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The Atlanta Hawks: Whoa, Boys! Whoa!
By Jay Busbee | March 20, 2007
So the Atlanta Hawks romped to a decisive 99-76 win over the Sacramento Kings last night, putting them ever closer to their first playoff spot in nearly a decade. And all we in Hawks Nation — which is growing rapidly, stop laughing – could think was:
Uh oh.
See, the Hawks have been so abysmal for so long that we start to take it for granted that we’ll be in the lottery. But now, since the rest of the Eastern Conference sucks so bad, it’s entirely possible that we could worm our way into the eighth playoff spot…and right out of any shot at Kevin Durant, Greg Oden, Joakim Noah et. al. This is being touted as the best big-man draft since the days of O’Neal/Mourning, the Hawks desperately need a big man — it all seems perfect, right?
But no, this is the Hawks, so of course some rivet’s got to be loose somewhere. First off, the Hawks lose the pick to Phoenix if it’s anywhere outside the Top 3, thanks to the Joe Johnson-Boris Diaw trade a couple years back. Second, while Bill Simmons may be in love with the idea of fantanking (Insiders only, sorry) — cheering for your team to lose — it turns our stomach. Third, the Hawks have only two almost-certain losses remaining on their schedule — Washington and Dallas — and a lot of highly winnable games, including a closeout match with rival Indiana. Fourth, this is all starting to bear some strong similarities to the 1980s, when the Hawks rode Dominique Wilkins right into — and right back out of — the playoffs every single year. Good enough to get there, not good enough to stay.
So, uh, we’re at a loss here. Maybe we could root for them to just put in a 90 percent effort every night?
Topics: Basketball, Hawks |
March 20th, 2007 at 3:32 pm
Yawn.
(Warriors fan.)
March 20th, 2007 at 3:39 pm
True…there are kids now driving who can’t remember the last time the Warriors were in the playoffs.
March 20th, 2007 at 3:51 pm
The world will implode if Tyrone Lue is in the playoffs.
March 20th, 2007 at 4:42 pm
Can you imagine if Tyronne Lue and Joakim Noah were on the same team? It’d be prettier than most of the WNBA squads around.
March 20th, 2007 at 6:00 pm
In situations like this, I follow the advice of Jake Taylor from Major League…
“Win the whole… fucking… thing.”
March 21st, 2007 at 5:04 am
Does it really matter? I’m not a Hawks fan but I’ve been pissed at Billy Knights draft picks the past two years. If Atlanta had the first pick in this draft they would probably draft Greg Paulus from Duke.
March 21st, 2007 at 11:15 am
I’m pretty sure the Suns have the Hawks pick this year.
March 21st, 2007 at 11:20 am
Jimmy: Either him or Greg Brady. Billy Knight will have “passed on Chris Paul” carved on his tombstone.
Ronnie: Mathematically, yeah…but it’s still the Hawks’ if Atlanta falls in the top 3 of the lottery. In 2008, it’ll be Phoenix’s no matter where Atlanta finishes.
March 23rd, 2007 at 9:04 pm
All they needed to do was lose for two more months. Classic Hawks. Gotta love watching Josh Smith though!