The Hawks have reached the halfway point of the NBA season with a 23-18 record. Plenty has gone right – and plenty wrong – through these first 41 games for a team with a revamped roster that few expected to challenge in the Southeast Division or the Eastern Conference.
The Hawks began the season with a 20-10 record. A six-game winning streak in November was the longest for the franchise since 2010. Al Horford and Josh Smith each won Player of the Week honors. Larry Drew was named Coach of the Month for December. The team had signature wins over the Thunder and Grizzlies on the road and the Clippers and Bulls at home.
“If you said at the beginning of the season that this would be our record, I think everyone would have said that sounds like it could be all right for this team,” said Kyle Korver, one of the new additions on a team that returned just five players. “But we have higher goals than where we are right now. I think a good thing for us is we are figuring out how we have to play – this group, our skills, our talents, our strengths, our weaknesses, how do we have to play as a basketball team to be a good team. I think we are starting to find that.”
The Hawks have won just four games in the month of January, including a stretch where they went 1-6. A team meeting followed a home loss to the Celtics on Jan. 5 where the Hawks lost a 15-point half time lead. They lost the next two. After a win over the Jazz, the Hawks lost to the Wizards for just their sixth victory.
Undoubtedly, the low point immediately followed when the Hawks set all-time Atlanta records for fewest points in a game (58), half (20) and quarter (5) in a loss to the Bulls. Only a basket in the closing seconds prevented the franchise’s all-time record for fewest points in a game, set as the Milwaukee Hawks in 1955.
The Hawks have dealt with injury throughout the first half. They have just lost Lou Williams, the team’s third leading scorer, to a torn ACL in his right knee. Other notables include Anthony Morrow (16), Devin Harris (14), Korver (5) and DeShawn Stevenson (3) who can’t play in back-to-back games.
The Hawks, who briefly challenged for the top spot in the Eastern Conference, spent much of the early season in third place, a position well above expectations. They slide leaves them sixth in the conference (entering Tuesday’s schedule), 1-1/2 games behind the Bulls and a game up on the Bucks.
“It could be a little bit better,” leading scorer Josh Smith said. “We started out of the gates pretty successful. We’ve hit a little rough patch. We are figuring out way out of it. We are still a confident ball club. As long as we keep playing together, as long we keep doing to be a winning program, to be above .500, we should be OK. I think a lot of people did give us a chance to be in the spot we are right now.”
Coach Larry Drew said he is “content” where the Hawks currently stand. He said he will wait until the all-star break, Feb. 14-17, to really examine where his team sits in the standings and what the final stretch of games entails.
“I still think we have a ways to go,” Drew said. “With all the new faces and getting everybody on the same page, it just doesn’t come overnight. I’ve been a little disappointed in some of the games we’ve played but no coach is ever satisfied.
“I feel like we’ve weathered the storm a little bit. From a team standpoint, I think the group has gotten really close. I’m a strong believer in where adversity can pull you closer together. That certainly has happened with us.”
Notes: Zaza Pachulia is unlikely to accompany the Hawks to Charlotte for Wednesday's game against the Bobcats. The center has complained of a sore Achilles tendon and was scheduled to see a doctor Tuesday. … Horford (sore left hamstring and calf) sat out practice. He is not expected to miss any time. … Harris (sprained left ankle) and Stevenson (right knee injection) returned to practice Tuesday and are cleared to play. … Anthony Morrow (back) remains out.
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