Since the \’98-\’99 season (which was shortened by a lockout), the Atlanta Hawks have had a winning record in only one season, last year\’s 47-35 mark. In the 9 seasons between winning records, the Hawks were an abysmal 255-483, but luckily for them, things have turned around. The past two seasons, the Hawks have made the playoffs (Losing to Boston in \’07-\’08, beating Miami, then losing to Cleveland in \’08-\’09), advancing one round further each year. The difference for the Hawks has been their athletic play from their young starting 5. Three of their starters are 23 years old and they are led my an experienced point guard, Mike Bibby. So far this season the Hawks have been dominant with a record of 10-2 and they already have wins against Boston (9-3) on the road, Portland (9-4) home and away, and division foe Miami (7-4). The Hawks can score in bunches, dropping 100+ in 8 or their first 12 games this season. With every game, the team is gaining confidence that will guide them through the rest of the regular season and into the playoffs again. I would not be surprised if the Hawks make the Conference Finals again this year, but will they break into the NBA Finals for the first time since the \’60-\’61 season when the franchise was in St. Louis?
I like the Hawks. As a Florida grad, I'm a HUGE Al Horford fan.I think the team has made great strides. But as I wrote in my NBA preview a month back, I think there's only a handful of teams that can win an NBA title this year.Despite their hot start, I don't see the Hawks as one of them…. yet.
We'll see, obviously it's hard to judge so early in the season. I think Atlanta is on the cusp of being a real contender, but only time will tell.