Am I the only one worried about Woody?

[tmac13]

I know Woody would love to play the Pistons brand of defensive oriented bastetball, but it is becoming more and more obvious that BK leans toward offensive oriented players and may rely on the coaches to get the defense right..JJ will help our defense, but a JJ/Chilz backcourt will give up some points to all the lightning quick guards we will face..Then, even if we sign Zaza, it looks like our interior defense will once again be awful..If Woody tries to get these guys to play his system instead of playing to their strengths we will struggle to escape the cellar again..I think more and more that a Terry Stotts type of coach, who likes to run and gun, would flourish more than a guy like Woody with BK team..Thoughts?

[KB21]

I disagree.

BK's moves show that he has a vision for both offense and defense. Joe Johnson has the reputation of being a defensive stopper for the Suns, as well as being a terrific shooter. Josh Childress is a good defender at the shooting guard position.

Al Harrington is a solid defender. Josh Smith is a great shot blocker and a developing defender. Zaza is being signed because the report on him is that he plays hard and is rugged underneath the basket. This is something the Hawks lacked last year.

This will still be a team that is oriented around defense.

[Watchman]

I frankly have never been impressed with Woodson as a head coach. I think that Stotts was a better coach, even though I did not particularly like him.

I would rate Woodson at slightly above Lon Kruger and Bob Weiss.

I wish we had gotten Rivers or Fratello.

[tmac13]

Well KB, I had no doubt that you would disagree..You seem think you know more about BK's "vision" than he does..You are also the only person I know that thinks Al is a good defender, and I saw Chilz get lit up by every quicker smaller shooting guard we played last year.

That doesn't mean that I don't like Chilz, but he is not YET a good defender at the 2, and Al never will be a good defender because he is a classic tweener, too small to handle the 4's and too slow to handle the 3's..

I think we will be a team that needs to be running and gunning,using our shooting and athletic ability. I just don't know if Woody is capable of coaching like that..Remember, BK and the owners have talked about being like the Kings, the Sonics, or the Suns, I have never heard BK say he wanted to duplicate the Pistons.

[Gray Mule]

We expect our young players from last season to be

much better this year because they now have a full years's

experience in the NBA.

Likewise, I have great expectations that our head coach.

who was also a rookie as head coach, to be much improved.

Also, all his staff of assistants have a year's time

working together and working with our young players

which should be a help to everyone involved.

Growing together. Learning together. Everyone improving.

Coaching and teaching because of all the inexperience

will, of necessity, continue this season because these

Hawks are still so young.

Is our coach the right one for the job? Time alone will

answer that question. As with our young players, we

must wait for the growing process to be completed.

[DominiqueWilkins]

I'm not saying I'm a big fan of Coach Woodson, but I must give him another year to see how he does, because he did have a lack of talent this past season, and now we have a guy that can score. Woodson still will be on the hot seat, but I don't see the Hawks letting him go even after next season.

[DominiqueWilkins]

Quote:

---

I frankly have never been impressed with Woodson as a head coach. I think that Stotts was a better coach

---

Please don't mention Stotts..haha...he's truely a joke.

If I look back on things I wish we could of signed Rivers or Fratello also.

[Watchman]

than Woodson managed to do.

Again, I'm no Stotts fan, but Woodson is lousy.

[KB21]

Stotts had vets that knew how to play in the league. Woodson was breaking in three rookies, a second year player, and a guy with very limited experience in the NBA in Ekezie.

[pathway23]

Woodson might not be around when this team is ready for playoff contention, normally how things work, a team is rebuilt with a green coach, and then the experienced coach is brought in when the team is ready to contend. There is no way in **** Fratello would have accepted an offer to coach the Hawks team, imo. At this stage in his life and career , he wanted to coach a contendor. Perhaps Fratello WILL be the coach of the Hawks in a few years when it is a contender, who knows. Fratello is about 5 years younger than Larry Brown...

I don't think Rivers is a proven head coach yet, I think he is no better than Woodson.

[KB21]

Billy Knight isn't like other GMs. It will be his decision whether Mike Woodson is here in five years or not. Mike currently has four years gauranteed, and Billy made it clear the day he hired Mike that you don't build championship teams by switching coaches every 2-3 years. As long as the team shows progress and continues to grow, I believe Billy will keep Mike around.

Too many GM's make knee jerk reactions and do what you state. They dump the coach they rebuilt with, who may be inexperienced upon hiring, and they go with a retread that has experience due to the comfort level that experience brings. Billy doesn't think like that, as his roster moves show. He doesn't think in the traditional way that GM's think. He has his own plan, his own vision. I believe that Mike is part of that vision.

[Guest Walter]

Woodson was the last coaching prospect available after Rivers and every other actual head coach had been hired. Woodson was NOT the centerpiece of some master plan, some long sought after visionary hire.

KB, you scare me with your mystical BK talk. No matter what BK does it's part of his "plan" not the product of luck, good or bad. Maybe he's just making some of it up as he goes along. Magic 8-ball. Who knows?

[KB21]

Mike wasn't the last coaching prospect available. The Hawks interviewed Mike Woodson, Mike Brown, and Dwane Casey for the job, among others. Those three were the finalists for the job. Over the past year, all three have gotten head coaching jobs.

[cyman3]

i reserve my judgment for this year.

last year, we had the worst roster in the NBA. The Bobcats would challenge us (and that is why they OVERACHIEVED).

starting guys like Ekezie or Collier, even Phil Jackson would lose with these guys.

but now seems like some of our starters (ex-Lue) will be bench players (we have more depth). We're still not all that talented, but we did improve!

so now i fully expect our coach to improve the team!

if we have a similar record (+ or - 5), then Woodson needs to go. +/-5 is not a hard task to accomplish!

[Nicholasp27]

right now we aren't in a position to contend or even make the playoffs, so the most important job of our coach is to develop our young talent, which woodson did well last year...look at the diff in chill/smoove from oct to apr...

for at least the next 2-3 years, we can use a coach like woody...once we are ready to contend, if he isn't good enough at game-time decisions, then we can get a proven game coach to take us to the next level

we did do well out of huddles last year tho, so he is good at drawing up plays during timeouts...the only thing he has done that we don't agree with so much is subbing patterns, but he's developing players right now, not contending, so we can give him time for that...but if he's holding the team back when we can contend, he'll be replaced then

[Lascar78]

I agree for the most part, but holy crap were his subbing patterns horrible. Also he didn't do a good job of bringing Diaw along.

I feel like he and his staff will be good, but there is no way of knowing right now