Game 2: Thursday Atlanta at Orlando 8PM

[betta1]

Does Howard cry everytime something is called against him? It's annoying as hell to watch him play anymore.

Not as bad as Pietrus' "It wasn't me" face.

[Master8492]

Well... they played 33 minutes of good basketball (last 3 minutes of 3rd quarter was awful mainly due to benching Horford for no reason). I guess it's up from 12 minutes from last game. Next game the full 48 minutes?

[evildallas]

We didn't give up today, we just played like crap the last 15 minutes of the game. I'm interested to see what Josh could become with a coach that understands and embraces psychology (Phil Jackson?). I know early in the second half when we squandered the lead while Dwight was out I was yelling at the TV "Do something. Call timeout or just pull Josh from the game. You can't leave him in if he's going to play like that."

I really wonder what was said at halftime because it didn't inspire the team at all. Putting Jamal back in got us even the rest of the 3rd quarter but eventually our cold snap hit and that was all she wrote.

[parson]

We need some help; these guys look as if they don't believe that they have a chance. They don't believe in the offensive scheme and they definitely don't believe in the defensive scheme.

It seems to me that their body language is saying, "Why bother?" They're just out there playing for personal pride.

[Effigy]

Does Howard cry everytime something is called against him? It's annoying as hell to watch him play anymore.

It's what you have to do in the Association if you want to get calls. It sucks as a fan watching your player do that, but it's better than not getting the call. With Dwight's reputation this season he needs to do anything he can to get better calls, and less bulls*** calls like his foul in the first half of game 1 where he turned around and was called for a foul because Horford or whoever had his face next to Dwight's elbow.

[RussellandFlow]

I thought Mike Brown was a joke of a coach, but Woodson makes Brown look like Pat Riley, Phil Jackson and Red Auerbach rolled into one. Joe Johnson is also showing why he is best served being a good number 2 option on a team, rather than the main guy. I hope your organization does not overpay this guy. BTW when Woodson is canned, who would you guys like to see as your next head coach?

[azuresou1]

I thought Mike Brown was a joke of a coach, but Woodson makes Brow look like Pat Riley, Phil Jackson and Red Auerbach rolled into one. Joe Johnson is also showing why he is best served being a good number 2 option on a team, rather than the main guy. I hope your organization does not overpay this guy. BTW when Woodson is canned, who would you guys like to see as your next head coach?

JVG.

[evildallas]

I've given this some thought, but I don't know who would have the respect of Josh Smith and Joe Johnson (if he's still around). Monty Williams or Quin Snider would be my choice for better player development, but for name value I'd turn to Avery Johnson. My worry about Avery is that he was a micro-manager on offense and unless he's changed in that sense he might not mesh with the personnel.

[HoopsGuru25]

Ignoring the ASG's budget...I'd rather have Byron Scott than Avery. Most people here would hate Avery just like they hate Woodson. The Mavs ran isolation plays more often than any team in the league under Avery and he always favored playing vets over young players.

[HoopsGuru25]

I actually take that back. I didn't realize how good Avery's team's were defensively.

[evildallas]

Avery can coach D and has a very high winning percentage and was in the championship series. I hate him as an offensive coach, but I'm hopeful that he's learned to loosen up the reins a bit. I don't think he's in the price range, but I was trying to come up with someone who might have Josh's respect.

For ASG budget and long term benefit of the team the other two are more realistic. Monty Williams is an assistant in Portland and has been since 2005. I think that gives him a more balanced outlook than Woodson ever had and better exposure to systems. His youth may make him relate better to the Hawks roster. I've been impressed with Portland's player development and there is no way we could get Nate McMillan. I just hope Monty is the real deal of assistants.

Quin Snyder is a dark horse. He's been coaching in the D league of the Spurs organization and has done well developing young talent. Prior to that he was a college coach at Missouri and was an assistant at Duke. He ran afoul of NCAA regulations at Missouri trying to keep the program competitive. No concern about that in the NBA. I suggested him because I think our young player development sucks. By that I feel that the development of the player is directly in proportion to their own drive and efforts. Sometimes you have to push, sometimes you have to inspire. I'm not sure Woodson did much of anything.

[evildallas]

Got off on a tangent there about replacement coaching. Back to the game, the depressing thing is how well the team played for almost 3 whole quarters yet still be blown out so quickly in the 4th.

[JoshB914]

Was anyone actually excited going into the fourth quarter? With our offense figuring to come to a halt at some point, it was hard to believe we could really outplay that team for 12 minutes and steal one.

[evildallas]

Was anyone actually excited going into the fourth quarter? With our offense figuring to come to a halt at some point, it was hard to believe we could really outplay that team for 12 minutes and steal one.

I was cautiously hopeful at halftime, but expected a collapse. By the start of the fourth I was just wondering how bad the final deficit would be. I wish I could say I was more positive, but the truth hurts.

[JoshB914]

^^^ The two big plays were Jameer banking in the three to give them the lead going into the fourth, and Carter hitting the three in transition to put them up six after Marvin allowed him to block what should have been an easy layup under the bucket.

It just takes a few big moments to break our guys down and squash any belief they may have; which is the main cause for us getting consistently blown out away from home in the postseason.