yardbird

Nope, just trusted the writer to have done his research before publishing. Based on the later story, turns out my trust was misplaced. You were right, I was wrong.

Good article. Thanks for posting!

Given the AJC's analysis of this year's order based on the Falcon's lesser record in it's division, I'd put my money on us picking third.

I agree with you, with one modification. Woodson is, IMO, better than given credit for. I think the difference is that the players are finally starting to put his teaching into practice (defend and rebound to win), where they had previously been incapable of doing so. It is no coincidence that the emergence of AJ as a veteran point guard and leader concurs with the team's better play. We finally have a coach on the floor to implement what the coach on the sidelines says. Woodson isn't all-world, but he's done a great job developing young talent. There will still be ups and downs like last night's end of regulation, because we're still a young team, but things are headed the right way, finally.

Face it, AJ may be a good candidate for Acie to learn under.

And he seems to talk major shiznit to opposing players when he blocks their shot or scores. J-Smoove is no emotional Tim Duncan IMO

I think most of your talk was with me and most welcome. Other games I've gone to and sat next to obnoxious fans of the visiting teams, which I find frustrating about Atlanta. Pleasure to sit with someone who actually understands our players and what we're trying to grow. Glad we got to hang out.

You were that loud . . . but I'm glad you care (though I disagree about Woody. I think it's the players who need to step up)!

Gotta say it was a blast catching the game with you cats! We brought the passion and willed them to victory!

I had #12 with 8 points and 4 assists in only 8 minutes of play. The kid pushed the ball on the fast break and never overdribbled, moving the ball up the floor by passing, often with no dribbles. The only thing that slowed him down was #2, obviously the coach's son and designated midget point guard. He called for the ball, dribble into traps and steals or forced one on three jump shots up . . . wait, can anyone confirm Salim was actually in the lockerroom at halftime ???!!??

With the possible exception of Deng, I think it might be that the teams hadn't seen enough of the players to extend them at the price the players felt they were worth. The jury's still out on whether those guys are stars-to-be worth big money or role players. The slow starts they've had suggest that the FO was smart to let the roles settle out before doling out the dough. Martin and Howard showed enough last year to justify their deals. Jefferson showed plenty, and is a hard to come by low post presence. The others don't compare to Andruw, who had actually proved his worth with a solid career on center stage before his 2007 letdown.

I think it's as simple as acknowledging (and preaching, by the coach) that if your defense creates low shooting percentages and steals, and if you rebound missed shots, there are more opportunities to run and have easy scoring opportunities. On the other hand, it's difficult to run if the other team scores easily and gets second opportunities through offensive rebounds. It worked, why so many complaints?

I was at the game and left late in the 3rd quarter, down 20ish. Once home, I found an injury report saying that Salim had a sprained right ankle, and Lue had a sore groin. I had wondered why AJ was our only point guard (Parker totally ate his lunch, as I'm sure you all saw). Had the point guard injuries been reported during the telecast of the game?

And what many lose track of is that this team responds positively to him, on the whole. Each player's game has improved under Woody from the time they arrived, possibly excluding Joe. That's impressive considering that none of the current contributors other than Joe and Lue had a clue about the NBA until they got here. In 90% of the games the effort is there. Historically, we lost out on the experience side and the individual confidence that experience brings. But that is all changing now, and Woody should get a lot of the credit.

http://www.ajc.com/blogs/content/shared-bl...se_practic.html

Really nice article on Marvin! Hadn't seen that, Thanks!

I agree that Woody deserves a chance to coach the players he developed into maturity. It's unfair to saddle him with the shortcomings of the last few years, given the youth of the roster. As to playing time for Shelden and Salim, I think their roles on this team, barring injury, should dictate that they play mostly in the 2nd game of back to backs, when they should dominate with fresh legs, if they're as talented as everyone thinks. Dominate in those games, and they'll earn more minutes in the other ones. The other players probably warrant being higher in the rotation right now than Shelden and Salim (though each has made a case for more minutes this regular season). The only player getting more minutes who arguably could warrant less is T. Lue, and based on Salim's play and attitude in the past, he was too unsteady to entrust with running the team. I bet Phil Jackson, Pat Riley and most other coaches would play Lue first right now, especially since he's likely among the most respected players in the lockerroom and a veteran. Continued solid play by Salim can change that however, and Lue could join AJ on the bench. Or, he may play better and save several games for us this year like he did last year, meaning there is little court time for Salim (wouldn't be the first time a talented player couldn't crack a line up). The bottom line is that Woody might be a great coach once the youngsters learn to consistently apply what he teaches on the court. I think they're in the process of doing that, and no NBA team "brings it" each of the 82 games in a season. Every team is occasionally flat (Hawks Sunday vs. Washington), younger teams more than veteran ones. It's still too early to expect three year veterans to play like 8 year veterans every night. Most nights, Woody gets effort out of these players beyond their years.

Love the Dennis Green moment . . . I maybe could nitpick a little, but I largely agree with this. We're not as bad as we looked yesterday, but there's still a lot of growing up to do. It's a long season, hopefully this young team progresses rather than regresses from here.

Anyone else notice that when Acie is looking for the ball early in the half court set to try to run the offense, other players (esp. Smoove) hold the ball, give him the rookie look-off, keep the ball and we end up looking undisciplined? It probably takes some time to earn respect, but it reminds me of the run in last year between AJ and Smoove. The PG has to demand the ball and his teammates must defer to his judgment before Acie can be the player this team needs. He'll make a few mistakes as he learns the NBA, but the team will truly arrive a lot quicker once Smoove understands that he'll get much better looks and be more effective by deferring to Acie while he settles into a leadership role.

Realistically, KG is too good for any player on the Hawks right now (and maybe any player in the league) to handle one on one. He's too long, has too much hops and too much heart. I thought Horford had good defensive position, but KG could still easily go up and over AH in the post. Face it, KG is a HOF player. The talent of Pierce and Allen make you pay if you double him, which is the only chance to stop KG. Either of them could justify a double in their own right. The Celts with KG are just a juggernaught, and if we can't win the battle against their subs decisively, we can't win the game unless KG, Pierce, and/or Allen mail in the game, which is unlikely this year. We just have to learn from this game, continue to gain experience, and hope to catch them when we're having a hot game. At this point, we're not ready for the Celts. Maybe down the road.

On the post, it'd bring new meaning to backing down an opponent. Marvin would be unstoppable, at least until an old-schooler brought back the old "pull the chair" routine started by Rodman, I think (you know, let the poster fall when he tries to lean on you and you move out of the way).

I think that question has been pretty much resolved. True, he's not the prototype center, but he can matchup with most present-day NBA centers. While it would have jeopardized tonight's win, I was really looking forward to seeing him head to head with Amare. Experience edge to Amare, but I think it would have been interesting since AH has the strength and quickness to compete, imo.

Great to see his confidence growing. In time, he could be dominant, especially if he develops some post action to go with the so smoooooth jumper. He has the body to be a beast on the block, especially with the duckbutt . . . Go Marvin!

I was really expecting ZaZa to bring some new fire to the game in a fight to hold onto his starting spot. I'd love to see the two of them compete to start, and may the best man win. In the long run, that should be Al, but I think it'd be great if ZaZa's production kept AH in a backup/major minutes role until late season.

A lot of folks arrived around halftime. The crowd enthusiasm was not what it s/h/b, imo, though I did my best to compensate. There was even a wave started at a critical juncture in the second half, when I was screaming for a defensive stand with the Hawks up 5 points. Sorry, but I just don't get the wave thing. Who needs to entertain yourself when the game hangs in the balance.