Woodson should learn something from Popovich

[bronnt]

How's that for the "it's a long season" mentality? Following an overtime win against Golden State, he elected to give all of his big 3 the night off just to get them some rest on the back-to-back. None of them are playing tonight against Denver, who, by the way, trail them in the standings by just two games.

There's no way that Woodson would ever do that against any opponent, much less a good team close in the standings. Popovich knows that it's a long season and that he can get more out of his players by keeping them fresh instead of getting 40 mediocre minutes from his best player every night. That's the difference between Woodson and the better coaches in the NBA.

[AHF]

That's one of the many differences between Woodson and the better coaches in the NBA.

I saw a typo and fixed it for you.

[High5]

Well, to be fair, Pop and the Spurs are in a class of their own. They can get away with pretty much anything.

But Woodson doesn't have to sit his best players. Just doesn't need to play them 47 minutes every night.

Edited February 4, 2009 by High5

[bronnt]

Well, to be fair, Pop and the Spurs are in a class of their own. They can get away with pretty much anything.

But Woodson doesn't have to sit his best players. Just doesn't need to play them 47 minutes every night.

That's pretty much my point. I mean, you can't really compare the Spurs to the Hawks, since the Spurs have a bench and are second in their conference, plus they actually have a decent bench. But then again, part of the reason they have a bench is because they have a coach who will let those guys loose.

Obviously, we could never get away with resting Bibby, JJ, and Josh-that would be fugly to watch-but you could certainly give someone a night off here or there, or even just let your guys know that they'll only get 20 minutes or so one night-keep them fresher.

[Popeye]

That's why Woody is a bad coach, he doesn't develop (bench) players. Look at Spurs, Bonner? Mason? Hill? Udoka?

These guys would not play for Woody! If Pop had Acie, Solo, West and Hunter they would most likely be in his rotation. Sometimes it's good to lose few games early in the season while developing the bench, than play starters 40 min a game win a few more games and have no bench come the playoff time.

[frosgrim]

That's why Woody is a bad coach, he doesn't develop (bench) players. Look at Spurs, Bonner? Mason? Hill? Udoka?

These guys would not play for Woody! If Pop had Acie, Solo, West and Hunter they would most likely be in his rotation. Sometimes it's good to lose few games early in the season while developing the bench, than play starters 40 min a game win a few more games and have no bench come the playoff time.

I think one of the issues is that Woodson thinks he has to win ever game to keep his job. He knows that Sund and the ASG want a winning record & the playoffs this year or Woody looses his job. This puts Woodson is something of a bind as he has to try and win every game. Thus, Woody overplays the guys he can "trust" in order to boos the team's record.

Ultimately, the ASG put Woodson, and the organization, in a Catch-22 by giving Woody that lame-duck, 2 year extension. Woodson's contract is a chopping block contract: Its low in pay and short in years.

The Cath-22 is that Woodson feels he has to win every game. To win games he has to lean on his vets, JJ & Bibby. Leaning on his vets means that he can't develop the end of game skills of his younger players and bench (Smith, MW, etc). Thus, Woodson didn't try to develop the younger guys early in the season, even though they would be needed, in order to boost the overall team record. And, now, we are at the point in the season where we are loosing games because the bench wasn't developed, but we need the bench to win games.

As much as I think Woodson is an awful HC, the ASG didn't do the organization any favors by giving him that contract.

[Plainview1981]

How's that for the "it's a long season" mentality? Following an overtime win against Golden State, he elected to give all of his big 3 the night off just to get them some rest on the back-to-back. None of them are playing tonight against Denver, who, by the way, trail them in the standings by just two games.

There's no way that Woodson would ever do that against any opponent, much less a good team close in the standings. Popovich knows that it's a long season and that he can get more out of his players by keeping them fresh instead of getting 40 mediocre minutes from his best player every night. That's the difference between Woodson and the better coaches in the NBA.

In fairness to Woody, Pop has a better team and he knows his team will play hard and 1 game doesn't matter to the Spurs all that much.

[frosgrim]

In fairness to Woody, Pop has a better team and he knows his team will play hard and 1 game doesn't matter to the Spurs all that much.

To a point. But also to the point is that Pop trusts his bench to perform. He holds them accountable, but at the the same time gives them the opportunities to fail or achieve. That is a critical difference. The Spurs have some guys that if they were on the Hawks roster wouldn't see the light of day with Woodson, yet Pop has them playing well.

Note that the Spurs have built their bench with perennially low picks and cast-offs. The Hawks have had more upper level picks than the Spurs over the last decade, yet there is no depth. Point is, at some point, the HC has to take what he has and do something with it.

As much as people defend Woodson by saying the players have to step it up, Woodson also has to step it up and get players playing his way AND keep players ready to play. Woodson has not done this adequately.

[mrhonline]

Every coach in the NBA could learn from Popovich.

The way he got the most out of Tony Parker has always impressed me.

[Packfill]

How's that for the "it's a long season" mentality? Following an overtime win against Golden State, he elected to give all of his big 3 the night off just to get them some rest on the back-to-back. None of them are playing tonight against Denver, who, by the way, trail them in the standings by just two games.

There's no way that Woodson would ever do that against any opponent, much less a good team close in the standings. Popovich knows that it's a long season and that he can get more out of his players by keeping them fresh instead of getting 40 mediocre minutes from his best player every night. That's the difference between Woodson and the better coaches in the NBA.

Woodson hasn't learned anything from four years coaching the Hawks so I doubt he would learn something from another coach on another team.

[BeeSwatter]

How's that for the "it's a long season" mentality? Following an overtime win against Golden State, he elected to give all of his big 3 the night off just to get them some rest on the back-to-back. None of them are playing tonight against Denver, who, by the way, trail them in the standings by just two games.

There's no way that Woodson would ever do that against any opponent, much less a good team close in the standings. Popovich knows that it's a long season and that he can get more out of his players by keeping them fresh instead of getting 40 mediocre minutes from his best player every night. That's the difference between Woodson and the better coaches in the NBA.

Lost in all of this great move for resting his players talk is the fact that the Spurs lost the game. Maybe they can afford to give one away but I for one thought it was crazy to rest all three players in one night.

[AHF]

Lost in all of this great move for resting his players talk is the fact that the Spurs lost the game. Maybe they can afford to give one away but I for one thought it was crazy to rest all three players in one night.

Lost in looking game to game is how many games we have lost the past two weeks by running JJ into the ground.

[BeeSwatter]

Lost in looking game to game is how many games we have lost the past two weeks by running JJ into the ground.

I agree with you. I am all for extending the rotation and getting JJ's minutes down. However, I didn't understand what the Spurs did last night unless they were all hurt.

[bronnt]

I agree with you. I am all for extending the rotation and getting JJ's minutes down. However, I didn't understand what the Spurs did last night unless they were all hurt.

Giving away a loss now in the hope that it turns in three wins later.

Plus, Popovich knows his team is going to the playoffs, and iwll have a fairly high seed. If his guys are still fresh when the playoffs start, that's huge. Even if his guys don't win MORE games in the regular season as a result, the difference between 57 and 56 wins doesn't really matter to the Spurs. Both probably result in playoff spots with a 2/3 seed.