TheNorthCydeRises

The blowouts and the foul trouble have significantly reduced his overall numbers. He hasn't had a double-digit rebound game since the blowout vs Orlando, and he's only had 2 games with zero blocks. What is a little concerning, is his drop in FG%. He's shooting a little under 47% for the month ( which is actually high for him career wise ). But if he wants to make that all-star team, the FG% needs to stay above 50%. On the bright side, he's shooting 69% on his FTs this month. If he can continue to stay around 70%, that'll be great for us. Like CtoC said, it's all about effort when it comes to Josh. We're going to need his effort BIG TIME in the next 20 or so games. If he raises the FG% back to above 50%, keeps making his FTs, and plays SMART BASKETBALL by not picking up cheap, unnecessary fouls, then he'll be OK.

CHRISTMAS UPDATE: 1) Mike Woodson - Atlanta 2) Doc Rivers - Boston 3) Rick Adleman - Houston 4) Phil Jackson - LA Lakers 5) Rick Carlisle - Dallas

The excuses for Atlanta area fans who don't go to the games are over. If every team depended on getting an exciting superstar player in the mix, they'd never draw people. The Hawks created a tremendous buzz with those 3 playoff wins vs Boston. Ever since that point, they've been a real good team at home. The true basketball fans in ATL should be regulars at Hawk games. It's not 60 degrees in ATL at night, during basketball season . . . until about March. While there is a lot of things to do in and around Metro ATL, you're still talking about 4+ million people within a 45 minute radius of Philips Arena. The Hawks are simply not a priority for sports fans in that area. 2007 - 08: 25 - 16 2008 - 09: 31 - 10 2009 - 10: 12- 2 ( on pace to be 35 - 6 at home . . . 35 - 6 ) Total: 68 - 28 ( .709 winning percentage ) . . . if they go 35 - 6, the 3 year home record would be 91 - 32 ( . 734 winning percentage ) People simply have to have it in their mind that they're going to watch the Hawks on a particular night, no matter what. Stop letting "inconviences" keep you from going to watch your team LIVE. - Oooo the weather is nice, I'm not going to the game. - Oh no, I have to sit 35 minutes in bumper to bumper traffic, I'm not going to the game - Parking is $10, I'm not going to the game - The Hawks are playing the Clippers tonight, and since they're horrible, I'm not going to the game ( although you will get to see the Hawks win, which is the objective ) The excuses simply have to stop. Because if people don't show up, this management team isn't going to continue to dish out money to put a top notch product on the floor. Forget losing JJ, they'll balk on re-signing Crawford as well in the summer of 2011 ( if he proves that he's going to cost too much to retain, and because Horford's contract will be the priority ). Fans can't have it both ways. If you live in the area, you have to support the team by going to the games. Outside of TV contracts, that's the main way the organization generates revenue to re-sign players, add players, and operate as a whole. Fans, true fans, have to become more conscious of this.

It's sad. And people had the nerve to come at me a few years ago, when I blasted the metro ATL fans who didn't even bother to go to the gmes, yet, they want management to put the best possible product on the floor. The only bright spot is that we still have most of our bandwagon type home games still coming up. But ATL has 4+ million in the metro area, yet, can't even break 14,000 paid attendance on a nightly basis. This team has been pretty dominant at home for 2+ seasons, yet, people still only pack the place when the big boys roll through. So much for "if we start winning, they will come". Of course it'll be packed for the Cleveland game ( with 35% of the crowd rooting for Cleveland ). But how about simply watching the Hawks play, when they go up against Okllahoma City or Milwaukee? If the city needs a superstar to go out and watch the Hawks, then they might as well move the team to St. Louis or Louisville or somewhere. But like I said, a lot of our "big money" games are yet to come, so maybe the Hawks will eventually get at least around 650K a game. It's embarrassing to be grouped with those other losing teams, when we're one of the top 5 - 7 teams in the league.

Funny how when the national media starts doing in-depth interviews on Woody and the team, that the fan base finally comes around. Just a mere 3 weeks ago, people were questioning whether the Boston blog article was legit. The fact of the matter is that Woody has ALWAYS been at least an average coach. But now, he's proving that he can coach up a little talent as well. But in the past, people always nit-picked when it comes to Woody, like other coaches around the NBA didn't do the same thing or have the same coaching traits. Like coachx points out, it's not like we have a top 10 player in the league on this team, nor 2 top 20 players, like most of the contending teams do. So it has to be Woody's system and the coaching he does with individual players, that has enabled us to get to this level. He coaches the right things to them, while trying to keep them relaxed at the same time. Give Sund credit too, but it was Woody who had to seemlessly merge these guys into the lineup to help us. The job he's doing with Crawford is nothing short of remarkable. 1/3 of the season is gone, and he's more than proven that he can coach a talented team. LOL @ B- . . . . please. I guess the only way he could get an A, would be to have us at 24 - 3 I guess? Great job Woody. Keep it up.

He pretty much speaks on everything, from his contract situation, to the maturation of the Hawks, to the new guys we added to the team this year. Easily the best Woody interview I've seen so far this year. Funny what happens when you win, and you don't have a new contract. Everyone wants to talk to you. They'll probably start talking to Joe Johnson next, to see where his head is, before the trade deadline. I'll let you click on the link to read the entire interview, but I do want to post one segment of it here. NBA.com: When a team's best player is headed into free agency, it usually dominates the headlines all season and can become a major pain, if not distraction. That we don't hear as much about Joe Johnson, does that mean he's not as valuable here as LeBron, Kobe or Wade with their teams? MW: He gets it. There were things said in Chicago a couple of nights ago, about them having money to spend. The bottom line with Joe is, he's going to play on somebody's basketball team and I hope it's here in Atlanta. And I hope I'm here with him to finish the job, because we're not far away. I don't think it's been a distraction. Joe's a tough-minded guy and he knows he's got a job to do. He knows he has to do it in grand style in terms of how people view him, ending this season as a free agent. I don't think there's pressure. He's just got to continue to work and I've got to continue to push his *ss to do the right things on the floor to help us win. I think that last line is great. I liked the way he said "push his azz to do the right things". Like I've been telling you guys. He coaches JJ like he's a superstar player. To not give some credit to Woody for the development of JJ becoming a star player in this league, just isn't doing the man justice. He knows what he's doing folks, even if you don't like his offensive sets. Anyway, here is the link to read the entire interview. http://www.nba.com/2009/news/features/steve_aschburner/12/22/woodson.qa/index.html?ls=iref:nbahpt1

Definitely happy. But if we beat Denver and the Cavs twice, but lose @ Indy and @ Minny tonight, that 3 out of 5 will be hard to swallow. The question will be then . . . "why do the Hawks play up or down to their competition?"

Now see . . I'm eating lunch . . and almost spit my lunch all over my laptop when I saw this.

What's so special about Dallas? Oh . . . nevermind. I forget that when the Hawks beat them by 5, they didn't have Josh Howard, which meant the game didn't count. My bad.

Sometimes I wonder if people watch the same game I watch. Cause I saw JJ not only taking the game over, but also passing to wide open people . . who didn't make shots. The dude shoud've honestly had 8 assists at least tonight. LOL @ the 3 being too far for Bibby . . a guy who is the best 3 point shooter on the team. Just 2 minutes earlier, JJ drew almost the entire team on him down on the baseline, and kicked it out to a WIDE OPEN BIBBY at the same spot in which he passed up the 3 at the end of the game. Bibby misses a shot that he almost always hits. But that's how basketball is sometimes. JJ did everything possible to win this game tonight, and people still aren't satisfied. Most people who saw that game has no problem with JJ's effort tonight.

"It was almost too easy . . . ( referring to the Wizards early lead) . . . Because what happened is, we were like 'It's going to be an easy one tonight.' And then they put a little bit more pressure on and we turned the ball over, and then they made a quick run. They began to gain control of the game in the second quarter when they locked in defensively." - Flip Saunders ( Wizards Coach ) "It's impressive how good they are defensively. They're playing some of the best basketball in the league right now. They continued to put pressure on us with their drives, and . . . attacking the paint." - Jeff Bower ( Hornets Coach/GM ) "Atlanta forces me to become more of a jump shooter. They know that once I'm in the paint, I become a playmaker so they did a good job of forcing me out of the paint. I got some good looks at shots that I could normally make in my sleep, but I just couldn't knock them down." - Dwyane Wade ( Heat guard ) "Once again, we struggled to shoot the ball and some of that certainly was Atlanta. They have length and they are hard to score against." - Rick Carlisle ( Mavericks Coach ) "We just couldn't find any way to get through their defense. They're long and athletic. They kept us out of the paint." - Jason Terry ( Mavericks guard ) "We tried to stay with them early on, but our turnovers got us. We struggled being able to convert and not putting any pressure on the ball. The Hawks are long, athletic and young. I'm sure that it helped that they've been off since Saturday." - Vinny Del Negro ( Bulls Coach ) "They are hard to match up against, they're very athletic, and they do a good job of diversifying what they're doing. They have unique talent. We don't have that kind of versatility. Youth had nothing to do with that. It was turning the ball over, and letting them have layups, and not executing very well. You can't defend layups." - Lionel Hollins ( Grizzlies Coach ) "We just couldn't do anything with their athleticism. The way they switched and boxed out hurt us tonight. Al Horford is a great offensive rebounder, and Josh Smith is coming from the outside to box out." - Marc Gasol ( Grizzlies center ) "I'm used to them putting Joe [Johnson] on me because a lot of teams put big guys on me. They switched everything tonight, and that is what really took us out of our rhythm." - Deron Williams ( Jazz guard )

Exactly. And that's why Hawk fans shouldn't freak out if we lose badly every now and then if we lose badly, ( especially if that game is on the road ). And Miami can't be compared to anybody, seeing all of the bad losses they have this year, compared to good wins. So which is the real Miami Heat? The one that was up 20+ on Orlando ( haven't checked the final score of this game yet ), or the one that got throttled by Memphis in South Beach last Sunday night?

Because deep down, they don't like Joe Johnson.

Yeah . . . a smiling JJ is what sticks out the most to me. This is the same guy that used to have the same expression on his face, whether we won or lost. Even on the bench during a blowout, he'd still be stone-faced and business-like. So it's nice to see him get real excited about a Teague dunk or Morris scrapping to get a shot up. This team is a perfect mix of older vets and young, energetic guys. They're definitely fun to watch these days. Everytime I watch my UT Vols, I see a lot of the Hawks in them. Great time to be a b-ball fan for me.

Here comes the national exposure Woody needs to get that extension. And if he doesn't get the extension, the exposure will help him get another job, if the Hawks don't retain him even if we make the playoffs. The quotes from Woody should be interesting, if Rome asks him some good questions.

Diesel, the teams that get to he Finals, more often than not, are the teams with the best personnel that fits that coach's style of play. The Lakers were merely a good team before they acquired Gasol. But once they got him, they became a championship level squad. But before the Gasol acquisition, the Lakers ran the triangle, but won games due to Kobe either scoring or passing in ISO situations. Phil Jackson's "brilliance" couldn't even get them out of the first round. Doc Rivers WAS WOODY . . . until Ainge got him 2 future Hall of Famers ( KG & Ray Allen ) to team up with the possible Hall of Famer that he already had in Paul Pierce. Add a defensive PG like Rajon Rondo to the mix, and Doc now has the type of defensive team that he used to play for in New York back in the 90s. The current Celtics play that old Knicks style of basketball, that tries to beat you up on both ends of the floor. Once they soften you up, they knock you out in the 3rd quarter. Lawrence Frank had 3 All-Star caliber players who had already been to an NBA Final, when he took over that team. A Hall of fame PG and a borderline Hall of Fame SF. The downfall of Frank should've come about 3 seasons ago, when the Nets couldn't even win with Kidd, Carter, and Jefferson on the court . . 3 all-star caliber players at that time. Avery Johnson did a great job in Dallas. But don't act like he was some good offensive coach. No . . . Dallas got to that next level because he preached defense. I like Avery. But with him, it's his way or the highway. His inability to mesh with Jason Kidd really sticks out in my mind. Kidd wanted more control of the Dallas offense, but Avery wouldn't budge. Add the fact that his 60+ win team lost a 1st round playoff series to a mediocre Golden St team, is what did him in. Mike Fratello . . . how many NBA Finals appearances does he have? He's coached a Hall of Famer, an All-Star PG, and an aging center whose also in the Hall of Fame ( in Moses Malone ), and he couldn't even get to an EC Final. Byron Scott I've always liked. He knows what it takes to win a title, and has coached up the 2 future Hall of Fame PGs he had very well ( Kidd and Chris Paul ). He's let them run the ofense, while he tried to get the team to defend better. It has to be something abrasive about Scott's personality that we don't see, because he didn't deserve to get fired at either place, if you ask me. So you know way? Nah, I'll keep Woody. Let me see if he can keep this team on the right track of improvement. Unless the ASG coaxes Pat Riley to leave his management position in Miami, to be the GM/Coach of the Hawks, there aren't any Championship winning coaches out there.

Woody was the one who moved him to the 4 in the first place, while 75% of the fan base wanted him at the 3, despite his inability to knock down jumpshots. Woody was the one who told the kid to start driving the basketball in the first place, to use his speed to take advantage of bigger 4's. And when Woody moved him to the 4, his blocks and rebounds increased DRAMATICALLY, due to him playing closer to the basket. Woody was the one who calls ISO plays for Smoove in the half court in the high post, to develop his game offensively. Woody is the one that lets the kid play free enough to be a playmaker on the team, instead of just strictly having him play like a traditional PF. Don't get mad at me because I tell the truth on this board, instead of following the fallacy that Woody is the worst coach in the league. He's had to work with whatever the organization has given him. And this team has steadily improved because of his guidance. People are so concerned about the development of Teague, but never give Woody credit for the development of our two biggest stars . . Joe Johnson and Josh Smith. He could've easily played JJ like Phoenix did, by running him off screens and let him be a spot up shooter. No . . . Woody coaches him like a SUPERSTAR . . . and we're going to reap the benefits of the mindset in JJ come playoff time this year. He finally has enough help to do what he needs to do to get this team right where it should be. He could've also put a strict reign on Smoove, but he didn't. After the two had their differences in that blowup in 2006, they've been pretty much on the same page. Woody lets Smoove be Smoove, which is to our advantage most nights. When he gets too out of control, Woody has ALWAYS reigned that kid in. ALWAYS. Sir . . . I'm not the one bytching and complaining about the playing time of the 10th man on our team. I'm not the one bytching and complaining about the Hawks halfcourt offense, just because we don't play it like the Utah Jazz ( WHO AREN'T A BETTER TEAM THAN WE ARE OVERALL ). I'm not the one always trying to find fault in Mike Woodson, even when the guy is 17 - 6 this season. The problem is that people like you want the Hawks to be PERFECT, instead of just accepting the team for what they are. We're a team built to play defense FIRST, so we use that to fuel our offense. Simple as that. I'll stay behind this coach as long as we're winning on the court. You guys can bytch and complain about any and everything if you want. LOL.

AHF . . you've watched the league for a long time. In the playoffs, which teams usually excel on offense? The one plays great defense and the one who has the great ISO player, that's who. The Cavs lost because they couldn't defend Orlando, and their supposed role players weren't making shots. LeBron needs another guy alongside him that can consistently create his own shot. He and Wade are in the same boat this year, which is probably why they won't win. Boston has 3 guys who can create their own shot and the Lakers have 4. At least we have 2 guys who can do it. That does give us a puncher's chance. If fluid offense is the answer, why hasn't Phoenix ever made it to an NBA Final?

LOL . . . it gets more hilarious by the minute doesn't it? And don't mention that the SWITCHING DEFENSE that everyone hates, is a big reason why the offensive numbers are up. If Smoove happens to be caught on the outside challenging a shot, and we get a rebound off of a miss, guess who's already at half court, on the fast break? Why do people think he's shooting so well this year? He's getting the ball a lot in transition, and in early offensive opportunities. People just want this fluid Pete Carill Princeton system here, instead of enjoying the fact that we do play well on both ends of the floor most of the time. The defense and rebounding creates a lot of our offense . . . just like Woody likes it. Which is why he preaches defense and rebounding more than he does half court offense. Good job Woody.

Now see, you're being dishonest here, trying to manipulate his playing time numbers by adding in the 0 minutes for DNPs. If you get a DNP, you didn't play. If you didn't play, you have no stats. So if you're going to make that adjustment to his mpg numbers, you gotta adjust his numbers across the board. Using that line of thinking, his points, assists, rebounds, steals and even turnovers will be lower. All I'm doing, is trusting the coach in terms of his development. If Teague continues to prove that he won't be a liability when he comes into a game, Woody WILL play him. But he's not going to cut into Bibby's minutes, if he plays erratic. And he's not going to cut into Bibby's minutes if Bibby is shooting lights out from the field. The last 3 games, Teague has been great though. If Bibby suffers an injury that causes him to miss time, Teague simply has to do what all bench players do, and that's step up. You have to remember our offensive system though. Like Portland with Brandon Roy, we try to run everything through JJ. This is why Crawford can easily play with JJ in the backcourt. If the offense is flowing through JJ, Crawford still becomes the scorer that JJ can pass to. Woody will continue to develop Teague, but he's not going to leave him in the game if he's playing bad. If the team starts to post a significant negative +/- number while he's in the game, he's probably not going to play as much as we want him to play. I personally have no problem with that. If he continues to post positive +/- numbers while he's in the game, he'll probably start playing more. I think that's what we should look for in the coming months. If Teague comes into the game in the 1st half, and does something like score 7 points and put up 3 assists, while the team extends a lead, does Woody leave him in for a few more minutes, or does he take him out after about 5 minutes of playing time? Then in the 2nd half, does he get a chance to impact the game again? And I made a mistake on Kobe's numbers. The Lakers' 23rd game was on Dec. 10th of that year vs Sacramento. http://www.basketball-reference.com/teams/LAL/1997_games.html The Sacramento game was Kobe's 18th game that he played in, So he actually had 5 DNPs in his first 23 games. In addition to the Nov. 22nd and 24th games, Kobe didn't play on opening night Nov. 1st vs Phoenix, in the Dec.. 3rd game vs Seattle, and in the Dec. 6th game vs Orlando. I didn't double check the Laker schedule thoroughy enough, in comparison to Kobe's game log. My bad for that mistake. So just to adjust his numbers: 20 or more minutes: 4 games 10 - 19 minutes: 3 games less than 10 minutes: 11 games . . . ( played 5 minutes or less in 3 games = 17% . . . 8 games ( if you're going to count the DNPs ) = 44% of the time ) I understand your concerns. I just think people are making too big of a deal of our rookie PG getting consistent minutes right now, when we have 2 proven vet guards who can play his position if need be. If he earns the minutes, like he's been doing lately, then by all means give them to him. We probably won't see anymore DNPs from Teague. If we do, we have to look and see how Bibby is playing. He might be shooting lights out, but with us still in a tight game, if that's the case. I have no problem with Teague playing 10 - 15 minutes a game. But I trust the coach to dish out those minutes how he sees fit. Trust the coach. ( NOTE: After 23 games, the Lakers were 16 - 7 . . . . they finished the season 56 - 26, one game out of 1st in the Pacific Division, and 4th in the conference . . . they lost in the 2nd round 4 - 1 to Utah ( the 2nd best team in the league behind Chicago ), a Utah team that they had lost to by 16, 26, and 12 points, before finally beating them by 2 in the next to the last game of the season ( kind of sounds like us vs Orlando ) . . . . . Hawks also finished 56 - 26 that year. )

And I'll type what I typed on the AJC blog last night . . . If we were to do what some people want, and use the "let every player on the 10-man rotation play 12 - 15 minutes a game" theory, we'd be a 12 - 11 ballclub right now. The starters were playing like crap to begin the year ( minus Crawford ). And defensively, if 3 of the bench players were in the game, the other team was going on a run. So on those occasions when all 5 played at the same time, it got ugly, unless Crawford had it going offensively. The defense of the 2nd unit was atrocious. They were simply not ready, or hadn't played together enough to know each others game. At 17 - 6, we have plenty of time to develop the kid. Plenty of time. People simply has to trust the coach to get it done, that's all.

Every coach I've ever seen, has 2 sets of rules, when it comes to starters and bench players. This isn't rocket science folks. If you have a player on the bench who is messing up, why leave him in the game, when you can put the starter back into a game? If the answer is to leave him in while he learns from his mistakes . . . fine. But you might lose games while that player is learning. So if you don't want to lose games because of a bench player, then you play it safe and put the starter back in. If we go by your theory and AHF's, Larry Brown is messing up as well. Like Woody, he absolutely LOVES Flip Murray. This means that Acie doesn't even dress on most nights. And because he loves Flip, D.J. Augustin's playing time has been cut almost in half, so he's not being fully developed either. And D.J. didn't have a bad year last year either. People kill me acting like Woody is some alien coach, that does things that other coaches don't do . . . like timed substitutions ( which is a staple of Doc Rivers and Phil Jackson's coaching philosophy ) Trust the head coach.

Kobe's playing time in his first 23 games: ( played in 21 of the Lakers first 23 games ) 20 minutes or more: 4 games ( and all of those games were either double-digit losses or wins by the Lakers ) 10 - 19 minutes: 5 games less than 10 minutes: 12 games DNP: 2 ( Nov. 22nd and Nov. 24th . . he may have been hurt or it may have been a regular DNP, I don't know ) Minutes per game: 10.6 http://www.basketball-reference.com/players/b/bryanko01/gamelog/1997/ Teague's playing time in his first 23 games: ( played in 21 of the Hawks first 23 games ) 20 minutes or more: 5 games ( and all of those games were either double-digit losses or wins by the Hawks ) 10 - 19 minutes: 4 games less than 10 minutes: 12 games DNP: 2 ( Nov. 3rd and Nov. 29th . . . Woody just didn't play him ) Minutes per game: 10.8 http://www.basketball-reference.com/players/t/teaguje01/gamelog/2010/ http://www.nba.com/playerfile/jeff_teague/career_stats.html LOL . . so in their first 23 games, Teague and Kobe have been used almost EXACTLY ALIKE and in the exact same situations. So much for the checkmate @ jy21 It was a nice try by him though. And as you can see, if you clicked on the Kobe link, Kobe only played more than 20 minutes in a game in his rookie year, 20 times, while he got less than 10 minutes 24 times. Like the Hawks are doing with Teague, the Lakers brought Kobe along slowly. By midseason, Kobe was able to play extended minutes if need be. You guys just need to start trusting the coach. He knows what he's doing with Teague. There is no sense trying to put too much on the kid right now, if we have capable guards who can handle the load. Woody has said that his minutes will increase as the season progresses. So you guys just need to trust the coach, and watch Teague slowly develop. Contrary to popular belief, he was doing the same thing with Acie in his first year, but Acie got hurt . . . twice. Trust the coach people.

I think Wade loves South Beach too much, and would only consider going to Chicago as a possible move ( which would instantly elevate that team to a 50+ win level ). Miami has enough money to seriously change the look of that team next year. Adding a Bosh or Amare to Wade, would make that team formidible again. They'd just have to make sure to add the right scrubs around them. To me, NY, Chicago, Jersey, and Minnesota are all possible teams that will go after JJ with full force. The wildcard in this, may actually come from how appreciated JJ perceives himself to be from the people in Atlanta. It's obvious that the fan base shows more love and admiration for Smoove, than they do JJ . . even if those fans know that JJ is the more talented player. ( the Smoove lovers will debate me on this though ). I think the fans, and especially the media may need to start treating JJ like the all-star that he is, instead of just a guy who is simply a piece of the puzzle.

On the AJC blog, the Memphis game was one I said that we'd lose, because I think we're going to definitely handle Utah. Memphis does provide problems for us on the frontline and athletically. They played Boston tough last night, but Gay really faded in the 2nd half of that game, after playing a great first half. Gay and Mayo are pretty good ISO players, as well as Randolph. I think the key is to get Zach out of this game, and make that team more dependent on Rudy and O.J. Can't let Zach control this game on the boards, and on the offensive end. This is definitely a game in which we can't see Smoove get a quick 2 fouls. Or Horford for that matter. The one thing that we do have going for us, is that tomorrow night's game will be Memphis' 3rd game in 4 nights. And we have a full 3 days rest, without having to travel anywhere. The Hawks should be very fresh and not have any fatigue issues. LOL . . although the last time we had that much rest, it was right before the Orlando game, but I digress. But if we lost, it wouldn't shock me one bit.