# The Demise of the Hawks



## BlakeJesus

> One of this season’s lingering questions was brought to the surface again on Friday. And that question is: What the heck has happened to the Atlanta Hawks?
> 
> In the wake of getting drubbed by the Miami Heat, the Hawks stand at 39-30. On first glance, they’re pretty firmly entrenched in fifth place in the East, four games in the loss column behind the Orlando Magic and three games ahead of the Philadelphia 76ers. But the way they Hawks are playing, nothing but a quick first-round exit is guaranteed.
> 
> The Hawks are nine games over .500, but they’ve outscored their opponents by only three points this season, because Friday was not the first time they’ve been blown out. Six times they’ve lost by more than 20 points.
> 
> When Larry Drew took over for the fired Mike Woodson last summer, he promised to bring more ball movement to the Hawks’ offense. That sounded great to those that grew tired of Iso-Joe, but some wondered why Drew would mess with a good thing. The Hawks ranked third in the league offensively last season, scoring an efficient 108.9 points per 100 possessions. Iso-Joe may have looked ugly at times, and Atlanta may have ranked 16th in assist rate. But overall, Woodson’s offense worked for the Hawks.
> 
> Well, it looks now like Drew made a mistake. The Hawks rank 21st in the league offensively this season, scoring just 103.2 points per 100 possessions. They have Joe Johnson, Al Horford, Josh Smith and Jamal Crawford, and they’ve been worse offensively than the Pistons (103.9, 18th) and Raptors (103.5, 20th). They’re assisting on a higher percentage of their shots (ranking fourth in assist rate), but that doesn’t mean anything when they’re not getting as many shots at the basket.
> 
> The only two teams that have regressed more offensively from last season are the Cavs and Suns, who each lost an All-Star to free agency.


http://hangtime.blogs.nba.com/2011/03/19/statscube-the-demise-of-the-hawks/


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## Damian Necronamous

The Hawks are inexplicably retarded for thinking that the same team as last year would magically transform themselves into a legitimate contender.

Oh wait, they didn't think that at all. Sorry Hawks fans - all this management group is trying to do is build the fan base. They aren't concerned with making a push for a title right now. They're completely satisfied with being one of the NBA's "good teams", and they want to make money and build up fans now in the hopes that they'll eventually be considered one of the "big market teams" and they'll have the financial space to make riskier moves.

This isn't just my opinion - it's been confirmed to me by friends who work for Atlanta Spirit.

Will they be upset if they regress from last year? Absolutely, but winning a title isn't priority #1 for this franchise.


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## Luke

Makes sense to me. It sucks, but whatever.


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## ATLien

It's the team its fans deserve. Go to a Hawks game & see what I mean.


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## Damian Necronamous

ATLien said:


> It's the team its fans deserve. Go to a Hawks game & see what I mean.


Trust me, I've been to nearly 20. I know.

For anyone else who's wondering, just turn on the TV and listen to the "MVP" chants for Derrick Rose.


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## Luke

ATLien said:


> It's the team its fans deserve. Go to a Hawks game & see what I mean.


It's extremely embarassing being one of the ten Hawks fans in the arena. The fanbase is awful.


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## BlakeJesus

Playing like garbage, great way to head into the playoffs.


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## Bogg

I don't mean to be insulting, but nothing has "happened" to the Hawks, they lack leadership and mental toughness, and it's been that way for multiple seasons now. There's a difference between a collection of talented players and a team.


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## ATLien

and the thing is their collection of talented players really isn't very talented.


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## Luke

^ Real talk. Joe Johnson is their "best" player and he would need to be the third banana on a championship team. Al Horford and Josh Smith play the same position and can't even pretend to slow down Howard or the other premire centers of the league and Marvin Williams is awful. This team sucks.

If they take out Miami tomorrow though I'll call the season a success. Can't have them beating the Lakers' record.


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## Bubbles

Crazy little thing I notice, Atlanta is 5th in the East, but their average point differential is -0.6


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## Dre

The Hawks took a gamble resigning JJ. They're pretty much what the Wizards were supposed to turn into, a solid team that would win 50 games, turn a decent profit, rinse and repeat. I understood back when they decided to spend money and keep the train going, but now for whatever reason that run seems to be already on the back end, and trading Jordan Crawford for scraps doesn't help. 

It's going to be very interesting to see how they progress in the future with a kind of no man's land situation financially and oncourt.


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## BlakeJesus

See I would disagree with that. I think the team is actually really talented, and when they fire on all cylinders they can beat anybody. Of course that seems to be happening less and less often. I think the collection of talent is talented, they're just sick of it. None of them really believe in themselves as a unit, and the front office can't seem to do anything to fix it. Bummer too, because I don't know if it's fixable at this point. 

I think a big trade could really bring the unit together. Joe, Jamal, and Josh are all very much influenced by momentum, so if the rush came back I could see them being a good team. But as of right now, this roster can't win. They had something going and then everybody around them improved while they remained static.


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## ATLien

Jamal is having a really crummy year. so is Joe. and Josh has never played consistent basketball in his life. I hear people say that this team is underachieving, but are they? This is not some 55 win team on paper, they are doing about what you would expect


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## Dre

GregOden said:


> See I would disagree with that. I think the team is actually really talented, and when they fire on all cylinders they can beat anybody. Of course that seems to be happening less and less often. I think the collection of talent is talented, they're just sick of it. None of them really believe in themselves as a unit, and the front office can't seem to do anything to fix it. Bummer too, because I don't know if it's fixable at this point.
> 
> I think a big trade could really bring the unit together. Joe, Jamal, and Josh are all very much influenced by momentum, so if the rush came back I could see them being a good team. But as of right now, this roster can't win. They had something going and then everybody around them improved while they remained static.


I was saying the same thing you just said basically. If that momentum jolt doesn't come than they're in no man's land


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## BlakeJesus

Yeah, I should have quoted him, but I was referring to ATLien saying the collection of talent wasn't that talented.


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## BlakeJesus

Pretty happy to see us win a playoff series, though I'm not exactly sure what to make of it or if it even means anything at all.


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## Luke

The game last night was pretty sweet. So I guess this season wasn't such a waste after all.

Here's to hoping they take out the Bulls!


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## Diable

GregOden said:


> Pretty happy to see us win a playoff series, though I'm not exactly sure what to make of it or if it even means anything at all.



It means the Magic suck


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## ATLien

Basically if Jeff Teague doesn't do anything in this series he is a bum. He hasn't done jack in two years and with Hinrich out he will be forced to play minutes that he doesn't really deserve


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## ATLien

I knew by posting that Teague would have a good Game 1. :laugh:

Numbers weren't spectacular. 10 pts (5 for 11) 5 ast 1 stl but he held his own


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## BlakeJesus

Joe Johnson playing well in a playoff game, holy ****. I've said it for probably three years now, but if the Hawks are clicking they are tough to beat. This was one of those games.

Wonder how Rose's ankle is.


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## Luke

****, I need to keep on counting the Hawks out. Great win.


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