buckeye242424

I think it's a combination of both. Smoove and Horford's lack of development in the post reflects the coaching, negatively I might add. Do they have the potential to have an effective post game...? Absolutely. With the proper instruction, both those guys could improve their post games. The offensive scheme, or lackthereof, also hinders their development.

He's taking three's because he always has. He's never been coached or been instructed not to. It doesn't matter if he was 3-3 last night, or 7-7, or 0-8, he's still going to be shooting three's next game no matter what. We've seen it all year, and year's past. Obviously Woody is ok with him jacking three's, and if he's not, than he has no discipline whatsoever. Which very well could be...

It's good in theory, but there's an absolute zero chance Joe Johnson would agree to come off the bench in favor or Rio. Starter minutes or not, there's something to be said about starting a game. As long as JJ is in a Hawks uni, he will be starting.

There's nothing wrong with Joe. He's a scorer that had a rough game. Past his prime? Not even close. He's in the midst of his third straight All-Star appearance, and having a great year. If anything, he's right in the middle of his prime, he's 27. He's the stud on a playoff team. Also, I think he's enjoying Atlanta. He left Phoenix to become the go to guy on a team, he knows he can be a star. It's showing. Come on guys, it's an 82 game season, bad games will happen. There's nothing "wrong" with Joe. I'm sure he's excited about the season the Hawks are having, and he knows the team would not be near where they are without him. He's getting everything he could have dreamt of. Total freedom on the court, and a competitive team led by him.

I agree. Horf, as much as I love him, doesn't deserve a max deal, yet. He's a solid 13 point, 10 boards a game player. Does this warrant a max contract? Probably not. I don't see many teams offering up that kinda cash unless they see Horf being a 20/10 guy a night. Horf hasn't established a post game to score what a max contract PF should be expected to produce.

I find it hard to believe that anyone a fan of the Hawks would suggest we're moving in the wrong direction. If winning 45-50 games is going the wrong way, fill me in on what's the correct direction? And answering the question if the "process" is moving too slow....? Who's to say? It's all hindsight. What's factual is the hawks have progressed record wise each year under Woody. Now let's wait and see if this group of coaches/players can improve on next year. That will be the real test. It's not hard to build on a 13 win season. We'll see if this group is championship caliber this year in the playoffs and in next year's regular season. But at this point in all the rebuilding and losing, it's a good time to be a Hawks fan. I for one, don't want to blow it all up again and start in a new "direction". My gut feeling is that we will go through another (at least) three years just to try and get back to where we are now.

I believe we need to keep this team together as much as possible. No one can argue that the team has grown, and keeping the pieces together would be important to continued success. By pieces, I mean signing Marvin, Flip, and Zaza. Bibby, for the price, perhaps not so much. JJ, Horf, Smoove, Marvin, Flip, Zaza need to be in Hawks uni's next year.

From his mailbag.... One other thing: There hasn't been nearly enough made of how screwed up the Warriors are right now. Their front office and ownership situation is a world-class mess. Their coach has been in "I'm Keith Hernandez" Mode since the 2007 Dallas upset and looks like he's actively trying to get fired. They have two young players everyone loves -- Randolph and Monta Ellis -- only they've been antagonized to the degree that it might affect them long-term. In Randolph's case, how can a lottery team not play a talent like Randolph 35 minutes a game? What the hell is going on here??? For some reason, the only media member who seems to care is Tim Kawakami. I don't get it. If I were a Warriors fan, I would be organizing protests outside the arena complaining about Randolph's playing time. It's insane. Imagine if Chicago was 16-50 and played Derrick Rose 10 minutes a game. Would you think that was weird? You would, right? Welcome to Anthony Randolph's world. This is the single weirdest subplot of the 2008-09 season, narrowly edging Zaza Pachulia's bacne. LOL. I couldn't resist.

The December 12th game at Miami was a top 10 win for the season. We just had the "o-fer" on our swing through Texas, with losses to SA, HOU, and DAL. We were still on the road, with the last game of the trip at Miami. We stole the game, then returned home. We played the next 8 at home, beginning with a win over the Cavaliers. I remember the sour taste in everyone's mouths after being drubbed in Texas, that Miami win on the road was huge for our confidence, especially beginning a huge homestand and playing the Cavs the next night.

I think we have taken the next step in luring FA's. We're on the cusp of securing home court in the playoffs, have improved every year, and are extremely young. Couple that with a big city, and the potential to have a big market, and I think Atlanta would be a nice fit for many FA's. The opportunity to win now, and compete for an Eastern Conference Championship next year has to be enticing to vet's around the league.

It boils down to coaching. He's given the freedom to do what he pleases out on the court. Smoove, eventually, was going to get paid. It was a matter of time before he got a lucrative contract. Now that he has his money, I don't think he's adopted a "I don't care about the team attitude". I believe he genuinely wants to win, however the coaching staff does not reiterate to him that his decision making negatively affects the team. Smoove's decision making reflects on Woody. If there are no penalties for his play, he's going to keep doing what he's doing. The team is doing well. In his eyes, if ain't broke, dont fix it.

Bibby did come through big. In a game when JJ did not produce, against one of the best teams on the planet, for us to win shows we're a scary team. I was most impressed with our defense. Our switching finally paid some dividends as LA struggled adjusting to to all the switches.

He's the total definition of a spark plug. He's perfect for our squad because we go through lulls of playing without energy and playing lackluster. Mario remedies this problem for the team. Rio has no offensive game, though. He took that 18 footer yesterday and it had no chance. For him to be successful in the NBA, he has to be able to score in other ways than offensive rebounding. Although, his defense and energy may be enough for him to stick around.

If Boston approached this year's Atlanta Hawks team with the same mindset as they did in the first round last year, I think we would go 7 games or perhaps win the series. I think with the veteran leadership of Flip and Mo, we would make those games on the road much more competitive. In fact, we would steal one. However, if Boston and Atlanta were to meet again, they would not take us lightly and win the series.

We're down to the stretch run, and Smoove's game still hasn't changed. It's apparent the coaching staff is ok with the fact he's still chucking jumpers, so he might as well practice them. It's a glaring weakness of his, and if shooting long shots is a part of his game, he better work on it.

My sentiments to a "T". I don't think the guy is a total waste of space. There's some merit there to what he has done the last five years. However, the goal is a championship. Is Woody a championship level HC? No, I don't think so. Riding JJ's coattails can only take him so far. He has to find other ways to score other than letting JJ create for himself or everyone else.

I don't think that bodes well for the Hawks. Dressing a player that hasn't played in nearly two years? I understand we're short handed, but geesh! Maybe I'm wrong. Perhaps he'll come in and be a spark for us down the stretch and into the playoffs???

You'd think we would have one by acquiring a decent vet in Bibby, and drafting a PG with a top 10 pick in Acie. Yet we don't. Or, is it the fact that Woody chooses to iso Joe 95% of the time and does not put the PG in a position to run the team?

Which brings us back to the coaching aspect of everything. Players need to be told to be aggressive and commit tough fouls on a player, when the said player is shredding us. I would hope that if that situation arises again in the playoffs, Woody will have enough sense to direct his players to not give up such easy buckets...or the players are intelligent enough to take action themselves.

Make it next five, after on the road at Boston, we have Orlando at home. We still have work to do to secure the spot, I agree. Tough games coming up. Luckily, it eases a bit at the end - Toronto, Milwaukee, Memphis, Indy. But three of those 4 are on the road, who knows which team will show up??

I understand. But even "hoping" Acie will evolve into that type of player given his situation isn't going to happen. With Woody being the HC, and the system currently in place, doesn't allow for a PG to blossom like we "hope". I also don't believe that where and when a person is drafted is going to dictate what type of player he will be. Those roles will be defined by the coach and the system implemented.

I agree with Diesel that bringing in Shaq would do wonders for the organization as far as PR and the city itself. Not to mention what he would do on the court. Despite his age, he would bring a post presence to the Hawks that we haven't had since Deke. However, getting him to Atlanta would be the difficult part. In the past, even this year I remember in an SI column with Dan Patrick, Shaq made jokes about the Hawks organization. At this point in his career, I doubt he would play for the Hawks. He would want the opportunity at another ring. Unless we made a deep run in the playoffs, probably the ECF at bare minimum, Shaq would need proof that he could get us over the "hump". He would need a similar situation to what he saw with Miami. He knew with Wade, they could get it done. And they did...

Hoping Acie is going to develop into a player like Devan Harris or Chauncey Billups is a pipe dream. He's not getting the playing time, either by coaching decision or injury, to develop his game near to those heights. Also, Woody's offense runs through Joe. Acie will never run the show here in Atlanta like Devan and Chauncey have with their respected teams.

That's why he's such an intriguing player. For all the mistakes and frustration, the fact he has the ability to make plays nobody else can shows his importance. The goal is to funnel all highlight plays into more consistent, fundamental play....which falls into coaching. Many of Smoove's bad habits, laziness, directly stems from lack of discipline on the floor. This reflects negatively on our head coach.

He can carry a team. He's shown it all year. Overall, top to bottom, Philly has a more talented roster, but nobody on Philly has the ability to carry a team through a playoff series like Miami does. Any team the Hawks will face in the first round is going to be tough. That's why holding on to the 4th seed is so important. Personally, to me it really doesn't matter who we play. The Hawks can make it past the first round if we continue to play the way we've played the last ten games or so.