2011

[evildallas]

From HoopsWorld:

Atlanta has beaten Boston three times this season. The Hawks (24-13) have the fourth-best record in the East. But does that mean Atlanta beat any of the top three teams - Boston, Cleveland or Orlando - in the East in a best-of-seven series?

Maybe. What it really might mean is the Hawks need to stay together for another year, when they'll likely be atop the East and have a legitimate shot at the NBA championship.

The thing to keep in mind is this: Atlanta is building, and in light of that it needs to re-sign All-Star guard Joe Johnson and coach Mike Woodson, two of its fundamental building blocks. They need to re-sign both of them.

link here

Just one person's opinion, but felt it should be shared.

[ATL DirtyBird]

Clearly another year of growth will serve us well. Josh needs to improve his half court and post offense and stop getting caught in the air taking awkward jumpers. Al needs to continue his growth and Jamal has got to stay. Hopefully we can move Marvin for someone more productive.

[parson]

Interesting how much of an influence agents for players and coaches have with the publications. Woodson's has been working overtime.

Short of it - for me - is this question: Does Woodson make our team better? Well, he made no difference when we were losing; matter-of-fact, he mostly just stood there. So now, if he can't make a difference in our playoff games, we should find a coach who can.

[JoshB914]

I disagree, parson. While our once-young team has grown and matured together, let's remember that Woody has gone through a similar process. He was also just a rookie when he started here as he had never been the head man before. He has improved as a coach just as our players have on the floor and I think he deserves to be rewarded for that.

I would really like to know how many coaches out there "make a difference in playoff games." I can think of a few names and they are all either in better situations or cost wayyy too much for us. I'd rather keep the man who has been here through thick and thin.

Our effort has been fantastic this season, clearly this team is playing hard for their HC and are reaping the rewards because of it. To not offer Woody an extension at this point is ludicrous imo (barring a collapse in the second half of the season), he has gotten better every season and it has shown in our results. How could we let a guy go who knows his players inside-out and has lead us to improved records every single season since he's been there (that was annoying stat when we were going from 13 to 26 to 30 wins, but it surely bears repeating now that we look close to progressing into the EC elite).

[JoshB914]

I think a lot of fans don't want to give Woody credit because it will contradict some of their previous statements regarding him. A lot of people need to realize that Woody was right in many of the areas they criticized him for. Our fast break game picked up once he finally got a decent PG, his decisions to leave players like Acie Law and Salim on the bench has been proven correct as neither have done squat for themselves in the NBA, and his persistence and hard-nosed attitude with youngsters like Smoove/Marvin/Horford has also paid off as they are all playing sound, smart, and efficient basketball as they enter the prime of their careers.

Give the guy some credit! You can't argue with results. He has done a fine job here and I hope we will give him the chance to continue to do so in the future.

[ATL DirtyBird]

A better coach im sure could serve us well, but josh is right. I have to believe that Woody has created a special bond with these players. They have grown up together and are now on the cusp. Its been fun watching. Woodys managed volume shooters (Crawford, Murray) off the bench better than alot of coaches ive seen. Hes not a complete moron.

[Skyhawk1]

I really wonder what kind of offense Woodson would run without JJ. I also wonder what kind of offense JJ would bring on a team without Woodson coaching. I have the feeling they'd be as lost as penguins in the Sahara.

[LL Cool Scott]

Losing Woodson (who our players LOVE) would be a step backwards. Losing Joe Johnson would cripple our championship hopes. We've got to overpay Joe in the back end of his deal to have a shot at the finals over the next 3-4 years.

[Jamaaliver]

Losing Joe Johnson would cripple our championship hopes.

Championship hopes????

For the Hawks????

That's adorable......

[azuresou1]

Right now we have a tiny, tiny chance of winning a championship - and it mainly relies on Dwight Howard getting a severe injury, favorable matchups in the playoffs, and Kobe finally succumbing to his multiple injuries.

I'm predicting a title run in 2012-2013, actually, and I'm all for re-extending Joe AND Woody - but not if it means giving Joe a max or near-max, and it's also contingent on getting an offensive coordinator and someone to push Woody to play his rookies more. Say what you will about Acie and Salim, but Teague's been clearly better than both, and he couldn't get more than 3 minutes in that Miami blowout, and he doesn't get more time even when he's playing well and Bibby's sucking (like last night).

[LL Cool Scott]

^ I know. I just want it so bad that I'm willing to irrationally believe it's possible... Probably need one more big trade to make it a possibility, but it's at least a remote possibility for the first time since about 1987.

[evildallas]

If they stay with the process one more season - Boston is aging, Cleveland has to get a new center - they'll be rewarded.

He is ignoring the Magic or possibly just assuming that the elements are present for self-destruction (Van Gundy's emotion roller coaster, Vince's ball domination, the cost of adding anything else). The fact that they stomp us with regularity shouldn't be ignored. Other than that the other assumptions are sound. We'd theoretically have the best shot we've ever had to represent the Eastern Conference in the finals if things fall our way.

My take is that resigning Joe (which will take the max) means a multi-year window of being in the top 4 in the East. Having him walk will likely drop us to one of the teams competing for 8th seed in the next year (I have no clue after that). I can't determine if the financials of the situations make sense and I believe that will affect the strategy as much as optimism will.

[azuresou1]

Joe is not worth the max, and doing so will mean that we realistically never break past the #2 seed and pass Orlando short of drafting the next Shaq or Tim Duncan, but with the 26th-ish pick.

We have a great supporting cast, but a star player who is a fraud franchise player. That's not a knock on Joe - the pool of current true franchise players is limited to Kobe, LeBron, Wade, Durant, and that's about it. Maybe Tyreke Evans, but it's too soon to tell.

The Pistons are the only team to win without a true franchise player - and they got there through excellent chemistry, efficiency, and to be honest a lot of luck that the Lakers were not only injured, but Kobe was in "FU Shaq this is my team" mode and went on a chucking spree.

TBH, the only way we have a shot at Finals this year:
1st round: Toronto (Much easier team for us than Miami, for whatever reason)
2nd round: Boston (Good matchup, builds momentum for us)
ECF: Cleveland (Better matchup than us vs Orlando)
Finals: Dallas or Phoenix (Best matchup against possible Western Finalists)

And even with those matchups, I'd give us only a 25% chance to make it through.

[tbhawksfan]

[quote="evildallas"][quote]quote]


C'mon, if we could get something interesting for JJ in a S&T, we could possibly improves the teams over-all chances over the next three or four years/

I see JJ as a declining asset by as early as next year and the Woody JJ O won't cut it and we're under-sized and Bibby is our starting PG...

I think our championship chances are better if we can get a good S&T for JJ.

As for Woodson, the player/coach lovefest is a problem. Better coaching would go a long way.

[JoshB914]

^^^ How much better would another coach make us? We are 25-13 right now and among the elite in the EC. People keep saying we'd be better with a different coach. If you ask me, this team has come damn close to maximizing it's potential over the last three seasons.