Flight To Greatness: A Hawk Tale

After a sub .500 record in 2007-08, it was understandable (Even after taking Boston to 7 games in the playoffs). Proceeding a second round exit at the hands of the Cavaliers, it still remained. The "it" i'm speaking of is the doubt of these very Atlanta Hawks. Well folks, that doubt should have all but disappeared if you haven't caught this team in action. But before I make a case for this team bringing rings to the city of Atlanta, lets take a look at the progression over the past 3 years.

In 07-08, after the mid-season acquisition of Mike Bibby the Hawks finished with a record of 37-45, which qualified them for the eighth place slot in the Eastern Conference. Many thought that the Celtics would make swiss cheese out Joe Johnson and company but the Hawks defended home court like it was Sparta itself. On the flip side, they took a beatdown on the road and were severely exposed for having almost no depth at all being confined to a 7 man rotation. Last year, the Hawks flipped that record to 47-35. They ended up clinching the fourth seed in the east and beat the Heat in 7 games in the first round of the playoffs. Then came the reality check. The Cavs showed the Hawks a blitz that the Baltimore Ravens would be proud of. Then came this year. In the midst of Shaq, Vince Carter, and Richard Jefferson all changing addresses, the Hawks silently acquired Jamal Crawford for next to nothing. This move alone could make GM Rick Sund executive of the year, as Crawford is putting up such good numbers that half the city is screaming for the benching of Marvin Williams in favor of him.

 Crawford along with the hard-working Mo Evans, grizzled vet Joe Smith, the scrappy ZaZa Pachulia, and the speedy rookie Jeff Teague, the Hawks have answered any questions about depth this season. Once again, doubters raised their ugly heads. "They can't win on the road." Get serious. The Hawks a 10-9 record away from The Highlight Factory. "They probably played nobodies." Slow down amigo. Away from Phillips Arena, the Hawks have beaten an emerging Portland team and the champions from 2 years ago, Boston, twice.

So why can't the Hawks win it all? "Boston, Orlando, and Cleveland are just better." The Hawks just proved they can beat Boston. The Cavs go as Lebron goes and the Hawks have already played well against them twice but couldn't quite close the door. Orlando seems to be Atlanta's only puzzle, defeating the Hawks twice. However, Dwight's Army have lost six of their last eight and have recently been called out by their own Matt Barnes. This along with the latest Hawks surge have led them to second place in the southeastern division.

I once heard a joke a few years ago about the Hawks. A guy walks into the store but accidentally leaves a ticket to the Hawks game on his drivers seat. When he returned to retrieve the ticket, there were two more. They were that bad folks. Now Mike Woodson's cast certainly has doubters running out of questions.