Lang Whitaker is many things - executive editor of Slam Magazine, a columnist for SI.com, and most importantly, a die-hard Hawks fan. For 2007-08 , Lang will be sharing his thoughts on the team in an exclusive column for Hawks.com. Check back every Wednesday throughout the season to read his latest musings, and read him every day at www.SLAMonline.com

"What To Do?"
by Lang Whitaker

You guys are going to get your say, but let me talk first.

Look, let's be honest here: the Atlanta Hawks are not a Playoff team. Sure, if the Playoffs started today they'd be in. But the Playoffs don't start today.

Playoff teams don't blow what should be an insurmountable lead against Portland, I don't care if you're at home or on the road. Playoff teams don't allow a succession of lay-ups down the middle of the lane in the closing minutes of a game. And Playoff teams definitely don't follow up a performance like that by coming out and getting drilled two nights later, whether it's by the Phoenix Suns or the Washington Generals.

The Hawks are playing like they've had their wings clipped. Somebody needs to figure out a way to get these birds flying again. That person should not be me, because I feel sick to my stomach over the Hawks.

Last night I was watching the Suns game alongside Wifey, a noted sports hater, and she asked me how the Hawks have been doing lately. I explained that they've lost 7 of their last 10 games. She wondered if that meant they should get rid of the coach? (I had to point out that his name is Mike Woodson.)

I chewed on it for a few hours last night, sitting there on the couch just like Woody sat there on the bench throughout the second half. I analyzed it from several angles, and by the end of the night I'd realized several things:

1) I have a tremendous amount of respect for Mike Woodson. I might not always agree with his decisions or philosophies, but I respect him for what he's gone through with this team. A few years ago he went from winning a Championship as an assistant with Detroit to coming into Atlanta and being asked to teach a bunch of kids how to play basketball. And he's never complained about the circumstance he's in, he's just come to work and done what I assume is his best.

2) I can't always fault Woody for the Hawks' players inability to do what they should be doing on the court. I mean, I hope Woody and his staff have shown the players numerous times how they're supposed to cover a pick-and-roll. If these guys can't be where they're supposed to be on the floor, at what point does it stop being Woody's fault and do we blame the players?

3) It's not like Woody is some basketball neophyte. Again, he was on the bench with Detroit when they won a title. He played a decade in the NBA, started a few hundred games, scored over 10,000 points. Mike Woodson knows basketball.

All of this means one of two things is true: either the players aren't listening to Woody, or the players aren't comprehending Woody. So what do you do? How do you remedy this?

Well, you either change the players or you change the coach. Now, I'm not around the team enough to know what the correct move is. But if the Hawks plan on continuing to improve, something's gotta give.

MAILING IT IN…
You guys blew up my inbox the last few days. I can't run all of the emails here, so here's one from over the weekend from reader Martin. It was about a million words long so I can't reproduce the entire thing here, but here are some of the more relevant passages…

Lang,
So, what would I change about the Hawks? Where do you start?

I would fire Mike Woodson as head coach and re-evaluate his coaching staff. He has had 4 years to get this thing rolling and I agree that, as a coach, you require time to get your ideas and philosophy across to the players, whilst giving you time to assemble the team you want to carry out your game plan.

It is plain as day that the Hawks have talent, they have unbelievable talent, but they have no clue as to what they are to do game in, game out. The only plays I see from Woody is generally, have the point guard bring the ball over half court, whereby we look first and foremost to JJ, if he is tied up then Marvin is our next go to, and if he is a no go, J Smith will usually throw up a 3 point brick or toss up some playground shot. The big men will then proceed to rebound our miss and we start again.

Defensively, they also play a strange game. Our best inside presence is our small forward masquerading as a power forward (so they can accommodate Marvin in the line-up, which then moves our power forward to become a small center). So already you have an imbalance in your defensive structure.

I would hire a new head coach who has a set philosophy on how they would like the Hawks to play basketball and who has the ability to implement this philosophy. He can choose his own assistants, whether they be from the current crop or his own. Personally, the philosophy should be one of ball movement on offense whereby everyone gets touches of the ball, are able to get in positions where they are most comfortable shooting the ball, and getting the ball into their hands at these moments. Then you have your all star take over late in games.

Most importantly, I would take a long hard look at the roster and juggle who you want to keep, who you do not want to keep, who will be a free agent at seasons end, who you can afford to re-sign and still fit under the salary cap and who is tradeable? Not easy for the Hawks.

We all know the current roster has an extreme imbalance due to BK favor of drafting wing players, or drafting the best available player over necessity (Marvin over Paul, Williams), or drafting great defensive college players (Shelden Williams over Roy). This is why we have our small forward playing power forward (to accommodate Marvin), our power forward playing center, our centers (Zaza, Solo, Lorenzen) doing not much at all and our continual need for a point guard, where that is the one position we have too many players. Only JJ is playing in his position and playing well but this has lead to a strange offensive philosophy by the coach -- none, or give the ball to JJ to operate.

So, you need a better balance in the roster, have players in their correct position and then you can implement a better philosophy. Easy enough for most teams. Unfortunately, for the Hawks this is not as easy as one thinks.

As Jay-Z once asked, What more can I say?

Lang Whitaker is the executive editor of SLAM magazine and writes daily at SLAMonline.com. He can be reached at lang@harris-pub.com. The best email he receives each week will run in this column.