Internal Turmoil could mean end for Woody?

[Diesel]

As Sekou and Bradley discuss the possibility of the Hawks melting down... I thnk the one thing that stands out in both stories is the fact that Joe is not happy with Woody's approach.

Correct me if I'm wrong but it was Joe who spoke up for Woody to be resigned.

I'm thinking that we have come to the end of Woody's train. We all knew that Woody would only be able to take us so far. Right now, his defense is being picked apart. Seeing Varejao flashing through the lane wide open every other play makes me wish we just played a simple 2-3. His offense is being manhandled. Somebody got the memo that you can shut down Iso Joe with a double team. His players are frustrated. But most importantly, he wants to blame coaching failures on players.

How many times do we hear...

“We just have to play with a sense of urgency like we did in Game 1. We have to get after them defensively. And as long as we share the ball offensively, I think everything else on the floor clicks.”

“We’re up against it now. And we’ve got look at ourselves in the mirror and realize that we can’t get out of this mess without doing it together.”

“We’ve just got to pick up our intensity. We’ve got to do a lot of things. But it all stems from our effort. We have to play hard as a unit. That’s the key for us. And we have to bring that [today]. Because our backs are against the wall now, really against the wall. We’re going to see what this team is made of.”

“We came out and talked about hitting them first and not letting things get out of hand early like they did in Game 2. But we let them hit us first again.”

“We lost our composure, no doubt. Things weren’t going our way, calls weren’t going our way and we lost it. We let them build that big lead and it got to us. We were never in sync defensively and we just didn’t handle ourselves well.”

“In the second half we just didn’t get into any offensive sets. We were careless with the ball. We had too many turnovers. Any time we have 17 turnovers it’s never a good night for us.”

“It was very disappointing, knowing that we’ve come this far. Looking back on the first series that we had (with Miami), that was very tough, and I thought we would come into this game a little more enthused and come ready to play. I thought we had a pretty good first half, but the second half wasn’t so great.”

Sund may have thought that he should give Woody a pass for the year. It makes economical sense and we're in the 2nd round of the playoffs. Well, the thing is that this looks like as far as Wood can drive the bus. Teams around us are getting better. We have Bulls and Heat all coming back to form. Then there's the Bobcats on the way and the Pacers.

Let's do ourselves a favor and get a championship quality coach in here and make some good moves over the summer.

[Wurider05]

Seems that JJ is just whining because his shots aren't falling and Woody is spreading the ball around. I heard no complaints on the 5 for 17, 7 for 21 nights he was having most of the year. Now that the spotlight is on him he wants to throw Woody under the bus. I don't care for Woody too much and I have been calling for a new coach for years now. Bottom line is the JJ hasn't really played good this year and now when he isn't getting his shots he wants to blame the coach. SHame on you JJ!! SHame on you!!

[DrReality]

I'd be really surprised, although I hope I'm wrong. I would bet they get an offensive guy with him. As for JJ, resign him to a contract like SMoove.

[AHF]

Seems that JJ is just whining because his shots aren't falling and Woody is spreading the ball around. I heard no complaints on the 5 for 17, 7 for 21 nights he was having most of the year. Now that the spotlight is on him he wants to throw Woody under the bus. I don't care for Woody too much and I have been calling for a new coach for years now. Bottom line is the JJ hasn't really played good this year and now when he isn't getting his shots he wants to blame the coach. SHame on you JJ!! SHame on you!!

Without weighing in on the merits of that, it is somewhat irrelevant to Diesel's good point. If Woodson has lost JJ's support, that could have major implications for his future with the team. I don't know that this is the case but JJ has always been the leading player on this team and Woody's most vocal supporter during their time together.

[Diesel]

Without weighing in on the merits of that, it is somewhat irrelevant to Diesel's good point. If Woodson has lost JJ's support, that could have major implications for his future with the team. I don't know that this is the case but JJ has always been the leading player on this team and Woody's most vocal supporter during their time together.

Maybe, I'm putting it together wrong... but 2 things stick out.

Joe's "I'm tired".

A lot of us took that to mean that Joe was physically tired. But maybe Joe is tired of the offensive scheme where he gets less touches and has to be a distributor (which Bradley reports).

RIght now, Joe brings credibility to our team. Much more than Woody does. In the face of watching this team just get whipped up and down the court because Wood's ideas are risky and antiquated.. and watching how everybody makes adjustments but Wood... I think it may be that Woody is in the process of losing the players or he has lost them.

If he loses Joe... With Joe coming into a contract year and Wood's contract ending also, I can see ASG bringing in somebody else.

I want somebody with Championship experience.

Since the Kings are talking to Pitino now...

I say we look at:

Avery Johnson (44)

Eddie Jordan

Del Harris (72)

Hubie Brown (77)

Flip Saunders (53)

Paul Westphaul (59)

Mike Fratello (61)

Van Gundy.

First and foremost, I love Del Harris, but he may be too old for the Job? I don't know. Hubie was older when he coached the Griz and he did a darn good job.

Avery Johnson was fired from Dallas after a 50 win season.

That says he knows what to do with talent.

Furthermore, he's a former PG so he knows how to implement offense.

Eddie Jordan was fired from Washington for no reason. I mean, you can't expect him to win when Agent 0, Butler, and Jamison are hurt?

[TanAdam]

Sign me up for Van Gundy. He gets it, plus I would love to see him grab onto a Hawks players leg like a child, much the same way he did with Grand Ma Ma.

[HAWKSFAN89]

I'd love to see Avery Johnson in here.

[Diesel]

I'd love to see Avery Johnson in here.

I can see Avery coming in. Hell, he or Jordan might be a guy that comes into coordinate the offense knowing that they will take over when Wood's contract runs out.

The point is that either we get a new coach or we get an offensive guy who Wood must work with.

[Gray Mule]

"He may be too old."

Nope. not a good reason not to choose anyone for a coach.

Now, if his body is not up to the task, Yes.

If his mind is not up to the task. Yes.

If he's breaking down in body and his mind is living in the past, trying to run the

team as if this was the 1950's or 1070's we don't need a coach like that.

If his body can stand up to it and his mind is sharp, being old is no reason to

turn dow anyone for the position.

The main question that he must answer, regardless of age or anything else,

"Can he get the job done? Can he have the ear and the respect of the players?"

A lot of men are old at 45. Others are young at 85.

Everything depends on the individual and how they act.

[Kimsey]

I'd be really surprised, although I hope I'm wrong. I would bet they get an offensive guy with him. As for JJ, resign him to a contract like SMoove.

I would love to see him sign a contract like Josh's but NY is gonna throw the max at him. It's no way around it.

[FrankWhite]

This team has accomplished all it can with Woody at the helm. The players just aren't getting any better. Smith is essentially the same player he was two years ago. Marvin and Horford tease us with their potential but can't really make any significant leap. Joe is the same player he was in Phoenix, only with 4 seasons of playing 40+ minutes a night. The differences between this year and last is we had Bibby for the whole year, Flip was a major surprise and Zaza bounced back after a terrible season.

Meanwhile, the entire Acie-Woody relationship is an enigma, he can't get through to Smith or doesn't bother trying, and Joe is publicly complaining. I mean, what does that say when Joe Johnson, of all players, is complaining to the media?

But nothing will change. The organization has no direction.