Hoopsworld Q & A with Woody

[Plastic Man]

One-on-One with Hawks Coach Mike Woodson

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By Bill Ingram

for HOOPSWORLD.com

Feb 26, 2007, 21:46

The Atlanta Hawks may be struggling, but they have a budding leader in newly-dubbed All-Star in Joe Johnson and they have some young talent that's starting to come around in Josh Smith and Marvin Williams. Head coach Mike Woodson talks about the evolution of JJ, the acquisition of Anthony Johnson, and why he thinks his team is a step away from being a playoff contender in this Basketball News Services exclusive!

Coach, what's been the biggest challenge for you this season with the Hawks?

“The biggest challenge is still trying to compete at this level with a young team. We came in this year with probably the youngest team in the history of our league and that's been a major challenge for the ball club. It didn't help us, after getting off to a great start, going through the month of December with all of the injuries that we had. That kind of put us behind the eight ball because our key guys that we count on to play major minutes were sitting over on the bench in suits with me and that wasn't fun to go through."

You played in an era where injuries weren't the story of the day like they seem to be today. What do you think accounts for the increase in the number of injuries we see in the NBA today?

"I don't know. You have so many ankle injuries, knee injuries - I don't know if it's the shoes. Guys are quicker, they jump higher, I don't know if that has an impact on your body. We've certainly had our share of them and it's really hurt our ball club. For a young team we can't really afford any injuries because we're just not deep enough coming off our bench with guys that have some kind of veteran experience. So that kind of hurt us, but now we're back to pretty much full speed minus Tyronn Lue. Picking up Anthony Johnson, who's a veteran piece for us, will help us tremendously. I thought he stepped in last night and played extremely well for a guy who hasn't been in my system in some years. That was nice to see."

Good to have a veteran to come in off the bench who has been in a quality system in Dallas who is also somewhat familiar with this team and your system?

"No question, and that was the whole reason for bringing him in. He's a veteran point guard and I watch him play in the summer there in Atlanta - he plays with our players in Atlanta, as well, so that kind of helped him, I think. He felt very comfortable coming in. He's had a chance to play in a number of systems and he's grown quite a bit since I had him in Cleveland. He had an opportunity like in Indiana, where I thought he was very instrumental in helping them make the playoffs last year. So he's capable of running a team and he proved that last night, I thought." (AJ scored 17 against the Suns on Sunday night.)

What did it mean to this team to have an Atlanta Hawk - Joe Johnson - named to the Eastern Conference All-Star team?

"It's huge, it's huge. I think when we brought Joe in that was the thinking, that one day he would be an All-Star player. We didn't know it would come that soon, but I think when you start to build a team, when you tear it down and start over, you have to start building around players that you think can be All-Star players. Certainly Joe has fit that bill big time this season. He got off to a big bang starting the season and he's been consistent all the way through. He's a workaholic, he's a gym rat, and he's just as good off the court as he is on the court. That really makes it nice. Our players like playing with him, and as a player he's learning how to make players better around him. When your key guys are playing at a high level - you look at Nash, Kobe, Duncan - they have a way of finding ways of making their teammates better. Joe's starting to fall into that role. We just have to continue, as a franchise, to add pieces and watch this team develop."

Josh Smith was one of the last high schoolers to make it into the NBA before they changed the rules. Now we're starting to see him develop into a pretty nice player for you guys.

"He's starting to look like an NBA basketball player. When we got him a few years ago he was a young man that couldn't dribble, couldn't shoot, couldn't pass, had no idea what NBA defense was about. You expected that because he was fresh out of high school. I'm not knocking his high school coach, but he just hadn't had enough experience and time on the court and hadn't had too many coaches to develop the skills that you need to develop to play at this level. It was a work in progress with him, as it has been with all the young guys that we have. But he has made some strides because now he's starting to resemble a nice NBA player. He's blocking shots, he's rebounding, he's scoring, we feel good about him handling the basketball at times. He's grown as a player, but he still has a long way to go."

If there is one area that you feel this team needs to address more than any other, what would that area be?

"Consistency. I think when you have a young team they don't understand the dynamics of playing hard at a high level every night. I think when you get to that level then winning becomes a natural part of your every day game. Right now we're not at that level because there are nights where we play 30-35 minutes of good basketball and then that other 12 or 13 minutes beats you. To me that's a sign of a young team that's still trying to figure it out. But we're getting there. I like the progress of our team. Most of the time we play hard, but the inexperience of our team puts us behind a little bit. Sometimes we don't get calls that you think you might get because you're young. You expect the veteran teams that have been through the wars, that have been in the trenches, they seem to get the calls. But I like the progress of our basketball team. Our young guys are getting better, but we've got to continue to grow from a management side in terms of adding pieces and getting better in that area.

The Atlanta Hawks may be young, but they have some very nice pieces around All-Star Joe Johnson. As Josh Smith continues to evolve into one of the best young front court players and other young guys like Josh Childress and Marvin Williams continue to come along, the Hawks will be in great shape. Add a top draft pick this summer and the Hawks should be back in the playoff chase.

[Diesel]

Where are the hard questions...

Questions like: Why don't you use Shelden, Este, and Solomon a little more than you do?

Questions like: Do you have a doghouse and who is in it?

Questions like: Are you content with the Center position?

Lots of fluff in what I just read.

[TheDude]

at least Woody said that management needed to bring in some players.

[Plastic Man]

yeah woody got off easy. i don't like when he mentions us not getting calls b/c we're a young team. our players don't need to hear that excuse, even if it's true. that excuse can devour a young player's mind (like smoove last night).

diesel--those questions you want asked--i'm sure you can come up with some "what woody would say" answers.

[DrReality]

Woody has never answered the hard questions. Interviewer probably knew better. Basically he is a lame duck. It will only be a matter of time . . . . .