Woody is NBA Coach of the Year

[TheNorthCydeRises]

Barring some catastrophic result tonight against a Chris Paul-less Hornet team, through 3 weeks, Mike Woodson is the NBA Coach of the Year.

There are a variety of things that has brought this about:

- He coaches Joe Johnson like he's a superstar, which in turn, brings out the max in the Hawks Captain. Yes, we all know that JJ doesn't have the talent of the 4 or 5 superstars in this league, but Woody coaches him like he is. The offensive and defensive responsibilities he puts on JJ has made him a more dangerous player that other teams have to treat with superstar attention.

But more importantly, it has made him a more mentally tougher player. While the 3 point shot isn't there so far this year, the Captain is grinding every night, doing all he can to lead his team to victory . . even rebounding the basketball. And on the defensive end, Woody doesn't hesitate to put JJ on the other teams best perimeter player, to try to slow or shut him down.

Superstar responsibility = a more dangerous Joe Johnson.

- It is Woody that has told this team as a whole, to drive the basketball whenever they can. Josh Smith has most been affected by this mindset, seeing that he's a highly efficient offensive player now. LOL . . let me say that again. Josh Smith is now a highly efficient offensive player. While Jamal Crawford loves his jumpshot, even he is driving the ball to the hole at a much higher rate than he ever has. This has led to his efficiency as a ballplayer increasing.

The Hawks are #1 in the NBA in points in the paint. Let me say that again as well. The Hawks are #1 in the NBA in points in the paint. This is a complete contrast to a team that used to live to jack up long jumpers. Even Captain Johnson has laid off the 22 footer, and looked to get in the painted area to take his shot.

- He has not succumbed to the pressure of playing Teague, ( a guy who simply might not be ready yet ), a lot of minutes off the bench. Because of veteran guards like Bibby,Crawford, and Mo Evans on the roster to compliment JJ, he isn't forced to throw Teague right into the fire. He knows that he'll need Teague before the season is over, but he isn't going to force feed the kid either.

- He has managed the Hawks rotation as well as he ever has in his career. While not only succumbing to not forcing minutes for Teague, he has also coached games more sensibly. While having the ability to go 10 deep, he's using his depth according to the opponent we play. He's not feeling obligated to give guys a set number of nightly minutes. Instead, he's dishing out the minutes ( especially in the 2nd half ), according to how the Hawks match up against the other team.

And when the fan base were calling for the reduction of Mike Bibby's minutes, he stuck right with Bibby, and his numbers now reflect the shooting he exhibited last season in November, with Bibby shooting in the mid 40% FG and over 40% 3FG.

The most important move, is the use of the 3-guard lineup of Bibby, Crawford, and Johnson. He's using this lineup as his 2nd half offensive catalyst and possible closing lineup. The 4th quarter dominance of the Hawks can directly be credited to this move. With JJ and Crawford being very good shot creators, and Bibby being a deadly 3 point shooter, it prevents teams from employing alot of double teams against the Hawks. He's smart enough not to start this group though, because the 3 guards do tend to dominate the ball, which would lessen the touches of Josh Smith and Horford.

All in all, Woody ( at least for 3 weeks ), has been one of the best coaches in the league. Because of that, he gets my early vote for Coach of the Year.

Great job Woody.

Edited November 14, 2009 by northcyde

[MaceCase]

North you do realize that winning COY is practically a death knell for any NBA coach? Avery, SMitch, Scott, Carlisle...I would think you of all people would want Woody avoiding that kiss of death.

[h2t]

lol

I havn't had many complaints about Woody this year but i can't help but remember the Charlotte and LA losses. Those were ugly games.

The Boston win was great but let's not get ahead of ourselves. Woody is Woody and i'm sure he'll do some ridiculous stuff this season...remember him running Joe into the ground last year because he wanted Joe to be an Allstar?

[exodus]

lol

I havn't had many complaints about Woody this year but i can't help but remember the Charlotte and LA losses. Those were ugly games.

The Boston win was great but let's not get ahead of ourselves. Woody is Woody and i'm sure he'll do some ridiculous stuff this season...remember him running Joe into the ground last year because he wanted Joe to be an Allstar?

yeah like Teague getting DNPs against scrub teams Sactown and Knicks then getting put into the game in Boston on national TV. W T F

[tremor]

@northcyde

You are kidding, right?

Edited November 14, 2009 by tremor

[High5]

If Woodson stumbles upon the COY award he should have the decency to return it. Or at least give it to Sund.

[lethalweapon3]

North you do realize that winning COY is practically a death knell for any NBA coach? Avery, SMitch, Scott, Carlisle...I would think you of all people would want Woody avoiding that kiss of death.

Actually winning the (Most Likely to Get Canned in 3 Seasons) Coach of the Year Award is playing right into the hands of some of us Woodyball-hating fans, if trends are to be believed.

Winning it might work out alright for Woody, too, since he didn't get that contract extension. The Hawks achieve that all-time unprecedented "6-years-in-a-row-improvement-in-wins" or whatever it is and make a halfway decent appearance in the Playoffs, and some dormant team is gonna take the plunge and offer him some $$$$ to fly the proverbial coop. New Jersey, LA (Clips), Detroit and Indiana are possible next stops. I don't see him jumping to major college ball with his (lack of an) offensive approach but heck, who knows? Tech may have a spot open by season's end so he wouldn't even have to leave town.

~lw3

[TheNorthCydeRises]

@northcyde

You are kidding, right?

Mr. Tremor, I'm DEAD SERIOUS.

See, the problem with a "hater" fan base like ours, is that they want to give everybody credit for the success of the Hawks . . except Woody. The new GM gets praised, but the coach who's coaching the players and managing the lineup doesn't? Nah. I call BS on that.

Whenever the players talk about what they need to do to be successful, they ALWAYS mention the things that the coach is talking about. But the fan base would rather believe that they're coming up with all of these things on their own, instead of giving the coach credit.

Even now, with people wanting Marvin benched, Woody isn't about to do that 3 weeks into the season. He knows that he'll need Marvin in a big way, as the season progresses. The only reason why Marvin didn't get back into the game last night, was because we made our run with Zaza, Joe Smith, and Crawford on the floor. But Marvin actually had a decent 1st half last night, and not a bad game. If he got his usual 30 minutes, he would've had double figure points and maybe 6 - 7 rebounds. But Woody made the correct call, and kept the guys who broke the game open, in the game.

And notice that even in the few comments in this thread so far, that they really can't complain about Woody, other than not playing Teague . . a rookie PG who is the 9th or 10th man on the squad. People would rather make jokes, because they know that everything I typed in the original post is the ABSOLUTE TRUTH.

But this is a hater fan base. The hate for Woody is so engraved in their minds, that people won't give him credit for anything. That's not being real. Just like all the criticism JJ is receiving. That dude worked his azz off last night, yet, he's getting little credit for that win last night as well.

Instead of giving Woody credit where credit is due, they'd rather complain about how little he's playing our 10th man or how much he's playing our top dog in big games. But it's cool. As long as they constantly complain about the little things that a 7 - 2 coach has done, I'll be here to point out the positive about what he does.

If I created a poll that asked what grade would you give Woody so far, you'd see far more D's and F's than you would A's and B's. Why? Because it's a hater fan base ( in general ).

Not everyone is a hater. But the haters definitely know who they are. Woody could get the Hawks to the NBA Finals, and people would still want him fired, if he didn't win it.

[Atlantaholic]

I liked Hubie Brown's obvious befuddlement at our switching "defense".

I think this team would actually be a great defensive team if we didn't purposefully create mismatched in favor of the offense every trip down... I also love our offensive evolution as a team. We have gone from Give the Ball to JJ and pray, to Give the Ball to JJ or Crawford and pray at the end of the game.

At the start of the season I stated I was looking for Woodson to improve on just a few things: Handling the bench, Stop switching when there is absolutely no advantage in doing so (Bibby on Garnett, like four straight possessions lol), not benching players when they are "about" to be in foul trouble, and running an offense.

I think he has done a poor job at all of those things... If anyone should be up for any award it would have to be Sund for getting the perfect player for our team and giving up freaking Speedy Claxton and Acie Law. I could not think of a better player for our team than Crawford, he is basically one of the few guys in the league who plays best when he can just do whatever the heck he wants, and forgets about an offensive set.

10 deep we are easily one of the most talented teams in the NBA... I would say that only LA, Orlando, and Boston are better 1 through 10... I think us and Denver are the next tier. (Cleveland is a slightly above average team, with a bad coach, but with the best player ever not named Michael Jordan.)

I think a lot of credit does have to go to our coaching staff as a unit though. Mark Price finally taught us to make free throws, and Larry Drew finally has reached Smoove. Obviously some credit goes to Woodson for being the captain of that group but considering his game management and game planning I could never really agree he is a great coach. When opposing commentators keep picking apart your offensive and defensive strategies, it really isn't a good sign.

[EazyRoc]

I liked Hubie Brown's obvious befuddlement at our switching "defense".

I think this team would actually be a great defensive team if we didn't purposefully create mismatched in favor of the offense every trip down... I also love our offensive evolution as a team. We have gone from Give the Ball to JJ and pray, to Give the Ball to JJ or Crawford and pray at the end of the game.

At the start of the season I stated I was looking for Woodson to improve on just a few things: Handling the bench, Stop switching when there is absolutely no advantage in doing so (Bibby on Garnett, like four straight possessions lol), not benching players when they are "about" to be in foul trouble, and running an offense.

I think he has done a poor job at all of those things... If anyone should be up for any award it would have to be Sund for getting the perfect player for our team and giving up freaking Speedy Claxton and Acie Law. I could not think of a better player for our team than Crawford, he is basically one of the few guys in the league who plays best when he can just do whatever the heck he wants, and forgets about an offensive set.

10 deep we are easily one of the most talented teams in the NBA... I would say that only LA, Orlando, and Boston are better 1 through 10... I think us and Denver are the next tier. (Cleveland is a slightly above average team, with a bad coach, but with the best player ever not named Michael Jordan.)

I think a lot of credit does have to go to our coaching staff as a unit though. Mark Price finally taught us to make free throws, and Larry Drew finally has reached Smoove. Obviously some credit goes to Woodson for being the captain of that group but considering his game management and game planning I could never really agree he is a great coach. When opposing commentators keep picking apart your offensive and defensive strategies, it really isn't a good sign.

Now I see what northcyde means.

[Atlantaholic]

Now I see what northcyde means.

Woodson deserves credit for some things, but he isn't even remotely close to being a great coach.

[TheNorthCydeRises]

North you do realize that winning COY is practically a death knell for any NBA coach? Avery, SMitch, Scott, Carlisle...I would think you of all people would want Woody avoiding that kiss of death.

Death knell? Think about what you're saying. They may get fired 3 - 4 years down the line, after winning the award. But they won the award in the first place because of the tremendous season their team had, while the coach was at the helm.

LOL . . see? Woody hate has ya'll so messed up in the head, that you can't even see the team benefit of Woody being COY.

( whispering ) . . . that would probaly mean that the Hawks would be one of the top 5 best teams in the league. And that would make us an NBA title contender.

But I guess people would rather Woody not get a COY award . . and see the team be good, but not elite . . so that "Woody Hate" can live forever.

[tremor]

Woodson deserves credit for some things, but he isn't even remotely close to being a great coach.

Exactly. The list of not so great coaching Woodson applies is long enough not to praise him as a top coach in the league. It's not hating. It's just like JJ doesn't deserve MVP award even if Hawks end up with best the record in the entire NBA.

Woodson can't be credited for Smith's transformation - he couldn't get into his head for 5 years.

But I don't mind praising the coach when the team is winning. He manages rotation quite well (hope he'll rest JJ tonight). He should be credited for making Joe team leader (although he's not the right personality for that role), praising defense, rebounding, commending aggressiveness and driving the ball to the rim. As long as Hawks are winning Woody won't be that much criticized as he used to be.

[Gray Mule]

Hawksquawkers, in general, have this attitude about Woody as head coach;

ANY THING THAT YOU CAN DO, I CAN DO BETTER!

I CAN DO ANYTHING BETTER THAN YOU!

But, remember Hawksquawkers, as the Hawks have improved every year since Woody

has been here, he has improved just as much as a head coach. No, I don't think he's

the greatest thing since sliced bread. I don't think he's the greatest (With apologies to Ali)

but he is so much better than when he began.

Thanks to our GM, Woody has a much better, deeper bench to work with. Also, thanks to

our GM, we still have all our starters from last season. Our entire team has matured. Anoher

year's experience and not one of the starters have reached that "Over the hill milestone."

Coach of the year? Why not? Do all the other NBA coaches deserve it more? If the Hawks

keep on winning, and we hope they do, he will deserve serious consideration.

:conversation:

[TheNorthCydeRises]

I liked Hubie Brown's obvious befuddlement at our switching "defense".

I think this team would actually be a great defensive team if we didn't purposefully create mismatched in favor of the offense every trip down... I also love our offensive evolution as a team. We have gone from Give the Ball to JJ and pray, to Give the Ball to JJ or Crawford and pray at the end of the game.

The fact is that we could play peopkle straight up if we wanted, but that would expose both Bibby and Crawford ( two guys that we need offensively ). So the switching defense is employed sometimes to prevent lightning quick PGs from killing us ( like they ued to do with Tyronn Lue ) or prevent teams from exploiting us on pick and rolls. We all know that Bibby is the defensive liability.

And before the Boston game, our players were saying that the problems on defense had to do more about communication, than the actual defense itself. I think it was Horford that said that we weren't calling out our switches, and that led to 2 guys sometimes following the same guy. It's funny. The switcing defense is a problem with the fans, but it saw Boston shoot a HORRIBLE PERCENTAGE from 3 last night. So when done right, does this make the switching defense effective? Our defense was a strength last year . . the same defense.

At the start of the season I stated I was looking for Woodson to improve on just a few things: Handling the bench, Stop switching when there is absolutely no advantage in doing so (Bibby on Garnett, like four straight possessions lol), not benching players when they are "about" to be in foul trouble, and running an offense.

I think he has done a poor job at all of those things... If anyone should be up for any award it would have to be Sund for getting the perfect player for our team and giving up freaking Speedy Claxton and Acie Law. I could not think of a better player for our team than Crawford, he is basically one of the few guys in the league who plays best when he can just do whatever the heck he wants, and forgets about an offensive set.

LOL @ a poor job. We're 7 - 2. I guess the players are coaching themselves out there. All this is, are cop-outs to keep from giving the coach any credit for the success of this team. And to be honest, it's a bunch of crap.

You don't like the way he's handled the bench, but he's trusted guys when he needed to, and played the starters to insure victories. But because the rookie or Joe Smith can't see the floor every night, people have a problem with that? Even though we're winning?

You don't like him benching players when they're about to get in foul trouble? You mean like when Smoove picked up 2 fouls in the first 2 minutes of the Charlotte game? Wouldn't the "old Woody" leave him out of a the game the entire half, instead of bringing him back in the game with a full 8 minutes to go in the half?

Or do you mean like when Woody takes a player with 2 fouls out, with 2 minutes to go in a half? OK. But if that's the case, why don't you want the bench player in the game in that instance ( when he's in the game to protect a starter ) . . . but want him in the game at any other time?

And as for Crawford, that's straight BS. I said before the season that if Crawford turns out to be an efficient player for us, that you guys better give Woody major credit for that . . . because he hasn't done it anywhere else he's been at ( under supposedly better coaches ).

Crawford's job is to score the basketball. His job is the same as Manu Ginoboli, Ben Gordon, JR Smith, and Jason Terry. So when those coaches put those guys in that role, it's a credit to them using them right. But when Woody does it, Crawford is simply out there to do what he wants?

Straight BS. Beccause when he's in the game with JJ, he defers to JJ.

10 deep we are easily one of the most talented teams in the NBA... I would say that only LA, Orlando, and Boston are better 1 through 10... I think us and Denver are the next tier. (Cleveland is a slightly above average team, with a bad coach, but with the best player ever not named Michael Jordan.)

We are talented 1 - 6, even though people want Marvin traded these days. Guys like Zaza and Joe Smith weren't heavily courted in FA. Evans is solid and a good shooter. Teague has "potential".

Problem is, great teams don't have to be good 1 - 10. Most great teams are good 1 - 8. The 10th man normally doesn't matter. But to Hawk fans, people act like the 10th man is just as important as the 7th.

I think a lot of credit does have to go to our coaching staff as a unit though. Mark Price finally taught us to make free throws, and Larry Drew finally has reached Smoove. Obviously some credit goes to Woodson for being the captain of that group but considering his game management and game planning I could never really agree he is a great coach. When opposing commentators keep picking apart your offensive and defensive strategies, it really isn't a good sign.

Well that's obvious. Major credit goes to anybody NOT named Mike Woodson.

Hell . . give Skyhawk and his band of trampoline dunkers more credit than Woody. Forget the fact that a head coach usually picks his staff, assistants, and anybody else helping the team. This dude even had 2 so-called top assistants leave the staff, and we didn't miss a beat.

And for the record, I've never called Woody a great coach . . but he's doing a damn good job this year. So give him a grade on the year. What grade would you give Woody so far this season?

Does he even get a C+?

[HawksFan87]

uh no, Woody is still a terrible coach.. I wanted to throw something at the tv everytime I saw Bibby on Garnett last night..

[lethalweapon3]

Watching Bowers coaching right now (w/ no prior experience) made me think how fun it would've been had ASG fired Woody instead and told BK to come downstairs to cook his own groceries. Man, that would've been fun. Especially the postgame interviews.

~lw3

[MaceCase]

Death knell? Think about what you're saying. They may get fired 3 - 4 years down the line, after winning the award. But they won the award in the first place because of the tremendous season their team had, while the coach was at the helm.

LOL . . see? Woody hate has ya'll so messed up in the head, that you can't even see the team benefit of Woody being COY.

( whispering ) . . . that would probaly mean that the Hawks would be one of the top 5 best teams in the league. And that would make us an NBA title contender.

But I guess people would rather Woody not get a COY award . . and see the team be good, but not elite . . so that "Woody Hate" can live forever.

It's not Woody hate, especially on my part, the COY award is usually given to the coach of a team that performs above expectations and then that sort of lofty play and record now become the expected norm and at the slightest sign of a team not being able to live up to that new expectation the coach is usually the first to get the blame and the axe.

I see this team as having the talent to win anywhere from 47-54 wins under ANY coach but suppose that deal I made with the Devil comes through and the team wins 58 games? He gets the award and now all hell breaks loose because the media and fan base expect us to win 60+ next year even though we are closer to a mid 50s win team. Woody would recieve all the blame if that happens. You will start to hear such things like "he's lost his team" "the message has worn thin" "he doesn't have the ability to get it done"

So that's why I rather see this team.....under Woody.....string together consecutive 50+ win seasons with great playoff success rather than "overachieve" one regular season with this group and expect each finger to be covered by a ring for the next decade.........yea call me wierd but there is better job security is being consistently good ala Sloan than blue flaming one season ala SMitch.

[DrReality]

I agaree he is doing better /. . . . . . but lets not get carried away/.

[Atlantaholic]

The fact is that we could play peopkle straight up if we wanted, but that would expose both Bibby and Crawford ( two guys that we need offensively ). So the switching defense is employed sometimes to prevent lightning quick PGs from killing us ( like they ued to do with Tyronn Lue ) or prevent teams from exploiting us on pick and rolls. We all know that Bibby is the defensive liability.

And before the Boston game, our players were saying that the problems on defense had to do more about communication, than the actual defense itself. I think it was Horford that said that we weren't calling out our switches, and that led to 2 guys sometimes following the same guy. It's funny. The switcing defense is a problem with the fans, but it saw Boston shoot a HORRIBLE PERCENTAGE from 3 last night. So when done right, does this make the switching defense effective? Our defense was a strength last year . . the same defense.

LOL @ a poor job. We're 7 - 2. I guess the players are coaching themselves out there. All this is, are cop-outs to keep from giving the coach any credit for the success of this team. And to be honest, it's a bunch of crap.

You don't like the way he's handled the bench, but he's trusted guys when he needed to, and played the starters to insure victories. But because the rookie or Joe Smith can't see the floor every night, people have a problem with that? Even though we're winning?

You don't like him benching players when they're about to get in foul trouble? You mean like when Smoove picked up 2 fouls in the first 2 minutes of the Charlotte game? Wouldn't the "old Woody" leave him out of a the game the entire half, instead of bringing him back in the game with a full 8 minutes to go in the half?

Or do you mean like when Woody takes a player with 2 fouls out, with 2 minutes to go in a half? OK. But if that's the case, why don't you want the bench player in the game in that instance ( when he's in the game to protect a starter ) . . . but want him in the game at any other time?

And as for Crawford, that's straight BS. I said before the season that if Crawford turns out to be an efficient player for us, that you guys better give Woody major credit for that . . . because he hasn't done it anywhere else he's been at ( under supposedly better coaches ).

Crawford's job is to score the basketball. His job is the same as Manu Ginoboli, Ben Gordon, JR Smith, and Jason Terry. So when those coaches put those guys in that role, it's a credit to them using them right. But when Woody does it, Crawford is simply out there to do what he wants?

Straight BS. Beccause when he's in the game with JJ, he defers to JJ.

We are talented 1 - 6, even though people want Marvin traded these days. Guys like Zaza and Joe Smith weren't heavily courted in FA. Evans is solid and a good shooter. Teague has "potential".

Problem is, great teams don't have to be good 1 - 10. Most great teams are good 1 - 8. The 10th man normally doesn't matter. But to Hawk fans, people act like the 10th man is just as important as the 7th.

Well that's obvious. Major credit goes to anybody NOT named Mike Woodson.

Hell . . give Skyhawk and his band of trampoline dunkers more credit than Woody. Forget the fact that a head coach usually picks his staff, assistants, and anybody else helping the team. This dude even had 2 so-called top assistants leave the staff, and we didn't miss a beat.

And for the record, I've never called Woody a great coach . . but he's doing a damn good job this year. So give him a grade on the year. What grade would you give Woody so far this season?

Does he even get a C+?

I´d give him a B- actually. But I don´t know why anyone would be satisfied with a B- coach. If we got an A- to A+ coach we would be championship caliber.