For this city and its NBA team, this is all new. Atlanta-based since 1968, the Hawks have only twice been the top seed in their conference: In 1969-70, when they were still in the West and finished two games ahead of the Lakers, and in 1993-94, when they edged the Knicks in the East on a tiebreaker. These Hawks lead the East by 6 1/2 games with 28 to play.
Toronto is in second place, but the Raptors aren’t seen — at least by the televised chattering class — as a true threat. Chicago is, and the Bulls trail the Hawks by nine games. Cleveland is, and LeBron’s crew is 10 1/2 games back. If the Cavs/Bulls are so majestic, why aren’t they 43-11?
Even as the Hawks won 19 in a row and 33 of 35 and stormed through January unbeaten, we kept hearing that they weren’t a championship team. Because they lack a superstar. (Never mind that they have four All-Stars.) Because they don’t have a Go-To Guy. (So who keeps making all those baskets?) Because they don’t have a true center. (So why was Al Horford an All-Star?) Because they’re the Hawks.
For us Atlantans, that last bit has resonance. We’ve been built up to be let down by the Hawks since they arrived from St. Louis, and when we weren’t being let down we were ignoring them. Yes, scar tissue can be tough to break, but we need to start trying. Because these are not the Same Old Hawks. Not one of us has ever seen an Atlanta Hawks team like this.
They’re on pace to win 65 games. The franchise best is 57. That’s a Beamon-like extension of eight. Only 16 NBA teams have won 65 or more games; of those 16, 13 won championships. When you climb that high, there’s a reason, and that reason is, duh, that you’re really, really good.
Let’s be honest: Most of us take our talking-points lead from ESPN, and the Hawks — as one team employee nicely puts it — “don’t fit their narrative.” There’s no star who can be identified by his first name, no LeBron, no Kobe, no Shaq. (Note to the parents of Messrs. Horford, Millsap, Korver and Teague: Do better with the naming next time.) This is not a famous franchise on the order of the Celtics and Lakers and Knicks, although we note that those three together have won exactly as many games as these Hawks.
The Hawks aren’t a glitzy bunch. Their best talker is Steve Holman, and he doesn’t actually play — he announces — and given that he’s (a tad) older than I am, that’s a good thing. The coach is Mike Budenholzer, who comes across as a kinder, gentler Bill Belichick (minus the cheating). The general manager is Danny Ferry, who hasn’t spoken for public consumption since September and isn’t actually general-managing. About their owners, don’t get me started.
We shouldn’t really blame the Worldwide Leader for having trouble getting a grip on this team. It hasn’t been easy for us locals. One minute they were 7-6 and there was nothing to see. The next they were 40-8 and we were rubbing our eyes, wondering if this could possibly be real.
It’s real. A blip doesn’t last 2 3/4 months. (It appears and vanishes, hence the name.) The Hawks have beaten every team of consequence except the Spurs, whom they’ve played only once — on the road Nov. 5. Even as we’re told that the game changes in the playoffs, it doesn’t change so much as to be unrecognizable. It’s still basketball. These Hawks are good at basketball.
If they add a player at Thursday’s deadline, that’s fine. If not, that’s OK, too. For all the fuss over Ray Allen, there’s no guarantee he’d play serious minutes once Thabo Sefolosha returns. (Allen is nearly as old as Steve Holman and can’t defend.) A backup big man might be useful — the Hawks rank 27th in rebound differential — but they’re top five in field-goal percentage and field-goal percentage defense, which means they’re excellent at both ends.
There’s no perfect team. If the Hawks were bigger and slower, they wouldn’t be as deft at the pace-and-space stuff, which is what makes them good. We can’t know for sure if a title is their manifest destiny, but this much we can say: There’s no team in the East that looks better, and they’re 15-4 against the West.
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