We will win tonight to make it 2 of 5 on the trip

DavidSomerset · January 30, 2008

Which is what people should have expected on this 5 game road trip with a gimpy Joe Johnson.

The loss at Portland hurts, but I'm not going to complain about 2 out of 5.

We'll continue to make up ground with our next homestand...I expect us to win 3 out of 4 of those.

The playoffs are all that matter, and we are right on pace for 7th or 8th in the East right now...All is well at the moment...

Everyone can relax with their unrealistic expectations.

All that being said, if we do lose tonight, and then struggle on the homestand, I do think we'll be in trouble...I don't expect that to happen, though.

ATL_BALLER · January 30, 2008

...it's about knowing that he have an absolutely clueless head coach and ownership group that for some reason doesn't seem to notice.

It's disheartening not to see these nice pieces being used, or coming together, like they should, when the problem is clear.

Admin · January 30, 2008

The problem may very well be that we have multiple players with low basketball IQs that maybe never "get it".

The problem may be that we have a coach who isn't capable of leading this group.

The problem may be that we have a GM that has done a poor job of polishing this roster.

The problem may be that we have an ownership group that has completely tied the hands of the GM, which has led to the above problems.

To place the blame solely on the coaching, executive, and ownership is a mistake. The players are every bit as accountable for the problems we are facing as anyone else in the organization. Woody can't Smoove stop camping out around the 3pt line unless he benches him every time he does it and then the fans would call him an idiot for benching a star player. I'm just using Smoove as example because the majority of our players don't seem to be able to learn from their repeated mistakes.

TheDude · January 30, 2008

for me it's to see improvement over the season..with young players you should see an gradual improvement over time and it doesnt appear that way...but we have no option but to sit back and watch.

TexasPete · January 30, 2008

Actually, I think we will throw in the towel and lose. I think this team is showing signs of tuning out the coach.

Sorry but all is not well in Hawkland. Let's hope for a few more losses to give ourselves a chance to get the coach fired at long last.

oken · January 30, 2008

Phil Jackson said that...

the regular season is for developing habits and setting up a team to learn how to win in the playoffs...

we're not doing that...

so even if we do make the playoffs...it won't even be exciting...

how can you get excited over a mediocre team making the playoffs?

just because anything can happen?

what have they shown to us to make us believe that they are on the right track and are setting themselves up for playoff success?

good habits?

good team ball?

establish an identity?

none...of that...

TheNorthCydeRises · January 30, 2008

Quote:

Which is what people should have expected on this 5 game road trip with a gimpy Joe Johnson.

The loss at Portland hurts, but I'm not going to complain about 2 out of 5.

We'll continue to make up ground with our next homestand...I expect us to win 3 out of 4 of those.

The playoffs are all that matter, and we are right on pace for 7th or 8th in the East right now...All is well at the moment...

Everyone can relax with their unrealistic expectations.

All that being said, if we do lose tonight, and then struggle on the homestand, I do think we'll be in trouble...I don't expect that to happen, though.

Jdu . . fans don't want to hear that though. If JJ is indeed hobbled, they want him to heal like Wolverine, and still get 25 points and 7 assists.

- Reality is that we came out completely flat against a Denver team without Melo, fought all the way back, but just fell short at the end.

- Then we take care of business in Seattle, although we couldn't completely put them away like we wanted.

- Then we flat out blow a game we should've won easily in Portland.

- Then we get drilled by the best team in the West.

It's the schizophrenic nature of the Hawks, that drive people crazy. But this is a characteristic of a team that plays .500 ball.

We should definitely be 2 - 2 going into this game, but we're not. Win vs the Clips, and we've at least survived the road trip. And if we beat the Clips, we have 2 very winnable games staring us in the face with Jersey and Philly coming in. If this team is still OK, we should take 2 of the next 3, with a possibility of winning all 3 games.

If that happens, Hawksquawk pulls its hair out, because it knows that Woody won't be fired, and there will probably be no moves made. But we'd pull out of the tailspin that we're in.

It'll also give us momentum going into 2 big time crowd games, with Cleveland and the Lakers coming into town.

I went on record before the season, by saying if the Hawks fell 8 games under .500 at any point in the season, that Woody should be immeadiately fired, no matter what. If we lose the next 3 games, that's exactly where we'll be. And I'll officially join the FIRE WOODY bandwagon.

But like I said a month ago, the Hawks need to win at least 25 home games, if we're going to be very shaky on the road. We won 12 road games last year. We'll at least do that this year. It may be that this team is just horrible on the road all year, but good enough at home to beat the teams they should beat, and beat a few teams better than them.

March is set up to have a December-like month, if we can survive that road trip after the all-star break.

First thing's first though. Beat the Clips tonight t salvage the trip.

Lascar78 · January 30, 2008

You can spin all you want, but sooner or later you'll have to understand that we're 4-11 (.266) over the last 15. That is not characteristic of a team that plays .500 ball.

You know what's characteristic of a .500 ball club? As many wins as losses. Not 18-23. Over half of the NBA teams have a .500 record and we are not one of them. We would be 12th in the West. This is not inconsistency. It is consistent bad play since late December.

mrhonline · January 30, 2008

Quote:

The problem may very well be that we have multiple players with low basketball IQs that maybe never "get it".

The problem may be that we have a coach who isn't capable of leading this group.

The problem may be that we have a GM that has done a poor job of polishing this roster.

The problem may be that we have an ownership group that has completely tied the hands of the GM, which has led to the above problems.

Thanks for depressing me.

coachx · January 30, 2008

The problem is that we have taken the long route to rebuild.

We have 3 guys 22 or younger in the starting lineup so it is true we have some young guys who make some mistakes. Their BB IQ is lower then a seasoned 27 year old vet. Our star is hurt and our floor general is a retreaded tire.

A direct example low BB IQ is how both Smith and Horford took themselves out of the game with silly offensive fouls. When their on the bench we are left with O'Lay interior defense of Marvin and ZaZa. Marvin can guard the SF spot much better then the PF spot.

Low basketball IQ is never more evident then when you see our youngsters next to seasoned and crafty vets like Nash, Hill, Bell, Marion, and even Stoudamire.

This team team as currently constucted needs some time and some help.

TheNorthCydeRises · January 30, 2008

Quote:

You can spin all you want, but sooner or later you'll have to understand that

we're 4-11 (.266) over the last 15. That is not characteristic of a team that plays .500 ball.

You know what's characteristic of a .500 ball club? As many wins as losses. Not 18-23. Over half of the NBA teams have a .500 record and we are not one of them. We would be 12th in the West. This is not inconsistency. It is consistent bad play since late December.

And we were 11 - 5 before this stretch, with the Miami game now pending.

We've been on the road for 9 of our last 15 games. We've only beat Seattle. We've let some games get away, no doubt on that. But as I've said, most .500 teams are very inconsistent, both good and bad.

We've lost 5 games to teams who are in the top 12 in the league during that stretch ( Dallas, Cleveland, Denver, and Portland twice )

We've lost to a Milwaukee team who, ironically, is one of the best home teams in the league.

The games vs Indy, Washington, and Jersey are games we have to win though. Those are the teams we have to beat.

The question for this team, is if they can start consistently beating the teams on their level and below, on the road . . . and if they can beat a few good teams at home, while also beating those average and bad teams.

People WANT this team to quit on Woody, but they've done anything but quit. The players have a lot more pride than that. They have some games in which they look horrible from the start. But overall, they will still play hard regardless.

The blowout last night might be a blessing in disguise, because we should at least be able to give the effort on the 2nd night of a back to back.

People want this team to roll over and die, to force ownership to make changes. Don't hold your breath folks. And don't be shocked if they win 3 or 4 of their next 5.

It's how schizophrenic, .500 teams play.

coachx · January 30, 2008

Quote:

People WANT this team to quit on Woody, but they've done anything but quit. The players have a lot more pride than that. They have some games in which they look horrible from the start. But overall, they will still play hard regardless.

The blowout last night might be a blessing in disguise, because we should at least be able to give the effort on the 2nd night of a back to back.

People want this team to roll over and die, to force ownership to make changes. Don't hold your breath folks. And don't be shocked if they win 3 or 4 of their next 5.

It's how schizophrenic, .500 teams play.

Good post

TexasPete · January 30, 2008