Coach Woodson deserves some praise

[gsuteke]

I'm going to go against the grain and start a thread praising Woodrow.

Woodson has a terrible career head coaching record and much of it has to do with coaching a total strip down job.

That squad he had when the Hawks won 13 games was a joke. I understand the Hawks won't carry this 10-2 clip on through the entire season but it's good to see Woodrow making a dent in that win/loss percentage.

I used to get just as frustrated at ISO Joe as the rest of you but what if the players weren't there to shoulder the load if Joe couldn't?

Listen, I'm not saying The General is HOF coaching material, I'm just saying he's probably a little under appreciated considering he's shouldered all these Losses when the talent just wasn't very good.

Congrats to Woodrow - you've got some talent now make the most of it.

[DarnShadyRefs]

I'm going to go against the grain and start a thread praising Woodrow.

Woodson has a terrible career head coaching record and much of it has to do with coaching a total strip down job.

That squad he had when the Hawks won 13 games was a joke. I understand the Hawks won't carry this 10-2 clip on through the entire season but it's good to see Woodrow making a dent in that win/loss percentage.

I used to get just as frustrated at ISO Joe as the rest of you but what if the players weren't there to shoulder the load if Joe couldn't?

Listen, I'm not saying The General is HOF coaching material, I'm just saying he's probably a little under appreciated considering he's shouldered all these Losses when the talent just wasn't very good.

Congrats to Woodrow - you've got some talent now make the most of it.

I feel you gsuteke. I am going to hold back praises for Woody till December. Maybe Woody had a learning curve as a coach that most of us didn't anticipate. Maybe just like josh's game this year, Woody has finally put it his coaching game together as well. Winning sure does start to make one see others differently. We will see when december arrives I guess. Good thread.

[TheTruth]

^ I agree with this. Hard to argue with a 10-2 start...and he has managed Crawford and the bench (minus Teague) well. I don't like his lack of PT for Teague at all, but I am encouraged by his overall use of greater talent on the roster. So far, I will reserve most judgement, but will cautiously commend him on the job he has done so far.

On the flip side, with stellar and mature play from Josh Smith, better play from Horford, and an added Crawford, it is hard to not improve by a fair amount.

[volman]

I like the way he teaches the team to "defend, rebound, and push the ball". They could still push the ball a little bit more---it seems like they want to walk it up sometimes.

His monitoring of minutes is terrible...And sometimes he'll take out a player who is "hot" and playing well...don't get that.

Great job so far, Woody.

[gsuteke]

Listen, some miracles - and I don't type that word lightly - would have to happen before the man is held in the same regard as that weirdo Phil Jackson.

All I'm saying is the General probaly deserves a little praise when the team wins - and thus far they've won 10 and lost 2.

I'm not saying - I'm just saying. Back to your regularly scheduled Woodson bashing now.

[biscuit]

he going to burn them out again playing them to many minutes. if we have such a deep bench , why is it , they dont play?

[Atlantaholic]

^ I agree with this. Hard to argue with a 10-2 start...and he has managed Crawford and the bench (minus Teague) well. I don't like his lack of PT for Teague at all, but I am encouraged by his overall use of greater talent on the roster. So far, I will reserve most judgement, but will cautiously commend him on the job he has done so far.

On the flip side, with stellar and mature play from Josh Smith, better play from Horford, and an added Crawford, it is hard to not improve by a fair amount.

I'll agree with this

[sillent]

Part two of the Evil Genius. He spent most of his years teaching/learning from some of his own lessons. Now he is getting :blow out candles: Our team is growing up and we are very deep!! Now that our team is starting to practice what Woody has been trying to teach year in and year out and they have been tasting the wins from it they are starting to buy in and be hungry for more. Of course that hunger grows with everyone including Woody more of a will to win than teach(You can only teach the same things for so long before it is either understood or you have to go in another direction. I think we(Hawks) are starting to understand and therefore given more freedom(Hence our scoring/offense) and getting more trust from Woody to know when it's time to play we are going to play!!

[h2t]

I'm a pretty big Woody basher and even i've have had trouble finding much to complain about this year. Joe's minutes are down a bit and they should go down even more as the season progresses. Teague isn't getting many minutes because he's been horrible.

Woody is obv incompetent when it comes to offense but in all other phases he's done a good job this season imo. And even the 'offense' has been efficient because of all the fast break opportunities and second chance points. But what really matters is how we play in the playoffs. I dunno if Woody and his philosophies are good enough to take the Hawks to the finals..this year or any other year. I really hope he is though.

Edited November 19, 2009 by h2t

[TheNorthCydeRises]

I love how this thread has so few replies. It's absolutely KILLING PEOPLE to have to give Woody credit.

You know when I knew Woody wasn't nearly as clueless as people made him out to be? It was in December 2006 . . . in a game @ Denver.

It's about 9 minutes to go in the 4th, and the Hawks are down like 15 - 17 points. But before I tell the story of what happened after that, you need to know the story before it.

Going into that game, we were without Childress, Marvin, Speedy, AND Zaza. At that time, that's 3/5ths of the starting lineup and our 6th man is out. Woody is forced to start Lue, Lorenzen Wright, Shelden, and has to elevate Salim to 6th man status.

1st half, the Hawks pretty much slow the pace down to a crawl, and shoot well enough to have a slim lead at halftime over Denver. Salim was the shooting star in that half.

3rd quarter starts, and the Nuggets started to get their act together, using a late quarter run to blow the game open. They had everything going, and Melo was slowly taking over the game. By the time the 9 minute time out comes around, the lead was 15 - 17 points, and the Nuggets were preparing for the kill shot.

That's when Woody employs what I still believe was the best coaching adjustment of his career.

With a lineup consisting of . .

PG - Lue

G - Salim

F - JJ

PF - Smoove

C - Shelden

Woody instructs the Hawks to go to a zone . . a 3 - 2 zone reminiscent of the old Jerry Tarkanian UNLV "amoeba defense" of the 1990s. This allows him to put his best offensive group on the floor, while forcing Denver to try to either shoot over or pass into the zone.

So they try to pass through the zone, feeding the ball to a hot Melo. But the active arms of Shelden started deflecting passes or flat out stealing the ball. This ignited the Hawks fast break . . an unconventional fast break in which the Hawks were looking for quick jumpers. And when they tried to shoot over the zone, they had to do it from 25 feet and beyond. Little Earl Boykins couldn't shoot from that range,and shots by JR Smith and Melo were always contested.

3 minutes later, the Hawks had trimmed a double-digit lead down to 6. And when JJ hits a 3 on a fast break via another Denver turnover, the Hawks were only down 3 points with a lot of time to go in the game.

The run was absolutely incredible. Now, could they finish the job, was the only question. You damn right they could. LOL . . I remember Smoove either getting a rebound or stealing the ball, and starting a 2-man fast break in which he tosses an ALLEY-OOP TO SALIM. Of course, he's not going to dunk the ball, but he catches it in mid air and tries to lay it up. The shot is blocked, but it was a goaltend, tying the game.

( I remember now . . . I think it was after a jump ball situation in which Smoove got the tip, and he and Salim raced to the other end )

Then Shelden, of all people, wins the game. I think it was the defense of Shelden on Melo, that forced the jump ball that led to the Salim goaltend. But then the Hawks, true to their form, run ISO JJ, in which the Nuggets immeadiately double him. After damn near losing the ball, he passes to Smoove, who passes to Shelden in the lane. He makes a shot fake, gets Camby in the air, and goes right into him to draw the foul. Shelden hits 2 FTs and the Hawks lead 98 - 96. To seal the win, Smoove gets a fingertip block on a shot, and the Hawks win.

Without Woody's adjustment, and the belief that they could still get back in the game, they lose by 20 that night. That game was important at the time, because we were around a .500 team at that time ( something like 7 - 8 . . . 8 - 9 ). It was a sign that even back then, the Hawks were attempting to turning the corner.

Anybody who remembers the 06 - 07 season remembers that this team was DECIMATED by injuries that year, with the most catastrophic happening to Smoove right before Christmas, and to JJ in March of that season ( possibly under orders from management to "tank" the season ).

Even back then, Woody was preaching his philisophy of winning basketball. But his squads were way too young and the talent just not good enough to consistently do what he wanted to do.

Now, the kids are all grown up, even if they still haven't reached their full potential. And he has veterans . solid veterans . . that he can bring off the bench.

No more Royal Iveys . . or Cedric Bozemans . . or Salims . . or Sheldens . . to bring off the bench. Back in those days, a guy like Mo Evans would've gotten considerable playing time. But these days, the team is so good now, that even a solid shooter/defender like him can't get consistent PT.

We've come a long way folks. Our coach has come a long way. And his philosophies and teachings are a MAJOR REASON, why this team is where it's at today.

Make no mistake about it. The 28 - 8 run we went on last night, is WOODYBALL at its finest. A run that was started and finished by having great defense and solid rebounding fueling the offense.

[buckeye242424]

I'm a pretty big Woody basher and even i've have had trouble finding much to complain about this year. Joe's minutes are down a bit and they should go down even more as the season progresses. Teague isn't getting many minutes because he's been horrible.

Woody is obv incompetent when it comes to offense but in all other phases he's done a good job this season imo. And even the 'offense' has been efficient because of all the fast break opportunities and second chance points. But what really matters is how we play in the playoffs. I dunno if Woody and his philosophies are good enough to take the Hawks to the finals..this year or any other year. I really hope he is though.

This is how I feel.