Credit where credit is due: Mike Woodson

[mrhonline]

So, ummm, the team defense has been stellar...

...and that credit should go to none other than the much-maligned Mike Woodson.

:saythat:

[uga2006]

Yea he;s showing why BK hired him. I don't think you'll see many come on here and praise Woody but you gotta give credit where credit is due

[Admin]

I'm shocked that this thread has only gotten 1 reply thus far. :doh:

I'm still not happy with our offense as we rely far too much on the outside shot but our guys play hard every night and our defense has been terrific. I can't ask for much more than that.

Price has clearly helped our shooters so he was a great hire but it makes me wish that we had hired an "offensive coordinator" type of assistant to install a quality offense rather than the isolation offense that we too often run.

[gsuteke]

Agreed.

Which reminds me, I need to change my sig

[Dexmethylphenidate]

Agreed.

Which reminds me, I need to change my sig

If he keeps it up, I may have to take mine off. He's starting to get it now. How do I know this? He plays Solo more minutes than Zaza twice now.

[AHF]

I'll chime in and give Woody his credit as well. Improvement is still there for the taking on offense, but the team is finally getting it on defense.

I think he also worked on his half-time adjustments in the offseason based on the third quarter results so far.

[exodus]

If he keeps it up, I may have to take mine off. He's starting to get it now. How do I know this? He plays Solo more minutes than Zaza twice now.

Yeah playing Zaza only 9 minutes last game even though Smith was out definitely scores points with me.

[Swish]

Agreed.

Which reminds me, I need to change my sig

YES!

:beer:

FWIW, Woodson (only five games I know) has been pretty amazing so far. Its like he's a completely different person.

[frosgrim]

Being a charter member of the fire Woodson comittee I also give him credit, esp with the defense finally looking like it supposed to in his system. I think it was impressive the way they kept playing defense last night even though Smith was out and they could hit a barn door with a semi on offense.

Speaking of the offense really needs to get its act together. Right now, in the two games I have seen, they look a little disorganized and are standing around way too much. Maybe the offense will come as the team gels.

[Gray Mule]

Don't forget:

Where did these players come from?

Our old GM had many of these players already here. We all agree that he screwed up a lot

with his drafting of carbon copy players, still, with all that said, we still have a lot of the

players HE was responsible for bringing here.

Then, where did all these new guys, who have meant so much to our bench come from?

Our new GM was/is responsible for their signing. Vets that Woody & JJ tried to get our

old GM to to sign, but he refused to act.

And, give some credit to the new assistant coaches who, I believe, brought new thoughts

and ideas to the Hawks. Kudos to Woody for making this all work and FINALLY seeing

the defense that he has been preaching to these young Hawks FINALLY sinking in

and seeing them play with real fire on the defense.

On any team, there will be nights when the offense is hot and hits everything that they

throw up. Then, there will be games, like our last one, where points are so very hard

to come by. Nothing works. Shots refuse to fall. I gotta harp on those free throws.

Hit them. They count.

[Wretch]

So, ummm, the team defense has been stellar...

...and that credit should go to none other than the much-maligned Mike Woodson.

:saythat:

Grumble...grumble...grumble... I will give Woodson some credit. Afterall, he gets respect around the league for his defensive gameplan. To be honest, I've never worried that much about his approach to defense. We look good so far though and I will nod my head on that.

The offense looks different though. We seriously look like a different team out there and I wonder if it's the veterans, maturity, or if he has given more control of the offense to someone else...

The best I can do right now is stop hating Woody SO much. Bah... We'll see how this team progresses through the season. Right now, I've got no complaints.

[yardbird]

Grumble...grumble...grumble... I will give Woodson some credit. Afterall, he gets respect around the league for his defensive gameplan. To be honest, I've never worried that much about his approach to defense. We look good so far though and I will nod my head on that.

The offense looks different though. We seriously look like a different team out there and I wonder if it's the veterans, maturity, or if he has given more control of the offense to someone else...

The best I can do right now is stop hating Woody SO much. Bah... We'll see how this team progresses through the season. Right now, I've got no complaints.

I've been saying this for awhile . . . Woody's philosophy of defense and rebounding was always sound. The reason it didn't work then and that it is working through the first 5 games is that the players have matured around Joe and the addition of veterans to the bench. Subtract Salim and add Flip as scoring off the bench, and the world is a different place.

[tonegully]

Agreed.

Which reminds me, I need to change my sig

I have to have that GEN Woodson sig gsuteke

[DrReality]

There is a potion of this crow that belongs to me and I will gladly eat with with tobasco sauce.

[thefloydian]

He's still fond of the "2 fouls and you're out for the half" technique of his, but other than that he's been nowhere near as bad as last year.

[Dexmethylphenidate]

He's still fond of the "2 fouls and you're out for the half" technique of his, but other than that he's been nowhere near as bad as last year.

When? I'm more interested when he uses that on the starting 5. He can use it on scrubs like Zaza for all I care.

[TruJerz]

So, ummm, the team defense has been stellar...

...and that credit should go to none other than the much-maligned Mike Woodson.

:saythat:

Im not surprised at all...i've always been a fan of Woody. I like the way he handles things as far as players go. He believes in his players. he was a pretty good player himself and has rich basketball history. Ppl on here were definitely too hard on him. like everyone, he has his flaws but he was always big on defense and it is showing now..hope he can have these guys playing at this level all yr long tho

[TruJerz]

So, ummm, the team defense has been stellar...

...and that credit should go to none other than the much-maligned Mike Woodson.

:saythat:

Im not surprised at all...i've always been a fan of Woody. I like the way he handles things as far as players go. He believes in his players. he was a pretty good player himself and has rich basketball history. Ppl on here were definitely too hard on him. like everyone, he has his flaws but he was always big on defense and it is showing now..hope he can have these guys playing at this level all yr long tho

[bronnt]

He's still fond of the "2 fouls and you're out for the half" technique of his, but other than that he's been nowhere near as bad as last year.

Players are buying into his defensive philosophy, I think, and he's finally got the horses to actually do things with it. Bibby has been playing very solidly on defense now that his knees are healthy, Josh Smith was a terror when he was in the game, and Horford is adjusting to the NBA game.

Add to that the fact that JJ is having to do a bit less on the defensive end, and Marvin has stopped growing long enough to stop being clumsy, and this team has enough length and athleticism to bother teams on the defensive end of the court, which is what Woodson has always loved.

If he'd just encourage a young team to try to get more buckets in the transition game...I'd forgive him the silly "2 fouls and you sit for 20 minutes" clause.

[PlayaPat420]

So, ummm, the team defense has been stellar...

...and that credit should go to none other than the much-maligned Mike Woodson.

:saythat:

Yeah, the defense has been great. Joe and Marvin are now thieves on the perimeter and the overall help seems much better this year. So, much props and credit to Coach (whoa!)Woodson for getting the team to buy in this off-season after the playoff push last year

Edited November 11, 2008 by PlayaPat420