Stop Blaming Lue and Woody

High 5 · Post #21 » by **High 5** » Thu Feb 14, 2008 1:59 am

The difference is that Joe needs to do better on the basketball court against other NBA players where as Woodson just has to make simple decisions.

JoshB914 · Post #22 » by **JoshB914** » Thu Feb 14, 2008 4:04 am

Brazilian JJ is not hurt to he point where he can't play. If the injury was the reason he has been atrocious he would not be playing. I'm going to blame our franchise player over our coach and backu PG. But thats just me.

tontoz · Post #23 » by **tontoz** » Thu Feb 14, 2008 4:14 am

JoshB914 wrote:Brazilian JJ is not hurt to he point where he can't play. If the injury was the reason he has been atrocious he would not be playing. I'm going to blame our franchise player over our coach and backu PG. But thats just me.

If JJ was on crutches Woodson would still be playing him 40 minutes a game.

Just a few days ago Woodson was quoted as saying he needed to rest his starters because they were getting worn out. So naturally he plays JJ 87 minutes the last two games.

Most coaches will sit a player who is cold or hobbling. If you actually paid attention you would know that Woodson will keep playing JJ, and calling iso's for him in the 4th, no matter how cold JJ is. If JJ was 1-25 on the night Woodson would still be calling iso's for him at the end of the game.

evildallas · Post #24 » by **evildallas** » Thu Feb 14, 2008 4:27 am

JoshB914 wrote:Evil, if we are sitting at 27-22 right now you would still want to make a deal? I don't think it would be worth taking on another contract. And as Rip said, +5 wins is probably a low number.

Yes. In that situation I would probably be more inclined to make a trade for a PG because hope would exist for more accomplishment. Also the proposition is more wins because of Joe playing better. That helps cover up the deficiencies at PG, but doesn't replace them. Better PG would not take away Joe, but rather make his life easier.

After the loss in Charlotte I'm now uncertain about making a trade. We likely stand so low after the West Coast trip with or without a trade that it may be too late. I posted prior to the season that letting Woodson finish out his contract made me fear that this could be a wasted season. Those fears are starting to come true.

conleyorbust · Post #25 » by **conleyorbust** » Thu Feb 14, 2008 3:25 pm

evildallas wrote:-= original quote snipped =-

After the loss in Charlotte I'm now uncertain about making a trade. We likely stand so low after the West Coast trip with or without a trade that it may be too late. I posted prior to the season that letting Woodson finish out his contract made me fear that this could be a wasted season. Those fears are starting to come true.

Now I've never bought the "Joe is having a bad season because he draws too many doubles" argument. However, I think Joe would be a lot more effective if he wasn't the primary ball-handler, playmaker, and shot-taker. In the past it worked alright, but he has too many ways that he can **** up in that situation. Its too easy to key in on him and now that he is having a bad shooting season, its exacerbated (he's still our best point guard). If Joe was having a good season, a better point would help just as much if not more because Joe would draw so much attention off the ball that Josh and Al could go to work down low.

Anyway, I think its folly to say that just because Joe is having a bad season we should ignore the fact that our HC has the most predictable fourth quarter pattern which has led Hawks fans feeling more comfortable if we are heading into the fourth with a deficit than a lead. Its silly to say that, since Joe is having a bad season, we should ignore the fact that basically every player on our bench is having their worst season under this coaching staff (Zaza, Shel, Lo, Lue, Sal) but our rawer players still haven't started to develop (Law and Solo).

... and "blaming the backup point guard" is sort of misleading. No one blames Tyronn Lue. We blame BK who has had the time and assets to deal for a point guard since it turned out that Speedy was broken. Lue shouldn't be blamed but he also shouldn't be playing the entire fourth quarter of every game because even when he hits his shots, he can't throw and entry pass.

So yes, Joe should be playing a lot better or he should be sitting to rest his leg. However, there are other correctable problems with this roster that will matter more for the future (if Joe can get his form back which I think most observers would expect).