Assessment: Atlanta Hawks coach Mike Woodson

[Southern_Bred]

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Team Strengths

Get into a running game with this team and you may lose. In an open-court game, this team is very dangerous. Joe Johnson (19.6 ppg, 6.5 apg) and Al Harrington (18.8 ppg, 6.9 rpg) are the two big-time players on this roster.

Team Weaknesses

Defense, defense and defense. Atlanta is ranked 27th in the NBA in points allowed (101.7 ppg) and 28th in field-goal percentage defense, allowing opponents to shoot an unbelievable .479. Although this team is not overly talented, they have enough athletes, with Johnson, Harrington, Josh Smith and Josh Childress, that they should be able to defend at a higher level. Teams that refuse to get into a running game with the Hawks and consistently get into their sets get great shots and beat them.

Coaching Style

Mike Woodson has been with the club for almost two years. In two years, you can begin to mold a team in your image and have an identity. I am not sure what the identity of this team is. Although their talent base is low in comparison to the rest of the NBA, this team desperately needs to get a true point guard, improve dramatically on defense and mature quickly.

Coaching Challenges

This is a team that has been through a lot in the past 12 months. From their management woes in the offseason to their draft picks (skipping Chris Paul) and the death of Jason Collier, there has been a lot to endure for the organization.

The Hawks' roster does not have enough talent to compete on a nightly basis and be a playoff team

, even in the weak East.

Looking Ahead

Unfortunately for the Hawks, Johnson and Harrington are the only two players ready for prime time play in the NBA.

Zaza Pachulia, Tyronn Lue, Childress and Smith are nice complementary players. The rest of the roster is either too young (Marvin Williams), too immature (Salim Stoudamire) or incapable of putting Atlanta in the playoff picture.

Former NBA coach John Carroll of Scouts Inc. writes regularly for ESPN Insider.

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How are Joe Johnson and Harrington the only two players ready for prime time. We do have a top 5 shot-blocker on the team, a fg% leading guard/forward in Childress, and a servicable big in Zaza. If it did not take everyone so long to get comfortable with their roles, reason for 2-16 start, we would have been competing for the playoffs.

http://insider.espn.go.com/nba/insider/col...ssessment_hawks

[TheDude]

you forgot, we're supposed to draft players who are mature veterans at the age of 28 in the prime..god forbid you actually draft someone who is YOUNG and not already in the NBA...

i can understand if he's critiquing our status as of this very minute going into the playoffs but at least he should throw a brother a bone and mention a bright future..

man, i cannot wait till we are beating the brakes off of people and these ford types come-uh kissing our butt.

[Packfill]

You have to win to get respect, whether it is from the media, fans or other teams. Until the Hawks do that on a consistent and extended basis they will be looked down upon by the national media. Plain and simple. It shouldn't really upset anyone.