Quiet Contenders

13-69. That was the Hawks' record in 2004-2005, Josh Smith's rookie season. Now? The Atlanta Hawks sit at 31-22, and are currently the 4th seed in the Eastern Conference. Who would have thought this young team could be sitting amongst the Eastern Conference elite more than halfway into the season? Certainly not the "experts" who said Mike Woodson couldn't take the Hawks over the hump into perennial contenders. Mike Bibby was supposed to be "washed up" point guard who turns 31 this May, they lost their sixth man, Josh Childress, to Europe, and Joe Johnson would never be able to carry a team by himself.

Yet here we are, even with the Hawks' relative inexperience and barrage of injuries, 53 games into the season and the Atlanta Hawks are poised to enter the playoffs as a #4 seed. With 29 games left in the season, these young Hawks are poised to win the most games by an Atlanta squad since the 1997-1998 season. Not only have the Hawks surprised everyone this season, but the success figures to continue. Four of the five Atlanta starters are under 30, with the explosive Acie Law waiting in the wings behind veteran PG Mike Bibby.

Perhaps this success started when the suprising last seeded Hawks pushed the heavily favored #1 seed Boston Celtics to 7 games in the opening round of the playoffs. The fight and passion the young Atlanta players showed made an impression on many people who saw them play, and the potential of those young players has blossomed into talent. Second year center Al Horford is a skilled post player and a gaurunteed double double nightly, the athletic Marvin Williams has developed into a very skilled wing man averaging 14.7 ppg along with 5.7 boards per game, and the former high school project out of Oak Hill, Josh Smith, has blossomed into a legitamite NBA All Star when healthy.

For the first time in years, the Hawks field a talented starting 5 that can go toe to toe with nearly any team in the league, and more importantly possess a deep bench with the likes of Ronald Murray, Mario West, and Maurice Evans able to come off the bench and score. Not to mention a superstar in the making in Joe Johnson, a former Sixth Man of the Year, who represented Atlanta in this past weekend's All Star Game in Phoenix. Hawks fans have begun to respond to the basketball renaissance in Atlanta, with fans beginning to reminisce of the Dominique Wilkins days.

Suprisingly, this comeback story has remained largely under the radar outside of Atlanta, even though the Hawks have reached the playoffs just once since 1999. Many pundits continue to say that these Hawks are still too young, too injury prone, and not talented enough to truly contend with the Clevelands and Bostons let alone the giants of the Western Conference. People have insisted that the inexperience and lack of elite firepower of these Atlanta Hawks will prevent any deep playoff run, but game after game the Hawks have proved doubters wrong with gritty wins and inspiring performances. They said that the Hawks didn't have the depth to compete with the elite of the East, but these Hawks have 6 players averaging double digit points and go 10 deep most games, with 10 players cracking double digit minutes played per game. Coach Mike Woodson was ridiculed after losing 177 games his first 3 seasons on the job, but has done nothing less than a masterful job in leading these Hawks past numerous injuries and a touch schedule to a #4 seed in the competitive East.

That being said, the Hawks are still a far cry from Orlando, Cleveland, and Boston, all of whom possess All Stars(plural), experienced veterans, and numerous playoff appearances in the past decade. None of which the Hawks are in deep supply of, and come playoff time the these intangibles are often the difference between a win and a trip home. A long term injury to Joe Johnson or Mike Bibby would be devastating, as Atlanta would dearly miss their veteran leadership and All Star pedigree. And perhaps the young Hawks are not ready to battle against a championship team in a hostile venue, as evidenced by the 96-83 beatdown to the Lakers at Staples Center which was no way near as close as the score indicates.

But if last season's showing against the Celtics showed, pushing the eventual NBA champs to the brink of elimination, the Atlanta Hawks are no longer a doormat in the Eastern Conference. Far from the perennial loser of the 2000s everyone had grown to seeing, these new look, young Hawks sport a new jersey, new players, and most of all a new passion. Maybe they won't win a title this season, or next season even, but if this season has shown us anything its that this Hawks team is a force to be reckoned with. Phillips Arena has become a hostile arena opposing players hate to travel to, and GM Mike Sund is in the enviable position of looking to acquire another piece to complement his rising playoff team, rather than selling off his valuable pieces as Hawks fans have become accustomed to.

Regardless of what is said, this team is legit. A legit coach with a legit game plan. A legit point guard in Atlanta for the first time since Mookie Blalock graced a Hawks jersey. And a hell of a long way from 13 wins.