AnnArborHawk

Does anyone know the name of the song they play during the "Free Stuff" timeout (the only time the crowd really goes nuts, lol)?

Hand picked by D. Hall. Now that MV7 is no longer the man, Blank has to cater to the next best player on the team.

Definitely praying for T.J. tonight

I think you can add Mario to that list. Did you guys see after that Marvin/Smoove breakaway where Marvin finished with the dunk, Mario got up off the bench and gave a little Soulja Boy Superman pose. Between that and Horford hugging the mascot, the young guys are having fun and that's great to see.

6-4 is a good goal. But the competition gets tougher. This past 10 games the hawks had the easiest schedule in the league.

Quote: Myself and BHayley are going to the game against the Jazz on the 17th and I don't know about him but I plan to start some anti Woodson chants if I can get a few people from the board here to go and help! Who's up for it? How about Hawksquawk taking up a collection to pay you guys to stay home. 1) Don't go down to Philips to cheer against the team. Like it or not, Woodson is part of the team. Anti-Woodson cheers mid-game is just in poor taste if you call yourself a Hawks fan. 2) Protesting by buying a ticket? ASG will laugh all the way to the bank if you can drum up support for that one.

Amazing game by Josh....much better shot selection. Looks like Nique's talk worked. Let's hope he keeps it up.

May have to keep after it. I donated months ago and haven't seen anything, but I didn't bother to persist with it either.

Very happy to read this. The Hawks have been missing this kind of floor leader for a long time... "If his showing during practice Thursday is any indication, Law's heading in the right direction. He certainly hasn't lost his swagger during the layoff. Sure, Law's not running at his normal speed, but he seemed even more comfortable controlling the ball for his team during scrimmage action Thursday -- and didn't hesitate to chew out Zaza Pachulia when the veteran big man missed an assignment." Hopefully by the end of the year we'll have a true floor general who will lead vocally and hold his teammates accountable. link

Unfortunately, Josh is more a kid trying to earn a $12M paycheck than he is a Hawk. He's done that to himself. He's very talented but not playing for the team right now. Maybe they should change his nickname to Payday.

I love it. The rest of the team has to combine for 50+% tonight to make up for his bad shooting.

Quote: Quote: Marvin: Can only shoot the jumper on offense--commits a charge every time he drives the lane Josh Smith on offense: Do I even have to start? JJ: Tries to force the issue too much sometimes (I guess he has to until we get Acie back). Isn't vocal enough. Needs to get more technical fouls Josh Childress: Not as useful as he'll be once Acie is back. Too timid when driving the lane. Not strong enough Horford: Can't shoot a Free Throw worth jack. Needs to learn how to catch the ball T Lue: Can't do anything besides shoot. Worst defender on our team besides ZaZa ZaZa: Thinks he's Michael Jordan III (Josh Smith is Michael Jordan II) Shelden: Doesn't get used enough. Can't complete a dunk I'll comment on the players who have the most room for improvement andthe potential to actually do it. Smith: the good: Excelent job blocking shots on defense and puting 110% into transition defense. Continue to post up on the right block and in the high post, just do it more often. What to improve on: Start puting your body on your man and box out once a shot goes up. Needs play position defense in the post and get more physicall. Poor offensive shot selection from the peremiter. Marvin: the good Keep stroking the mid range jumper. Keep driving the lane. Moves well without the ball to find the open space on the floor. Needs Improvement: Boxing out and rebounding. Need more toughness in post defense (Thomas posterized him last night with a post up dunk that was embarassing). When driving the lane learn to pull up for a quick jumper when a big defender is your way (straight from Smitty). Horford: The good: Improving with pump fakes to allow to get off better shots in the paint vs. longer & larger defenders. Good strength and tenancity. Good rebounder. Good defensive post play for a rookie. Does not back down to bigger opponents. Attacks any one infront of him. Handles contact well. Decent right hand jump hook. Good finisher. Runs the floor exceptionally well for his size. Needs improving. Decent mid range shot but could improve. Does little with the left hand offensively making him a left block only player in thelow post. Horrible free throw shooter. Too many turnovers by traveling and losing the ball in traffic. Improve on setting screens. Shelden: The good: Plays physical. Rarely flops. Good rebounder. Good postion defender. Solid defensive fundamental. Solid frame and wide shoulders create space underneath. Good at setting screens. Needs Work: Limited offensive game. Limited physically with the exception of strength & girth. Limited on speed, agility, vertical ,and length. Unable to play above the rim. Needs to develop a consistent 15-17 foot jumper to keep defenses honest. Great post...I think you're spot on here. Smoove gets heralded as a great defensive player, but that's mostly based on blocks and steals. He often gets caught out of position though. He needs a coach who can help develop the fundamentals of his game. Once he starts playing fundamentally sound on both ends of the floor with that athletic ability, look out.

Quote: Quote: Marvin: Can only shoot the jumper on offense--commits a charge every time he drives the lane I'll be seriously disturbed if he starts shooting jumpers on defense.

Quote: Very true. That's Woody's fault, imo. To be more specific, it's Woody's fault that our offense has Horford on the high post setting screens for 4 guys who stand around outside the 3-point line. The fact that Josh actually takes the shot is his fault. Defenders know Josh can't make a 3 and don't defend him out there, he just can't discipline himself to lay off of an open shot. In fact, I have to believe that part of the reason we can't get much of a low post game going is due to the fact that Smith (whether through coaching or otherwise), is hanging out beyond the 3-point line where he doesn't need to be defended. That allows 2 defenders to hang out in the paint, b/c they'll give Josh that 3 all day. Marvin's 18-21 foot range keeps the defense honest on him, even outside the 3-point line. You have to play Joe out there. Any defense will man up our PG at the top of the key. Really the only guys that don't get respected out there are Smoove and Horford. Still, our offense has Smoove standing out there waiting for an open shot and Horford on the high post setting screens. With their defenders able to stick close to the paint, it's no wonder we have a hard time getting anyone into the paint. And Woody's idea of a low-post game being to post up AJ on a smaller PG with our forwards and centers out on the perimeter is a joke. The Hawks are probably the easiest team in the league to defend.

Quote: Marvin: Can only shoot the jumper on offense--commits a charge every time he drives the lane Have to argue with this one. He draws the foul a lot of times when he drives. He gets to the line more than JJ. I would call Marvin's major flaw that he wets himself after missing a couple of shots and disappears on offense.

link Hawks are dead last in number of possessions per game. RNK Team Pace 1 Denver 103 2 Phoenix 101.4 3 Seattle 101.3 4 Indiana 100.7 5 Golden State 100 6 L.A. Lakers 99.2 7 Utah 99.2 8 Memphis 98.7 9 L.A. Clippers 97.6 10 Cleveland 97.3 11 Orlando 96.8 12 Washington 96.5 13 Chicago 96.4 14 Sacramento 95.8 15 New York 95.4 16 Boston 95.3 17 New Jersey 94.4 18 Dallas 94 19 Houston 94 20 Charlotte 94 21 Toronto 93.8 22 Milwaukee 93.7 23 Minnesota 93.6 24 Portland 93.2 25 Philadelphia 93.1 26 New Orleans 92.6 27 Detroit 92.5 28 Miami 92.4 29 San Antonio 92.3 30 Atlanta 92.3

Northcyde, I agree with you 100%. You have to hold players accountable, but at what point do you hold a coach accountable for the players not listening to him. I agree Woody is probably an average coach. Unfortunately, while not fair for him, I think a change in regime may be what's needed for the players to start listening. After 4 years, it becomes "the same old thing" and while Woody may be right about those things, he may need to find a new way to engage these guys in the ideas of defense and rebounding, or make way for someone who can.

Sothron, if you got the word about potential tanking from the same source as all the FO talk around draft/trade time, then obviously the FO is aware of the situation, correct?

Quote: Quote: I think we have a big problem when one of our top 3 players seems to think that they are superior to any other team in this league. Nonsense. When did a little confidence become a bad thing? Smoove had a quote after the Phoenix game saying they should be 4-0. If, by that, he meant had they played the way they were capable of playing, they should be 4-0. If by that he meant they played well enough to be 4-0, then he goes from a "little confident" to a little delusional. My guess is the Hawks (as an entire team, not any one player) think they're better than teams like Minnesota, Seattle, Washington (at the time), Miami, and take these teams for granted based on their record. Then they find out that these teams can play with anyone, and the Hawks end up having to turn it on in the second half. If they weren't so "confident", and played like they were a 30-win team with something to prove (which - surprise surprise - they are), they may not find themselves having to play catch-up so often.

Quote: Quote: Let's see, he listened to his high school coach and landed a scholarship to a top 5 college basketball program. He listened to his college coach and accepted his role on the bench, hit the game winning shot in the title game, won a National Championship, was discussed as a possible #1 pick after his freshment season and was selected 2nd in the NBA draft. Hmm, I wonder why he would think listening to his coach would ultimately benefit him and his team? I agree. Marvin's coachability is one of the things I like most about him. I wish more players were like him in that regard. Horford seems to be very much that way. My guess Law is too with his focus on distributing vs. scoring. Chillz seems pretty coachable too. My guess is Smith is a victim of his environment. He's been told his whole life that whatever team he was on was HIS team. The Hawks didn't do him any favors by starting him his rookie season, when the Hawks were awful, and telling him and all of Atlanta that he was the future. Had they been in a position to bring him along the way they have Marvin, he may be more coachable and have the maturity he seems to lack. I wonder if the latter has to do with some of why this team is divided. Joe was brought in to be "the man," but they had already sort of handed this team, marketing and otherwise, to Smith - the hometown boy. Now Joe probably wonders why, as an all-star, Smoove is "the face" of the team. I think the Hawks FO dug the roots of this divide, and rather than right the wrong, seem hell-bent on letting it work itself out.

Quote: Marvin is and always has been a coach's pet. That's a good thing tho. I'm sure he prefers the term "coachable" LOL

Doesn't sound like Marvin's it on the coup... "I don't think you can ask for anything better than that," Marvin Williams said. "Once we made our minds up to defend and be more aggressive in the passing lanes, things that coach tells us all the time, this whole game turned around." Actually credits Woodson and makes it sound like they don't always listen, unless by coach he means Larry Drew link

Quote: Apparently there was talk among the players going into this game to try and tank enough to get Woodson fired. What? The petition didn't work?

No tanking...Go Hawks!