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
MsDee
March 30th, 2010
4:53 pm
I would LOVE to have Chills back..that is one player who could truely score the ball with 0 plays for him. He moved very well w/o the ball. The way the Josh Smith is passes of late, could u image how many MORE assists Josh Smith could have with Chills back. For that matter, could u image Teague with more assists with Chills back!! Starting lineup should be (if Chills come back) Bibby, Joe, Chills, Josh, and Al..with backups of Teague 4 Bibby, Jamal 4 Joe, Marvin or Mo Evans 4 Chills, Joe Smith 4 Josh, and Zaza 4 Al..
northcyde
March 30th, 2010
4:55 pm
Haha @ the name Junior Bridgeman. That’s old school right there.
I agree with you about Chillz. Time to cut our losses with that dude and move on. Flip and Mo immeadiately made Chill an afterthought last year. So even if we lose him for nothing, it’s OK. Sometimes, it’s best just to cut dudes off, and start fresh.
MsDee
March 30th, 2010
5:06 pm
Chills was just being a business man..isnt that what Joe is doing?? Nothing wrong with that just as long as he comes back home!!
Daniel
March 30th, 2010
5:25 pm
Junior- I hope your post was meant to be sarcastic and funny, because it is hilarious. If you were serious, man you need to know a little more about the NBA. Alston and Hedu are future HOFers? 70+ wins? Had to be joking right? You do know that Hedu is making max money and we couldn’t have signed him. Plus, he is a big bust in Toronto. Just saying. I guess you also forgot that “our talent evaluator” did get Jamal Crawford (you know that guy) for Claxton and Law this off season. I think Toronto is jealous of that move.
Daniel
March 30th, 2010
5:26 pm
Junior- one more point. How come you are concerned about Childress disrupting chemistry, but then go on to ask for more free agents?
KevinA
March 30th, 2010
5:31 pm
northcyde
With a switching defense who cares where Smith plays. Him or Al or ZaZa will end up on a PG anyway. All three are better option than bibby who is just to short and slow. Fot that matter if the argument is the jump shot of Josh, we could play Al at the 3. He can hit a jump shot. The thrust of the idea is better defense. Bibby has none.
KevinA
March 30th, 2010
5:38 pm
Chills, JJ and next year Jamal. We have to sign them wether we play them or trade them. We need at least equal quality for the picks spent. To let them walk for nothing would be a big set back.
Daniel
March 30th, 2010
5:40 pm
KevinA- that is not how the switching defense works. That only occurs in pick and roll with the power forward and pg, which then gets switched back. Josh is a power forward, not a small forward. The defensive issues with this team are focus. We have heard that all season. The team gives up 97 points a game, Clevland is 94.8(best in the ECF). How many times have we seen 25-30 point first quarters by an opponent this year? There is your point differential, not Bibby. Bibby is not shot. He has been playing better of late. Clearly, he is not a defensive stalwart, never has been, but he brings a lot to the team in terms of leadership, calmness and big shots. It is TOO late in the season to try changing up the starting line-up.
KevinA
March 30th, 2010
5:59 pm
Daniel,
We can agree to disagree. We get torched by guards all the time. If you want jump shots – Al is the better choice. Bibby would be better against 2nd units where maybe it would be easier to hide him on defense. If he is hot – fan him and feed him. If not – a very short leash is needed.
Daniel
March 30th, 2010
6:01 pm
KevinA- he is getting only 20+ minutes a game now. Isn’t that what Woodson is doing? Who do you want playing the point then? Mario?
Daniel
March 30th, 2010
6:02 pm
BTW- Kevin, was Junior joking? I can’t decide.
Rod from College Park
March 30th, 2010
6:40 pm
GeeMack,
Believe it or not, I was never big on Chills either. Would have much rathered Deng or Iggy, but compared to Marvin, he’s a major upgrade. I am positive that he has added some things to his game, while Marvin has become worse. He also just fits this system better than Marvin. He played with more energy, was a very good rebounder, very good defender and you could not leave him open. He also knew how to involve himself in the game without plays being run for him. He also had above average handles for his size, which allows him to be that point forward that Woodson likes, similar to the role Josh has developed into this year. Very bad mistake by the Hawks, and it will rear it’s head in the playoffs when Marvin can’t defend his position, or pose any offensive threat agianst the likes of Pierce, Lebron, Jackson, Lewis…….
Rod from College Park
March 30th, 2010
6:45 pm
Daniel,
“KevinA- that is not how the switching defense works. That only occurs in pick and roll with the power forward and pg, which then gets switched back. Josh is a power forward, not a small forward.”
Maybe you should inform Ken Strickland of that also, since he wonders why teams never switch Joe Johnson or Marvin. They strictly play pick and roll with the center or power forward, and the point guard mostly because of Bibby and because a quick point on a center or power forward is that matchup they want.
O'Brien
March 30th, 2010
6:47 pm
Geemack,
“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.”
Marvin was a #2 pick, and picked over CP3 and Deron Williams. But yet he got a 5 year contract for $37.5 mil. Did I mention that Chills had the same average as Marvin?
And Woody would have Chills in the game at the end. So I dont blame Chills for trying to get his money (even if he did overestimate his value).
Although I would love to have him as our backup SF, I am ok with the Hawks moving on. However, if thats the case, we need to trade him for a draft pick, or another player.
northcyde,
Why would you want to lose a #6 pick (who averaged 11pts, 5.6 rebs) for nothing at all? Trade him for a pick, even if its a low first round pick. Or trade him for a player who can help us off the bench.
And I dont know why people still keep talking about Josh at SF. Depending on the matchup, it might work for a few minutes during a certain game. But Josh does not have what it takes to be an effective SF.
KevinA
March 30th, 2010
6:58 pm
I would like to see us play big more often with ZaZa, AL and Josh in at the same time. Especially against teams that we need help with rebounding.
Against small quick guards Mario and Teague are good options. Against bigger guards Evans is a good option.
There are times Bibby is playing and he does just fine. The other teams are not trying to exploit him. But with any of these guys Woody just needs to watch close and be ready to yank them out. Give them another shot in the next half. There is no one size fit’s all.
This is the kind of coaching Ken has been looking for. More situational awareness. If your player is getting toasted – try another.
KevinA
March 30th, 2010
7:06 pm
Rod, Danial,
They strictly play pick and roll with the center or power forward, and the point guard mostly because of Bibby and because a quick point on a center or power forward is that matchup they want.
They want and consistantly get the Bibby matchup. And tourch him. Jamal also. Mostly Jamal scores enough to win that battle. Bibby does not. But like I said, if Bibby is hot – feed him and fan him.
Rod from College Park
March 30th, 2010
7:19 pm
O’Brien,
“And I dont know why people still keep talking about Josh at SF. Depending on the matchup, it might work for a few minutes during a certain game. But Josh does not have what it takes to be an effective SF.”
I agree to an extent, but he would give you more than what Marvin does now, so would it really be that bad. No way possible he could be worse than Marvin?
KevinA
March 30th, 2010
7:44 pm
Rod,
The way Al is hitting jumpers you could play him at the 3, Josh at the 4 and ZaZa at the 5. How could that be worse than Bibby’s D.
Sautee
March 30th, 2010
7:51 pm
O’Brien,
We mostly agree, but I have to call you on this:
“So I dont blame Chills for trying to get his money (even if he did overestimate his value). ”
How did Chills overestimate his value, when he never got an offer from the Hawks until AFTER the Olympiakos offer?
Sautee
March 30th, 2010
7:53 pm
KevinA,
Al would foul out trying to guard 3s all night.
Ken Strickland
March 30th, 2010
8:08 pm
ROD FROM CP-0nce again you’ve demonstrated your limited basketball IQ. Teams use pick and rolls against us with their center and PG because that’s the matchup they want to create, especially with Bibby in the gm. There’s no NBA rule limiting which 2 players or positions a team can use to run a pick and roll.
The reason teams avoid involving Marvin and JJ in their pick and rolls is because their size, strength, quick feet, good lateral movement and overall ability to guard multiple positions anywhere on the court doesn’t offer a decided advantage, compared with Bibby and any of our other Bigs. DOES THAT CLEAR THINGS UP FOR YOU?
GEEMACK-You have to be kidding me. I never said Woodson was responsible for everything that’s wrong with the Hawks, you did. I listed in detail the things I felt he contributed to and what he should do to correct them, period. As far as giving him credit for developing players, let’s take a look at that. Of all the lottery, high 1st and 2nd rd picks Woodson has had over the last 5yrs, only 3 players, Smoove, Marvin, Horford remain.
As far as his contributions to Smooves development is concerned, he’s worked extensively during the off season, especially with Hakeem. And it still took Woodson FIVE(5)yrs to get him to realize he’s better off consistently working inside rather than launching 3’s. If Woodson had allowed someone to put an actual OFF system in place that put players in predetermined locations, instead of clearing out to the 3pt line to accomodate his beloved ISO’s, Smoove launching 3’s wouldn’t have been an issue in the 1st place.
Marvin has regressed so badly under Woodson that he’s become an OFF liability instead of an assest, which is why he was drafted in the 1st place. Can you name one single thing Woodson has done this season to help Marvin become a more viable OFF contributor? Just like I thought, you can’t. And just calling him in his office and telling him to become more aggressive won’t cut it. He should have called Bibby and JJ into his office an instructed them to go to Marvin, like they did whenever we played in Seattle.
Horford came into the NBA more mature and fundamentally sound than any rookie Big in yrs. In fact, he’s demonstrated more maturity, leadership abilities and fundamental knowledge of the gm than Woodson. Hell, it was Horford who inform Woodson, along with some of his offending teammates, that our offensive problems are the result of poor ball movement. You certainly can’t say you’ve seen or heard Woodson say or do a damned thing to any of the offending parties about putting a stop to it.
It was Horford, not Woodson, that got this team so motivated and inspired during the playoffs series against the Celtics, they were able to take them to 7gms. Hell, Woodson has yet to demonstrate the ability to get JJ or Bibby, before Bibby lost the ability to do more than shoot 3’s, to stop interupting ball movement to go ISO.
Bottomline, Woodson doesn’t want the responsibility of developing players, making adjustments and changes, especially during gms, or creating and taking advantage of matchups. That’s why he refuses to consistently utilize his bench, plays his veterans heavy mins, while all but ignoring his younger players. His philosophy is to leave everything that takes place on the court in the hands of his veteran players, especially JJ, Crawford and Bibby, and let the chips fall where they may.
He want’s his other veteran players to bail Bibby and his NO D out, and overcome the problems created by his beloved switching DEF. Rather than make adjustments and play different DEF’s based on the situations, matchups and personnel, he just rides it out and blames the exhausted veteran players for a lack of effort and/or concentration after the gm. You WOODY LOVERS must have a serious MAN CRUSH on him, because only love and/or ignorance can make anyone so blind to the obvious.
O'Brien
March 30th, 2010
8:16 pm
Sautee,
I dont think Chills overestimated his value. I threw that in there because thats what GeeMack said. I think Chills would have signed for less than what Marvin did. And he would have been a better value.
Sautee
March 30th, 2010
8:35 pm
O’Brien,
Yes, he would have been a better value. If he would somehow take the MLE, I’d LOVE to have him back. People talk about how ugly his shot is, but the dude is .360% from 3 for his career. Better than Crawford (.351%), and close to JJ’s .373%.
And he doesn’t need a play called for him to score. His length REALLY bothered PGs when he switched off onto them. He probably led the Hawks in deflections.
KevinA
March 30th, 2010
9:16 pm
Not to mention he is one of the best in FG%. He dosen’t take many bad shots. This year he is over .600 – not many can say they ever did that.
KevinA
March 30th, 2010
9:23 pm
Sautee
March 30th, 2010
7:53 pm
KevinA,
Al would foul out trying to guard 3s all night.
Not many thought Josh or Al would be this good this fast either. I have been on the feed a big – get a win bandwagon since early last year. Many. disagreed with me. What has happened. The more they get the ball the better we do.
Once more the thrust of the idea was finding a replacement of combinations of players to keep bibby on the bench. His diminished offensive skills are spotty while his defense is basically gone.
O'Brien
March 30th, 2010
10:26 pm
Sautee,
“People talk about how ugly his shot is, but the dude is .360% from 3 for his career. Better than Crawford (.351%), and close to JJ’s .373%. ”
I dont put too much stock in his 3pt percentage, because he hardly took any 3s (unless he was wide open). But he did have a lot of deflections, a lot of key offensive rebounds and putbacks (Smitty called him the baseline bandit).
And he is a decent ball-handler, so he could help when bring up the ball when Bibby is not in the game.
I would take him at the MLE, because I think we could trade him (or Marvin) if we decide to keep only one.
BlueEdwards
March 31st, 2010
4:45 pm
The Truth: The Hawks are in the here and now. The Hawks are not trying to win games based on the past. The past is the past and it is over with. I dont know why some people continue to go backwards instead of forwards. The current group of Hawks regardless of how miserably they have failed in draft picks currently are occupying tied for the #3 seed in the conference with Boston, which means the Hawks are either the 3rd or 4th best team in the conference. When Woody took over the Hawks 6 or 7 years ago, the Hawks were 29th or 30th in the conference among 30 teams. There has been enormous progress with the Hawks since they were built from the ground up by Billy Knight. Of course, the Hawks could have been the second best team in the conference behind the Cavs had they not blown leads and closed out games in about 10 games this year that they had won, but took defeat because they couldnt or wouldnt close out those opponents. Add 10 wins to the Hawks 47 wins so far and the Hawks would be approaching 60 victories for the season. Thats close to the very top of the NBA ladder AND MOST FANS ARE STILL NOT SATISFIED.