This guy pretty much somes it up.

[dhawk]

Hawks' offense won't cut it in playoffs

It would take an herculean effort of isos from JJ, Craw, Smoove, Horford & Marv to win under Woody's offensive philosophy against good defenses in the playoffs, especially in the 4th quarter.

[JackB1]

totally agree.

Woody really needs to hire an "offensive specialist" who can get this team running effective plays on a regular basis.

The 4th quarter letdowns are completely due to JJ and Craw doing too much 1 on 5 and lack of ball movement.

[dhawk]

totally agree.

Woody really needs to hire an "offensive specialist" who can get this team running effective plays on a regular basis.

The 4th quarter letdowns are completely due to JJ and Craw doing too much 1 on 5 and lack of ball movement.

Don't get me wrong, I do think JJ and Craw will go off in the playoffs, but to win the best of 7 against a good defense will be tough, if isos is what we are depending on. Horford has shown if his man is too big (D. Howard, etc.) he can step out to 15 feet and hit jumpers. Smoove can manuever around most PFs. Marv & Bibby can hit open shots after penetration from teammates.

We just need to keep opposing defenses guessing as to what we will do and who will shoot. Seen a little of it, but not enough. Our defense has also collapsed in the 4th quarter in some games, resulting in having to outscore opponents with too many isos.

[niremetal]

Great article. Rosen nails it. Thanks for the link.

[macdaddy]

Apparently he actually watched a game instead of just looking at the stat that we have a top 4 offense in the league. /sarcasm

It is amazing we do win so many games with this approach. I'll give Woody credit for finding a winning formula. At the same time it shows that we have a lot of talent in the first 6 guys. With more ball and player movement, as he says, we'd be hard to beat.

[Antmillennium]

Rose did nail it. He probably only watches the Hawks a few times a year, and he managed to figure out in a few games what Mike Woodson hasn't managed to figure out in several years. That Isolation crap just isn't going to work in the playoffs. We need to run an offense that gets everybody involved. That way, we won't have those long stretches where our offense just stagnates while everybody is watching Joe Johnson and Jamal Crawford be ballhogs.

[mrhonline]

While one-on-one basketball may pay handsome dividends in the regular season, it’s strictly a losing proposition in the money season.

And that is the PRIMARY reason why Woodson, despite all his success, is still struggling to gain credibility around here.

[HawkItus]

Rose did nail it. He probably only watches the Hawks a few times a year, and he managed to figure out in a few games what Mike Woodson hasn't managed to figure out in several years. That Isolation crap just isn't going to work in the playoffs. We need to run an offense that gets everybody involved. That way, we won't have those long stretches where our offense just stagnates while everybody is watching Joe Johnson and Jamal Crawford be ballhogs.

I disagree. We have some really bad ball handlers in front court. There was a series last night where Josh stumbled into drive, passed to Al who stumbled into an almost lost possession. Marvin is a 50/50 proposition to turn the ball over with every possession that isn't a pass and shoot. Remember how man turnovers we used to have. "young guys running wild" is what JJ termed it. With Bibby and JJ splitting the ball possession about 75% of the time our team has been able to cut down on turnovers and maximize possessions. We don't do that with the other 3 starters handling the ball. What we need is another front court player with good ball handling skills. I think that's why we have so much success when Mo starts. He gives us another "sure" handed player so the guards don't have to dominate the ball.

[prolific25]

And that is the PRIMARY reason why Woodson, despite all his success, is still struggling to gain credibility around here.

The Hawks offensive ranking is good...but I still don't put much stock into it. I can't remember the last time the Hawks cracked 25 in the 4th quarter vs a good team. They usually don't even score 20 in those situations.

[Crank]

Cleveland im sure runs iso-lebron

the problem is not one on one but the fact that we go to the well too often .

We have got to push the ball more that should be our goal either or makes or misses .We need more easier baskets and that will ultimately take the pressure off the shot-makers and get everyone else involved too.

We have 3-4 different guys who can bring it up and initiate the break and yet you see us jogging up to setup to go one on one . How about we pass the ball ahead and the trailers run hard looking to fill the lane .

[Crank]

The Hawks offensive ranking is good...but I still don't put much stock into it. I can't remember the last time the Hawks cracked 25 in the 4th quarter vs a good team. They usually don't even score 20 in those situations.

Actually weve thrown up plenty of 30+ point quarters against good teams . We did it against SA and Dallas ,Bucks ,raps ,Bos etc . Our problem is we take our foot off the gas and sometimes Woody panics .

Like last night I wondered how come the bench unit that blew the game open in the firsts half didnt get any burn in the second half together . During that cold stretch in the 4th everyone just assumes it was Crawford and Joe shooting but it wasnt . I think over 6 minutes in the 4th Josh and Al took most of the shots and everyone else stood around looking with Joe taking a shot here or there .Crawford didnt touch the ball for over 5 minutes.

Once we find something that works that doesnt involve isolations or posts ups we never exploit it. We fall back into 2008 all the time and thats sorry to say is Woodys fault because hes not pushing them anymore the way they need to be push . They are improving but hes not expanding the scheme instead they are just getting better as individual players inside of it. We see glimpses of what they could be buts its not by design though but the natural flow of the game situations that why its so erratic .

[exodus]

Actually weve thrown up plenty of 30+ point quarters against good teams . We did it against SA and Dallas ,Bucks ,raps ,Bos etc . Our problem is we take our foot off the gas and sometimes Woody panics .

Like last night I wondered how come the bench unit that blew the game open in the firsts half didnt get any burn in the second half together . During that cold stretch in the 4th everyone just assumes it was Crawford and Joe shooting but it wasnt . I think over 6 minutes in the 4th Josh and Al took most of the shots and everyone else stood around looking with Joe taking a shot here or there .Crawford didnt touch the ball for over 5 minutes.

Over the last 6 minutes of the game (when the Hawks blew their lead) Horford didn't have a shot attempt. Smith had one shot attempt other than his buzzer beating dunk.

[AnthonyI11]

Good article. Very true

[Gray Mule]

"Prevent" offense = prevents blowouts - - by Hawks.

Here's how it works. Watch any last half of the 4th quarter and try NOT to see it. It's there.

Instead of running a regular, pass the ball around, type offense you put the ball in the hands

of your guard - JJ or Crawford or Bibby (Jeff T. is not allowed in the game here) and the guard

dribbles the clock down to a few short seconds. He then shoots or passes out, under pressure,

to someone who gets off the hurried shot.

No one is in position for an ofensive rebound so it's one and done IF the guard can get it to one

of the front line players without a turnover. If he can't, he takes a contested shot.

:cant believe:

[Atlantaholic]

All pretty obvious things for anyone who follows the team. It isn't some freak coincidence the fact we struggle in the fourth quarter, which is the quarter where teams usually buckle down on defense and force you to beat them in the halfcourt. We are gonna need some freak performances from some of our star players to go far into the playoffs, because our offensive gameplan is not gonna cut it.

[buckeye242424]

All pretty obvious things for anyone who follows the team. It isn't some freak coincidence the fact we struggle in the fourth quarter, which is the quarter where teams usually buckle down on defense and force you to beat them in the halfcourt. We are gonna need some freak performances from some of our star players to go far into the playoffs, because our offensive gameplan is not gonna cut it.

Yup. And the article had me nodding my head too...

Which is why stats are misleading. We can rank in the top...whatever....offensively, but it doesn't hold any water if you watch every game like I/we do. Anybody that has any experience playing/coaching, or even watching enough basketball would realize our offense is nonexistent unless individual talents ARE the offense. Shouldn't be that way. We score points on talent and athleticism, which every NBA team has...we just have more. What we don't have is better coaching offensively....and it's sad.

[hawks21]

I disagree. We have some really bad ball handlers in front court. There was a series last night where Josh stumbled into drive, passed to Al who stumbled into an almost lost possession. Marvin is a 50/50 proposition to turn the ball over with every possession that isn't a pass and shoot. Remember how man turnovers we used to have. "young guys running wild" is what JJ termed it. With Bibby and JJ splitting the ball possession about 75% of the time our team has been able to cut down on turnovers and maximize possessions. We don't do that with the other 3 starters handling the ball. What we need is another front court player with good ball handling skills. I think that's why we have so much success when Mo starts. He gives us another "sure" handed player so the guards don't have to dominate the ball.

You're correct. Our frontcourt is very uncomfortable handling the basketball. Marvin is no Kevin Durant. Al is no Amare Stoudamire. I remember during Bibby's days in Sacramento, Chris Webber was one of the best post players in basketball who can pass the ball in traffic to open teammates.

[AtLaS]

Cleveland im sure runs iso-lebron

They do. If we had LeBron, I would have no problem with our offense. The problem is, we don't.

[Atlantaholic]

They do. If we had LeBron, I would have no problem with our offense. The problem is, we don't.

It was because of ISO Lebron that they lost to the Magic last year. If Cleveland can't beat the Magic running Iso's all night we certainly won't be able to even compete with them on a 7 game series with our much worse version of it.

[AHF]

It was because of ISO Lebron that they lost to the Magic last year. If Cleveland can't beat the Magic running Iso's all night we certainly won't be able to even compete with them on a 7 game series with our much worse version of it.

No one should be holding up Cleveland's offense as something to admire. The overuse of Iso's there is a liability not an asset.