Mike Woodson is in his fifth year as head coach of the Atlanta Hawks, and this year represents his best start by far. His team started the season by reeling off six victories without a defeat, and although they have only gone 4-6 since that hot start, they are still just two games behind the Orlando Magic.

Last year, despite an inconsistent regular season record (37-45) they sneaked into the playoffs as an eight seed, where they were expected to be swept by the Boston Celtics.  They shocked the Celtics on their home floor in the first games, and eventually pushed them to a seventh game, where their spirited run finally came to an end.  Still, their performance raised expectations for this year, and it also resulted in Coach Woodson getting a two year contract extension.

Prior to the to the Hawks’ 102-98 victory over the Wizards, Coach Woodson sat down with Hoops Addict to answer a few questions, about troublesome match-ups, the state of his team, and his comfort level as a coach with new contract.

Rashad Mobley: Are there any specific match-up concerns tonight against the Wizards?
Coach Woodson: Every match-up is a concern every night, really.  When you look at [Caron] Butler and [Antawn] Jamison, two All-Stars, any time they are in uniform that’s a problem.  And I respect what they do. I hated to see what happened to Eddie, hell I thought he did a great job here, but it happens and all you can do is wish a guy well.  But yeah, those two guys cause problems, and if we don’t tend to them, they are capable of going off for big numbers.  No one else on that team has really distinguished themselves offensively, so if we can lock them down, we should be in a good position.  So those two are our big concerns.

Mobley: How do you guard against overconfidence, given that the Wizards are only 2-11?
Woodson: We can’t be overconfident about anything. We started out like gangbusters by going 6-0, but as of late, we’ve been struggling a little bit as a basketball team, and its kind of set us back a bit.  So there’s no need for us to be overly confident thinking we’re just going to push this team over.  This team [the Wizards] played very well in our gym last week (The Hawks defeated the Wizards 91-87 on November 19th) so it’s going to be a tough game tonight.

Mobley: Now as a coach you’re supposed to think that way, but the players might not share that same sentiment.
Woodson: I think our players know what’s at stake. It’s my job as a coach to make sure we hammer that across to them and put them in a different light.  No matter who you play, you have to come out and play because anyone can be beat in this league

Mobley: Do you know Wizards Head Coach Ed Tapscott at all?
Woodson: I don’t.  I know him from a distance, and we’ve spoken in passing, but I don’t know him, and I definitely don’t know his coaching style.

Mobley: Talk a little bit about your comfort level as a coach now.  Last year there were constant rumors about you being fired, and then your team played brilliantly against the eventual champion Celtics, and right after that you got a new contract…
Woodson (interrupts): There’s always rumors you know? I can’t begin to entertain that because they are rumors. And the bottom line is I’m still the head coach here and as long as I’m the coach here, I’m going to do the best job I can do. Period.

Mobley: So even with contract extension, you still don’t feel more comfortable and a burden has been lifted
Woodson: Man, hell no!

Photo Credit: ICON Sports Media