Midseason evaluation of Larry Drew

[NineOhTheRino]

I'm interested to see what others think.

Edited January 31, 2011 by NineOhTheRino

[jhay610]

Likes:

Flashes of motion offense that at times looks brilliant.

Decent game manager, notably better than the last head man.

Ridiculous defensive switching scheme that was regularly abused in years past has been abandoned.

Doesn't give off a vacant stare on the sideline (again, notable upgrade).

Has two fully functional eyebrows (upgrade).

Dislikes:

Smooth is completely out of control with shot selection. Worried that players are too comfortable with him whereas Woody was something more of an authority figure.

Disappointed to see the 2 foul "foul out of the first half regardless of situation" policy has carried over to the new regime.

Neutral:

We all complained that Woody failed to develop players but over time he was proved to be right in just about every instance. Starting to worry that the same thing may be true of Jeff "I may be outta my league" Teague.

Edited January 31, 2011 by jhay610

[macdaddy]

Gee, overall i wonder who voted poor?

Everyone here seems to contend this team is 'fatally flawed', no bench, no decent PG, a PF who can't shoot, an underperforming star, out of position center, useless SF, sorry ownership. Yet here we sit. #5 in the east. 3.5 games out of the number 2 spot. I didn't like Woody but i gave him credit for winning 50+ games last year. And I held him responsible for our failings too. I'm doing the same with LD. So far I see fewer flaws in LDs approach. I think we will see Teague getting a lot of minutes by the end of the season (if not traded) and that will make a huge difference.

To rate LD poor half a season into his head coaching career with a .625 winning percentage to me is laughable.

[Joker]

I voted poor on only player discipline and good in player development. I truly believe Teague is getting better and Crawford is understanding as well and it seems like everyone outside of the older vets have improved ability wise. What I don't like is Smoove at SF. I hate it. I also don't think his communication is getting through, it's seems the team was a lot more responsive to Woody than Drew. They played harder under Woody but better under Drew. This roster is flawed so I want bash him too much but he's has a lot to learn. It's hard replacing a vet coach like Woody as a 1st timer but Drew showing flashes of a very good coach.

[AHF]

Likes:

Flashes of motion offense that at times looks brilliant.

Decent game manager, notably better than the last head man.

Ridiculous defensive switching scheme that was regularly abused in years past has been abandoned.

Doesn't give off a vacant stare on the sideline (again, notable upgrade).

Has two fully functional eyebrows (upgrade).

Dislikes:

Smooth is completely out of control with shot selection. Worried that players are too comfortable with him whereas Woody was something more of an authority figure.

Disappointed to see the 2 foul "foul out of the first half regardless of situation" policy has carried over to the new regime.

Neutral:

We all complained that Woody failed to develop players but over time he was proved to be right in just about every instance. Starting to worry that the same thing may be true of Jeff "I may be outta my league" Teague.

Very well said. I'll save the typing and just quote for truth.

[Vol4ever]

I rated Larry Fair in every category except descipline and I gave him a "poor". Josh Smih has gone wild shooting three's in crucial times of games - see milwaukee last week and LD hadsdone nothing.

I lke LD ok as a person buit he is not a coach that will take this team to the next level IMO.

[AHF]

The biggest accomplishment is moving away from the auto-switch defense and really moving away from all the highly predictable and highly exploitable aspects of our game last season. Those things are OK in the regular season but get you killed in the playoffs. And, of course, until Drew proves something in the playoffs it is premature to opine about the real impact of the coaching switch.

[macdaddy]

I rated Larry Fair in every category except descipline and I gave him a "poor". Josh Smih has gone wild shooting three's in crucial times of games - see milwaukee last week and LD hadsdone nothing.

I lke LD ok as a person buit he is not a coach that will take this team to the next level IMO.

This is a wild exagerration. I'll admit he sucked in that game but he wasn't the only one making poor decisions in the fourth. Plus I can't think of any other games where he 'went wild shooting three's'. Look at how many bricks Mo shoots per minutes played. Or for that matter Joe. Joe and Marv have gone wild shooting 3s 10 percentage points below Smoove.

[Wretch]

Likes:

Flashes of motion offense that at times looks brilliant.

Decent game manager, notably better than the last head man.

Ridiculous defensive switching scheme that was regularly abused in years past has been abandoned.

Doesn't give off a vacant stare on the sideline (again, notable upgrade).

Has two fully functional eyebrows (upgrade).

Dislikes:

Smooth is completely out of control with shot selection. Worried that players are too comfortable with him whereas Woody was something more of an authority figure.

Disappointed to see the 2 foul "foul out of the first half regardless of situation" policy has carried over to the new regime.

Neutral:

We all complained that Woody failed to develop players but over time he was proved to be right in just about every instance. Starting to worry that the same thing may be true of Jeff "I may be outta my league" Teague.

Sums up my opinion too. Overall though, I don't think you could ask for more from a new HC.

[JoeJohnson2]

I voted fair for all options but implementation of the motion offense. This blog post pretty much sums up my thoughts:

http://controlatldelete.wordpress.com/2011/01/31/gauging-the-hawks-present-and-future/

Edited February 1, 2011 by JoeJohnson2

[NineOhTheRino]

So 72% of us believe Drew has implemented his beloved motion offense. I guess we're to consider the motion of Joe and Jamal going 1-on-5 a motion offense.

[macdaddy]

So 72% of us believe Drew has implemented his beloved motion offense. I guess we're to consider the motion of Joe and Jamal going 1-on-5 a motion offense.

I believe he has implemented AN OFFENSE. Which is something Woody never did. I'm good with calling it a motion offense because at least guys aren't holding the ball forever and the players are moving without the ball. Its not the globetrotters. There will still be some iso's because its professional basketball.

[AHF]

So 72% of us believe Drew has implemented his beloved motion offense. I guess we're to consider the motion of Joe and Jamal going 1-on-5 a motion offense.

I think most people believe Drew has made reasonable progress towards something more than the limited and repetitive offense we saw the last 6 years. I don't know that anyone considers the Hawks' offense a finished product just a few months into it.

Edited February 1, 2011 by AHF

[benhillboy]

With all of the injuries considered, I'd upgrade his borderline B- to a strong B+. The jury is definitely still out with the meat of our schedule upcoming.