Red-hot Hawks still have eye on playoff success

“Being exposed to that mindset for a long time in San Antonio, there is a focus on the big picture and a focus on daily improvement. If you do that, you’ll be where you need to be at the end of the year (and that’s the playoffs).”

The Hawks have won six in a row and eight of nine. The last time they had a six-game winning streak was Nov. 16-28, 2012. The win, coupled with the Washington Wizards loss to the Boston Celtics, leaves the teams with 13-6 records. The Hawks won at Washington last week in their only head-to-head meeting this season.

“Big picture for us is to play Hawks basketball and play the right way,” DeMarre Carroll said. “We let people outside the locker room look at those things. I think if we keep playing the right way, everything will take care of itself.”

Still, the Hawks have been impressive through the first quarter of the season. They are on track to continue their playoff streak which stands at seven consecutive seasons, best current run in the East.

Entering Sunday’s game, nine of the 15 teams in the conference had a losing record. The combined record of the seven teams, currently out of a playoff spot, was 36-105.

The only team ahead of the Hawks is the Toronto Raptors, by one and half games. Toronto owns two wins over the Hawks but after their fast start they must now cope without star DeMar DeRozan.

The Cleveland Cavaliers have taken some time to get adjusted to their new Big Three of LeBron James, Kyrie Irving and Kevin Love. The Chicago Bulls have had to cope with the oft-injured Derrick Rose. The Miami Heat and Brooklyn Nets have been disappointments as they sit seventh and eighth in the conference.

And then there is the bottom of the group. The Orlando Magic and Celtics are rebuilding. The Indiana Pacers have struggled without star Paul George. There is a chemistry issue with the reeling Charlotte Hornets. The New York Knicks have Carmelo Anthony and little else. The Detroit Pistons and the Philadelphia 76ers are just bad.

“Every NBA game is tough but we’ve had a favorable schedule to this point,” Kyle Korver said. “We’ve kind of talked about it, that we have to get these games. We’ve had some home games. We’ve gotten to play some teams that aren’t as high up in the standings as we are going to play later. I just keep on looking back to last year when we got to the hard part of the schedule and we had guys banged up. We took some losses last year. Every game matters but we try to talk about not only getting wins but to play good basketball because it’s a long season.”

The Hawks are winning – and they are winning big. They are averaging 103.3 points per game and limiting opponents to 88.7 points during their six-game win streak. The Hawks led the Nuggets by as many as 24 points Sunday, marking the fifth time during the streak that they have led by as many as 16 points.

Even with the early success, the Hawks have stuck to their mantra. Get better every day. That is the message throughout the organization, from the front office, to the coaching staff to the players. Still, the eye is on the bigger prize. Championships are not won in December.

“Just playing and wanting to win every game,” Jeff Teague said of the team’s mindset. “Guys are just hungry right now. It’s a key time in our schedule right now and a key time in the season. Guys are really locking in.

“It’s so early (in the season). We don’t look at that stuff. We’ve got a long ways to go. We have another game tomorrow and another opportunity to get better.”