Will LD's New Offense Solve Chemistry Issues

[SayStar1]

or will Joe Johnson's resigning cause even more problems? I think a lot of the issues that reared it's ugly head in the Orlando series was a direct result of Joe's ISOs and Woody's inability to make him move the ball more. My suspicions of this was furthered when I read MC's blog response to a poster who was calling him a JJ homer. To dispute that fact MC responded with comments bellow. Pay close attention to the last paragraph

[url=http://blogs.ajc.com/hawks/2010/07/04/atlanta-hawks-hawks-and-j-j-finally-complete-deal/comment-page-2/]Link

@ Reid Adair: ok, i admit it. you’ve found me out. i looked at all the examples you provided of my blind Joe boosterism and i can’t deny it. i think this is a great move that is going to put the Hawks over the top. it might be the best move in the league. what can i say? J.J. is my guy and i wanted him back. that’s why i’ve avoided examining the weaknesses in his game, his lack of leadership and the drawbacks to re-signing him, unlike the hater who wrote all this garbage:

“Hawks GM Rick Sund said he wants to re-sign Johnson, one of the top shooting guards in the league, but there are risks to giving him a an expensive, long-term deal. Johnson will be 29 this summer and production for shooting guards tends to decline around that age. His deliberate, one-on-one style was effective when he made baskets but tended to damage team dynamics at times.”

“When the Hawks, including co-owner Michael Gearon Jr., say they are a better team when the ball is moving, what they mean is they are better when J.J. isn’t dribbling out the ball on one side of the floor while his teammates stand around. So before the Hawks even begin to ponder how much they think J.J. is worth, they first must decide if he can play a different style. If the Hawks re-sign J.J. and add a point guard who can get to the rim and create open shots, can J.J. thrive as a spot-up shooter and cutter? Or does he need to play his deliberate, slashing style? If the Hawks keep Woody, would he be able to get J.J. to change for the sake of the team? Can any coach do it at this point?”

“At first I defended the merits of Iso-Joe, which included the Hawks’ excellent efficiency numbers during the regular season. Slowly I came to realize the psychological toll it has on this team, which has several guys who need to be involved to stay sharp. And now we see that in the playoffs good defensive teams, which most of them tend to be, can neutralize Iso-Joe or Iso-Anybody. Actually, we saw that before the playoffs, when the Hawks kept losing those road leads with low-scoring second halves.”

“Before the playoffs opened, J.J. said he knew that as the Hawks’ veteran star he would take the heat if they don’t meet expectations or get the glory if they make a breakthrough. He said he embraced that role. Now, though, both J.J. and Woody seem to want to avoid putting the onus on him to deliver a big game when the Hawks need it most.”

“I think Ray is a little bit too dismissive of Iso-Joe as an issue. So was I when I first got on the beat because I figured that it works most of the time so it’s a good thing (and I still think that to a certain extent). But the part I underestimated is the psychological effect Iso-Joe can have on the team when it doesn’t work.

I’ve seen enough scrunched faces and slumped shoulders from other guys after Joe goes one-on-one and misses to know that it has an effect. I’ve seen the telling eye-rolls when Iso-Joe is brought up in conversation with some guys. I saw Josh get fed up at Utah and start demanding that his teammates share the ball. Last night I saw Josh bring the ball up himself a couple times and try to make passes inside, and then I heard him say (again) after the game that the Hawks need to share the ball more. Maybe he was trying to make that happen himself. When Iso-Joe (or whomever) doesn’t work, and the players get frustrated, and the home fans groan, or the road fans roar, and things go bad–I think it does have an effect beyond Woody’s (and my) bottom-line assessment of it working more often than not.”

If the chemistry issues were caused by Joe's ball hogging and pretty much several players didn't like it---who do you subtract. One more thing I haven't posted on the board for a long time but I read it everyday and been a member since it's inception. I along with Stuart, Diesel, KB21, Walter, Capstone, and several others were posters on the old AJC boards before Stuart created the old Hawksquawk. I love reading your comments and never post or sign in so I can remain an intellectual reader as appose to posting exposing my lack thereof through emotions. However, I had to do it so I could officially go on record as believing his resigning was not a good move monetarily and for team cohesiveness. JJ is not going to actively recruit anyone that takes the spotlight off of him as "the man." All of the other tier 1 free agents has mentioned not only getting paid but winning a championship. You have not heard not one word out of JJ's mouth in reference to doing whatever it takes to get the Hawks a championship. And with having expressed my opinion gentlemen I shall return to anonymity.

[Diesel]

SayStar,

Happy 5th Buddy And Welcome back.

On to your post.

Do you really think that Joe has to be the man?? I honestly don't know. I wish there were somebody who would level with the fans and tell us exactly what the Chemistry issues are. I thought I recognized a hint of professional Jealousy when Smoove was not chosen as an Allstar. Then I thought that Joe didn't really pass to Craw much. Then there was the vets and the rookies several years ago. The point is that I think that Woody and Woody's way was the main problem. Call it a crisis of leadership. I would love to see us trade for a guy like CP3. I think Paul is a leader who will take the reigns of this team and mold us into championship material. I think that there may be something with Smoove but I don't know if it's fixable. I know that LD is a little more straightfoward and well liked than his predecessor. I hope that LD doesn't become a guy who is not respected because he's been there all the time. In my heart, I still believe the master plan is to bring back Doc in a year or two. I think right now, we're shopping for an owner and may have somebody fingered for the job. So all we're doing now is a wait move. We have to regain the initiative and let this team play itself out. The real questions will be: What about Horf? Allstar C wants to be a PF on a team with a PF who should have been an allstar. Can we move Marvin? When all these teams get their feelings hurt by FAcy, will Sund be shrewd enough to move Marvin's contract for a first rounder? Is Chillz coming back? Some people don't like the guy, but I have to believe that his game has improved and he's coming back to the league this year.

Those are some of the storylines that goes along with your question about LD's offense being a fix all for Chemistry. I guess the main question we have was Was it all Woody? I have to say that the way he raised up this team was wrong from a chemistry standpoint. But he did what he thought he had to do to win and stay employed.

[Jody23]

Good points guys, but I don't think the problems were all on Woody. Hopefully, LD's approach and system will help, but we're kidding ourselves if we think it's going to solve all the problems. This team has some flaws and issues that need to be addressed.

[clicklandshopping]

or will Joe Johnson's resigning cause even more problems? I think a lot of the issues that reared it's ugly head in the Orlando series was a direct result of Joe's ISOs and Woody's inability to make him move the ball more. My suspicions of this was furthered when I read MC's blog response to a poster who was calling him a JJ homer. To dispute that fact MC responded with comments bellow. Pay close attention to the last paragraph

[url=http://blogs.ajc.com/hawks/2010/07/04/atlanta-hawks-hawks-and-j-j-finally-complete-deal/comment-page-2/]Link

@ Reid Adair: ok, i admit it. you’ve found me out. i looked at all the examples you provided of my blind Joe boosterism and i can’t deny it. i think this is a great move that is going to put the Hawks over the top. it might be the best move in the league. what can i say? J.J. is my guy and i wanted him back. that’s why i’ve avoided examining the weaknesses in his game, his lack of leadership and the drawbacks to re-signing him, unlike the hater who wrote all this garbage:

“Hawks GM Rick Sund said he wants to re-sign Johnson, one of the top shooting guards in the league, but there are risks to giving him a an expensive, long-term deal. Johnson will be 29 this summer and production for shooting guards tends to decline around that age. His deliberate, one-on-one style was effective when he made baskets but tended to damage team dynamics at times.”

“When the Hawks, including co-owner Michael Gearon Jr., say they are a better team when the ball is moving, what they mean is they are better when J.J. isn’t dribbling out the ball on one side of the floor while his teammates stand around. So before the Hawks even begin to ponder how much they think J.J. is worth, they first must decide if he can play a different style. If the Hawks re-sign J.J. and add a point guard who can get to the rim and create open shots, can J.J. thrive as a spot-up shooter and cutter? Or does he need to play his deliberate, slashing style? If the Hawks keep Woody, would he be able to get J.J. to change for the sake of the team? Can any coach do it at this point?”

“At first I defended the merits of Iso-Joe, which included the Hawks’ excellent efficiency numbers during the regular season. Slowly I came to realize the psychological toll it has on this team, which has several guys who need to be involved to stay sharp. And now we see that in the playoffs good defensive teams, which most of them tend to be, can neutralize Iso-Joe or Iso-Anybody. Actually, we saw that before the playoffs, when the Hawks kept losing those road leads with low-scoring second halves.”

“Before the playoffs opened, J.J. said he knew that as the Hawks’ veteran star he would take the heat if they don’t meet expectations or get the glory if they make a breakthrough. He said he embraced that role. Now, though, both J.J. and Woody seem to want to avoid putting the onus on him to deliver a big game when the Hawks need it most.”

“I think Ray is a little bit too dismissive of Iso-Joe as an issue. So was I when I first got on the beat because I figured that it works most of the time so it’s a good thing (and I still think that to a certain extent). But the part I underestimated is the psychological effect Iso-Joe can have on the team when it doesn’t work.

I’ve seen enough scrunched faces and slumped shoulders from other guys after Joe goes one-on-one and misses to know that it has an effect. I’ve seen the telling eye-rolls when Iso-Joe is brought up in conversation with some guys. I saw Josh get fed up at Utah and start demanding that his teammates share the ball. Last night I saw Josh bring the ball up himself a couple times and try to make passes inside, and then I heard him say (again) after the game that the Hawks need to share the ball more. Maybe he was trying to make that happen himself. When Iso-Joe (or whomever) doesn’t work, and the players get frustrated, and the home fans groan, or the road fans roar, and things go bad–I think it does have an effect beyond Woody’s (and my) bottom-line assessment of it working more often than not.”

If the chemistry issues were caused by Joe's ball hogging and pretty much several players didn't like it---who do you subtract. One more thing I haven't posted on the board for a long time but I read it everyday and been a member since it's inception. I along with Stuart, Diesel, KB21, Walter, Capstone, and several others were posters on the old AJC boards before Stuart created the old Hawksquawk. I love reading your comments and never post or sign in so I can remain an intellectual reader as appose to posting exposing my lack thereof through emotions. However, I had to do it so I could officially go on record as believing his resigning was not a good move monetarily and for team cohesiveness. JJ is not going to actively recruit anyone that takes the spotlight off of him as "the man." All of the other tier 1 free agents has mentioned not only getting paid but winning a championship. You have not heard not one word out of JJ's mouth in reference to doing whatever it takes to get the Hawks a championship. And with having expressed my opinion gentlemen I shall return to anonymity.

I really respect what you are saying! But do you really think this coaching staff and these owner would really "Pay the Man" if he was a poison to the team. It's not like he is the most popular celebrity in Atlanta sports wise. How many JJ jersey do they really sale. He is a great player the guy likes. I never heard ball hog before money was involved and this iso-Joe was created.