Atlanta Hawks: Fewer Worries?
Three weeks and nine games until the regular season ends and the Hawks still have issues. But there also are a couple things you might have worried about a few weeks back that look more promising now.
First, though, the issues. Every team headed for the playoffs has them, of course, but the Hawks have more things to worry about than Cleveland and Orlando and maybe even Boston. Tops among them is that the defense just hasn’t gotten any better, ranking in the middle of the pack and threatening to finish at or near its pecking order in 2007-08.
Notice that Orlando, Boston and Cleveland are all significantly better defensively than the Hawks. Also note that potential first-round opponents Charlotte, Milwaukee and Miami are also better at getting stops. I’m still looking for evidence of the Hawks’ defensive disposition that I heard about before I arrived. I’ve simply not seen anything like the singleminded, obsessive defensive culture I witnessed with Pat Riley’s Heat. Now that I’ve been around for a decent minute I eventually plan to blog on why I think that might be and, no, that theory will not consist of “Woody sucks” with a period.
The Hawks likely are going to have to be much better defensively in the playoffs if they want to get through to the East finals. If you want to be optimistic and say they will get better at it, here are two issues you might have been gnashing your teeth over at one point that now look to be positives (at least to me).
Bibby might yet give the Hawks a lift. (Curtis Compton/ccompton@ajc.com)
Bibby is better
Have you noticed something different about Bibby?
“He’s had a little bit more bounce in his step and he’s been a lot more active,” J.J. said. “That makes us a deadlier team. I’m glad he’s been real amped up here at the end of the season.”
Look, I get the love for Rook’, particularly those who don’t necessarily want him to supplant Bibby but merely supplement him as a situational defender/pace pusher/drive-to-the-bucketer. But can’t we at least agree that even if Teague got more chances to do those things, it’s still more important for the Hawks that Bibby be Bibby?
Remember, the Kings won 61 games and went to the Western Conference finals (where they got jobbed) only after they got Bibby. I’m not saying he’s still that player, of course, but the guy has played in 69 playoff games. He wants to win. He knows how to do it.
Yes, Bibby can be a liability on defense even with the switches. That’s not going to get better at this point. At least Woody gives him the hook when it becomes too hard to hide him. But Bibby has been and can be a great asset in the playoffs with his spot-up shooting, leadership, vet savvy and a good sense of how to keep his teammates happy and involved. He’s more assertive and consistent now.
“I know coach cut my time down but I figure when I am out there I need to, as best I can, get aggressive,” he said. “I think it makes it easier on everyone else if I get involved and make things happen for myself and the team.”
This is good.
The bench is better
Whether your complaint was that Woody didn’t use his reserves enough, didn’t use them correctly during the flow of the game, that the bench guys weren’t producing when he did give him a shot or all of the above. . . lately those concerns should have subsided if not retreated.
Mo’s minutes are up in March. So are Zaza’s. Even Teague’s minutes have managed to pretty much hold steady even as the playoffs approach. Joe Smith might be another matter but, hey, everybody can’t play.
The reserves are playing consistently now, and Woody has said all along he would use his them more if that happened. For a while it seemed to be a chicken-and-egg deal with “minutes” as the chicken and “production” as the egg with some circular logic taking hold. But now the chicken and egg appear to be in harmony and–behold!–a rotation with defined roles and expectations has been born.
The development has helped to create cohesion and chemistry with the reserves. The starters, too, seem to get energized by watching the subs do their thang from the bench.
“The talk with the second unit is to have fun,” Zaza said. “If you are paying attention, you see after every made bucket it is high-fives. We really don’t care who is going to score. We all know Jamal is the go-to guy (but) we share the ball. We try to have fun. If we make mistake, we just keep playing and bring the energy. As a team, we benefit for that.”
This, too, is good.
MC
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127 comments Add your comment
Grandad
March 30th, 2010
12:31 am
northcyde:
They have a wgt. rm. @ Miss. St.
You don’t think, Rick has tried for 4 yrs.
to put some meat on his bones.
Some young men are predisposed to be skinny.
I like Jarvis if he’s there in the 2nd round.
Chism, can’t play. Sorry. Poor man’s Sean May.
Just an opinion:
Mine’s no better than your’s.
Hopefully Udoh will fall in our lap.
I enjoy discussing draft.
Don’t get pissed ’cause I rattle off sometimes.
Sybil is back
March 30th, 2010
1:06 am
Joe mama
I will not be reading your “bubba crew” like hater aid article in the future Mike con&ham. NO, I did not read this one either, I scanned.
If you really want to impress us, stop reading AND stop posting.
O'Brien
March 30th, 2010
7:39 am
northcyde,
I like Varnado too, but I always thought of him as a second rounder (I was surprised when Blair did not get drafted in the first round). I checked nbadraft.net, and I didn’t realize they have Varnado projected to go #32.
That’s not far from #25 where the Hawks pick so maybe he could be a first round option after all. FWIW, They currently have the the Hawks drafting 6′10″ 235 PF Larry Sanders from VCU (with 7′7″ wingspan).
However, I prefer Varnado becuase he is a senior, and he’s played in the SEC. Another PF who might fall is Lawal from GT (if he comes out).
Grandad,
Let me ask it this way. If Marvin was a free agent right now, which of those teams would offer him a 4 year, $7.5 mil per year contract? Now as much as I bash Marvin, I am a Hawks fan first, so I hope he steps it up in the playoffs, because he could be a huge lift for us.
After winning in Boston the night before, the Spurs lost to NJ on the road. I would imagine that their fans are going crazy right now. I know if it was the Hawks who lost to the Nets this late in the season, we would be all over them lol.
JeJe
March 30th, 2010
8:08 am
Watch Marvin’s interviews — listen to the rumors –> The guy does not want to be a star in this league. He is content with being average. He has no fire in his personality/game –> He doesn’t want the ball down the stretch. He doesn’t want plays run for him. He’s frail/awkward. He is not strong…He’s not a good defender….
he is the worst starting SF in the NBA, and Bibby is probably a bottom 5 starting PG
GeeMack
March 30th, 2010
8:26 am
MC,
Good article. My biggest problem with Hawks fans, is they think a coach that leads a team to 50 win should be fired. Eventhough helped the team get better than the year before.
GeeMack
March 30th, 2010
8:32 am
Grandad,
What qualities does Tom Izzo posess that would make him a better coach than Woody?
GeeMack
March 30th, 2010
8:38 am
What is the Bubba Crew?
Daniel
March 30th, 2010
8:38 am
what’s up everybody!!! I have been unable to blog for a couple of weeks, but it is good to be back. I see not much has changed here. MC- I have noticed improved play from Bibby as well and it is important to point that out.
As far as defense goes, I think the team’s first quarter effort has been the biggest issue. I mean Indy had what 33 in the first? The lack of intensity is the biggest issue, but we saw them focused from the gate against Orlando so we know this team CAN play stiffling D, they just drift too often. This has been my main problem with the team all season (we would be much closer to Orlando if we played with more effort consistently), but that is too late now. Can and Will they turn it on in the playoffs? I certainly hope so. If they do…. look for a ECF appearance.
Daniel
March 30th, 2010
8:41 am
Gee- Bubba Crew= anyone who disagrees with truth-serum or one of his other names.
JeJe
March 30th, 2010
8:46 am
GeeMack,
You obviously did not see Carlisle get fired in Detroit
JeJe
March 30th, 2010
9:02 am
Marvin doesn’t need a sports psychologist.
He doesn’t want to be good. Listen to him talk. Watch him play. The guy doesn’t want to win
GeeMack
March 30th, 2010
9:12 am
JeJe
I did, but his firing wasn’t legit. They fired him, brought in Larry Brown, and still had to get Rasheed Wallace to get better. Again you don’t fire a coach when the team is getting better. The Hawks are better than a year ago.
ILL-logical
March 30th, 2010
9:41 am
A theory on defensive intensity regarding the first quarter performance of the Atlantaa Hawks basketball team:
The starters know that over the last two seasons had to log major minutes because of the lack of bench participation,therefore they attempt to pace themselves for the game /season.The issue is most acute in the case of PF Josh Smith who is the only Hawk that offers any shotblocking skill. In addition to guarding his man he has to roam the paint to protect it from the advances of penetrating guards who are constantly slipping through the porous defence of the Hawk’s guards/ escourted to the basket by mojor domos ZaZa and Marvin.
While this weakness has been noted by several of the team’s opposing coaches, to date, very little has been done to address the situation on the part of the Hawks.
Daniel
March 30th, 2010
9:53 am
Interesting theory Ill, except that by allowing poor teams to hang around and/or have a lead. The starters log MORE minutes, end up expending MORE energy in the end. So, if they actually are thoughtfully “pacing” themselves, then they are using poor logic. Plus, the starters don’t log more minutes than average and they are one of the younger teams in the league. So, that is a pretty weak excuse, to me.
GeeMack
March 30th, 2010
10:13 am
ILL-logical
With all the losing the guys on this roseter has experienced. Playing with intensity should be an afterthought.
I expect a lack of intensity from teams like the 2010 Lakers or the 2008 Spurs. Why? Because after winning a title the focus is just not there.
The Hawks have so much to prove they have no room to lack intensity defensively or offensively.
Hawk n the Ham
March 30th, 2010
10:27 am
Bibby better be careful how much he starts shooting 3s if he has found his stroke. Last time Bibby got on a roll, Nique screamed “HEAT CHECK!”, and they turned on the fire alarm at Phillips. Careful Nique, careful.
Ken Strickland
March 30th, 2010
10:33 am
Woodson is a creature of habit, and when things become intense, like in the playoffs, he tends to get too involved with the officials if something is going wrong and doesn’t do much coaching. He just rides the backs of his starters and lets the chips fall where they may, then blames the players for lack of effort, DEF, or both if we lose.
We all know he’s going to stick with his beloved switching DEF, and teams are going to target Bibby, Crawford, Smoove and Horford when they end up in unfavorable matchups. Has anyone else noticed how teams never involve JJ or Marvin in their pick and rolls, or try to take advantage of any matchups involving them? That’s because they’re both good enough defensively to effectively guard most players, which is why Woody insists on playing Marvin extended mins even if he’s not producing offensively. During the playoffs, Woodson has got to keep his butt on the bench more and study the gm, instead of focusing on his players and the refs.
He has to watch what the other team is doing and then counter, instead of continuously barking at the refs and his players for not being able to overcome disadvantagous situations created by him. He just can’t continue forcing his players to continue playing his beloved switching DEF when the opposition is successfully exploiting it, like he’s done continuously during the regular season.
During the playoffs, DEF becomes an absolute necessity and Woodson has to limit our DEF liabilities, which means less switching DEF, less Bibby and more Teague, in certain situations. When we have a lead coming down the stretch, we need more DEF instead of OFF, which means we need Teagues DEF ability more than we need Bibby’s 3pt shooting ability. Our OFF hasn’t been the cause of us giving up leads. The lack of effective DEF has been the culprit, AND JTEAGUE, NOT MBIBBY, GIVES US THE DEF WE NEED AT PG.
Woodson has got to overcome his biased ignorance toward Teague, and rookie PG’s in general, if we’re going to have a successful playoff run. He just can’t allow his stupid, stubborn idea of what Teague doesn’t do well to continue preventing him from taking full advantage of what he does do well, while hurting the team by playing Bibby extended mins and ignoring the things he doesn’t do well.
Most NBA HC’s could lead this team to the playoffs and a winning record. Woodson’s fate as our HC shouldn’t be determined by his performance during the regular season, but during the playoffs, when overall coaching ability is at a premium. He certainly hasn’t done anything during the regular season with any degree of consistency to indicate he’s up to the task.
I CERTAINLY HOPE A LIGHT COMES ON IN HIS STUBBORN HEAD AND HE TAKES CHARGE OF THIS TEAM AND HIS OVERALL COACHING RESPONSIBILITIES AND LEADS IT TO THE EASTERN CONFERENCE FINALS, AT THE VERY LEAST. GO HAWKS!!!!!!!
ILL-logical
March 30th, 2010
10:39 am
@Daniel: Just a theory but I agree that this lack of intensity doesn’t make sense in the context of the stated goal to “do something special” this year.
@GeeMack:again, I agree that there should be more not less focus but the fact remains that there is a noted lack of focus.
A thought: maybe there are competing agendas on the team; Joe wants a new contract and maybe a different address; Al wants to get more touches to continue his All Star status; Marvin-who knows what his thought proces is/ My point is that for whatever the reason , a self proclaimed defensive team, coached by an avowed defensive coach is not playing consistently good defense at a critical juncture of the season. and ,for me, that is a concern.
Thanks for sharing your thoughts on the matter.
MsDee
March 30th, 2010
10:41 am
I notice sometimes that Woody would sub Mario for Crawford during DEF times and put Crawford back in during OFF times…why not do the same for Bibby and Teague. For DEF put Teague in and for OFF put Bibby back in.
northcyde
March 30th, 2010
11:01 am
GeeMack . . . school em man.
People forget that Detroit was nowhere near a championship squad simply because they brought Brown in. It wasn’t until they brought in Sheed, that the Pistons really took off. The defensive presence he brought to that team put them over the top.
And the difference with Woody, is that people around here would can Woody, and even replace him with an unproven assistant coach, if it came to that.
Hawks need to win 53 games to be the 4th winningest Hawk team in Atlanta history ( not counting St. Louis ). People around here act like we have some long storied history of excellence around here.
Just think, people will call for Woody’s head, if he doesn’t achieve something that no other coach in Atlanta Hawk history has accomplished . . . and that is get to the Eastern Cnference Finals.
T.C
March 30th, 2010
11:19 am
Bibby amped up? i don’t see that one bit.Bibby don’t have DEFENCE and he is very inconsistant,one game he’s on three games he sucks,two games he’s on,5 games he sucks.I would have traded him(bibby)and marvin williams and got a real point guard in return and let evans play marvins role.
O'Brien
March 30th, 2010
11:33 am
northcyde,
I can only speak for myself, but what I am looking for from the Hawks and Woody, is no matter who we play in the second round, we need to be competitive (we were not competitive against the Cavs last year). It would be nice if we dont get blown out, but the important thing to me is that we win at least 2 games in the second round.
Ken S,
Another defensive quality that Teague does not get enough credit for is his ability to chase down a player from behind (for example, the block/foul on Granger). So instead of giving up a layup/dunk, the other team might have to earn it at the line, or Teague might even get a block.
But our offense has cost us games too. There have been 13 games ( or 14) where we have scored 19 points or less in the fourth quarter. Our record in those games is 2-11. (In my head, I remember Woody saying “we can’t control our record”. When was that, season 1 or 2?).
But the common denominator when that happens is our offense goes stagnant, no ball movement, and lots of ISOs.
Our defense and fourth quarter offensive execution will our 2 biggest challenges in the playoffs.
GeeMack
March 30th, 2010
11:35 am
Ken Strickland
Quit trying to diminish Woody’s contribution to this franchise by saying “any head coach could coach this team to a winning record and the playoffs”.
If you make that statement then;
any HC could have coached the Laker to the title last year.
Any HC coach could have won 6 rings with Mike, Scottie, & Rodman or Grant.
Any HC could have repeated with Magic Kareem & Worthy.
Any HC could have won 3 titles with Bird McHale & Parish.
Rick Carlise could have taken that 04 Piston team to a title if he had Rasheed Wallace the year before, instead Danny Manning, Cliff Robinson & Corliss Williamson.
Daniel
March 30th, 2010
11:36 am
Ill- we are on the same page about defensive intensity. I have wondered about wherer Joe’s head is at sometimes.
I wonder if the team as a whole know who they are and what they want to accomplish.
Is this sort of on/off stuff just end of the season (every team goes through) kind of stuff? That question will be answered in the playoffs, but these next two games will help. I mean if you can’t shake off the cobwebs for the Lakers and the Cavs, then… well.
As an optimist, I think we will turn it back on in the playoffs. We know this team can be stifling defensively, just look at the Orlando game. I have no specific reason to back up that assertion beyond hope and fandom.
Daniel
March 30th, 2010
11:40 am
Gee: Let me help you out here. According to Ken (and others): all bad elements of the a team and losses are directly attributed to the head coach; all positive aspcets of a team (ie player development, wins, all star appearances, etc.) are due soley to the individual talent of a player in spite of the coach.
Every thing he post, no matter how much it gets dressed up in other terms boils down to that opinion.
GeeMack
March 30th, 2010
11:43 am
ILL-logical,
I agree.
I thinks there are hidden personal agenda’s, but you overcome hidden personal agenda’s by having a title as your team goal ie Shaq & Kobe.
However sometimes that won’t stop the personal agendas.
My thought is once Josh becomes the vocal leader of this team he can get them to place defense the way Woody likes even with JJ on the team.
Base Rater
March 30th, 2010
11:46 am
Grandad
March 29th, 2010
8:59 pm
Joe Mama/Sybil/Truth Serum:
In all seriousness & with all due respect;
[other than his percieved lack of shot blocking(in your eyes)]
what is it about Al that causes you to loathe him so vehemently.
granddad he hates Horfrod because he’s Hispanic. That simple. Lots of Asian guys I know hate Hispanics.
vava74
March 30th, 2010
11:53 am
Grandad,
Thanks for the props on the previous blog.
On Tom Izzo:
I only saw a Michigan State’s game around 3 weeks ago and I did not particularly liked what I saw from a player movement / set plays point of view, however, it wasn’t a good enough sample to know if Izzo has the tools to be a HC in the pros or not.
I also did not get a feeling on how he manages his players, however, I follow Charley Rosen’s column @ foxsports closely and he constantly puts college coaches in perspective:
basically he says that college coaches benefit from the fact that college players need their coaches – to “like” them and to play them and consequently have to obey and withstand abuse to accomplish that – whilst pro players earn more money that the coaches and sometimes “have to play” due to orders from above which means that they don’t particularly need the HC (it has been said by many, including one of the best coaches – Chuck Daly – that the NBA is a players’ league).
This means that the typical college coaching style: shouting and abusing players establishing authority does not translate well into the pros.
I believe that there are many examples of successful college coaches that failed miserably in the pros and only a few examples of the contrary.
GeeMack
March 30th, 2010
12:15 pm
O’Brien
I’m with you be competative in the playoffs win the homes and make the away games tough and still one if you can.
Wabe
March 30th, 2010
12:47 pm
Nothing wrong with Bibby being Bibby. It’s important we get him going as we near the playoffs. But, that shouldn’t mean we phase the rookie out of the picture. Look at all the other rookie guards on winning teams that are actually getting PT.
It’s important for Chauncey to be Chauncey as they get to the playoffs, but that hasn’t stopped George Karl from getting meaningful minutes to Tye Lawson.
Simple question, if Lawson fell one more pick to the Hawks, would Woody have anymore confidence in him than he does JT0?
I say no, and that’s what bugs me. It doesn’t matter if the kid is ready or not, because that’s not what’s important to Woody. JT0 has shown flashes and has demonstrated the ability to do some good things for us on the floor, yet we fail to utilize him.
It’s never been about whether JT0 is ready for meaningful minutes, it’s always been about whether Woody’s ready to see him get him in there. And it’s obvious based on his minute totals this season that Woody’s not ready.
Understand that the bar has been pretty low all year, and JT0 hasn’t had the opportunity to jump over it because he’s being held back.
GeeMack
March 30th, 2010
1:03 pm
Grandad,
Tom Izzo would send this team backwards. If you gone think about firing Woody bring in a coach with a proven track record.
Wabe
March 30th, 2010
1:23 pm
Tom Izzo is a great college coach. Great college coaches doesn’t necessarily mean he’ll be successful in the pro-ranks.
And Tom Izzo’s the type of head coach that gets his recruits to commit for FOUR YEARS. Nobody from the Spartans ever jump into the NBA. They usually stay for the entire four years. So, I doubt Izzo would have his recruits commit to MICH.ST. for 4 years and then bail on them. He doesn’t seem like that kinda guy.
J.J.M.
March 30th, 2010
1:40 pm
rumors hawks will trade for devin harris
GeeMack
March 30th, 2010
1:59 pm
Great reads today.
Mike is Back
March 30th, 2010
2:01 pm
Northcyde, Ditto on your March 30th, 2010 11:01 am on Woody…the Hawks are on pace to reach the 50 games plateau…and there are still guys like Ken that insist that Woody does not have a clue. Which is odd…since Ken is an old school Hawks fan. Surely, he remembers the not to distance past when the topic always revolved around…whom we would get in the lottery.
Woody may never be all that we want him to be…but clearly, he is nowhere near as bad as some make him out to be.
GeeMack
March 30th, 2010
2:02 pm
J.J.M.
No trades can be made right now, and the offseason don’t begin until July. That’s a bad rumor.
Sautee
March 30th, 2010
2:14 pm
Michael Cunningham,
You will appreciate this after changing the blog title:
Every year at some point during football season, Mrs. Sautee will hear the name Les Miles and with tongue firmly in cheek will ask “shouldn’t that be Fewer Miles?”
GeeMack
March 30th, 2010
2:30 pm
There are only 2 time a year I cheer against the Lakers, and tomorrow night is one of them. The other was earlier in the year against the Hawks.
O'Brien
March 30th, 2010
3:02 pm
I think someone like Chills would be a fit for Woody’s switching. And he could bring the ball up too (does anyone want to see Marvin dribbling up court?).
Anyways, there is an article about Josh Childress thats floating around today (and MB had a blog up about it). He has to let his Greek team know by July 15 if he is opting out of his contract.
Although I would like to see the Hawks sign him, (or sign and trade him), I think he stays in Greece. I think he likes it over there, and I think he will try to play the waiting game with Rick Sund one more year.
The bad thing is, I think Rick Sund will be content to play the waiting game again. Another issue, is by July 15, I doubt if JJ will be signed by then. So Rick will not know how much money he has available, or what all his options are.
GeeMack
March 30th, 2010
3:20 pm
O’Brien
We need to let Chills go. He was good when he was here, but the team has gotten better without him. He overestimated his value and got called on the carpet. Stay oversees Chills.
Melvin
March 30th, 2010
3:55 pm
GeeMack,
If Chills stay over season then it will be the Hawks lost b/c they would not have gotten any value back from a former lottery pick.
Rod from College Park
March 30th, 2010
4:10 pm
Geemack,
But imagine where the team would be with him. We would be in a much better spot than we are now. Chills is a much better fit on both sides of the ball because he can penetrate and finish, and he can defend the 1 the 2 and the 3. Marvin was kept because THEY thought he was a shooter, which would have spaced the floor, but obviosly THEY were wrong. Chills only wanted a fair contract, but the bs games the Hawks play with who starts and who comes of the bench is what caused the big riff. Jamal Crawford will see this when he tries to get another deal. Chills new he was a better player than Marvin, which was probably proved in practice, and was definately proved on the court, but the Hawks tried to treat him like a bench player. Good for him. I would not come back to the Hawks if I were him unless you offered me a better deal than Marvin.
GeeMack
March 30th, 2010
4:12 pm
Melvin
He’s a lottery pick in number only. He’s surely not lottery pick talent. The Hawks are the only team that use lottery picks to fill out the bench (Chills & Marvin). Marvin a very good 6th man not a starter.
KevinA
March 30th, 2010
4:15 pm
Bibby playing better? I don’t see it. Seems to me our trouble on defense starts with him. Teague or Evans are better options.
Al has better hot. I still don’t see why Woody dosen’t play ZaZa more and Al at the 4 more. Josh at the 3 some? Why not. Give it a rip. Anything to keep Bibby off the floor.
GeeMack
March 30th, 2010
4:27 pm
Rod from College Park
I’ve never been impressed with Chills at all. He was good at what he did, but picked at number 6, I expected alot more than what he gave us.
smh
March 30th, 2010
4:35 pm
The constant riding of Woodsons lap by some on here is getting disgusting. I’m sick of people bringing up how we win more games every year. Seriously how hard is it to improve your win total from 13 when you add all star talent and the guys you draft turn into all stars? 50 wins means absolutely nothing if the Hawks look terrible in the playoffs once again. They don’t give out awards and trophies for regular season wins. How exactly is this team so much better than last year? They have been relatively healthy all year and wont probably win more than a few more games than last year although they added a guy like Jamal and the only big injury was Joe Smith.
smh
March 30th, 2010
4:36 pm
Chills>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>Marvin.
The Truth
March 30th, 2010
4:39 pm
Posted on the previous blog:
The Hawks checkered trade and draft past:
In 1993, The Hawks traded Dominique Wilkins, who remains the franchise all-time leading scorer, for Danny Manning, who quickly left via free agency to Phoenix after the season ended.
In 1999, the Hawks traded Steve Smith who had recently been awarded the J. Walter Kennedy Citizenship Award for his charitable endeavors to Portland for (pot smoking) Isaiah Rider and Jim Jackson. When Rider showed up late for a March game, the Hawks released him. The Hawks later traded Jackson away the following season.
In 2001, the Hawks drafted Spanish star Pau Gasol 3rd , but his rights were ceded to the Memphis Grizzlies in a trade involving Shareef Abdur-Rahim. In 2008 Gasol was traded to the Lakers. He was the second best Lakers in points (16.9), rebounds (9.3) and assists per game (4.0). He also led the team in blocks per game (1.90) and was tied with Lamar Odom with the most postseason double-doubles. Gasol then won his first NBA championship ring when the Lakers defeated the Orlando Magic in the 2009 NBA Finals.
In 2004 the Hawks traded Jason Terry (their 1st round pick), Alan Henderson, and a future 1st round pick to the Mavericks for Antoine Walker, and Tony Delk. In 2006, Terry helped his team advance to the NBA Finals for the first time in franchise history
In February 2004, the Hawks had the distinction of having NBA All-Star Rasheed Wallace play one game for the team. Wallace was traded from Portland to the Hawks along with Wesley Person for Shareef Abdur-Rahim, Theo Ratliff, and Dan Dickau.
In the 2006 Draft, the Hawks selected former Duke Star Shelden Williams with the fifth overall pick (enough said).
In 2010 Hawks fans are still stuck over the second pick in the 2005 NBA Draft, the Atlanta Hawks selected Marvin Williams of the University of North Carolina.
As you can see, this is certainly not the only anomaly of this franchise. Put in its proper prospective, the Marvin pick should rank small compared to some of other Hawk deals from the franchise past. You can certainly find more trades and draft-picks to whine about then Marvin.
JuniorBridgeman
March 30th, 2010
4:44 pm
I dont think we need Josh Childress. Childress has been away from the Hawks system for 2-3 years. We dont know how Childress is developing, whether he will fit into our plans. Guys who used to be great are no longer contributing (Bibby and Marvin) for example so if you throw Chills into the mix, he may disrupt the chemistry. I say, look at the free agent pool and select somebody who will certainly help you by evaluating the nba talent that guy brings to the table. From a logistics standpoint, this should not be that difficult. The basketball expert who evaluates talent for the Hawks should know when there is spectacular talent available. Whomever that is missed on that assignment last year because Heido Turkelu and Rafer Alsten were both done with the Magic and Atlanta didnt try and obtain either or both of them. Doing so what have given the Hawks the championship title this summer. Not doing so has made us fight with Orlando all year to stay close to the division race but it hasnt helped because we are too far out to win the division. Whats more, when we make the playoffs, we may get eliminated in the first round because our team has no confidence at all in its ability to dominate. If you had signed Turkelu and Alsten, former Orlando Magic stars and future hall of famers, those signings coupled with the play of those awesome players would have elevated the Hawks to a championship calibre standing. Whats more had those two former Magic players (Alsten and Turkelu) been signed by the Hawks during the offseason, the Hawks probably would have won at least 70 games or more this season. Oh well, hopefully someday there will be someone in management for the Hawks who understands nba talent who could help us acquire great skill to improve our ballclub.
northcyde
March 30th, 2010
4:45 pm
SMH @ Josh at the 3. How many times do we have to review this before people get it? Smoove at the 3 hurts this team . . and no . . it’s not a better option than keeping Bibby off the floor.
If Smoove could play the 3, Woody would definitely use him there more. Everytime Woody has “experimented” with Smoove at the 3, he quickly snaps back into reality.