however, just because the team is doing better than most people expected that doesn’t mean we should just look the other way when they show up and give a piss poor performance. The forwards are playing like crap. No one on the team is bothering to do the little things that actually win games. Outside of the first quarter this team refuses to exert substantial amounts of energy. They deserve to be criticized. Beating teams they are clearly better than does not impress me. They have to start beating teams they are comparable to and they haven’t shown the ability or interest in doing so consistently.

that our position in the conference has a lot to do with how bad the teams behind us are. The Pistons and Heat have managed to make Hawks losses a non issue.

The basis of our situation is a big issues. We have an ownership group that cannot afford the team that we have on the floor now-they’re bleeding money like crazy. And there’s no one in Atlanta who harbors the illusion that this team can conceivably do more than advance to the second round of the playoffs (a crazy upset might put them in the conference championship, where they’d likely be destroyed). There’s some exciting potential on the floor, but with every key player except Horford approaching the end of at least their fourth season, there’s still too much potential being unrealized on a game to game basis. This is no longer a team that is extremely young top to bottom, but they continue to make young team mistakes.

And then you consider that two key players (three if you count Flip, which we might be forced to) will be unrestricted following the season, and there’s no apparent replacement for either Bibby’s or Zaza’s impact on the floor. And to add to that vein, Marvin Williams will be restricted and that means the end of a rookie contract for him. The financial situation of this team nearly assures that we won’t be able to be as competitive next season. And the season after that we may be forced into a bidding war for Joe Johnson, and our ownership just can’t afford bidding wars. So we have to hope to strike gold with a late draft pick just to keep afloat, and our GM isn’t renowned for drafting well, and our coach shows a reluctance to allow younger players a chance to develop, unless he’s forced.

So there’s the very strong possibility that we’ve got just this one season to enjoy before things start falling apart for a team that’s endured a lot of turmoil, and we’d like it to be as enjoyable as possible. Given that this is now the 5th year of our 5 year plan, you can’t call us impatient. We burned through a ton of first round (most of them high lottery) picks in order to get here, and that allowed the team to run on the cheap while we had a ton of rookie contracts. But very soon all of those guys will be getting paid, and we can’t afford to keep everyone around to allow this team to grow. So as fans, we’re impatient to see potential realized in THIS season, so that we get some manner of payoff for being forced to watch 3 seasons of horrible basketball.

…and add that it was a little over analyzed. Sure, we all harp on the things that are negative, but that doesn’t mean we don’t understand this team does well. If anything, when the team does certain things right, it really just makes the things they do bad look even worse. Personally, I think most of our bloggers do a fine job keeping it somewhat balanced, but in the end even you guys are simple fans and as such, the frustration shows when it needs to just as much as the love.

But really, Woodson deserves every bit of hate and criticism he gets thrown at him. The players get their share of blame also, but when it comes down to it, Woodson is constantly not putting his team in the best possible position to win each game. The players have no control over minutes when they get fouled or the rotation in which they receive those minutes. The players have no control over the putrid offensive and sometimes mediocre defensive sets Woodson calls during the game.

Someone commented that the players are paid professionals and shouldn’t need a coach to motivate them. I would say that is quite the naive statement. Sure, they are paid professionals, but so am I and when I have a repetitive mundane project due I still need a little motivation from time to time to make sure I’m doing everything possible for the project and my company to succeed. We all need motivation sometimes regardless of what we do or how much we get paid.

One could also argue that these players are locked into contracts and will get paid regardless, and they know it, making the motivational part of coaching that much more important. Woodson completely fails in that respect every night. We have seen on the court or read about instances in the press in which our players do not agree with or like Woodson. Personally, I know if I don’t like or agree with my boss on how things are being run and no matter what I do to make it better it doesn’t change, well frankly sometimes I just don’t feel like putting in the extra effort just to watch it all be for naught because I know nothing is going to change.

We as fans see these things and get frustrated as we watch potential get wasted year after year. Psychologically, blogs are mentally refreshing, allowing one to express their anger/frustration/hate/love/adoration on topics with like-minded individuals. Sure, we disagree at times, but even then, it’s still nice to have a place to come to express yourself with people of a common interest.

It just so happens that right now, our common interest is hating on Woody and I’m totally cool with that! HA!