Are the Hawks Mentally Tough Enough?

[Highpozt2]

Lets face it --- it does not look good for the Hawk --- again I will state there is no intensity and the coaching adjustments have been atrocious --- the Hawks don't look like they no what to do and it is hard to play aggressive when i.e. every time you rotate hard a man dives in for a dunk.

OK enough everyone knows we have looked atrocious ---- now a quick quick fix is what the Hawks need.

1. They have to be mentally tough enough to forget and look ahead otherwise they are already defeated

2. Joe absolutely needs to score more than 10 points, that is not going to get the Hawks there from their allstar in the playoffs

3. The whole team cannot focus on Wade because the 4 other players are killing us.

(that means Joe the superstar needs to take it upon himself to say I am not going to be outplayed in every aspect of the game by Wade --- in fact like most superstars when their team is spiraling downward Joe should D Up Wade. I know this sounds strange, but if you double and triple team Wade his court vision is so good you are going to get killed by the other players.

Magic, Wade, Kobe, Jordan would always say give me their best player on defense and I will take care of the rest. I hope Joe has that in him.

4. Here is the question is there a quick fix for the Hawks stagnant offense??? If there is it will be Bibby and Joe breaking down defenders and finding the open player. It will require fast breaking and the Hawks absolutely must forced the pace.

Everything above #1 thru #4 Wade did after game 1 --- mentally tough, scoring, shut down D, outplaying the other teams superstar, controlling tempo, breaking down defenders and finding the open players - I hope Joe can take it to another level.

[bumpyphish1]

Ever heard the statement that a team takes on the personality of its coach?

The question you need to be asking is " Is Woody Mentally Tough (or just Competent) Enough?"

[TheNorthCydeRises]

High, you are exactly right in your assessment, especially about JJ. He's the one that needs to step it up. If he steps it up, everybody else may follow. Mental toughness is something I don't question about Woody, because he stresses rebounding and defense all the time. So when those guys aren't doing it, I have to blame the players.

Defintely blame Woody for the stagnant offense. But even with that, the players have to be more aggressive and more decisive about the shots they take.

- I don't want JJ to go another game, without shooting a FT.

- I don't want to see Smoove be listless on the boards for minutes/quarters/halves at a time

Those are the 2 that really need to step their games up. But it mainly begins with the captain.

[DrReality]

I think the chances are between slim and none.

[coachx]

All I got are 4 words.

Time to man up !

That is all I got. I don't think it has as much to do with X's & O's at this point as it does simply maning up. The Hawks played scared, like they did not want it, like they did not think they were good enough in their minds to compete.

Must they have 20,000 fans cheering for them in their home arena to man up ? Last nights game was just like the games in Boston last year where we had no interest in even competing. The problem is that this Heat team is no where near the quality of last year's Boston team.

This team has to get back in attack mode. They have to get that fire in their eye. It hurt to look in their eyes Saturday. They looked scared. I had a house full of folks over to watch the draft and the game. Neddless to say the TV stayed on the 2nd round of the draft b/c the Hawks were an embarrasmant. The folks at my house, who were not die hard Hawks fans, had no interest in seeing that travesty of a so called basketball game. Had 10 folks over who really to become Hawks fans on Saturday.....Oh well.

If Marvin cannot play in game 4, I WOULD START WEST FOR SIMPLE THE FACT THAT HE WILL HAVE THAT FIRE IN HIS EYE AND WILL PLAY LIKE HE ACTUALLY GIVES A DAMN.

Edited April 27, 2009 by coachx

[Diesel]

The Hawks can be as mentally tough as 299 Spartans.. Without adjustments and an offensive gameplan, we're going to die another death tonight.

We have to focus on stopping Cook, JO, Beaslem, Chalmers, and Haslem. That done, we can beat Miami. I'm not saying Let Wade get his, but don't lose focus on these other guys.