A Way of Hope: Atlanta's Road to the Championship

The Atlanta Hawks have waited a long time for this season.

Since 2003, they've been losing respect and pride in the basketball world, as they have not had a winning campaign in nine years.

But this past season has been quite a success, and they are taking advantage of the momentum they gained from last year's Playoff appearance.

The Hawks have a great team led by Joe Johnson, who was on the Eastern Conference All-Stars for the third time in '09. He has been explosive this year and is currently leading the Hawks in points and assists per game.

And alongside Johnson is Mike Bibby, a stellar player that Atlanta picked up from Sacramento near the 2008 trade dealine. Bibby has been the best point guard the squad has had in years; not since Mookie Blaylock donned the ATL uni back in the late '90s has the position been fortified.

Mike joining the club was been one of the best things to happen for the Hawks in decades. He has been incredible this seaso, and will be for seasons to come. He is one of the main reasons Atlanta has improved so much since 2007.

If the team renews Bibby's contract for at least another five or six years, the Hawks can look forward to a healthy future and the front office will make great strides in repairing their image.

Josh Smith is also a major factor for the Hawks. He too has had an explosive year and has stood out from the get-go.

When the team played the Magic in the season opener, Smith was stellar and has been ever since. If he can do well in the Playoffs, there's a chance this club can make some noise.

I'll spare you further ramblings and get to my point—Atlanta has had a breakthrough season, and it is all because of hope, passion, and a lot of skill, not to mention Mike Woodson's improvement as a coach. No luck is involved in this team's playbook.

Now, I bet some of you are asking, "What is he talking about?" and claiming that the Hawks aren't doing that well.

Well, compared to the last seven campaigns, this is an incredible season, as Atlanta went (2002) 33-49, (2003) 35-47, (2004) 28-54, (2005) 13-69, (2006) 26-56, and (2007) 37-45. Those were the worst seven years in Hawks' history.

I began to think it would never be like the old days when the Hawks were the best, but then 2008 came around, and here are my ATLiens, sitting fourth in the Eastern Conference with a guaranteed postseason berth.

Atlanta was put out of the Playoffs last season by the eventual champion Boston Celtics, but the C's had to go to a seventh game with the upstarts, and the Hawks were looking great.

Of course, Game Seven itself wasn't particularly pretty. The Hawks were blown out 104-81 and went home to lick their wounds for the summer. It was a sad day, to say the least.

But that kind of first-round exit looks improbable in 2009. They are second in the Southeast Division and the 12th-best team in the NBA.

They'll likely meet the Miami Heat in their first postseason series this year. Miami has also had a good season, but with the Hawks sporting a winning record (2-1) against the Heat this year, they look ready for D-Wade and his South Beach crew.

The Hawks should be prepared for anything Miami lays in front of them and are expected to put down their opponents in fewer than the maximum number of contests.

Of course, if Miami gets a good lead over the Hawks, watch out! They could still be a threat.

Even though it seems ludicrous and completely goes against my "official" predicitons, Atlanta may have a chance at the title this season. If they can get a lead over Miami, they will take the first round with no sweat.

In a potential second-round matchup with Cleveland (a much stronger team than the Heat) Atlanta would hopefully continue to exhibit what they showed in the regular season: that they can stay in it and keep it close against Bron-Bron and the Cavs.

If the Hawks can get comfortable in the Q, they might just make the Eastern Conference Finals and meet Boston yet again.

Atlanta wants its revenge against the Celtics, and with the way I see the Playoffs shaking out in terms of seeding and matchups,it would indeed be the defending champs staring down our Dirty Douth boys in the ECF.

Watch out, Boston! The Hawks have a great chance of getting there, and Atlanta has a rather large, year-old chip on its collective shoulder.