Atlanta Hawks: 10 Reasons Teams Will Regret Overlooking Them Come Playoff Time
After the super teams came together in New York and Miami, the Atlanta Hawks faded even further into obscurity. No one is giving them any chance against the likes of the New York Knicks, Miami Heat, Orlando Magic, Boston Celtics or even the Chicago Bulls.
But remember, the Hawks are currently staring at the No. 5 seed in the Eastern Conference and simply should not be overlooked, especially after the recent acquisition of point guard Kirk Hinrich.
Now, I'm in no way saying that they should be favored in a playoff series, and truthfully, a championship for Atlanta is little more than a pipe dream right now. But the Hawks should definitely not be overlooked.
Read on for 10 reasons why.
They Can Play Good Defense
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Defense is the part of basketball that always remains underrated.
Usually, championship caliber squads possess the innate ability to shut down opposing teams and hold them to staggeringly low point totals. That's not a universal truth, but it is a remarkably consistent one.
The Atlanta Hawks have allowed just 95.4 points per game, placing them at No. 9 in the NBA in terms of points allowed. That number only figures to go down, as Kirk Hinrich now mans the one-spot for the Hawks instead of the defensive corpse sometimes known as Mike Bibby.
For more details on that, check out the following article: NBA Trades: How Much Impact Can Kirk Hinrich Have for Atlanta Hawks in Playoffs?
Defense can win games in the playoffs, and the Hawks have a great defensive team. Therefore, it's a logical conclusion to say that the Hawks can win some games during the postseason.
Al Horford
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Although the 6'10" center from Florida may be slightly undersized for his position, he's still an incredibly good basketball player. In my opinion, Al Horford is the best player on the Atlanta Hawks.
Over the course of the season, Horford is putting up a near double-double, averaging 16.1 points, 9.9 rebounds, 3.6 assists, 1.0 blocks and 0.8 steals per game. He's got a great shot, very good post moves and a high level of basketball intelligence.
Throw in a desire to work hard throughout the game and a great nose for rebounding, and you've got an All-Star center. He may be hard-pressed to stop Dwight Howard, but he'll do his best to try.
Horford is the most important player on this Atlanta Hawks team, and the Hawks are hoping that other teams aren't too clued in on that fact.
Josh Smith
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The most versatile player on the Atlanta Hawks, Josh Smith is simply an athletic freak.
Playing power forward, Smith is another man who is a nightly threat to post a double-double. But his contributions don't stop at just points and rebounds, as Smith can block shots from anywhere on the court and is virtually unstoppable on the fast break.
Smith is averaging 16.6 points, 8.7 rebounds, 3.4 assists, 1.6 blocks and 1.3 steals per game. No. 5 can both fill a stat sheet with incredible numbers and fill the hearts of opposing players with fear.
If he catches fire and realizes that he shouldn't shoot deep jump shots, the Hawks are a very dangerous team indeed.
Joe Johnson
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The Hawks' most well-known All-Star is also the owner of the team's largest contract, and then some. If he can ever live up to the amount of money he's being paid, the results would be scary.
Joe Johnson is averaging fewer points that he has in any season since 2005, yet he's still putting up 19 points per game. To go along with the buckets, Johnson dishes out 5.1 assists, pulls down 4.2 rebounds and racks up 0.1 blocks and 0.7 steals per game.
No player on the Hawks, with the possible exception of Jamal Crawford, has a better chance to have a scoring binge during any given game. Opposing teams know that and have to expend a lot of resources to stop him.
Then there's the fact that he also plays great defense and is consistently matched up against star players on the opposing team, regardless of their position on paper.
Kirk Hinrich Will Be More Comfortable
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When I searched through the Getty Images database, this was the only picture that I could find of Kirk Hinrich in an Atlanta Hawks jersey.
So why am I telling you that? Is it simply an excuse for including a picture that doesn't exactly put Hinrich in a prominent position?
Actually, the reason is to highlight the fact that Kirk Hinrich has not been a member of the Hawks for very long at all. He's only played in six games for his new team.
As the season progresses, so too will the new acquisition's comfort level. And with comfort usually comes more success.
The Team Has Played Together for a Long Time
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With the exception of the man featured on the previous slide, the key members of the Atlanta Hawks have matured together for quite some time.
It's been a while since people other than Marvin Williams, Al Horford, Joe Johnson and Josh Smith roamed the court of The Highlight Factory at Phillips Arena.
You can bet that those four members of the squad, as well as the other players, are very comfortable playing together. The tough situations aren't going to faze them too much, because they know at this point that they can rely on each other.
That's going to give them a slight leg up over a team like the new-look Magic, Heat or Knicks.
They've Been There Before
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The Atlanta Hawks improved their record over each of the last six seasons and made it to the playoffs during each of the last three years. This season will almost assuredly be the fourth straight postseason appearance.
In 2007-08, the Hawks fell in seven games to the Boston Celtics in the first round of the playoffs, but then advanced one round further at the end of the 2008-09 season and the 2009-10 season.
The Hawks have been to the playoffs before, and almost every player on the roster knows what the postseason is like. The big stage will not be intimidating.
No More Embarrassments
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Orlando Magic 114, Atlanta Hawks 71.
Orlando Magic 112, Atlanta Hawks 98.
Orlando Magic 105, Atlanta Hawks 75.
Orlando Magic 98, Atlanta Hawks 84.
And that was it. Playoff series over.
The Hawks got to go home with their heads hung and wallow in misery after learning that they had been swept with the largest margin of defeat ever.
Atlanta will not let that happen again.
Winning Record Against Orlando
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I had to find something to cheer me up after reminding myself of last season's embarrassing playoff sweep, so I looked through the Hawks' game log for this current season and discovered that Atlanta actually holds a 2-1 series lead against the Magic.
Behind Dwight Howard's 27 points, the Magic won the first game in the regular season series 93-89 on November 8. But the Hawks would get revenge by taking the next two games, 80-74 and 91-81.
Beating an elite team has to give the Hawks confidence.
NBA: Where Amazing Happens
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You've heard the phrase "any given Sunday", but not all basketball games are played on the final day of the week. So the NBA has to have a phrase of its own.
Isn't the NBA supposed to be "Where Amazing Happens"?
Once you have elite teams playing other elite teams, anything can happen.
The original question posed was why teams shouldn't overlook the Atlanta Hawks when the playoffs roll around.
If you've had problems with the other nine reasons, there's no denying the fact that anything can happen.
