AJC > Sports > Hawks > Blog > Archives > 2007 > January > 19
Friday, January 19, 2007
Can winning streak reach five?
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
In case any of you were wondering, I always toss my water bottle in the trash before I go through security. So don’t ever worry about your boy Blog-Z getting caught up at Miami International, Hartsfield, O’Hare, Heathrow or any other airport.
I mean, what kind of … well, let me stop worrying about it. That’s Steve Wyche’s topic to dissect, not mine (this is a juicy one, though, I could yap about the ramifications of 7’s actions all day long. But I won’t).
Let me stick to basketball.
And I say this without any malice or intent to squash the Hawks’ current fantastic voyage through the ’07 schedule, but are we witnessing the Hawks’ first five-game win streak since the last millennium? Seriously. Lenny Wilkens was calling the shots the last time the Boys from Hawksville pulled off a four or five-game stretch like that.
If they can find a way to claw past their divisional nemesis (Charlotte) twice in the next 36 hours, the Hawks will come home Sunday morning as owners of not only the Eastern Conference’s longest win streak but also their best showing at any time in the past two plus years.
It’ll be quite interesting to watch this weekend. And if there was ever a time for the Hawks to snatch a couple more wins it’s now, because the road schedule cranks up in the next couple of weeks before the All-Star break in a major way. The Hawks need to close the gap between wins and losses as quickly as possible or risk falling totally out of the hunt (however futile it might seem) for the eighth and final playoff spot in the East).
Sure, I know it sounds ridiculous at first glance. But with the way teams are shuffling and reshuffling right now in the East, anything is possible. If any team gets on a roll right now they have a chance to make a playoff push.
But you can’t do it from 10 games or more below .500.
I know Ando is in favor of the Hawks tanking the season in order to secure draft position. That’s not going to happen, my man, no matter how much sense it might seem to make on paper (or in the twisted minds of fantasy GM’s such as yourself). It’s not only unrealistic (any coach worth his whistle would never allow that discussion to even take place); it’s impossible when the league is as mediocre as it is right now.
