Hawks players were given the day off Wednesday, a reward for a just completed 4-1 road trip.
Take a deep breath. It’s a brief respite as the team opens a four-game homestand Thursday against the Grizzlies. The Hawks will also host the 76ers, Suns and Pacers over the next seven days at Philips Arena where they are 8-1 this season. The homestand also presents a chance for the Hawks (16-6) to avenge two of their losses, defeats at the 76ers and Pacers earlier this season.
The welcomed week at home only serves as a break before another five-game cross-country trip that begins Feb. 14 at the Lakers and includes stops at the Suns, Trail Blazers, Bulls and Knicks. The Hawks have a season-long six-game road trip in March.
The Hawks have won three straight with Tuesday’s 100-77 win at the Raptors.
“I told the guys it seems like we’ve been on the road for a month,” Drew said following Sunday’s win in New Orleans. “[Playing Toronto is] an opportunity to turn a good road trip into a great road trip. We had a bump in the road in San Antonio [the one loss on the trip] but we bounced back.”
The win over the Raptors was the second straight by 22 points or more after Sunday’s 94-72 win at the Hornets. The decisive victory over the Raptors was important to Drew. The Hawks have had difficulty at times this season holding big leads. There have also been instances where they have started slow in the first or third quarters and allowed opponents to gain momentum.
“We’ve been in these situations before where we’ve gotten big leads and teams have come back,” Drew said. “At times we’ve lost our composure. We maintained our composure and that’s what I’m most proud of.”
Joe Johnson has been a key to the recent run of success. The Hawks are 9-2 over the past 11 games, all without injured All-Star Al Horford. Johnson, who entered Wednesday 16th in league scoring at 19.1 points a game, has scored 23 or more points in eight of the 11 games. He is averaging 21.6 points in that span, which includes 30-point performances in two of the past three games. The Hawks are 11-1 when Johnson scores 20 or more points.
Entering Wednesday night’s schedule, the Hawks remain a half-game behind the Heat (16-5) for the Southeast Division lead. They’ve also opened a four-game lead over the Magic in the division. The Hawks, third in the Eastern Conference, trail the Bulls (18-5) by 1 1/2 games for the top spot.
Scoreboard issues
The Hawks acknowledged in a letter to season-ticket holders this week, signed by president Bob Williams, that scoreboards at either end of Philips Arena have not been operational this season. The matrix boards had displayed real time player statistics.
The scoreboards have failed to work since September, the end of the WNBA season. According to the letter, the scoreboards can not be repaired and will be replaced by “new HD ready LED boards” during the offseason.
“We are confident that the multi-million dollar end zone video presentation with which we’ll open next season will be a vast improvement,” Williams wrote.
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