Woodson cooks up minutes plan for HawksBy Sekou Smith

[DrReality]

Woodson cooks up minutes plan for HawksBy Sekou Smith

The Atlanta Journal-Constitution

On paper, Mike Woodson's plan looks like something the folks at AT&T might have cooked up.

One of Hawks coach Mike Woodson's biggest decisions this year will be how to divide up minutes.

.There are shared minutes, rollover minutes and just about enough minutes to go around for everyone.

But in reality, there's no telling how floor time works out in the flow of a game, let alone an 82-game season.

That's one reason why the Hawks' coach is so anxious for his team to hit the floor Wednesday night in the preseason opener against New Orleans at Philips Arena, even if it is just a dress rehearsal for the real thing.

"I've got an idea of how we want to do things," Woodson said. "But that could all change as we go through this. The fact is guys won't play big minutes in the preseason. Our team is a little different now in that you're not trying to get guys reps so they'll be in tune to what goes on when the regular season starts.

"So I'm going to use this exhibition season a little bit different. I don't have to play Josh Smith and Joe Johnson 30-plus minutes a game. In the past we might have."

Johnson and Smith piled up the minutes last season, leading the Hawks with 39.5 and 35.1, respectively. If Woodson executes his plan as scripted, no one will average more than 34 during the regular season.

That's a tough sell for players used to finding a rhythm and playing however long they need to get comfortable.

"I'm a rhythm type cat but I'm also a younger cat," Marvin Williams said. "So I'd probably like to play a little bit more. But if you take a guy like Joe, who's also a rhythm guy but also a vet, it's not going to take a guy like that long to get into a flow. I'd expect him to play fewer minutes, though, with the team we have this year.

"Every player is just different, though. I do think it's something that the coaching staff is going to have to take a look at, especially if you're talking about making a big postseason push. It's a long season."

It should be noted that Woodson came into last season with the same plan, to reduce minutes across the board to keep his team fresh for what they all hoped would be a long season. However, a 6-0 start to the regular season and the urge to push for more curbed Woodson's enthusiasm for curbing minutes.

"We sold that last year, pretty much," Woodson said of the rationed playing time. "And this year, more than anything we have to make sure guys buy in because we are a little deeper and we want to extend our rotation a little bit more. Unfortunately, to get to where we were last year, I felt like we had to extend their minutes."

There has been no discussion of minute distribution during camp so far, save for Woodson's salvo at the team dinner the night before training camp when he alerted Johnson and all his starters that they would have help.

On the eve of their first action against live preseason action, Woodson isn't the only one anxious to see how it all works out.

"I think that’s what we're all kind of looking for," Al Horford said. "We’ve been talking about all the new pieces and stuff but finally we'll be able to get out there and see what we've got. And while coach hasn't told us how many minutes anybody will play, I'm assuming it won't be that many. I feel like he's going to want to see everybody play."

It makes sense in theory. In the backcourt alone, the Hawks have to find quality minutes for Johnson and Mike Bibby as well as Jamal Crawford and rookie Jeff Teague.

"I haven't heard anything," Teague said. "I'm just going in there open-minded. Just get in there, if I get in the game, and play my game and get in the flow of the offense, play some defense and have fun."

That's the attitude Woodson is looking for.

"Listen, I've been saying it over and over to these guys for years," Woodson said. "It doesn’t matter who plays or how much. You just have to get the job done when you are out there and help us win."

Translation: Nothing will change.

Edited October 7, 2009 by DrReality

[coachx]

So Woody does not want anyone to average over 34 mpg. We actually have the depth to do it this year. It will still be tough for Woody to pull it off when games get close. The only way to come close is to give guys first half rest ( I would rest JJ 8 - 10 minutes of ever first half no matter what, and only 3-5 minutes in the 2nd half to begin the 4th quarter.

Bibby 30 mpg / Teague 10 mpg / Crawford 8 mpg

JJ 26 mpg / Crawford 22 mpg

Marvin 32 mpg / JJ 8 mpg / Mo 8 mpg

Smoove 34 mpg / Smith 10 mpg / Horford 4 mpg

Horford 28 mpg / ZaZa 15 mpg / Collins 5 mpg

I am expecting Bibby's minutes to fluctuate the most based on defensive matchups, his semi-streaky jumper, and the effectiveness of Teague / Crawford defending the PG position and creating off the dribble. Some nights Bibby may run 36 mpg when his jumper is "wet" and he is not defending (Paul, Harris, D. Williams, Parker, Rondo, Rose). Other nights Bibby may get only 24 mpg if Teague or Crawford prove they can slow down those mentioned PGs b/c I don't think Woody is going to wear JJ down anymore by asking him to cover the quickest PGs in the league.

Here is to a fresher JJ come the playoffs ! Its doubtful but possible. At least Woody sounds like he has a plan, now he has to stick to it. Its up to the bench to produce and earn the trust to keep those minutes.

Edited October 7, 2009 by coachx

[buckeye242424]

So Woody does not want anyone to average over 34 mpg. We actually have the depth to do it this year. It will still be tough for Woody to pull it off when games get close. The only way to come close is to give guys first half rest ( I would rest JJ 8 - 10 minutes of ever first half no matter what, and only 3-5 minutes in the 2nd half to begin the 4th quarter.

Bibby 30 mpg / Teague 10 mpg / Crawford 8 mpg

JJ 26 mpg / Crawford 22 mpg

Marvin 32 mpg / JJ 8 mpg / Mo 8 mpg

Smoove 34 mpg / Smith 10 mpg / Horford 4 mpg

Horford 28 mpg / ZaZa 15 mpg / Collins 5 mpg

I am expecting Bibby's minutes to fluctuate the most based on defensive matchups, his semi-streaky jumper, and the effectiveness of Teague / Crawford defending the PG position and creating off the dribble. Some nights Bibby may run 36 mpg when his jumper is "wet" and he is not defending (Paul, Harris, D. Williams, Parker, Rondo, Rose). Other nights Bibby may get only 24 mpg if Teague or Crawford prove they can slow down those mentioned PGs b/c I don't think Woody is going to wear JJ down anymore by asking him to cover the quickest PGs in the league.

Here is to a fresher JJ come the playoffs ! Its doubtful but possible. At least Woody sounds like he has a plan, now he has to stick to it. Its up to the bench to produce and earn the trust to keep those minutes.

I have a hard time believing JJ's minutes are going to drop five and a half per game. That's a stretch.

[Plainview1981]

I have a hard time believing JJ's minutes are going to drop five and a half per game. That's a stretch.

36MPG sounds about right.

[TheNorthCydeRises]

The easiest way to keep the minutes of the starters down, are for the Hawks to take care of business against the "lesser" teams. That means blowing out the real bad teams and having comfortable enough leads over mediocre teams, so Woody doesn't have to play JJ 40+ minutes against the likes of New Jersey and Sacramento. When you do that, Woody can rest JJ and the others most of the 4th quarter.

Now against the good and great teams, I DO NOT WANT JJ PLAYING LESS THAN 34 MINUTES, just so our bench can get time in some set rotation. We're going to need him against those teams more than the bench. Put Josh Smith in that same category as well. His minutes need to go up when we play the good teams.

Against bad teams: 28 - 30 min/gm

Against average teams: 33 - 35 min/gm

Against good teams: 37+ min/gm

It's not a star player in this league in which that guy doesn't have to play big minutes on some nights. So if Woody has to adjust the minutes in order for us to win, then by all means do it.

Because although the fans want to see some of the minutes reduced, we'll be the first ones crying when we lose games, and JJ is only logging 32 minutes.

And Woody will quickly find out that if Jamal doesn't have it going offensively, he definitely can't trust him to play a set number of minutes a night. He'll help kill the team on that particular night, just like he's done on past teams. At least I hope Woody will realize that.

Personally, I think JJ should be playing a minimum of 35 minutes a game. That's around 4 - 5 minutes less a game than what he's been playing. In a season in which he'll play about 78 games, you're looking about a 300 - 400 minute reduction in his total minutes next season.

[DrReality]

Think your point is valid Ncyde. And I think it is a display of maturity and growth that they put away the teams they should beat. If they do that there are benefits related to resting the starts and developing the bench guys.

[AHF]

The easiest way to keep the minutes of the starters down, are for the Hawks to take care of business against the "lesser" teams. That means blowing out the real bad teams and having comfortable enough leads over mediocre teams, so Woody doesn't have to play JJ 40+ minutes against the likes of New Jersey and Sacramento. When you do that, Woody can rest JJ and the others most of the 4th quarter.

Now against the good and great teams, I DO NOT WANT JJ PLAYING LESS THAN 34 MINUTES, just so our bench can get time in some set rotation. We're going to need him against those teams more than the bench. Put Josh Smith in that same category as well. His minutes need to go up when we play the good teams.

Against bad teams: 28 - 30 min/gm

Against average teams: 33 - 35 min/gm

Against good teams: 37+ min/gm

It's not a star player in this league in which that guy doesn't have to play big minutes on some nights. So if Woody has to adjust the minutes in order for us to win, then by all means do it.

Because although the fans want to see some of the minutes reduced, we'll be the first ones crying when we lose games, and JJ is only logging 32 minutes.

And Woody will quickly find out that if Jamal doesn't have it going offensively, he definitely can't trust him to play a set number of minutes a night. He'll help kill the team on that particular night, just like he's done on past teams. At least I hope Woody will realize that.

Personally, I think JJ should be playing a minimum of 35 minutes a game. That's around 4 - 5 minutes less a game than what he's been playing. In a season in which he'll play about 78 games, you're looking about a 300 - 400 minute reduction in his total minutes next season.

Great post on this.

[AtlHomer]

Bibby 30 mpg / Teague 10 mpg / Crawford 8 mpg

JJ 26 mpg / Crawford 22 mpg

Marvin 32 mpg / JJ 8 mpg / Mo 8 mpg

Smoove 34 mpg / Smith 10 mpg / Horford 4 mpg

Horford 28 mpg / ZaZa 15 mpg / Collins 5 mpg

Good suggestion however look for Collins to have a lot of DNP-CDs unless we play teams with a dominant big man, i.e. Howard, Shaq. Those 5 minutes will probably be split between Smith and ZaZa.