What distinguishes Woodson from other coaches

[Murat]

That was good analysys Kb, but you used to defend Woody and Bk too so i can't buy into Fratello.

[KB21]

If we pass on getting Mike Fratello while we have the chance to bring him in, it may go down as the biggest missed opportunity in Atlanta Hawks history, topping the opportunity they had to bring in Doc Rivers as the head coach in 1999 had they simply let Lenny Wilkens go with the rebuilding. I believe getting Mike Fratello back would be akin to the Atlanta Braves bringing Bobby Cox back to Atlanta as the manager, though Bobby was the GM from 1985-1990 before stepping back into the dugout in 1991.

You want Josh Smith to play to his potential? I can't think of another coach I would want coaching Josh Smith than Mike Fratello. Mike Fratello took a very athletic Dominique Wilkins as a young player and rounded out his game, and I think he can do the same for Josh Smith.

[AHF]

In terms of what distinguishes Woody, so far we have:

* he knows how to win

* he can teach defense to people that come in ready to be taught

* he can develop players well, but not in the last year

* and he is a good assistant

Am I missing any defining characteristics for Woodson that make him better qualified than the other candidates?

[drzachary]

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Jeff van Gundy - He is jewish.

So was Auerbach! And so's the Commish... don't you know we chosen folks always look out for each other? No more replayed games if we have van Gundy!

[dig]

I guess this thread has turned into a referendum on Mike Fratello, not Woodson, so I'll chime in...

We need a coach who will force our players to play hard every game instead of mailing it in half the time and only feeding off emotion/atmosphere to get results. Fratello certainly wouldn't take sh*t from the players and the discipline alone he can bring will win us a dozen more games... not sure if the overrated Avery Johnson (who won with the Nelsons talent) or other unknown quantities out there will demand the same respect.

My first two choices would be D'Antoni (I think he could work wonders with our team) and Rick Carlisle, but both will likely be unavailable. I'd be happy with Fratello or JVG...

[Murat]

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Jeff van Gundy - He is jewish.

So was Auerbach! And so's the Commish... don't you know we chosen folks always look out for each other? No more replayed games if we have van Gundy!

I am just kidding, i didn't know what to write about him. Stern is jewish? No wonder!

[Murat]

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* he knows how to win

HAHA Who said this?

[KB21]

All the progress this team has made defensively would go out the window with Mike D'Antoni. He doesn't teach his players to play a lick of defense. His formula is not the formula for success in the playoffs.

[Admin]

Phoenix (who is less athletically gifted than the Hawks) were 8 points better in defensive efficiency than the Hawks were this year. They were also 4 points better in offensive efficiency. People seem to put that stigma on the Suns (and D'Antoni) that they can't and don't play defense but it's not accurate.

[TheDude]

I think what Woodson brings to the table is that he is some sort of a coach. Without Woodson, right now we'd have no coach. And I don't know of any pro basketball team that has been successful without a coach at all. There are potential issues such as miscommunication on who the assistant coaches report to, organization on in game management, and the biggest thing being noone to stand up during the game and look frustrated.

Yes, Woodson may have his issues, but his presence as a coach brings much more to the table that a lack of a presence of a coach.

SUPPORT WOODSON! BETTER THAN NOBODY!

[Vol4ever]

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He didn't have the horses to win in the playoffs with either Cleveland or Memphis. In both places, he didn't have the go to scorer that he had with Dominique Wilkins in Atlanta. He didn't have that one guy he could go to that could create his own offense. He took over a Cleveland team that had an aging Mark Price, an aging Larry Nance, and an always injured and aging Brad Daugherty. I think it was around 1996 when they blew that up, and Mike had a team that had the likes of Brevin Knight, Derrick Anderson, Cedric Henderson, and Zydrunas Ilgauskaus. It was a team that was good enough to get to the playoffs, but they weren't good enough to win in the playoffs. In Memphis, he had the no defense playing Pau Gasol and no one else that could generate offense or defend with the exception of Shane Battier on the latter. That team overachieved big time under Mike Fratello, and when they dealt his only quality defender and the glue of that team, the rest went to pot. Mike stayed on them to play defense, but they tuned him out.

His 2-20 playoff record means nothing to me because of the teams he had. It's an accomplishment that those teams were even in the playoffs. The fact that Mike Fratello is an excellent motivator, excellent tactician, and excellent teacher of defense is what I'm high on, and I also like the fact that he has transitioned and won with both the up tempo, pressure oriented style that he used in Atlanta and the milk the clock, grind it out style that he used in Cleveland. In Mike's 6 seasons with Cleveland, the Cavs won 47, 43, 47, 42, 47, and 22 games in the lock out season. In the 5 seasons after they fired him, the Cavs won 32, 30, 29, 17, and 35 games, and the 35 was in LeBron's first year under Paul Silas.

It appears to me that Josh Smith has somewhat of an attitude and Woody has had to deal with that. I don't believe Mike Fratello would put up with the JSmith antics, do you?

[Vol4ever]

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Phoenix (who is less athletically gifted than the Hawks) were 8 points better in defensive efficiency than the Hawks were this year. They were also 4 points better in offensive efficiency. People seem to put that stigma on the Suns (and D'Antoni) that they can't and don't play defense but it's not accurate.

Well it is obvious to me when the Suns get in the playoffs they are not near as good as team as the regular season and that says it all.

[Admin]

They probably would have won the NBA title if the league hadn't screwed them last year and this year Kerr ruined their roster with the Shaq trade. You can hardly blame that on D'Antoni.

[Dexmethylphenidate]

Only thing similar between Carlisle and Woody is that they are both defensive coach and nothing more. You can't bring any defensive coach out there and say they remind you of Woody.