Atlanta Hawks at 76ers: Making Progress
Time for me to be macro again. The Hawks won 47 games last season. Beat Philly tonight and they’ll have 47 victories with 10 to go. Any way you look at it at right now, barring a complete and total collapse down the stretch that’s progress.
“Right now” is the hedge, of course, because it means more if the regular season leads to something better and not as much if it ends up going nowhere. But it’s something for now, and Woody deserves a moment to say he’s glad to see it.
“I am very, very proud,” he said. “I couldn’t be more pleased with a basketball team, considering where we started and I knew we would struggle because we were 18 and 19-year old kids trying to play a man’s game. And we grew. Ownership was patient, they let me and my staff continue to teach a system I believe in and now we see the benefits.”
Woody said matching last season’s victory total isn’t enough. Winning the division would be something to talk about. That’s likely not going to happen so the Hawks will have to put up 50 wins and take the next step in the postseason.
“Our goal was to win 50-plus games and win the division,” Woody said. “We are not outside of the realm of winning the division. Like I’ve been saying, Orlando is playing great we are probably going to have to win out and they are going to have to fall on their face for that to happen. But the goal is to still try to win our division, and in doing that win 50-plus games.”
A reporter actually asked Woody how would he prevent the Hawks from becoming complacent. Shoot, I can’t see how that would be a problem for the Hawks.
For one, the goal should be winning a championship and they haven’t come close to that. They also haven’t shown they are on the same level as the Cavs, Magic and Celtics.
“We haven’t done anything,” Woody said. “Last year we made a positive step based on two years ago when took Celtics to seven. Then we were able to host homecourt last season and win a first-round series. The next step to me is winning the division and getting to the Eastern Conference finals.
“So we haven’t done anything. Orlando, they have done something. Cleveland, they have the best record in the league the last two years. We still have a ways to go, man. We are still trying to learn to win at a high level, and as a coach I’ve got to continue to try to push them.”
– Woody’s message to the team at the shootaround was about finishing games strong. As noted in another nice piece by Ken S. the Hawks are having issues with that. They are “sloppy in that area,” Woody said, and “get so comfortable” with leads late. The Sixers, who are missing South Gwinnett High’s Lou Williams (back), should offer the Hawks a chance to see if they can keep a foe down once they get them there.
MC
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330 comments Add your comment
Taylor
March 26th, 2010
8:46 pm
pitiful
Melvin
March 26th, 2010
8:46 pm
WTF is Marvin doing???
bigdave
March 26th, 2010
8:46 pm
wow.. that was nice..
VenomSpitter
March 26th, 2010
8:46 pm
Iguodala just schooled the hawks DAMNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNN
J.J.M.
March 26th, 2010
8:46 pm
please bench crawford
VenomSpitter
March 26th, 2010
8:47 pm
Another Nail Bitter. Man I’m gettin sick of these.
VenomSpitter
March 26th, 2010
8:47 pm
Marvin box out u duck azz punk
J.J.M.
March 26th, 2010
8:47 pm
man hawks dont even deserve to win
Taylor
March 26th, 2010
8:48 pm
Hawks going to lose this one. bye bye 4th seed
Hawk n the Ham
March 26th, 2010
8:48 pm
Bout time to pull out the secret weapon…….
SUPER MARIO!!!!
Big Ray
March 26th, 2010
8:49 pm
Andre Iguodala is gonna get a triple double. And we’re gonna gift package it to him.
Melvin
March 26th, 2010
8:49 pm
Take Marvin out…
o.O-Mac-Town -Macon, Georgia- Westsider-O.o
March 26th, 2010
8:49 pm
Well, this IS Hawks basketball. They get a big win and HUGE monkey off their back by beating ORL. They get the hopes of fans very high, then come out with an effort like this against a VERY subpar Sixers team.
cwm
March 26th, 2010
8:49 pm
WHAT TIME IS THE HAWKS INDIANA GAME HAS THE TIME CHANGED FROM 3:30 PM TO 7PM THX
Jody
March 26th, 2010
8:50 pm
Josh is working hard right now, but he’s going to need the other guys to pick it up.
Big Ray
March 26th, 2010
8:50 pm
At this point, I’d rather see West or Teague in there than Crawford. His shot selection sucks, he isn’t playing any kind of defense, and he’s turned the ball over 4 times already.
VenomSpitter
March 26th, 2010
8:51 pm
Osh Smith with the Jumper
sam'l
March 26th, 2010
8:51 pm
“A reporter actually asked Woody how would he prevent the Hawks from becoming complacent. Shoot, I can’t see how that would be a problem for the Hawks”
It be a problem..
o.O-Mac-Town -Macon, Georgia- Westsider-O.o
March 26th, 2010
8:51 pm
d4mn I heard that brick.
bigdave
March 26th, 2010
8:51 pm
Ray have 3 guys ever had a triple double in one game…?
Josh and Joe are flirting as well…
bigdave
March 26th, 2010
8:52 pm
take that back.. on Josh..
VenomSpitter
March 26th, 2010
8:52 pm
Osh Shut the f*ck up.
Melvin
March 26th, 2010
8:52 pm
This is new. Hawks having a meltdown in the 3rd qtr….
Big Ray
March 26th, 2010
8:52 pm
Call it how you like, but JJ is the only one passing the ball effectively in this game for the Hawks.
I guess that explains how a team with a rookie at the point has far more assists tonight than we do…
J.J.M.
March 26th, 2010
8:53 pm
Josh Smith “come on ref did you see that game winning dunk I had..you have to let me get away with everything”
Big Ray
March 26th, 2010
8:53 pm
bigdave ,
Won’t matter a hill of beans if we lose this. MC says Woody has kept this team focused. I’m not sure where he got that idea…
Sam'l
March 26th, 2010
8:54 pm
So how will Woody prevent this from happening? Stay tuned to the fourth quarter.
VenomSpitter
March 26th, 2010
8:54 pm
Get ready for an Iso Party and I guess only Joe is gonna be invited LOL
Jody
March 26th, 2010
8:54 pm
Haywood Workman is a ref tonight. We should be worried because it seems he tries to screw the Hawks every time.
Big Ray
March 26th, 2010
8:57 pm
Smith beginning to put some real work in, finally. Gonna need some help, though. I hope JJ can come through. He’s been rather quiet.
o.O-Mac-Town -Macon, Georgia- Westsider-O.o
March 26th, 2010
9:00 pm
Phila. bailed us out…Marvin didnt kno what he was about to do.
Big Ray
March 26th, 2010
9:00 pm
I’m not gonna blame it all on Woody. These guys aren’t playing like they want to win. Or rather, enough of them aren’t playing like they want to win, all at the same time. One will play hard, then another will play hard, but not together.
I have this to say: I think that barring a playoff collapse of disastrous proportions, Woody will get an extension.
On the flip side of that coin, more succesful coaches have been fired after successive winning seasons because they couldn’t get the team past a certain point. Consecutive 50 win seasons (or thereabouts) weren’t enough to keep Flip Saunders employed in Detroit, and that’s a fact.
But that bridge can’t be crossed until we get there…
northcyde
March 26th, 2010
9:00 pm
These are the Hawks . . and how they play on the road. No surprise to this game so far.
Question is . . . when JJ tries to take over from a scoring standpoint, will the fans moan and groan because he’s not passing anymore?
Great job by Smoove to close the quarter. And he’s still ballin.
Another clank by Craw . . he’s ice cold.
JJ with only 8 shots. But this is how some of you like him to play.
Big Ray
March 26th, 2010
9:01 pm
In the meantime, the lack of focus is aggravating. Don’t think there won’t be roster changes at some point. Couldn’t tell ya when, though..
Melvin
March 26th, 2010
9:03 pm
Other teams rookies can play well against the Hawks but the Hawks can’t find any mins for their rookie…. SMDH
Big Ray
March 26th, 2010
9:03 pm
Northcyde ,
Could care less what anybody else thinks. Joe has passed the ball while his shot isn’t falling, but when your best player and team captain sees how things are going into the 4th quarter, he knows what he needs to do.
I expect him to try and take over, and if he can’t hit the shots, then find ways to get to the line. Failing that, make the passes in between. I’d go to Al first, Josh second, and try to feed Bibby for open looks.
But it’s also on his teammates to do things like set screens and make hard cuts. If they don’t, it won’t matter how Joe plays. We’ll just lose.
Big Ray
March 26th, 2010
9:04 pm
Check that…got to Smoove first as he has the hot hand and is hitting his free throws. Go to Al second, or if the opportunity presents itself, as we could use more than one hot hand right about now.
Taylor
March 26th, 2010
9:05 pm
Horford GO UP
Big Ray
March 26th, 2010
9:05 pm
Of course, it won’t matter who does what on offense, if we don’t PLAY SOME DAMN DEFENSE!!!!!
VenomSpitter
March 26th, 2010
9:05 pm
Man nobody is even talkin about JJ. Stop being paranoid LOL
o.O-Mac-Town -Macon, Georgia- Westsider-O.o
March 26th, 2010
9:06 pm
waaaaay too easy
VenomSpitter
March 26th, 2010
9:06 pm
and that laomment was to Northcyde
VenomSpitter
March 26th, 2010
9:06 pm
last comment*
bigdave
March 26th, 2010
9:06 pm
Ray..
i question that as well… we’ll see…
Hawk n the Ham
March 26th, 2010
9:07 pm
Tenn/Ohio St, 1 point game….12 seconds left.
Big Ray
March 26th, 2010
9:08 pm
Jrue Holiday and Andre Iguodala have more assists between them than does our entire team.
Holiday has some potential, but I’m tired of watching other teams’ point guards give us hell, even when they’re not shooting well.
o.O-Mac-Town -Macon, Georgia- Westsider-O.o
March 26th, 2010
9:08 pm
you have to feel sorry for Phila.
VenomSpitter
March 26th, 2010
9:09 pm
And Osh Smith over dribbling. He still hasn’t figured out he’s not a PG
Hawks vs. 76ers
March 26th, 2010
9:09 pm
Hawks seem to play up (or down to their competition). Spurs and Magic? Hard fought wins! Toronto and Philly? sluggish losses or, if lucky, tough come from behind win.
O'Brien
March 26th, 2010
9:10 pm
Samuel,
The Hawks won 47 games last year. They added the SMOY Crawford, and they have been the healthiest team all year. And you think Woody is COY? I doubt if he finishes in the top 5.
It would be nice to see the Hawks go on a run.
And that is why Josh HAS to give the ball up sometimes. i dont care how good of a passer he is, he has to know when to give it up on the break like that.