TheNorthCydeRises

HOWEVA . . . He is not a bad coach either. He's an average, to sligtly below average coach in my eyes. When you see what is going on in Miami, are you telling me that Pat Riley is, all of a sudden, one of THE worst coaches in NBA history? The Heat have lost something like 26 of their last 27 games. And that streak gets even longer, depending on what happens on the 50 second game replay we have with them. So is Riley NOW ( not the Riley that coached all of those very talented teams ) a worst coach than Woody? Very few coaches in this league, could even have us at .500 with the current construction of this team and the inconsistency they show on a nightly basis. Last year at this time, all Boston fans wanted Doc Rivers fired. Add 2 all-stars to his roster, and he's a coach of the year candiate. Bad coaches can mess up a good situation. Not even Woody could mess up the Lakers or Celtics.

No, Woody is not a good coach, and no, we will not win anything of signifcance with him as the coach of THIS team, because these guys are so schizophrenic as shooters and with their decision making. ( I'm assuming this means at least getting to the Eastern Conference Finals )

Quote: Honestly, I missed that part of the game due to family obligations. I've never seen Woody substitute 5 players before like that, so what made him do it then? Was it a combination of foul trouble, injuries and player exhaustion or did he just decide to try something new that didn't work? If he simply decided to sub in 5 players without extenuating circumstances, I'd agree that he exercised questionable judgment. Considering that we still were in the game at the end, I wouldn't say it was a total failure, but it would not be what I would have done in similar circumstances. Objectively speaking and laying aside any anti-Woody sentiment, why do you think he chose to substitute that way? Was there any reasonable explanation for it? LOL @ why did he do it. Hmmmmm . . let's see: - Hawks had scored a TOTAL of 11 points at the mandatory timeout at 2 minutes to go. - Jazz were on a 10 - 0 run, when Salim came into the game at that point. - They had also missed 8 of their last 10 shots, and had committed 5 turnovers during that 10 - 0 run. - Jeremy Richardson enters the game with less than a minute left in the quarter, for the sole purpose of trying to give JJ a little breather. - Woody starts the lineup of Salim, J-Rich, Chill, Solo, and Zaza to begin the 2nd quarter . . Utah has Brewer, Price, Harpring, Milsap, and Okur on the floor. They get outscored 2 - 0. - Marvin comes in for J-Rich, and you now have a Salim, Chill, Marvin, Solo, and Zaza group on the floor. They promptly get outscored 4 - 0 in a 45 second span. - Woody then puts Smoove and Bibby back in the game, in place of Salim and Solo. If you ask me, the only thing that Woody was trying to do, is see if the Bench could provide a spark, seeing that the starters were playing like ish themselves. But since Woody can do nothing right, even when he DOES do something right, it will always be looked upon as a negative. LOL . . the same guys complaining about our bench last night, are the same ones that suggested that J-Rich get more PT ahead of Marvin, and that Salim should play a lot of minutes each night. They're also the same guys complaining about seeing Solo. If these guys can't play together as a group, the ONLY way they can see the floor, is if you have a SET point in which you want them to enter the game, while on the floor with the majority of the starters. In other words . . . a TIMED SUBSTITUTION PATTERN. When Dolfan correctly points out that Sloan has a set substitution pattern, they go off the deep end, and says that Woody is no Sloan. Ish . . lol . . we already know that. Dolfan was just making the point that even a great coach like Jerry Sloan has a SET substitution pattern. Matter of fact, ALL COACHES have a set substitution pattern. But the people on this board believe that Woody is the creator of timed subs for some strange reason. The starters played inconsistent last night, and were turning the ball over left and right, but the bench played like absolute crap. As a bench/role player, the only thing you're asked to do, is to do what you're in the game for. If J-Rich and Salim are the shooters, make some damn shots. If Solo is a rebounder and defender, then grab a damn rebound and alter some shots. If Zaza is our banger, then do that on both ends of the floor. If we win, Woody gets no credit ( as evident with the G-State win ). If we lose, he gets all the blame. LOL . . it's damned if he does . . damned if he doesn't.

DAMMMMMMNNNNN RIGHT !!!! Too bad the Hawks couldn't pull it out at the end. But how bout those VOLS !!!!!!

Quote: We lost to Utah last December in ATL. That was the game with the Salim 4point foul play,etc. That was last season, not last year. Last year was 2007, which makes last year's UTAH game occur in this season. In the game Gray talks about, Boozer played great, while Deron struggled with his shot big time. The game you talk about, was the game in which Okur went off in the 2nd half, and brought Utah all the way back from the dead, to pull out the victory. That was the Salim 4pt play game. He made up for that though, by drawing his own 4 pt play last night.

14 rebounds is pretty good from a player thay does nothing. People act like we don't need BOTH Chill and Marvin.

Quote: Woody was a little too comfy with his subs out there. Bibby didnt even get back in til 5 minutes left, What was up with that? Woody just can't win . . even if he wins. If the subs don't play, people cry about them not playing. When the subs do play, and play well, it's "why didn't you get the starters back in the game?" Chill and Salim played very well last night. And J-Rich gave us decent minutes as well. But I guess it's easier to question Woody for any little thing, than to actually give him praise for sticking with Salim and Chill for as long as he did. One thing about it . . Salim created or scored 10 straight points at one point in that 4th quarter. And he did it in a wide variety of ways. And Chill was scrapping all night, plus acting as a primary ballhandler setting up the halfcourt offense. Woody: damned if he does, damned if he doesn't

Quote: I notice Marvin taking two 3's in the golden state game which i dont think ive ever seen from him unless the shot clock was running out. You guys think he's trying to develop a long range game now? Good observation on your part. And he actually hit a 3 pointer in the 1st quarter, but it was taken away because they called a charge on Smoove. I'd love to see Marvin start taking one or two 3's a game. If he can get his mid-range stroke back, we may start winning more consistently. By the way, did Marvin set a career high in rebounds last night? I can't remember if he's ever had a 14+ rebound night before or not.

Graymule talks a lot about FTs for the Hawks. Well, both of these teams are pretty horrible from the line. The Vols routinely go through stretches where they constantly make only 1 of 2 FTs. And Memphis is even worse at times. I watched them miss 20 FTs in a game about 2 weeks ago. I think the game may ultmately be decided there. You're right about Rose though. That kid is special. He flat out dominates games at times. For us, we definitely can't afford for Lofton to come out cold. We need him blazing from the start. I wonder if Bruce Pearl breaks out the Orange jacket and tie tonight? Damn, this UConn - Nova game is goooood.

Interesting fact about #1 vs #2 matchups that just scrolled across the screen while I'm watching the UConn-Nova game. The last road team to win a #1 vs #2 matchup, was UNLV in 1991, when they went to Arkansas and beat them. I loved watching both of those teams back in the early 90s. This Vol team might be more comparable to those great Nolan Richardson Arkansas teams, with their "40 minutes of Hell".

Quote: I got cable tv for the first time in four years yesterday, just in time for Atlanta's playoff push and UT's big game against Memphis. As a Tennessee student, I'm obviously a little biased on this one, but I think a lot of these ESPN guys are sleeping on Tennessee. UT's played the 11th most difficult schedule in the nation (as opposed to C-USA scrubs) and if they play like they're capable of- knocking down 3's, applying full-court pressure, and getting points in transition- they have a much better chance than a lot of people think to end Memphis' run. Regardless, it's gonna be a hell of a game! I can't wait. I'm UT alumni. And like you, I can't wait for this game. I love the way the Vols flat out get after people on defense. They're like a defensive version of Golden St. And I'm so glad that Lofton his making his shots now. Earlier in the year, he was struggling big time with his 3. Now, it's like he hardly misses. The people in Memphis and U. of Memphis students and grads are even more hyped for this game, than we are. It's funny. Memphis people almost don't consider themselves a part of Tennessee. They act like they're Hong Kong in relation to China or something. Technically, they're a part of the state. But they go out of their way to try to separate themselves as much as possible. I'm glad I can't see the Hawks game on TV. Then again, I may go to a sports bar tonight, and see if somebody has League Pass, so I can watch bot the UT-Memphis and Hawk-Jazz game at the same time. Ish, let me call around right now.

My bad Sheed. You're exactly right. I loved most how Woody was trying to post up JJ every chance they got late in that game. If he has a guard 6 - 4 and under on him, we should always look to post JJ. The big thing is that JJ made a lot of correct decisions last night. He definitely had a superstar game last night. And he only had 4 points in the 4th quarter. But he had 2 assists ( should've been 4 ), and the double teams he drew enabled a guy like Salim to take over the game in the middle part of that quarter.

Quote: The forth quarter defensive adjustments may also go unnoticed. Early in the quarter Woody switched to 1-2-2 zone with JSmith at the top defending Davis. With about 4 minutes left he switched again. S scored 21 in the forth after 39 in the 3rd. And that move immeadiately stopped G-Stare in their tracks to start the 4th. We immeadiately went on a 9 - 2 run, and really wasn't seriously threatened after that. Davis was held to 3 points in that quarter by the way. Monta had 9 in the qtr, but some of those points came real late. LOL @ people saying he "lucked up". This was easily Woody's best coached game of the year.

Quote: Well we sure needed a win! Now back to the doghouse Salim! LOL. Tonight's game for Salim reminds me of the game he had @ Denver last year, when Speedy, Chill, and Marvin was out . . and Zaza was serving a 1-game suspension. Salim stepped up in that game, and scored 21 points. Now if he could just make shots every night. Utah is a totally different animal though. It's gonna be a heavy dose of Boozer tomorrow night.

Quote: They should take Marvin Williams stupid no scoring butt out of the game. Marvin is playing decent defense and I think he has 14 rebounds. Damn chill, pull that ball out.

So far, this is Woody's best coached game of the year. He's putting a tall defender on Davis to prevent him from jacking 3s. And on the offensive end, he's running everything inside-out, with JJ or Smoove receiving the ball down on the blocks. And everytime people run out at Salim, he's givng the shot fake, and driving straight to the hole. They've weathered the storm so far. Warriors will probably make one more push. Hawks up 11 with 5+ minutes to go. Damn. Salim makes another good play by drawing the foul. 21 minutes for Salim . . . 15 points.

Chill is such a scrapper. He and Smoove are saving us. Nice to see these guys clamp down a little on defense. There you go J-Rich for 333333. So nice to have shooters now.

Damn . . we could've desperately use Law's penetration abilities right about now. We need a few stops right here. Lead @ 9 now.

Quote: Almost a flawless first half. Now come on guys. You have a real nice cushion. Let's extend this lead to 25+ points by the start of the 4th. End this game early so that the starters can rest up for a tough Utah game tomorrow night. LMAO . . it's just too much to ask. Lead down to 12. Take the damn ball to the basket.

Almost a flawless first half. Now come on guys. You have a real nice cushion. Let's extend this lead to 25+ points by the start of the 4th. End this game early so that the starters can rest up for a tough Utah game tomorrow night.

OMG . . Salim hit a shot !! . . and another . . AND A 3!!! . and FTs !!! Good Lord, where has this been all year? This is what we need you to do man. Eat em up Salim !!!

That's also a clear indication that this team definitely will re-sign Smoove and others. How much are the 200 level seats individually?

Quote: Perhaps next week we can combine the best of both worlds. LOL . . hopefully it won't go as bad as the planned Best of Both Worlds Tour, featuring Jay-Z and R. Kelly. Why isn't Kells in jail yet? At least Michael Jackson didn't get caught on camera.

Niiiiiiice. Very nice. Note to Hawksquawk: This will NOT be an evry game occurance. I enjoy the old Teke threads. But on those days in which he may need a relief pitcher, I'll throw my 2 cents in every now and then. Monta scares the ish out of me tonight, especially with no Law. Our past success against Golden St usually comes from when they start to get 3-point happy. Monta is changing how they attack people these days, with his pushing of the ball and his dribble penetration to score. Like the commercial says, he's the fastest player in the league. He and Baron are a very dangerous offensive backcourt. We just can't fall in love with the jumper tonight.

Quote: Bear in mind, if we scare someone in the playoffs it will be a lot easier to sign a real coach because that person will believe in the future here. If we go down the tank, we definitely get rid of Woodson and probably Knight but who would want to take over? Damn. What a great observation. Dead on the money.