Don’t tell me what I can’t do…

is the motto of a Stubborn Bird (as well as my friend Jon who’s out with a broken collar bone). The Hawks haven’t come out strong following the All-Star break, and that has left many people (including myself) to state the Hawks needed to do something about their bench. First and foremost, most believe this means a big-man. But Atlanta remained stagnant at the deadline while the likes of Haywood, Camby, Landry, Gooden, and Jeffries all got moved around. Still, it wasn’t that surprising the Hawks didn’t shop any of the current roster around. No one was really in the market for the long term contracts of Zaza (4.75 mil) or Marvin (7.5 mil). Plus the Hawks have every intention of resigning Joe at end of the season and shuffling around contracts could jeopardize their ability to do so. So don’t tell me what this current roster can’t do (at least not yet).

Is this legal in Europe?

The Washington Wizards and the 7ft 3in center reached a buyout agreement recently and the Hawks are apparently making a run at signing him in hopes of boosting their bench play. While there is no doubt something has to change with either the Hawks’ rotation or roster, I’m not optimistic this deal goes down. It’s been pretty much determined since the Jamison deal that the Cavs have every intention of resigning Ilgauskas for the playoffs. In fact, the Cavs just paid the $1.5 million Ilgauskas owed to the Wizards through the agreement in his buyout. Honestly, I’m mostly pissed that what the Cavs are doing is legal. Other teams such as the Mavs, Jazz, and Nuggets are also listed as pursuing Ilgauskas. I just don’t see the Hawks beating out teams like the Cavs and Mavericks for him at the end of the day. Both teams have every intention of winning the title this year, and have shown they will do just about anything to put together the roster that can. It’s nice to wish, though. Zydrunaus is averaging career lows in free-throw percentage, rebounds, assists, steals, and blocks while putting up the worst shooting season of his career. And yet I think his presence would help us considerably. He would give the Hawks a noticeably stronger second rotation and could help spread the floor a lot more than is possible with Zaza. Also, Ilgauskas would add some nice experience (even though that only accounts for so much: Joe Smith). Ultimately, though, you have to wonder, “whats in it for Big Z?…”  Anyone?

Imagine their loneliness

Benched

Assuming the roster stays the same and the Hawks are faced with the task of creating identities for some of Woodson’s rotations, where will it come from? When looking at the Hawks plus/minus stats, you’ll see Jamal is the only player coming off the bench with a positive number (111).  This is even more discouraging when you consider the Celtics and the Magic both have ten players each in positive numbers, Cleveland has thirteen. Hell, even Charlotte has 12. Granted, these numbers vary greatly, and the Hawks starters have positive numbers around 300 for the most part, but it emphasizes there is little to no production coming off the bench. In order to have an identity they need something to run/they need a style. This is where Woody fits in. He has tried many things this year searching for a solid second-unit that can trouble other teams when they’re in, but none have been consistent (story of the season). But Woody’s problem is his inability to adapt to in-game match-ups. He goes into every game with a clear idea of what his starters should and shouldn’t be able to do and the rest seems as if he is just guessing. 90% of the time Woodson substitutes it is to rest the starters. As for the bench guys it’s best of luck to you and remember to foul first (Zaza’s philosophy). In order to have an effective bench you must have a separate game plan and be able to insert that game plan at the most strategic times possible.

Atlanta’s bench might not be deep enough to do this night-in and night-out, but for now I’d take it if it were 50-50. Sometimes I’m not sure whether Woodson knows what it is he wants out of his second-unit. And worse of all is when he abruptly pulls second-unit guys out for long periods of time after they have played solid minutes. Some games, Woody, Bibby and Marvin aren’t going to produce and no matter how much you play them they will still miss shots. Go with what’s working, not with what you want to work. Thanks, everyone, for letting me directly address Mike Woodson there. Now…

The Allen Iverson

So what can be done? Well for now, even towards the end of the season, I’d like to see Mike mixing up even the starting rotation once or twice. Put in Teague for Bibby, Jamal for Bibby/Marvin, Mo for Marvin, etc. Then we can have some guys who normally are playing bigger minutes coming off the bench and producing as a second-UNIT and not time wasters, as well as having other guys getting time with Joe, Al and Josh. It has its disadvantages like changing up a three year-old starting rotation, but there are worse things. The Hawks are in a tight race in the Eastern Conference,  but the Hawks’ schedule until the playoffs is weak and can provide some room for some experimenting. C’mmon Mike, doing it once ain’t going to kill you no matter what they say:

How about the clever headlines in this one, eh? Until next time,

Go Hawks!

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