AJC > Sports > Hawks > Blog > Archives > 2007 > October > 26
Friday, October 26, 2007
Can they do it?
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
The only bad thing about this nine-day gap between the end of the exhibition season and the start of the Hawks’ regular season is it gives people more chances to ask the dreaded question: Can they do it this year?
I can’t tell you how many times I hear it. And from all sorts of people you’d never expect to be interested in the Hawks. It’s like everybody I’ve run into since the start of training camp knows that their eight-year playoff drought is the league’s longest.
My barber spends the first five minutes of my weekly visit on the Hawks and their playoff chances - he was convinced they were headed to the postseason last year only to have his dreams shattered by Christmas. Since I haven’t come to a conclusion about their playoff chances this season (still working on that and my prediction for their wins/losses), I can’t really provide any hints about what might happen.
Are they better than they were a year ago? I think so. Without a doubt. But are they good enough to make the top eight in the Eastern Conference? I’m just not sure yet. I’ve heard all sorts of conflicting reports from other writers regarding what the teams they cover have looked like so far. But it’s the exhibition season, which some teams take more seriously than others.
I’m inclined to believe that the Hawks will at least have a fighting chance to be in the hunt for one of the final playoff spots in the East. More important than what any of us believe, however, is that the Hawks seriously think they’re going to compete for one of those spots.
They’ve talked about it in the past. But it was just rhetoric, hollow words from guys who had no idea what it takes to play at a playoff-caliber level over the course of an 82-game season.
Whether I agree with them or not, the fact that they’re drinking their own Kool-Aid is a good sign. Because if they’re not convinced of their own chances, they’ll get run off the floor during the first two weeks of the season.
After perusing many of the previews that have the Hawks finishing anywhere from (a surprising) second in the Southeast Division standings to next to last in the entire Eastern Conference, the only thing I’m sure of is that the Hawks will win more than 30 games this year.
I’ve seen nothing that would suggest this team would regress from the past three seasons. It’s reasonable to expect this team to continue it’s gradual improvement (from 13 to 26 to 30 wins). Whether it’s a 13-game leap like two years ago or a four-game leap like last year, remains to be seen.
So for anyone that I happen to pass on the street between now and Friday’s opener against Dallas, I don’t know. I don’t know if they can do it.
