To the expanding list of ways we have measured growth and success in the Hawks’ organization this season, add this: CNN International sent a crew to Philips Arena for a game the other night.
So there you go: They have gone global. They are selling out games. It wasn’t long ago when their aura didn’t even stretch to Cobb or Gwinnett, let alone eastern Europe, leading one bubbleheaded owner to think it must be because white people didn’t like blackish arena music or were too scared to drive downtown. As it turns out, a great and likeable product will lead to ticket sales and universal adoration. Who knew?
The question with the Hawks now is: Do they dare try to make themselves even better?
They have the best record in the NBA (42-9). They just defeated the previous team with the best record (Golden State), scoring 72 points in the second half. They’re 16-4 against the league’s other top 11 teams. There’s a bunch of other numbers that illustrate success, but you get the point. What nobody knows is whether this wonder can carry over to the playoffs, when opposing coaches make adjustments during a series, devising ways to take away what a team likes to do.
“We haven’t won a playoff series yet,” Kyle Korver said, providing needed balance amid the euphoria.
The Hawks are good. But they can get better. With the Feb. 19 trade deadline nearing, some worry that adding a player — free agent shooter Ray Allen or a big body for the bench for a potential physical playoff opponent — could mess with this team’s wonderful chemistry.
It’s an understandable concern. But in this case, it’s overstated.
No player is going to wreck the Hawks’ chemistry this season. They’re too close, too unselfish, too ego-free to let that happen.
“I was talking to (Dallas owner) Mark Cuban once and he said, ‘I can have one knucklehead, I just can’t give him a buddy,” Korver said. “If you’ve only got one, and the group is strong and the culture is strong, usually one can buy in. But you can’t give him a buddy. I don’t think we have any right now.”
Making a change at the deadline can be a tough call for any general manager, let alone an interim one. Coach Mike Budenholzer is acting GM, with the assistance of Wes Wilcox, while Danny Ferry remains in diversity purgatory. (That’s not likely to change before the team is sold, and there’s no indication that will be any time soon.)
Golden State coach Steve Kerr was a general manager for three years in Phoenix. “I didn’t like it,” he said. “You’re trying to figure out (whether to make a move), especially when you have a good team, but you don’t know how good you are. It’s a tricky dynamic. Inevitably you’re guessing.”
The absence of Ferry and a full-time big-picture guy has put more on Budenholzer’s plate. But neither he nor Wilcox has felt overwhelmed, nor do they feel at some disadvantage going into the deadline. They might be right. But it’s also fair to suggest the Hawks’ success and relative good healthy this season hasn’t mandated major changes, so the front office structure hasn’t really been tested.
“I don’t know that it’s been a burden,” Budenholzer said. “But there’s probably been more demands at certain times of the year.”
He said he’s “protective of our group” in discussions of roster changes.” He characterized the debate of making a move, as, “The beauty and the beast of sports.”
“There’s a strong argument for standing where we are, but we have to be open and at least listen,” he said.
Budenholzer laughed when told of Korver’s conversation with Cuban, but he agreed.
“I think the maturity of our locker room and the way our players — not just get along, it’s more than that. They have real high standards and expectations,” he said. “They do it in such a way that’s professional and classy. It’s the kind of group that no matter what happens, they can take somebody in and make him feel at home and also make him understand what’s important to us, no matter what the personality is.”
Allen would make this team only better. He has played on two NBA champions (Boston and Miami) and would give the Hawks a dangerous outscore scorer when defenses double Korver in crucial situations. But he hasn’t finalized whether he will come out of his unofficial, half-year retirement, and if he does whether he will sign with Cleveland (to re-join LeBron James) the Hawks, Washington or elsewhere.
The Hawks seemingly also could benefit from acquiring another power forward or center. Their playoff series upset of Orlando four years ago was keyed in part by Jason Collins’ physical play against Dwight Howard inside. But Budenholzer doesn’t think his team needs more size.
“I can’t find a way to play all of our bigs now,” he said. “I know some perceive we don’t have rim protection or a 7-footer. I’m either naive or stubborn or both, but I’ll go to war with these guys.”
Ultimately, that might be the Hawks’ greatest strength of all: They don’t have a crying need. They certainly don’t have a knucklehead. If they choose to add a player, he can’t wreck what’s going on.
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