Woody is NBA Coach of the Year

[Joker]

People who hate Woody will always hate Woody even when he basically improved us EVERY YEAR.

[Swatguy]

People who hate Woody will always hate Woody even when he basically improved us EVERY YEAR.

Sund: Extend the coach. Bring Joe back to the table. Finish your homework.

[sillent]

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.

I will agree to this because not only are we the number 1 team in the league currently but also because Woody is learning to adjust rotations with a deep and deadly team!!

[Buzzard]

You do realize this is similar to say ..... declaring JJ MVP (better than Kobe, Dirk, Duncan, Lebron etc...) only 9 games into the season. I do not want to hear you dish someone about hype ever again LMAO

[spotatl]

So far this year the coach of the year would come down to Woodson, Westphal in Sacramento, or Alvin Gentry in Phoenix. Atlanta has the second best offense in the league this season yet people are still complaining about Woodson on offense. It really is unbelievable.

[spotatl]

I wonder if there has ever been a team this far into the season with the best record in the NBA where so many of the fans still want to see the coach fired.

[Atlantaholic]

I wonder if there has ever been a team this far into the season with the best record in the NBA where so many of the fans still want to see the coach fired.

Probably Cleveland with Mike Brown. The dude is a joke.

[TheNorthCydeRises]

Here are my top 5 for Coach of the Year . . as of Thanksgiving Weekend:

1) Mike Woodson - ATL

2) Rick Carlisle - DAL

3) Alvin Gentry - PHX

4) Stan Van Gundy - ORL

5) Phil Jackson - LAL

[thefloydian]

People who hate Woody will always hate Woody even when he basically improved us EVERY YEAR.

Giving him credit for the Hawks improvement over the last few years is like saying the Hawks should put me on the pay role because they've improved every year since I started regularly following them. It's a complete coincidence. What is one thing that Woody actually does well? He can't even handle foul trouble substitutions competently.

[CrawDaddy]

Here are my top 5 for Coach of the Year . . as of Thanksgiving Weekend:

1) Mike Woodson - ATL

2) Rick Carlisle - DAL

3) Alvin Gentry - PHX

4) Stan Van Gundy - ORL

5) Phil Jackson - LAL

This thread is a joke right? Obviously you have never played or coached basketball before (and if you did, you sucked at it). When woody institutes some semblance of an offense, then we can revisit this ridiculous subject.

[spotatl]

This thread is a joke right? Obviously you have never played or coached basketball before (and if you did, you sucked at it). When woody institutes some semblance of an offense, then we can revisit this ridiculous subject.

With the Hawks personnel where do you think they should rank in the league in offense? Top 3? Put it this way- lets say the Hawks get good coaching. How many teams do you think simply have better talent on offense and should still finish ahead of the Hawks?

[frankthetank966]

Through 3 weeks yes. But don't get ahead of yourself. There is still a lot of basketball to be played this yr.

[spotatl]

Since all of the irrational Woodson attackers are not responding to the question I'll go ahead and start a list myself. If any of these teams finish with better offenses than the hawks then I do not think its because of poor Hawks coaching. I'd take the talent on offense of all these teams over what the Hawks have.

Phoenix

Toronto

Denver

Boston

Orlando

Cleveland

Lakers

Dallas

San Antonio

Portland

So by my measure if the Hawks are a top 10 offense then Woodson is not at all holding the offense back. The further he gets into the top 10 I'll give Woodson actual credit for doing a good job. If the Pacers or Pistons had better offenses then the Hawks then I'll start to say its because of coaching. . But honestly there are a lot of teams who have a lot of good players on offense. Teams that are willing to pay the luxury tax to have a deep bench. (I don't think its a coincidence that 8 of those teams are projected to pay the luxury tax this season) Honestly I don't at all know that the Hawks have clearly better personnel on offense than teams like Golden State (because they don't care about defense at all) and Utah.

[JackB1]

Woodson is a DEFENSIVE coach. Our defense and rebounding have always been bad. We are winning games by outscoring our opponents.

I have always maintained we win IN SPITE of Woodson.....not because of him. I promise you we would have the same record with Mickey Mouse

behind the bench.

[Atlantaholic]

Woodson is a DEFENSIVE coach. Our defense and rebounding have always been bad. We are winning games by outscoring our opponents.

I have always maintained we win IN SPITE of Woodson.....not because of him. I promise you we would have the same record with Mickey Mouse

behind the bench.

He has openly admitted in the past that he doesn't really worry about offense, so for him to get credit for us being able to score is a little strange.

[AHF]

So by my measure if the Hawks are a top 10 offense then Woodson is not at all holding the offense back.

In my opinion, isolation offense without equally prominent structure to the offense mixed in (motion, pick and roll, inside/outside, etc.) is as fundamentally flawed as the run and shoot in the NFL. It can look good during the regular season but by its nature it will limit how far a team can go -- especially when you run into the defensive intensity of the post-season where you will be facing off 7 consecutive times against opponents who are going to scheme and adjust to try to stop what you are doing. You better have ways getting matchups to exploit and easy shots for your players via screens, etc.

I can't complain about the bottomline results on offense this season (although I think you may be underrating the offensive talent on this team) but I do think the offensive gameplan is doomed to failure unless we install some structure to our offnese.

Also, Horford and Marvin will never reach their potential in an iso offense for whatever that is worth.

[spotatl]

AHF- first of all I'm sure that you see more potential for Horford on offense than I do. The guy hasn't shown any ability to exploit weak defenders either in College or the Pro's- I'm inclined to think he just doesn't have the skill. I think Marvin is what he is- a 4th option on offense who cannot consistently exploit weak defenders.

And in the playoffs I don't think its that the hawks style of offense breaks down so much as the Hawks simply face better teams. I don't think that Coaching is the reason that the Hawks lost to the Celtics- the Celtics were just better and the Hawks did well to take them to a game 7. I think that the Cavs are just better than the Hawks so the Hawks are not going to look as good as they did during the regular season and changing the coach wouldn't lead to a different result. I don't think there is any coach that could overcome the matchup problems the Magic present to the hawks on a consistent basis- The Magic are willing to pay the luxury tax to put together a superior team. If you put Jameer Nelson, Vince Carter or Rashard Lewis on the Hawks I think that you would see the offense magically look a whole lot more varied because there would be more options.

The NBA has made defending someone 1 on 1 virtually impossible yet you are mad at a coach for trying to take advantage of that fact. When the Hawks ahve a top 4 offense in the league people here are still complaining about the Hawks offense. Running the pick and roll often just puts another defender close to the ball and serves no purpose. Many teams have all sorts of moving parts that don't do any good whatsoever. I think that the proper NBA offense at this point is to have 4 shooters with one guy ont he backside of the defense flashing to the rim and working the offensive glass. Spread the floor and let someone exploit a weak defender 1 on 1 and then kill the team when they start rotating after the doubleteam. Just because the offense is not pretty enough for you does not mean that a different coach would have a more effective offense.

[AHF]

The NBA has made defending someone 1 on 1 virtually impossible yet you are mad at a coach for trying to take advantage of that fact. When the Hawks ahve a top 4 offense in the league people here are still complaining about the Hawks offense. Running the pick and roll often just puts another defender close to the ball and serves no purpose. Many teams have all sorts of moving parts that don't do any good whatsoever. I think that the proper NBA offense at this point is to have 4 shooters with one guy ont he backside of the defense flashing to the rim and working the offensive glass. Spread the floor and let someone exploit a weak defender 1 on 1 and then kill the team when they start rotating after the doubleteam. Just because the offense is not pretty enough for you does not mean that a different coach would have a more effective offense.

I am mad that we are running an offense that does not well serve our young forwards and, more importantly, is very limited.

What NBA contender has run an iso offense like we do? (Of course, no NBA champion has done it but how about simply contenders?) The only one that comes to mind to me is Cleveland and I likewise think their offense blows.

I would like the iso offense Woodson runs more if he put more emphasis on the part you describe as "then kill the team when they start rotating after the doubleteam."

Maybe we will be the first iso offense to do great things in the NBA but to me you still need more structure. If you like isolations, run a structured dribble-drive offense rather than simply spreading the floor and calling for JBATTLE.

[spotatl]

Miami won the championship with an iso offense. Of course Cleveland now runs an iso offense. I think that most teams without a post presence run what amounts to an iso offense. (this does show how much easier it is to build a championship contender with a post threat) And just FYI- the Hawks are middle of the pack in the NBA as far as what percentage of baskets are assisted.

If you have ever coached you know at the core of any offense is someone drawing a double team and then finding the open man against an unsettled offense. I would prefer the Hawks offense if they had more guys who could exploit a weak defender- but to me thats a personnel problem and not a coaching problem. If I am running the Hawks offense I look at it and I see 2 guys who can consistently draw a double team and find the open man- Crawford and Joe. past that everyone else is FAR better off faciing an unsettled defense where someone else is creating their chances for them.

IF you tell me you want to see Josh Smith getting fed the ball in the post I'll think you are crazy but at least its a plan. If you think that Bibby shoudl be initiating the offense "like a PG should" then I'll think its crazy but sure thats another way to go. But when I look at the Hawks I see a team with no post game and just 2 guys who can initiate the offense and I feel sympathy for the coach when he gets crucified at the same time the team is a top 4 offense.

Like I have said- if the Hawks were languishing with the 15th or 18th best offense in the league when they clearly had the talent to be higher then absolutely I'll be on board criticizing Woodson for his choices. But I'm a results based guy and don't care much about aesthetics. When the Hawks have a much better offense than a team like the Blazers who I think have more tools to work with on offense then hell yeah I'll give woodson some credit for that.

Put it this way- You would probably be much happier with Sloan's offensive system than what the Hawks run. But the Hawks have had the far better offense this year and I would have a hard time saying the Hawks have better personnel on offense.

Edited November 30, 2009 by spotatl

[AHF]

Miami won the championship with an iso offense. Of course Cleveland now runs an iso offense.

Miami also ran a lot of non-iso offense. Shaq in the post generated 20 ppg for that team. As a I said, the Cleveland offense is an embarrassment.

I think that most teams without a post presence run what amounts to an iso offense. (this does show how much easier it is to build a championship contender with a post threat)

If you have ever coached you know at the core of any offense is someone drawing a double team and then finding the open man against an unsettled offense. I would prefer the Hawks offense if they had more guys who could exploit a weak defender- but to me thats a personnel problem and not a coaching problem. If I am running the Hawks offense I look at it and I see 2 guys who can consistently draw a double team and find the open man- Crawford and Joe. past that everyone else is FAR better off faciing an unsettled defense where someone else is creating their chances for them.

IF you tell me you want to see Josh Smith getting fed the ball in the post I'll think you are crazy but at least its a plan. If you think that Bibby shoudl be initiating the offense "like a PG should" then I'll think its crazy but sure thats another way to go. But when I look at the Hawks I see a team with no post game and just 2 guys who can initiate the offense and I feel sympathy for the coach when he gets crucified at the same time the team is a top 4 offense.

I'll give you one idea for what would help our forwards on offense...movement oft the ball and screens. Most interior players aren't nearly as quick as Horford and Smith and Marvin can exploit both open jumpes and driving lanes.

Like I have said- if the Hawks were languishing with the 15th or 18th best offense in the league when they clearly had the talent to be higher then absolutely I'll be on board criticizing Woodson for his choices. But I'm a results based guy and don't care much about aesthetics. When the Hawks have a much better offense than a team like the Blazers who I think have more tools to work with on offense then hell yeah I'll give woodson some credit for that.

Put it this way- You would probably be much happier with Sloan's offensive system than what the Hawks run. But the Hawks have had the far better offense this year and I would have a hard time saying the Hawks have better personnel on offense.

You are 100% right. I would be much happier with Sloan's offensive system than with Woodson's.

The run and shoot put up some good numbers in the NFL but never did anything of significance. That is my problem with an iso system that doesn't have real structure and viable non-iso alternatives.

Running Kobe/Wade isos with Shaq post-ups sounds good to me. Running isos with JJ/Crawford doesn't. It will go great until the perimeter jumpers aren't falling (which will happen with decent regularity) and then you need a Plan B and we don't have one.

I would trade Sloan coaching our offense in a second for Woodson coaching it.

Edited November 30, 2009 by AHF