Mike Woodson: Hubie Can, You Can't

Michael Cunningham reports from Hawks practice...

Mike Woodson:

"We see that on tape and we point that out. don’t need Hubie or them guys like that [to do it]. I heard comments today that Hubie was blistering Josh Smith. Well, he can get away with it because he’s coached. But I don’t know if I can let you guys get away with it."

I presume the lowly fold watching the game are held to same exclusionary standard as members of the basketball press.

Woodson:

"That is my job as coach to point that out to Smoove and guys like that when they are doing that. And trust me, it don’t go unnoticed. He knows about it at the end of the day. Our tapes are thoroughly broken down and mistakes are pointed out."

I don't think there's anything to be gained by Mike Woodson ripping Josh Smith in the press. I also suspect there's little benefit to a lame duck coach getting on lackadaisical and/or ineffective play the next day on tape. Sure, it would be great if Mike Woodson held Josh Smith accountable for maximizing his talents and minimizing his weaknesses but if that was in the cards, Smith would have attempted 7 three-pointers and received the number of touches he did in the post this season back in 2006 or 2007. Mike Woodson's co-signed this behavior for a long time.

Smith admits nothing:

"I was definitely into it mentally. I always speak my peace with the referees. That doesn’t get me out of my game at all. That just makes me play harder to make them call calls.

I am too ahead of the game in my career now where I [would] let little minor things affect me. I think I played a good game yesterday."

I might have asked where winning basketball games enters into this particular display of petulant machismo, but I'm a smart ass. Cunningham's commentary (just the Josh Smith Game 2 facts: 5 turnovers, 6 jump shots) is probably a better exemplar.

Last word goes to the coach:

"You just teach from the tapes and you hope like hell that they learn from it and when they get in that situation again they get their [butts] back on defense. Because we were terrible in transition defense. We gave up at least 12, 14 points because we didn’t get back and get matched."

You hope because there will be no consequences if they don't. You hope because you know they haven't gotten any part of their anatomy back on defense all season. Not that most of them could do anything on the that end of the court anyway.