Are Hawks Making The Impossible Possible

Atlanta – In an era where much is made concerning the destination of high profiled free agents, a team’s ability to “max out” said free agent and the quest to find the next franchise player one would assume finding a group of not so high profiled NBA players looking to buy into a system and win as a team virtually impossible: Well look no more; Meet the Atlanta Hawks.

Who are these Hawks and what makes them so special? It’s quite simple. The Atlanta Hawks are the latest group to buy into the well-known but not well practiced philosophy of sharing the basketball, playing great defense and not focusing on who gets the credit. Don’t think this is special? How about a league leading 49-13 record, four All-Star participants, a 19 game winning streak and an inside track on the number 1 seed in the East? A neutral observer would assume these feats were impossible without a superstar player driving the team or that these accomplishments come from a team hovering near the very top of the NBA’s salary cap. Not so fast. This Hawks team, under the direction of Coach of the Year Candidate Mike Budenholzer, is every coach’s dream and every basketball purists’ dream. Each player buys into a role with the greater goal being the success of the team. Kyle Korver’s ability to stretch the defensive from the outside creates openings for Jeff Teague and the German sensation Dennis Schoroder. Al Horford and Paul Millsap provide timely post play while the law firm of Bazemore, Sefolosha and Carroll create havoc defensively. The result? A nightmare for opponents on a nightly basis.

Critics cite the lack of a superstar, the reliance on the jump shot and the modest history of the Hawks franchise as examples of why this model will not bring the first NBA title in Atlanta’s history. Such criticism is valid if you look at recent champions led by superstars, LeBron James, Dwayne Wade, Dirk Nowitzki and Kobe Bryant. However, this Hawks team closely resembles the 2004 Pistons and most recently, the 2014 Spurs as teams winning titles under the team first attitude. In 60+ regular season games, the Atlanta Hawks have done a great job at proving doubters wrong, however, to a man, Hawks players will admit that winning in the playoffs is what matters. Will the Hawks finally get over the hump of the second round of the NBA playoffs? Will this group of “also known” NBA players playing within a system bring Atlanta its first title since 1995? But for the Hawks clinching a spot in this year’s NBA playoffs, these goals would be impossible. However, having already punched their ticket to the playoffs, the Hawks realize one thing.