole Miss
3.97 Jimmy Graham, TE, Mia
4. 115 Brandon Lang, DE/OLB, Troy
5. 130 Greg Hardy, DE, Ole Miss
5. 161 Danario Alexander, WR, Mizz
6. 163 Myron Lewis, CB, Vandy
6. 179 Clifton Geathers, DE, SC
o.O-Mac-Town -Macon, Georgia- Westsider-O.o
March 17th, 2010
7:24 pm
lol how did I know Marvin was gonna lose that ball after he snagged it first
Melvin
March 17th, 2010
7:24 pm
Too many jumpshots…
VenomSpitter
March 17th, 2010
7:25 pm
why thw hell are we shooting jumpers on the Raptors. They are terrible defensively. Go to the damn hole u idiots