AJC > Sports > Hawks > Blog > Archives > 2006 > April > 19
Wednesday, April 19, 2006
26 wins? Don’t sneeze.
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Anyone for a 26-win season? I believe that was my call months ago. While I’m sure the Hawks and their fans were hoping for better, this Hawks team accomplished what I expected in terms of wins and losses (tonight’s season finale in Cleveland could go either way and not impact the way I view this season). Like I told someone immediately following Tuesday night’s win over Miami, sometimes you are what you are. This Hawks team finished about where most of us figured they would.
A 13-game improvement from one season to the next is nothing to dismiss (only the Hornets, +20, and Jazz, +16 made bigger improvements). Neither is the fact that the Hawks beat seven of the eight Eastern Conference playoff teams at least once this season (the Bulls were the only team to escape) and swept Indiana. They scored wins over 10 of the 16 playoff bound teams in the league, including the top seeds in each conference.
The Hawks proved some things this season, showing they could compete and beat some of the league’s elite for one, that none of us were sure of based on the performance of last year’s 13-69 juggernaut. The growth from the coaching staff down to the end of the bench should be obvious. And there’s still room to grow all the way around.
Oh, and before I forget, the Hawks handed out some awards of their own after Tuesday night’s win over the Heat. Joe Johnson won the Dominique Wilkins Award (team MVP), Josh Smith the Lou Hudson Award (Most Improved) and Zaza Pachulia took home the Bob Pettit Award (Hustle). Any issues there?
