Woody is a loser. Plain and simple.

[AHF]

And everybody who is against Woodson, flat out refuses to see that the team has steadily improved over the last 5 years, and totally discounts the playoff appearances . . simply because they hate Woody, and think this team could be better. No credit is given to Woody for anything . . . nada.

Everything that is wrong with this team, it's his fault.

Everything that is right with this team, is due to the players only.

Don't act like the Woody haters are objective, when it comes to talking about Woody, because they're not.

I give Woodson credit for the team meeting expectations this season. Our regular season record was on par with our talent and health, IMO. (I still have issues with our offense, but not our bottomline production from the last regular season unlike the year before).

Edited July 14, 2009 by AHF

[AtLaS]

And everybody who is against Woodson, flat out refuses to see that the team has steadily improved over the last 5 years, and totally discounts the playoff appearances . . simply because they hate Woody, and think this team could be better. No credit is given to Woody for anything . . . nada.

Everything that is wrong with this team, it's his fault.

Everything that is right with this team, is due to the players only.

Don't act like the Woody haters are objective, when it comes to talking about Woody, because they're not.

Have there not been enough Marvin/Smith/JJ/Bibby bashing threads? Horford has his haters as well. I haven't noticed a shortage. I honestly don't get where the bolded is coming from.

But, what does Woodson do for our offense? Or, even our defense for that matter. Our defensive display against the Cavs was flat out pathetic and Woodson refused to change it. The Cavs would just set a screen with whoever Solo/Zaza/Horford was guarding and they'd get switched on LeBron/Mo/Delonte and they'd blow by them.

I absolutely bash the players when they deserve it. And, like I've said, I definitely don't think we are as good as the top 3, regardless of the coach. But, I don't think we are 12 games worse then them last season, and the Cavs should not have annihilated us the way they did. There are lots of things that could be corrected with this team by way of some simple coaching.

Edited July 14, 2009 by AtLaS

[NineOhTheRino]

I give Woodson credit for meeting expectations this season. Our regular season record was on par with our talent and health, IMO.

I think the next logical goal is to become .500 or better road team.

[LordOfNYork]

Sure sounds like Bibby respects Woody to me.

I think it's a good situation for me here with this coaching staff," said Bibby, 31. "Woody is one of the best coaches I've played for. You look at what we have and what we have coming back, and we believe in ourselves. We think we can get it done."

As for the other players, I think all of them respect Woody. They might disagree with him from time to time (as most players do disagree with their coaches from time to time) but they obviously respect him.

Larry Brown looked like a great leader in DET when he had talented, veteran players but what happened to that great leadership in NY when he had a bunch of young talent? Woody inherited young talents like Smoove, Marv, Al, Chillz & Zaza and helps them evovle into the 4th seed in the playoffs last year. Brown never got anything out of the young talent he had in NY (Crawford, Lee, Curry, Robinson & Frye). In fact, Isiah did a better job coaching that group than Brown did. Brown is a very smart coach who has had success with veteran teams but how much leadership ability does it take to motivate veteran players who want to win? Let's see what he does in CHA.

you're absolutely right about Larry Brown getting NOTHING out of his talent...Ahhh the knicks when will we ever play more than 82 games?

[AtLaS]

Is Bibby supposed to just slam the coach of the team in which he just resigned to?

[Traceman]

Is Bibby supposed to just slam the coach of the team in which he just resigned to?

Give me a break. Bibby certainly could have signed elsewhere had he so desired. Both he and his agent have said that he enjoys playing for Woody and that he thinks Woody is a good coach.

[Traceman]

I think the next logical goal is to become .500 or better road team.

I agree. If we can approach .500 on the road, we can start to think about advancing beyond the playoffs in the 2nd round. I have no problem with Woody saying that he hoped we can retain that 4th spot. If we can get homecourt again in the first round and stay healthy, who knows what might happen in the 2nd? All you can do is put yourself in position to be successful.

I don't see us as title contenders this year but if we get everybody back and resign JJ next year, I truly think we could be in the hunt for SEVERAL years starting in 2010-2011.

[HawkItus]

Give me a break. Bibby certainly could have signed elsewhere had he so desired. Both he and his agent have said that he enjoys playing for Woody and that he thinks Woody is a good coach.

nah man that's reality and it doesn't float here. The correct answer is he just signed back with the hawks to show Woody how the offense should really be run and take his job next year.

Edited July 14, 2009 by sultanofatl

[AHF]

nah man that's reality and it doesn't float here. The correct answer is he just signed back with the hawks to show Woody how the offense should really be run and take his job next year.

He'll have to take a cut in pay if that is the case. We don't pay coaches $6M in the ATL!

[Dexmethylphenidate]

Well, at least he now thought the team has enough talent to be in the playoffs. Couple of seasons ago, he told a reporter that the team don't have talent to play with the big boys... even though the core is basically the same now as it was then. When the guy open his mouth, it's like he's bashing the Hawks inadvertently .

[AHF]

I don't agree with those quotes setting the bar low, but we can agree to disagree. But, even with the team returning and having a some playoff action, most experts had pretty much that same team Woody said wasn't overly talented going 38 to 40 wins last year. This even though we lost one of our top 8 players in Childress. But, seeing that Woody set the bar for 4th in the East. That's a pretty large increase in expectations to me.

The same experts have been low on predicting this team's end of the year wins for several years, including last year.

Woody just moved up the bar to...exactly what has already been achieved and looks very reasonably acheivable this year. If he just raised the bar then it was already set below 4th in the East - below what we did last season.

I don't think this is a big deal here and, I think like you, probably just view Woody's comments from a more jaded perspective where his goal is about controlling expectations that are likely to be met and avoiding the appearance of underachieving.

BK obviously believed the team was underperforming in 2007, as did I, but Woodson believes they could have done no better than 37 wins because they just weren't talented enough. On this one, I am with BK but I feel more comfortable right now with Woodson after resigning Bibby and getting Crawford than I have in years.

I still want to see improvements from him and demanding excellence from his team in the media would be one of them but WAY far down the list.

[HAWKSFAN89]

f*** this dude, get him outta here

[RedDawg#8]

OKay, this is getting annoying.

Some dont like it, some dont mind what Woody said.

But I think we can ALL agree that instead of saying:

"I hope we can get 4th"

the better response would have been

"If we play to our full potential, we can beat any of those teams"

which is very true as well. Realistically speaking, we CAN beat them, and Realistically speaking, we handed several games away this year. So being a REALIST as some of you prefer, if we do handle our business we can easily win 55 games. (thats 10 more). and realistically speaking, theres a chance that one of those teams can fall, it happens. so realistically, we can finish better than 4th.

Lets hope for a championship, not 4th place. If we end up with 4th, fine as long as we fought hard every night to get it. No more looking UP to the Celtics, no more worshipping the King, no more laying down to the Magic. When we play our best, we can run all over anybody in the league. So, how bout we try to do that instead of trying to be politically correct and stay in our place.... which Woodson is happy to say is a comfortable 4th.

Edited July 15, 2009 by RedDawg#8

[LordOfNYork]

OKay, this is getting annoying.

Some dont like it, some dont mind what Woody said.

But I think we can ALL agree that instead of saying:

"I hope we can get 4th"

the better response would have been

"If we play to our full potential, we can beat any of those teams"

which is very true as well. Realistically speaking, we CAN beat them, and Realistically speaking, we handed several games away this year. So being a REALIST as some of you prefer, if we do handle our business we can easily win 55 games. (thats 10 more). and realistically speaking, theres a chance that one of those teams can fall, it happens. so realistically, we can finish better than 4th.

Lets hope for a championship, not 4th place. If we end up with 4th, fine as long as we fought hard every night to get it. No more looking UP to the Celtics, no more worshipping the King, no more laying down to the Magic. When we play our best, we can run all over anybody in the league. So, how bout we try to do that instead of trying to be politically correct and stay in our place.... which Woodson is happy to say is a comfortable 4th.

hope is a dangerous thing my friend...yes you can beat any team once or twice, but THIS team cannot and will not win a 7 game series against a better team in lebron and cleveland, a magic with vince carter who owns you, and a super veteran celtics team who doesn't take you serious on their home floor with now the addition of sheed....Sorry just my opinion. Next small goal for hawks and the coach is have a better road record and freakin' dominate the 1st round. not another boring 7-game against some scrubs

[BusBoyIsBack]

So people are bashing Woody for telling the truth?

If he said we are title contenders what difference does it make?

We are not. Too young and the top teams are too loaded.

If you can't accept that then you should pull for one of the 5 teams in the league that have a shot at the title in LA, Boston, Cleveland, Orlando, and San Antonio

No other team has a chance

[Dsinner]

So people are bashing Woody for telling the truth?

If he said we are title contenders what difference does it make?

We are not. Too young and the top teams are too loaded.

If you can't accept that then you should pull for one of the 5 teams in the league that have a shot at the title in LA, Boston, Cleveland, Orlando, and San Antonio

No other team has a chance

No one has NOT accepted the fact we aren't a top 3 team in the league but it is a long season and anything is possible.(Look at Orlando) The fans deserve to know that the head coach is at least playing for first. You ask any great or HOF coach if they ever went into the season hoping for a slightly above average season (which is what 4th place in the east is). NONE of them will tell you they did and they sure as hell wouldn't tell the media or fans that. The real "truth" is that Woody is looking out for Woody. It's very disturbing that Atlanta fans would want a coach that shoots for a 4th place seeding.

[TheNorthCydeRises]

This thread reminds me of the movie "Hustle and Flow".

In one of the final scenes of the movie, Anthony Amderson is talking to Terrence Howard, who is in jail. Anthony shows him a pic of his baby daughter that Terrence's girl had while he was in jail.

Anthony then asks Terrence about his meeting with Skinny Black ( Ludacris ), specifically asking him had he ever met Skinny before.

Terrence then goes into this analogy about his baby daughter when she's older, asking him if she could be President. Terrence says ( paraphrasing ):

"And when my baby girl asks me . . 'Daddy, can I be President' . . I'm gonna look her dead in her eye, and I'M GONNA LIE . . because as her Father, I'm gonna tell her she can be anything she wants to be."

So some on Hawksquawk wants Woody to be like Terrence, and lie to them. Lie . . . make us feel good Woody, when the media picks us 3rd in the division.

Some of you actually have such a disdain for Woody, that you believe that he's gonna write 4th PLACE on the team's white/blackboard before every game, so that they can play to that level. It's hilarious.

Almost as hilarious as when Woody used to get ripped constantly about his "substitution patterns." Like he was the only coach in the history of basketball that did this.

But then, when they would watch the Lakers or the Spurs, and see that they had timed substitutions, the Squawk would be like . . . "oh, I see Phil and Pop do this, so I guess it's OK for Woody to do it too."

Now look at the Squawk. Some actually want to mandate that Woody plays Teague 8 - 15 minutes a game. Well, there's no way that can be done, without a timed substitution pattern.

Nevertheless . . .Woody is the one that is an idiot.

[Dsinner]

This thread reminds me of the movie "Hustle and Flow".

In one of the final scenes of the movie, Anthony Amderson is talking to Terrence Howard, who is in jail. Anthony shows him a pic of his baby daughter that Terrence's girl had while he was in jail.

Anthony then asks Terrence about his meeting with Skinny Black ( Ludacris ), specifically asking him had he ever met Skinny before.

Terrence then goes into this analogy about his baby daughter when she's older, asking him if she could be President. Terrence says ( paraphrasing ):

"And when my baby girl asks me . . 'Daddy, can I be President' . . I'm gonna look her dead in her eye, and I'M GONNA LIE . . because as her Father, I'm gonna tell her she can be anything she wants to be."

So some on Hawksquawk wants Woody to be like Terrence, and lie to them. Lie . . . make us feel good Woody, when the media picks us 3rd in the division.

Some of you actually have such a disdain for Woody, that you believe that he's gonna write 4th PLACE on the team's white/blackboard before every game, so that they can play to that level. It's hilarious.

Almost as hilarious as when Woody used to get ripped constantly about his "substitution patterns." Like he was the only coach in the history of basketball that did this.

But then, when they would watch the Lakers or the Spurs, and see that they had timed substitutions, the Squawk would be like . . . "oh, I see Phil and Pop do this, so I guess it's OK for Woody to do it too."

Now look at the Squawk. Some actually want to mandate that Woody plays Teague 8 - 15 minutes a game. Well, there's no way that can be done, without a timed substitution pattern.

Nevertheless . . .Woody is the one that is an idiot.

Sometimes your "fandom" gets in the way of your brain. Go back to Diesel's quotes from REAL coaches. That's what REAL coaches say. None of them on that list would have ever said what Woody said (or anything else that comes out of his mouth). I don't want Woody to lie. I want him to believe damnit. There's nothing wrong with saying our team has a legitimate shot at winning the East. They do. On paper Shaq may look good in Cleveland but on paper he looked good in Phoenix too. I don't think Orlando got any better but I'm not sure they should have been that good to begin with. Boston is another year older and another injury away from second round obscurity. Why should our head coach not believe we have a shot at it? It may be a slim shot but it is a shot that will be much easier to reach if your reaching for it. As much as you're always questioning our "fandom" perhaps you should be looking in the mirror on this one. That or questioning your brain for driving that far to that many games just to see a team that, if all goes perfect, will be a 4th seed in the East.

[Final_quest]

Sometimes your "fandom" gets in the way of your brain. Go back to Diesel's quotes from REAL coaches. That's what REAL coaches say. None of them on that list would have ever said what Woody said (or anything else that comes out of his mouth). I don't want Woody to lie. I want him to believe damnit. There's nothing wrong with saying our team has a legitimate shot at winning the East. They do. On paper Shaq may look good in Cleveland but on paper he looked good in Phoenix too. I don't think Orlando got any better but I'm not sure they should have been that good to begin with. Boston is another year older and another injury away from second round obscurity. Why should our head coach not believe we have a shot at it? It may be a slim shot but it is a shot that will be much easier to reach if your reaching for it. As much as you're always questioning our "fandom" perhaps you should be looking in the mirror on this one. That or questioning your brain for driving that far to that many games just to see a team that, if all goes perfect, will be a 4th seed in the East.

Exactly. Wow. "You play to win the game." What is Woody going to tell the team if we get 4th seed and have to play 1st seed again. He now has no credibility. I'll never forget a comment Woody made after getting blown out in a loss. He said that we were due for a game like this. Huh? He may be a good enough coach to get his team to win a decent amount of games, but just seems to have the thinking that losing is part of life and that you should accept your place sometimes.

No, we have a good a chance as any team to win it all. Look at the Pistons team that won or the Rockets. You make a deadline deal for the right player and then you play each game like you are the champs. No one should accept comments like this from a coach.