Moderators lethalweapon3 Posted March 26, 2010 Moderators Report Share Posted March 26, 2010 Whatever your perceptions of the Browless Wonder, Mike Woodson is closing fast on a feat not accomplished by an individual NBA coach in a half-century. Victory number 48 will allow the Atlanta Hawks to boast five consecutive seasons of increasing win percentages. That, in itself, is rare but nothing new. On eight other occasions, NBA organizations have enjoyed a half-decade worth of regular season finishes without regressing or plateauing along the way. The Mavericks escaped the doldrums of the 1990s with a 1998 draft that netted Dirk Nowitzki and Steve Nash. The most recent case of increased “win totals” was the Timberwolves, having gone from Tony Campbell and Pooh Richardson in 1991-92 to KG and Starbury by 1996-97. The Wolves remain the only NBA team to increase their wins from the prior season for six straight years. Remarkably, in all but one instance, franchises sifted through two, and often many more, head coaches during their ascents up the regular-season win column. Legendary Hawks owner Ben Kerner, who changed coaches about as often as he changed suits (and cities), paraded through six coaches between 1953-54 and 1959-1960. Prior to Woodson’s pending accomplishment, only once has an NBA coach, at the helm for a team at a subpar season’s start, increased his win total with that team in each of the next five years. That one exception was Red Auerbach, already the incumbent coach when the stuck-in-neutral Celtics embarked on a 36-36 season in 1954. Add Bill Russell to a talented nucleus two seasons later, and by 1960 the Celtics were well on their way to their third NBA title. As an asterisk, veteran coach Don Nelson was the coach during the Mavericks’ resurgence, but unlike Woodson was brought on after the low-point season had already begun. Given Auerbach was an incumbent coach, for a .500 team in an 8-team league, one could argue Woodson’s successes as a persevering first-time head coach stand alone in the modern era. Below are the previous periods in which NBA teams have improved for five straight seasons (head coaches shown in parentheses), along with descriptions of what happened during their rise and after they peaked. Except for the Atlanta Hawks, a common theme in each of the stories was the addition of a #1 overall NBA draft pick and/or a current or sure-fire future NBA Hall of Famer (Bill Russell, Bob Pettit, Julius Erving, Karl Malone, John Stockton, Danny Manning, Kevin Garnett, Allen Iverson, Dirk Nowitzki, Steve Nash). Unless Joe Johnson is perceived as a certain Hall of Fame player, Woodson’s accomplishments are all the more noteworthy. Milwaukee/St. Louis (Andrew Levane/Red Holzman/Slater Martin/Alex Hannum/Andy Phillip/Ed McCauley) 1953-54: 21 - 51 .292 Just one player averaged double figures (Don Sunderlage, 11.2 PPG); Red Holzman added on as player/coach 1954-55: 26 - 46 .361 Rookie Bob Pettit stars immediately as Holzman becomes a full-time coach 1955-56: 33 - 39 .458 1956-57: 34 - 38 .472 Losing record good enough for three-way division tie in the West, but Holzman canned mid-season; Martin, then Hannum, takes coaching helm; Hawks reach NBA Finals behind Pettit and Macauley 1957-58: 41 - 31 .569 Cliff Hagan becomes a star; Best of the weak West, Hawks take advantage of injured Bill Russell to edge Celtics for NBA title 1958-59: 49 - 23 .681 Versatile Clyde Lovellette added for scoring, rebounding punch to frontline; Hannum replaced by Phillip, then Macauley; Hawks upset by Elgin Baylor's 33-39 Minneapolis Lakers for West title 1959-60: 46 - 29 .613 110.7 Opponent PPG fewest in the NBA; Avoided repeat playoff failure against the 25-50 Lakers; Fell to Boston in 7-game NBA Finals; Needed guard help would come after season when Lenny Wilkens drafted Boston (Red Auerbach) 1954-55: 36 - 36 .500 Bob Cousy, Bill Sharman, and Ed Macauley star, but team struggled defensively; first team to feature "sixth man" and score 100+ PPG 1955-56: 39 - 33 .542 1956-57: 44 - 28 .611 Tommy Heinsohn, K.C. Jones drafted; Macauley and Cliff Hagan traded to Hawks for Bill Russell; 1st of 17 titles 1957-58: 49 - 23 .681 1958-59: 52 - 20 .722 2nd NBA title 1959-60: 59 - 16 .787 3rd NBA title 1960-61: 57 - 22 .722 Still another NBA title, although roster adjustments to advance K.C. and Sam Jones reduced victories slightly Philadelphia (Roy Rubin/Kevin Loughery/Gene Shue/Billy Cunningham) 1972-73: 9 - 73 .110 Worst NBA season ever began with Billy Cunningham's departure for ABA 1973-74: 25 - 57 .305 #1 pick Doug Collins and Tom Van Arsdale arrive to help Fred Carter 1974-75: 34 - 48 .415 Cunningham returns from ABA 1975-76: 46 - 36 .561 George McGinnis arrives from ABA; return to playoffs 1976-77: 50 - 32 .610 Julius Erving arrives from ABA; Sixers reach NBA finals 1977-78: 55 - 27 .671 1978-79: 47 - 35 .573 McGinnis traded; Collins struggles to stay healthy; Bullets emerge as dominant team in East Utah (Frank Layden/Jerry Sloan) 1984-85: 41 - 41 .500 John Drew suspension and Adreian Dantley holdout regresses team coming off first NBA playoffs; John Stockton 16th pick of 1984 draft; young Mark Eaton becomes a shotblocking champ 1985-86: 42 - 40 .512 Enter the Mailman (Karl Malone, 13th pick of 1985 draft), right on time as star Darrel Griffith out for season 1986-87: 44 - 38 .537 1987-88: 47 - 35 .573 Stockton takes over full-time at PG 1988-89: 51 - 31 .622 Jerry Sloan takes over for Frank Layden 1989-90: 55 - 27 .671 1990-91: 54 - 28 .659 Defensive team adjusted to addition of Jeff Malone; struggled for division with San Antonio's young David Robinson LA Clippers (Gene Shue/Don Casey/Mike Schuler/Larry Brown) 1986-87: 12 - 70 .146 Star Marques Johnson injures neck after running into teammate Benoit Benjamin, season ends after 10 games; Leading scorer was Mike Woodson 1987-88: 17 - 65 .207 Michael Cage becomes a rebounding monster 1988-89: 21 - 61 .256 1st Overall Pick Danny Manning arrives 1989-90: 30 - 52 .366 1990-91: 31 - 51 .378 1991-92: 45 - 37 .549 Larry Brown arrives mid-season; First of back-to-back playoff seasons 1992-93: 41 - 41 .500 Young Mark Jackson replaces Doc Rivers; Larry Brown and Manning fall out; by 1993-94, Brown leaves and Manning traded away by midseason Minnesota (Jimmy Rodgers/Sidney Lowe/Bill Blair/Flip Saunders) 1991-92: 15 - 67 .183 Offensive options consisted of Tony Campbell, Doug West, and Pooh Richardson 1992-93: 19 - 63 .232 Drafted Christian Laettner 1993-94: 20 - 62 .244 Drafted Isaiah Rider 1994-95: 21 - 61 .256 1995-96: 26 - 56 .317 Drafted Kevin Garnett; Laettner sent to Atlanta; Flip Saunders brought on to coach after 20 games; Rider's first flameouts begin 1996-97: 40 - 42 .488 Rider traded to Portland; Drafted Ray Allen and traded him for Stephon Marbury; KG and Gugliotta become All-Stars; Wolves make first playoff appearance 1997-98: 45 - 37 .549 Garnett agrees to unprecedented (6-year/$126 million) contract 1998-99: 25 - 25 .500 Lockout! Plus Tom Gugliotta left for Phoenix, Starbury traded to New Jersey Philadelphia (John Lucas/Johnny Davis/Larry Brown) 1995-96: 18 - 64 .220 Shawn Bradley's experiment ends, traded early in season to New Jersey 1996-97: 22 - 60 .268 Allen Iverson picked first overall 1997-98: 31 - 51 .378 Larry Brown hired; Improved depth with Jimmy Jackson, Theo Ratliff, Joe Smith, Tim Thomas 1998-99: 28 - 22 .560 Lockout-shortened winning season; First playoff appearance since 1991 included upset of Orlando Magic in first round 1999-00: 49 - 33 .598 2000-01: 56 - 26 .684 Acquired Dikembe Mutombo via trade for home stretch; Iverson-led Sixers reach NBA Finals in his MVP season 2001-02: 43 - 39 .524 Top-heavy offensive approach couldn't sustain itself; fell short to Paul Pierce's Celtics in first round; "Practice?" Dallas (Jim Cleamons/Don Nelson) 1997-98: 20 - 62 .244 Cleamons lasts only 16 games; Don Nelson brought on to carry the rest of the way; Probably the worst franchise of the 1990's 1998-99: 19 - 31 .380 Drafted Robert Traylor and traded him to the Bucks for rookies Pat Garrity and Dirk Nowitzki; traded Garrity, Bubba Wells, Martin Muursepp for Steve Nash 1999-00: 40 - 42 .488 Nowitzki quickly becomes a go-to scorer alongside first-time All-Star Michael Finley 2000-01: 53 - 29 .646 Nash emerges as a top young point guard; First return to playoffs since 1990; edged Utah in first round 2001-02: 57 - 25 .695 2002-03: 60 - 22 .732 Nowitzki and Nash become All-Stars; Mavs fall short to favored rival San Antonio in Western finals; most wins in franchise history 2003-04: 52 - 30 .634 Division dogfights with Duncan's Spurs and KG's Timberwolves; Antawn Jamison wins 6th Man award; Afterward, Nash leaves as a free agent for the Suns Atlanta (Mike Woodson) 2004-05: 13 - 69 .159 Next-to-last in scoring and giving up buckets; Free agent acquisition Antoine Walker shipped back to Boston in mid-season 2005-06: 26 - 56 .317 Free agent Joe Johnson acquired from Phoenix; Josh Smith becomes a known shotblocking presence; Touted as youngest team in league history; Overcame loss of late Jason Collier with emergence of Zaza Pachulia 2006-07: 30 - 52 .366 Johnson becomes an All-Star 2007-08: 37 - 45 .451 Lottery luck brings Al Horford; Mike Bibby added at mid-season; Hawks reach playoffs and put scare in Celtics in first round 2008-09: 47 - 35 .573 Team overcomes loss of Josh Childress to Greece with Flip Murray and Mo Evans; wins first playoff series in a decade 2009-10: ??? Horford earns All-Star nod; free agent Jamal Crawford becomes 6th Man award candidate ~lw3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Premium Member niremetal Posted March 26, 2010 Premium Member Report Share Posted March 26, 2010 (edited) Of course, the Celts went .500 and made the playoffs in the first of those seasons. The Hawks challenged the NBA record for losses in a season. The Celts won a title in year 3. The Hawks won 30 games in year 3. It's apples and oranges because the teams were starting from pretty different places. Edited March 26, 2010 by niremetal Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
spotatl Posted March 26, 2010 Report Share Posted March 26, 2010 Cool information. Thanks for posting it Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moderators lethalweapon3 Posted March 26, 2010 Author Moderators Report Share Posted March 26, 2010 Of course, the Celts went .500 and made the playoffs in the first of those seasons. The Hawks challenged the NBA record for losses in a season. The Celts won a title in year 3. The Hawks won 30 games in year 3. It's apples and oranges because the teams were starting from pretty different places. Excellent point ("apples and oranges") worth emphasizing -- I'm thinking "oranges and clementines" myself. And not only were the teams at different starting points, but so were the coaches. Red came to the Celts (a few years prior to the seasons listed above) with significant head-coaching experience relative to his peers (Kerner's Tri-Cities Blackhawks; the Washington Caps in the predecessor BAA) while Woody joined the Hawks as a newbie. Also, when it comes to "buying the groceries," Woodson began with his esteemed BFF Billy Knight, while Red Auerbach had, well, Red Auerbach. Red's 1954-55 campaign with the resurging Celts began with an incumbent starting backcourt of Bob Cousy ('54 All-Star Game MVP) and Bill Sharman ('55 All-Star Game MVP). Woody's maiden voyage carted out a backcourt of Kenny Anderson and Boris Diaw. ~lw3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
spotatl Posted March 26, 2010 Report Share Posted March 26, 2010 (edited) Interesting that all the other teams on the list other than the Clippers acquired at least one superstar during their run. Edited March 26, 2010 by spotatl Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moderators AHF Posted March 26, 2010 Moderators Report Share Posted March 26, 2010 Interesting that all the other teams on the list other than the Clippers acquired at least one superstar during their run. The Hawks didn't acquire a superstar but did acquire 3 All-Stars so at least that is something (I am counting Josh Smith in there because he was robbed this season and I am confident he will be recognized in future seasons). This is the biggest "what-if" in Hawks history for me: Macauley and Cliff Hagan traded to Hawks for Bill Russell What if we hadn't traded away Bill Russell and had paired him in the frontcourt with Bob Petit? Wow. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
exodus Posted March 26, 2010 Report Share Posted March 26, 2010 When you start at 13 wins it is hard not to improve. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moderators lethalweapon3 Posted March 26, 2010 Author Moderators Report Share Posted March 26, 2010 When you start at 13 wins it is hard not to improve. No doubt... at least for the next season. It's like, "how low can you go?" It's still hard for me to grasp that long-running franchises (Knicks? Lakers?) generally don't have track records of sustained improvement beyond 4-5 years. ~lw3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moderators AHF Posted March 26, 2010 Moderators Report Share Posted March 26, 2010 No doubt... at least for the next season. It's like, "how low can you go?" It's still hard for me to grasp that long-running franchises (Knicks? Lakers?) generally don't have track records of sustained improvement beyond 4-5 years. ~lw3 I think they do - it just isn't mathematically improving every single season one to the next. Which team here has the better track record of sustained improvement? TEAM A Year 1 - 13 wins Year 2 - 24 wins Year 3 - 30 wins Year 4 - 38 wins Year 5 - 45 wins Year 6 - 48 wins Year 7 - 46 wins TEAM B Year 1 - 17 wins Year 2 - 36 wins Year 3 - 46 wins Year 4 - 55 wins Year 5 - 53 wins Year 6 - 50 wins Year 7 - 56 wins Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moderators lethalweapon3 Posted March 26, 2010 Author Moderators Report Share Posted March 26, 2010 I think they do - it just isn't mathematically improving every single season one to the next. Which team here has the better track record of sustained improvement? TEAM A Year 1 - 13 wins Year 2 - 24 wins Year 3 - 30 wins Year 4 - 38 wins Year 5 - 45 wins Year 6 - 48 wins Year 7 - 46 wins TEAM B Year 1 - 17 wins Year 2 - 36 wins Year 3 - 46 wins Year 4 - 55 wins Year 5 - 53 wins Year 6 - 50 wins Year 7 - 56 wins Knowing Year 7 ahead of time, I'd gladly take Team B. Of course, by Year 6, without a championship ring, two years of perceived slippage puts pressure on teams to "re-tool", "re-load", or "blow the doggone thing up" (Hawks in the 90s with solid seasons that go nowhere), in the hopes that some fresh blood will get the Year 7 result. For some teams (Lakers, Spurs) re-tooling works, plus they have the confidence of their fans that it will work, so they don't get strung up over mathematical regular-season results ("OMG, will we win 60 this year?"). That's also where team's perception of their prime competition comes into play: are you banging heads regularly against Duncan, Yao, and Dirk, or are you getting the benefit of fighting with Wizards and Bobcats? ~lw3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
spotatl Posted March 26, 2010 Report Share Posted March 26, 2010 (edited) Year 4 - 55 wins Year 5 - 53 wins Year 6 - 50 wins Year 7 - 56 wins WHile thats a period of sustained success- I don't see that as a period of sustained improvement. Hell yes I'll take sustained success any time. Edited March 26, 2010 by spotatl Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
exodus Posted March 26, 2010 Report Share Posted March 26, 2010 The Hawks took 5 years to break 40 wins. That is lame no matter how you look at it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moderators lethalweapon3 Posted March 26, 2010 Author Moderators Report Share Posted March 26, 2010 The Hawks took 5 years to break 40 wins. That is lame no matter how you look at it. It'd be interesting to see the longest periods without a .500+ record in the league, I'm sure there are some doozies of teams in that department. For "way-too-slow growth" mentors, just among those above, they have 90's-00's Sixers (NBA finals by Year 6) and the old-school Hawks (NBA champs by Season 5 -- thanks for that injury, Bill!) to look up to. ~lw3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
spotatl Posted March 26, 2010 Report Share Posted March 26, 2010 (edited) It was actually a 10 year run of the hawks not winning 40 games. 13 wins was just the start of the ascension. Boston had a 9 year run starting in 93 Chicago had a 6 year run starting in 98 Cleveland had a 6 year fun starting in 98. Those were just the 3 teams in alphabetical order. I don't think its all that rare to have 4 seasons below 40 wins when you are rebuilding. Edited March 26, 2010 by spotatl Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
exodus Posted March 26, 2010 Report Share Posted March 26, 2010 It was actually a 10 year run of the hawks not winning 40 games. 13 wins was just the start of the ascension. I know. I was just looking at the start of the BK/Sund/Woody era. BK blew everything up and started over. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moderators lethalweapon3 Posted March 26, 2010 Author Moderators Report Share Posted March 26, 2010 It was actually a 10 year run of the hawks not winning 40 games. 13 wins was just the start of the ascension. Exactly. The first year being the 31-19 lockout year followed by several years of Isaiah Rider, Antoine Walker, Big Dog, playoff guarantees, and general WTFness, all before they handed the coaching keys to Woody. ~lw3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheNorthCydeRises Posted March 26, 2010 Report Share Posted March 26, 2010 Woody had the perfect storm to keep his job. * No expectations in Year 1 * Year 2 was strictly a developmental year. * The injury situation in YEAR 3 helped buy him a little time in a year where we should've at least challenged for a playoff spot. * The ownership group in an epic battle with Belkin * Chris Paul and Brandon Roy's rapid development into star players . . while Marvin slowly developed and Shelden was on his way to being a bust . . placed more blame on BK for the Hawks stagnation, than Woody's coaching. * Woody being able to win 3 games from Boston in the 08 Playoffs * Woody coaching the team to it's first winning season in almost 10 years, and winning a playoff series * This year . . ???? And let's be honest. How many ATLiens 3 years ago actually cared about the Hawks? It wasn't a lot of pressure to put an instant winner on the floor back then. Only the hardcore fans cared about the state of the team. So it was easy for a guy like Woody to keep his job, as long as the team didn't regress. Ownership wasn't about to spend money on a big name coach anyway, with the constant court battle going on about who will gain control of the team. At any rate . . . good job Woody, for being mentally tough all these years. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Premium Member Atlantaholic Posted March 26, 2010 Premium Member Report Share Posted March 26, 2010 Woody was lucky not to get fired after his third season... The injuries were his saving grace that year. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moderators lethalweapon3 Posted April 1, 2010 Author Moderators Report Share Posted April 1, 2010 Congrats to the Woodster on his rare accomplishment... and to the Hawks on 5 straight years of increasing success! ~lw3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MaceCase Posted April 1, 2010 Report Share Posted April 1, 2010 Quite the feat and congrats to the Woodster. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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