Watch the NBA finals. You’ll see why the Hawks aren’t there
Westbrook, LeBron, Durant: All of them are better than the Hawks' best player. (AP photo)
I’ll admit it. I thought it, and I even wrote it. With Derrick Rose gone and with Chris Bosh hurting, the Hawks might have had a chance to make serious noise in these NBA playoffs — had they contrived to survive Round 1, which they didn’t. But now I’m watching the Heat and the Thunder have at one another in their made-for-the-Weather-Channel finals, and I’m thinking …
Nah.
I know, I know. The Hawks managed to beat Oklahoma City in their one meeting this regular season, and they even beat Miami in Miami on the second day of the calendar year. But could anyone — and here I’m talking mostly to myself — have seriously seen the local NBA franchise giving either of these a real postseason run? With all parties at full strength, could the Hawks have taken even a game off the Heat or the Thunder?
I know, I know. Here you’re saying, “The Hawks aren’t as good as the teams playing for the NBA title — this is news?” Well, no. But I’m guessing we’ll be hearing very soon that the Hawks have decided to give it one more go with their Core Four, and I can’t see staying that course having much upside. As is, the Hawks aren’t quite talented enough or committed enough to matter.
The Heat and the Thunder are apt to be sorting out championships for a long while. Kevin Durant and Russell Westbrook are 23 — as noted previously, that’s younger than the young Hawks hope Jeff Teague — and LeBron James is barely a year older than Josh Smith. Yes, the Hawks have collected a handful of gifted players, but none among them is a superstar. Miami and OKC have two superstars apiece, and that’s not counting Chris Bosh.
And it’s not just the players — it’s also the organizations. The Heat have Pat Riley as patriarch; the Thunder are run by the rising star Sam Presti. The Hawks … well, they may or may not be in the market for a new general manager. Rick Sund’s contract is due to lapse as month’s end, and nobody’s sure whether he’ll stay in place. If he doesn’t, are the Hawks apt to go hire a hot shot from some other organization?
Let’s ask ourselves this: What happened when this team last had a key opening? They hired Larry Drew, who’d been Mike Woodson’s assistant for six seasons, to replace the fired Woodson. Drew has been neither bust nor smash, which is the story of the Hawks. They’ve settled in as a plus-.500 team, and nothing about this crew suggests that an upward spike is at hand. Yes, they finished with the fourth-best record in the East with Horford gone for 55 games, but that’s also what the Hawks do: They offer hope only to snatch it away.
We saw in Round 1 the difference between the regular season and the playoffs. Doc Rivers didn’t worry about resting his aging Celtics, while Drew left his starters out too long as the lead began to dwindle in the pivotal Game 2. (That was the night Rajon Rondo didn’t play due to suspension.) By Game 4, the Hawks — even with Smith and Horford back from their respective injuries — were back to their wretched habit of getting blown out. They lost that night by 22 points after trailing by 37.
To their credit, the Hawks mustered stouter efforts in Games 5 and 6. But the lasting impression of the Hawks — under both Woodson and Drew — is of a team that never has fully believed it’s cut from championship cloth. It knows it has no LeBron, no Durant, no Dwyane Wade, no Westbrook. The Core Four, together since 2007, knows full well that it’s capable of going so far but no further, and it also knows that its management pales alongside Miami’s or OKC’s or San Antonio’s or Boston’s or Chicago’s or the Lakers’ or …
OK, you get the point. You get the point better than I do. Because there are some nights — like March 3, when the Hawks beat the Thunder without Horford and Joe Johnson — when I think, “You know, if this team played like that every night …”
But that’s the thing: This team doesn’t play like that every night, and as constituted it never will. And I can’t really see this front office, with Sund or without, making the bold moves needed to step up in class. I see only more of the Core, of which we’ve already seen too much.
By Mark Bradley
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159 comments Add your comment
333
June 19th, 2012
8:24 am
I am a sports fanatic—love them all, from football to golf to tennis to soccer, and even COLLEGE basketball(not near as thuggish), but this crap called the NBA–you couldn’t pay me enough to waste my time to go. I have loads of friends who are also sports freaks, and guess what, they can’t stand it either! Who the heck goes to see this garbage?
khawk
June 19th, 2012
8:48 am
hawks–always mediocre, always will be—nothing ever changes in this depressing city with sports teams. but, chumps keep buying tickets and stuff, so they keep putting out the same mediocre product.
rodnatl
June 19th, 2012
8:50 am
as a hawks fan i do have a lil bit more faith than a lot of you reading this article. maybe you can liken this team to todays housing market, buy a house for 150k. it depreciates to 85k. becuz of the econ and state of ur hood, you can’t sell it. ur stuck! time is ur only option for now. only time will tell for the hawks, not Bradley’s opinion!
drmaryb .(*_*).
June 19th, 2012
8:57 am
Nasty!
Poop just pooped his pants AGAIN. It still smells better than his pathetic Hawks!
What this team needs is more BEEF!!
Nick
June 19th, 2012
9:02 am
Why would I want to watch the NBA Finals. Just a bunch of overpaid gangsters trying to boost their egos. Nothing I care to watch.
Stank Wren
June 19th, 2012
9:24 am
Maybe Priest Lauderdale is still available???
PMC
June 19th, 2012
9:25 am
The only thing you can really hope for as a fan is to have ownership that cares about winning as much as you do.
The Hawks don’t have it. You either have it or you don’t. Atlanta has it only in football. Everyone else is committed enough to try and get extra home playoff games, but that’s it.
Right now the Hawks are good enough to be a playoff team and the owners who already sold the hockey franchise are happy to get their 80+ home games a year + concert revenue.
They don’t care. We shouldn’t either.
Sports teams are commodities, if they are really good, they get attention, and support. If not, stay home. Save your money, that’s what the owner is doing.
Dejay
June 19th, 2012
9:28 am
As stated a million times, the archenemy of greatness is the satisfaction of being good. The cat’s of the bag, the genie’s out of the bottle, the horses have left the barn. The Hawks, as constituted from the ownership down to the towel boys, will always be viewed as nothing more than an ‘entertainment piece’, as 41+ dates on a calendar at Philips. They are simply not in the championship-winning business.
How I know that, you ask? For all of the decades of incompetence from a drafting standpoint alone, who have ever been called out by the organization to get better? Their lack of a real scouting department (along with Billy Knight’s ego) is the chief reason why stiffs like Josh Childress, Marvin Williams, and Shelden Williams wore Hawk gear instead of guys who could actually PLAY like Luol Deng, Al Jefferson, Chris Paul, Deron Williams, Danny Granger, Rudy Gay, and so on. How many teams you know of blow FOUR OUT OF FIVE LOTTERY PICKS and still manage to make the conference finals and beyond? Take your time; I’ll wait on your answer.
Stuff like this, along with refusing to hire a veteran coach to corral Josh Smith from launching one 20-foot brick after another (Larry Drew isn’t it) and not acquiring REAL players to compliment what’s here (sorry but bringing in an old Tracy McGrady isn’t enough) is why guys like Dwight Howard, Steve Nash, and Chris Paul walk away laughing when the Hawks are mentioned as potential suitors for their services. It’s why the locals utterly refuse to spend a dime on their product unless (insert superstar here) is in town. What other company in America blames its failings on the customers instead of the product they’re putting out? Check that; what SUCCESSFUL company in America blames its failings on the customers instead of the product they’re putting out? I haven’t read any stories about the makers of Ferrari, Porsche, or Rolls Royce blaming their customers for not buying enough of their cars or Apple calling out their supporters for not hitting their profit margins; you?
When this team gets serious about winning games that MATTER, we won’t have to worry about Josh Smith taking the second most 16-20 footers in the league next to Kobe. We won’t have to worry about Jeff Teague looking lost on the perimeter, JJ not showing up for big games, Marvin Williams falling down in the lane, or Larry Drew’s blank stare. And most importantly, we won’t have to worry about the national media questioning why there are so many empty seats in the building for Hawks games. We’ll just know….
mark
June 19th, 2012
9:29 am
Nick
June 19th, 2012
9:02 am
Why would I want to watch the NBA Finals. Just a bunch of overpaid gangsters trying to boost their egos. Nothing I care to watch.
Then don’t watch it plain and simple. No one is forcing you to watch it nor does anyone care what you care to watch.
DogTheMan
June 19th, 2012
9:36 am
We could alwasy bring back John Drew, Dan Roundfield, Tree Rollins, Steve Hawes, Tom McMillian, Eddie Johnson, Doc Rivers, Nique, Antione Carr, Armond Hill, Kenny Charles, Charlie Chris, Cliff Livingston, Wes Hill and hope they have someting in the tank.. Way to settle for MEDIOCRITY Atlanta Spirit!!
tmunro12
June 19th, 2012
9:39 am
Mark, I bet you wear a LeBron jersey to Phillips, like all the other band wagon NBA fans….
howard harlow
June 19th, 2012
9:39 am
These commemts are so old. EITHIER EAT JOES CONTRACT OR DO WHAT WILL BE DONE WAIT FOR TWO YEARS WHEN HIS MONEY IS FREE. TRADING JOSH WILL NOT HELP THE NOW FACTOR. We have to understand the business of the game to make rational statements about this team and ownership.
Nico
June 19th, 2012
9:49 am
I also thought the same thing for the hawks if Al would have came back for the whole Boston series and we also needed ZAZA to get physical….
For you people that dont know —->>> The Hawks have been the best men’s professional team in Atlanta for the past 5 years. get behind them. We had to keep Joe and pay him.. yes we payed him alot and I don’t think he is worth 120 mil but the owners wanted the security. Joe is our go to guy…excited to see what this year brings with Teague’s play and Al being healthy.. we need some size in the draft that likes to get Physical. If we trade Josh we need an allstar player for him.. i hope he resigns though.
G
June 19th, 2012
9:54 am
Once again, the players get blamed for mistakes at the top. Doesn’t matter what personnel changes happen on the court, when you have an incompetent ownership and GM staff.
Once there is responsible ownerhip at the top that makes competent decisions on hiring quality basketball people to make basketball decissions, the organization will improve. Do the Hawks have a President of Basketball Operations? If so, he should be fired. If not, that’s a major problem.
rock
June 19th, 2012
9:55 am
Mark, you right on the money on game 2. For whatever reason, the Coach made serious of error by playing the non-starters too long and that decision cost the Hawks the game and eventually the series.
G
June 19th, 2012
9:59 am
As for Joe, we ALL knew who he was before he signed the contract. “Kobe-money” is NOT going to make a Tier 2 player, a Tier 1 player. Joe is who he is. Fault the organization for thinking that more money will change a good player into a great one. Silly Spirit……
Big Daddy
June 19th, 2012
10:09 am
Mark, when I look at the teams that were the final 4 of the NBA playoffs, I could see at least one player, mostly 2 or more who will make the Hall Of Fame. They bring a level of play that helps to elevate those around them. When you look at the HAWKS, who do you believe will make the Hall of Fame.
When I look at the 2 teams who are playing and I understand that Joe Johnson makes more than any of them, I feel somewhat discouraged. Joe is a good player but he is not worth what he is getting paid and I have yet to see him take over more than one game at a time the way Lebron, D. Wade, Durant and Westbrook have been playing. We could have gotten someone who would have been just a big as a contributor as he has been and not have costs us nearly as much. Any GM who would take on his salary now with his production would surely be fired before the ink dried on the contract. I also don’t understand resigning Marvin.
It will take ownership to be willing to pay luxury tax or to mortgage our long term future to bring a quality player in here now. Plus, I have not seen the late game strategy from our coach that gives confidence that adjustments can be made that will be successful. For the immediate future, I think we are stuck pretty much with who we have. Smart decisions will have to be made to ensure we have a better future. I will wait to see how the GM situation plays out with hope that someone who have the basketball IQ to assemble a quality team with genuine superstars to play. I hope the Falcon aren’t stuck where they are. They have not won a playoff game yet. But their GM give me hope that the proper tweaking is happening and they will get better.
Brownie
June 19th, 2012
10:42 am
DawgNole (7:54) – I think you completely misread my meaning in my post. I would agree that the Hawks have massively underachieved the past few years, especially considering their resources, the great draft positions they’ve held, and fan interest in supporting them.
My point was that the Hawks ownership and mangement set VERY LOW standards and goals, and correctly assumed that showing any form of improvement would be enough for fans to support the team more than in the past. Looking at it from that perspective….they DID succeed.
But they have arrived at the point that they are not good enough to get past the first or second round of the playoffs, they won’t get high draft picks (and generally only the top 5 players or so in the draft provide real impact), and they’re now just getting older. Their only option is to break it apart, and hope the fans will understand and get on board with a rebuilding program. This will ONLY happen if the team is sold (ASG has no goodwill left), get a strong GM and a head coach with a reputation that brings respect.
gt4ever
June 19th, 2012
11:02 am
No offense, NO defense. NBA basketball = JOKE… Nobody really cares…
Paul Hewitt
June 19th, 2012
11:27 am
Forget it Hawks. Might as well move out of Atlanta. Once Bradley writes and article like this about you, it’s over.
BTR
June 19th, 2012
11:34 am
I just hope the “hawks” move to Seattle or back to St.Louis, they STINK and in 42 years of living here I have never been to a game and NEVER will, plus I will never spend another dime to see anything asg owns.
Sell and move is what I say, worthless as hell !
Farnsworthy
June 19th, 2012
11:40 am
Will the NBA finals/season go ahead and end already. My gosh! What? They play once every 3 days! Get it over with for heaven’s sakes.
Chris
June 19th, 2012
11:53 am
That’s an easy answer…when you expect Robin (Joe Johnson) to be Batman, you end up disappointed…
G
June 19th, 2012
11:53 am
Out of the 3.5 (Dream being .5) professional teams that are in the city, the Hawks have experienced the most success within the past couple of years. Hawks have post season victories, wherein the Falcons and Braves have yet to do the same. If you throw in the Dream for kicks, they have the most success of the Falcons, Hawks, and Braves put together.
ANOTHER GM
June 19th, 2012
12:29 pm
Mark you are dead on in your analysis and anyone that doesnt see that has problems with reality.
Jim 70
June 19th, 2012
12:53 pm
Mob, worst sports town happens to be dc. Nats are doing decent now, but wait till year end. I think you would take the hawks ov the wizards, braves over nats and falcons over skins – even gt over Maryland
Jim 70
June 19th, 2012
12:54 pm
Should have been mwb – hate this iPad which changes things automatically
VolGuy
June 19th, 2012
12:59 pm
If I didn’t know better, I would think you were writing about the Braves. Not quite talented enough or committed enough. Lackluster coach/manager and ownership that primarily wants to run a bargain basement operation.Is it any wonder that Atlanta sports fans get tired of the same old same old? Watching the Braves last night, the difference in the two teams was obvious. Even though the Yankess fell behind early, they knew they would eventually win while the Braves played like a team just waiting to lose and sure enough, they did!
PATIENCE
June 19th, 2012
1:01 pm
I’M LOOKING AT THE FINALS AND I DONT SEE WHY THE HAWKS SHOULDNT BE THERE MIAMI GETS ALL THE CALLS AND OKC IS JUST YOUNG AND ATHELTIC TO STICK WITH THEM. THE HAWKS HAVE THE SAME EXACT BOTH MIAMI AND OKC HAS MAYBE EVEN BETTER NEITHER TEAMS HAVE A INSIDE PRESENCE WHICH THE HAWKS NEITHER TEAM HAVE A TRUE POINT GUARD WHICH THE HAWKS DOES THE PROBLEM WITH THE HAWKS WAS PLAYER DEVELOPMENT THERES NO WAY THAT JOSH SMITH SHOULD NOT BE A SUPERSTAR AND WELL A ZAZA PACHILLA BEING A DOMAINANT BIG MAN IN THIS LEAGUE LET ALONG IF TEAGUE WOULD HAVE MADE HIS MISTAKE EARLIER ON IN HIS CAREER INSTEAD ON SITTING ON THE BENCH FOR TWO AND A HALF YEARS AND LET ALONE MARVIN WILLIAMS BEING OUT OF POSITION JOE JOHNSON IS JUST WORE DOWN NOW HAVING TO CARRY THE TEAM FOUR THE FIRST SIX YEAR OF HIS CONTRACT IN THAT DUMB ASS SYSTEM WE RAN FOR YEARS AND ONLY PROBLEM WITH THE BIBBY TRADE WAS IT SHOULD HAVE BEEN MADE A COUPLE YEARS EARLIER WHY IS WAS STILL IN GOOD HEALTH AND IN HIS PRIME BEFORE HE WAS WORE OUT FROM CARRYING A TEAM IN THE LAST EFFORT STAGE BEFORE REBUILDING THE HAWKS PROBLEM IS THEY PANIC TO MUCH AND GO FIRE SALE ALL THE TIME AND WITH DOING THAT ITS NOW HOW YOU WIN IN THIS NBA THEY HAD A COACH IN TERRY SOTTS WITH A SYSTEM IN PLAY FOR THE YOUNG TALENT COMING IN THEY GAVE HIM ONE YEAR AND FIRED HIM IN INSTEAD OF SEEING WHAT HE COULD DO WITH CHILLS AND SMITH AND MARVIN AND JOE THE NEXT YEAR THEY WAS TOP IN THE LEAGUE IN OFFENSE THAT YEAR BUT HE WAS FIRED BECAUSE WE DIDNT HAVE A DEFENSIVE MINDED SYSTEM BUT INSTEAD OF DRAFTING OR SIGNING DEFENSIVE MINDED PLAYERS WE GOT RID OF THE STAFF AND BROUGHT ALL NEW EVERYTHING THEN WE TRIED TO MODEL OUR TEAM AFTER SOMEONE ELSE AND THERES WHERE THE PROBLEM LIES THE OWNERS ONLY DO WHAT THE GM AND COACHES TELL THEM WHAT THEY NEED
CDOG
June 19th, 2012
1:14 pm
THEY WON’T BE IN THE FINALS NEXT SEASON IF BOTH LARRY DREW AND RICK SUND IS BACK BUT THATS WHAT THE OWNERS WANT.ITS NOT ABOUT WINNING BUT SAVING MONEY AND PLAYING MEDIOCRE TALENT WITH THE OWNERS.PEOPLE WILL BE FOOLISH TO SPEND THEIR MONEY WATCHING A SECOND RATE GROUP NEXT YEAR WHO DOESN’T CARE ABOUT WINNING.
NBA AM: Is Perkins The Key For Thunder? – HoopsWorld | The Basketball Site
June 19th, 2012
1:41 pm
[...] Atlanta Journal Constitution (blog) [...]
Nick
June 19th, 2012
2:30 pm
Mark – I was responding to an AJC article that asks a question. But keep at it there, champ. Nothing
I said wasn’t true.
Atticus
June 19th, 2012
2:46 pm
Nothing here matters Mark, the owners are buffoons and until that changes (and to a lesser degree the Braves) you can get used to nothing but mediocrity.
Marc
June 19th, 2012
3:31 pm
If the Hawks can grab KG that would make a HUGE difference!
Center-KG
PF-Horford
SF-JSmoove
SG-Joe
PG-Teague
Commonsense is needed for Coach Drew!!! Letting Ivan sit on the bench for the entire playoffs reminds me of Woodson. Ivan’s toughness got the Hawks through some of the tough games. We need a Coach that does not think like a robot!!!
Slimjr
June 19th, 2012
5:01 pm
In three years RG3 will have won a playoff game..
Ryan 0-4 and counting after this season….Yawn….
No SuperStar
June 19th, 2012
5:17 pm
Every marquee team needs a superstar to play at that level. The Hawks have no superstar and that’s why they are ALWAYS good enough to make an early exit out of the playoffs. To the best of my knowledge, the last superstar we had was Dominique Wilkins.
Felix
June 19th, 2012
5:22 pm
Teams like Boston,the Spurs, the Thunder play with a purpose and as a team. When I watch the Hawks play I can’t figure out the game plan, don’t see any logic to what they are doing. Marvin Williams–what a waste. He is just another over rated and over hyped UNC player who has become an NBA bust like Sean May.
Bernie Matt
June 19th, 2012
5:24 pm
Mark,
You may want to print a correction or risk Mike Woodson reps taking action. Woodson, was never fired, his contract expired.
Bernie Matt
June 19th, 2012
5:27 pm
Same as Sund’s contract is about to expire.
Pete
June 19th, 2012
6:39 pm
You could stop 500 people on the street and ask them “Who owns the Atlanta Hawks” ??
You might get ONE correct answer………………..if you’re lucky.
End of story.
donte080
June 19th, 2012
7:34 pm
You could ask that same question in just about any NBA city….Do you know or care who owns the Miami Heat? My guess is you had no clue….
donte080
June 19th, 2012
7:37 pm
slimjr….
I’ll take that bet. BTW, RG3 has more to work with than Ryan did when he first came to atlanta….how soon people like you forget we were a team in complete disarray when we drafted Ryan…
DawgNole
June 19th, 2012
7:42 pm
gator
June 19th, 2012
12:49 am
This is a no brainer, OKC has been in existence 3 years or less, and are in the finals the hawks have been around what 35 years or more and never been to the finals, hello it could be bad owner ship and managment.
_________________________
I’m afraid it’s much worse than you think for the Hawks. The team’s “been around” ATL for 44 years and never made it past Round 2–much less been to the Finals.
DawgNole
June 19th, 2012
7:54 pm
rodnatl
June 19th, 2012
8:50 am
as a hawks fan i do have a lil bit more faith than a lot of you reading this article . . . . time is ur only option for now. only time will tell for the hawks, not Bradley’s opinion!
______________________
Isn’t 44 years more than enough time? What has that told us for the Hawks, genius?
DawgNole
June 19th, 2012
8:08 pm
PMC
June 19th, 2012
9:25 am
The only thing you can really hope for as a fan is to have ownership that cares about winning as much as you do.
The Hawks don’t have it. You either have it or you don’t. Atlanta has it only in football.
_________________________
Only in football? Hello??
Let’s see, the ATL Falcons began NFL play in 1966, and how many championships do they have? That’s right–ZERO. So no, it’s not only in basketball that ATL doesn’t have it. Might as well add baseball and hockey to the mix as well. ONE title in 155 seasons of competition. ATL doesn’t “have it” in any pro sport.
DawgNole
June 19th, 2012
9:14 pm
Brownie
June 19th, 2012
10:42 am
DawgNole (7:54) – I think you completely misread my meaning in my post. I would agree that the Hawks have massively underachieved the past few years, especially considering their resources, the great draft positions they’ve held, and fan interest in supporting them.
_________________________
It appears that you need to decide which way you’re going. Here is part of your 4:54 p.m. post that I questioned last night: “I’ll offer a different viewpoint for everyone to slam……this team under ASG has shown tremendous success over the past few years!!”
Now today you’re saying, “I would agree that the Hawks have massively underachieved the past few years . . . .”
Have they “shown tremendous success over the past few years”? Or have they “massively underachieved the past few years”? In my opinion, no team that fails EVERY YEAR to make it past Round 2 of the playoffs has “shown tremendous success.”
You also said today that the Hawks “have arrived at the point that they are not good enough to get past the first or second round of the playoffs.” Again, I have to question the validity of this statement. They haven’t just “arrived” at that point; they’ve BEEN at that point–for their entire existence in ATL (44 years).
On the other hand, I couldn’t agree with you more on the critical need for much-improved ownership, management, and coaching.
DawgNole
June 19th, 2012
9:15 pm
Testing. Damn blog monster.
DawgNole
June 19th, 2012
9:21 pm
PMC
June 19th, 2012
9:25 am
The Hawks don’t have it. You either have it or you don’t. Atlanta has it only in football. Everyone else is committed enough to try and get extra home playoff games, but that’s it.
_____________________
“Atlanta has it only in football?” Say what?
The Falcons began NFL play here in 1966–and have exactly ZERO championships to show for those 46 years. So no, ATL doesn’t have it in football either. Or baseball. Or hockey. One championship (’95 Braves) in 155 seasons of competition says it all.
DawgNole
June 19th, 2012
9:25 pm
PATIENCE
June 19th, 2012
1:01 pm
I’M LOOKING AT THE FINALS AND I DONT SEE WHY THE HAWKS SHOULDNT BE THERE MIAMI GETS ALL THE CALLS AND OKC IS JUST YOUNG AND ATHELTIC TO STICK WITH THEM. THE HAWKS HAVE THE SAME EXACT BOTH MIAMI AND OKC HAS MAYBE EVEN . . . BLAH BLAH BLAH
_________________
ALL CAPS and no punctuation. It would be surprising if anyone on here had the PATIENCE to even attempt to read your gibberish.
DawgNole
June 19th, 2012
9:28 pm
So now it spills them all out at once–two hours after they were written.
What a wacked-up filter system! Disgraceful and bush league for a paper this size.