Season over for Hawks after Magic's sweep

By Michael Cunningham

The Atlanta Journal-Constitution

The season is over and the future is as uncertain for the Hawks as their postseason elimination was clear.

The Magic beat Atlanta 98-84 on Monday night at Philips Arena to complete a 4-0 sweep in the Eastern Conference semifinals, advancing Orlando to the East finals to meet the winner of the Cleveland-Boston series.

After besting Milwaukee in a seven-game series in the first round, the Hawks rarely challenged the second-seeded Magic. Orlando won the four games by an average margin of 25 points, and the Hawks never held a lead in their two home games.

After suffering the worst home loss in franchise history in Game 3, the Hawks promised better effort for Game 4. They played with more intensity but it wasn’t nearly good enough to beat the Magic.

The Hawks trailed by as many as 17 in the third quarter before closing within 75-66 entering the fourth. But Orlando opened with a 9-0 run and the series was lost for good.

It was a dispiriting end to what had been a promising season for the Hawks. They won 53 games during the regular season, including a 34-7 record at home, and earned a No. 3 seed in the East.

Even just nine days ago, it seemed reasonable to conclude the Hawks would give Orlando a competitive series.

They’d just beaten the Bucks in the first two games of their opening playoffs series. Their offense was clicking, the defense was effective and both Hawks players and their fans were happy.

The Hawks weren't the same thereafter.

They lost three straight to Milwaukee, offering lackluster defense and fraying chemistry. They recovered to win that series but two days later walked into a disaster at Orlando, suffering their worst playoff loss since the franchise moved to Atlanta.

The Hawks dropped Game 2 with a better effort but were blown out at Philips Arena in Game 3. Fans turned on them with boos, Joe Johnson shot back at them, and coach Mike Woodson was left to defend a teetering team that still won more than 50 games for the first time since 1997-98.

In just nine days, everything changed for the Hawks. Now they head into an offseason that couldbring major changes.

Woodson’s future is the first order of business. His contract is up and the Hawks ownership hasn’t indicated whether it will try to re-sign him after six seasons with the team.

Next up is Johnson, who will become a free agent in July. He struggled in the playoffs, but still might attract a big-money offer on the open market, possibly forcing the Hawks to decide how much they're willing to pay him.

From those two decisions will spring several others for the Hawks. They built the team around a core group of players with Johnson as its centerpiece and Woodson as the coach, so letting either or both go would mean a change of direction.

The last two postseasons showed there is a significant gap between the Hawks and the elite teams in the East.

Cleveland swept them last year but the Hawks weren’t healthy. Atlanta had no serious injuries this time but couldn’t match Orlando’s talent, depth and clockwork execution at both ends of the court.

The Hawks never could figure out how to stop the Magic, and center Dwight Howard, forward Rashard Lewis and guards Jameer Nelson and Vince Carter were just part of the problem. Orlando also has a deep group of skilled perimeter players who can score. Crisp passing, excellent spacing and an inside-out game featuring Howard made them tough to defend.

That’s in contrast to the Hawks, whose isolation-heavy and jump-shot dependent offense stalled against one of the best defensive teams in the league. Howard, the NBA;s Defensive Player of the Year, controlled the inside and his teammates held the Hawks down on the outside.

Guards Johnson, Jamal Crawford and Mike Bibby all struggled to score and the Hawks couldn’t establish any consistent offense in the paint or on the break. The Hawks’ tendency to sag in all areas when they can’t score led to big runs for the Magic.