As time winds down in the regular season and the Hawks gear up for
the playoffs you can't help but wonder if they are truly ready for the postseason. From the outside looking in the Hawks have been a regular Jekyll and Hyde act lately. They play great at home but on the road they look like a below average team. Two weeks ago it seemed like the Hawks were a lock to be the fourth seed in the Eastern Conference> they now hold only a two game lead over Dwayne Wade's Miami Heat and the Philadelphia 76ers who have been playing very well over the last few weeks. The Hawks seem like they are stuck in neutral. With losses to the Spurs, Celtics twice, Cavaliers, 76ers, and the Magic over the last two weeks it is obvious that they are not ready to be an elite team in this league. With five games left the Hawks have a chance to build some momentum heading into the first round of the playoffs. The only way this will happen is if they play TEAM ball on offense and defense. The Hawks are at their best when they play good defense and are unselfish with the ball on offense. it would be a shame for the Hawks to lose the fourth seed or even worse lose in in the first round. Another key factor for the Hawks is to have intensity and play with a sense of urgency (something that they fail to do on the road). The Hawks have a lot of questions to answer in the offseason: Do you re-sign Marvin Williams and/or Mike Bibby? or neither? Can Josh Smith be a consistent (offensive) player? How much would you pay Zaza Pachulia and Flip Murray to come back? Is Mike Woodson really the right coach for this team? A lot of this questions can be answered on the court in the coming weeks.
the playoffs you can't help but wonder if they are truly ready for the postseason. From the outside looking in the Hawks have been a regular Jekyll and Hyde act lately. They play great at home but on the road they look like a below average team. Two weeks ago it seemed like the Hawks were a lock to be the fourth seed in the Eastern Conference> they now hold only a two game lead over Dwayne Wade's Miami Heat and the Philadelphia 76ers who have been playing very well over the last few weeks. The Hawks seem like they are stuck in neutral. With losses to the Spurs, Celtics twice, Cavaliers, 76ers, and the Magic over the last two weeks it is obvious that they are not ready to be an elite team in this league. With five games left the Hawks have a chance to build some momentum heading into the first round of the playoffs. The only way this will happen is if they play TEAM ball on offense and defense. The Hawks are at their best when they play good defense and are unselfish with the ball on offense. it would be a shame for the Hawks to lose the fourth seed or even worse lose in in the first round. Another key factor for the Hawks is to have intensity and play with a sense of urgency (something that they fail to do on the road). The Hawks have a lot of questions to answer in the offseason: Do you re-sign Marvin Williams and/or Mike Bibby? or neither? Can Josh Smith be a consistent (offensive) player? How much would you pay Zaza Pachulia and Flip Murray to come back? Is Mike Woodson really the right coach for this team? A lot of this questions can be answered on the court in the coming weeks.
