Is Success For the Hawks A NBA Finals Trip?
Forgotten in all the chaotic euphoria of the Atlanta Hawks 60 win season is what they have achieved over time. Organizationally, the Hawks are synonymous with NBA playoffs. The Hawks have made the playoffs eight years in a row. It is the second longest playoff streak in their history, only bested by the St. Louis/Atlanta Hawks of 1962-1973.
This current Hawks playoff run is the longest tenured playoff appearance in the Eastern Conference. No other Eastern Conference team can be credited with a level of playoff consistency that has kept them out of the lottery for eight straight years. If the goal at the beginning of training camp is to guide your team into the playoffs, then the Hawks have delivered upon their promise and have done so for almost a decade.
Live Feed
Sir Charles In Charge
Apr 10, 2015; Atlanta, GA, USA; Atlanta Hawks guard Jeff Teague (0) controls the ball against the Charlotte Hornets during the second half at Philips Arena. The Hawks defeated the Hornets 104-80. Mandatory Credit: Dale Zanine-USA TODAY Sports
But where the story becomes a sad tale is that the Hawks have lost in the first round of the playoffs three years in a row. Three playoff seasons have come and gone since the Hawks have made it to the second round. If there are low expectations or nerves of glass or cynicism that is rooted deep into the Hawks culture, it is because failure has a way of setting the bar particularly low. It affects perception more than it narrates the truth. It reflects self-doubt.
Consistently losing in the playoffs over a sustained period of time only supports the theory that (a) we are cursed, or, (b) we don’t have the talent, or, (c) we can’t get out of our own way. The mind is harmed long before the body.
This year, the Hawks built in excuses seem ridiculous to reach for as they are the #1 seed in the Eastern Conference. If they win all of their home games they will march to the NBA Finals. But the thing is, in the past decade of Eastern Conference play, no #1 seed has won all of their home games, not even that great Miami Heat team of 2012-13.
Culturally, we are immersed in a feast or famine psychosis. There are heroes or there are losers. There is success or there is failure. Absent any gray area, what will a successful season look like for the Atlanta Hawks?
If the Hawks lose in the second round to the Raptors or Bulls, would this year be a total waste given that in training camp the Hawks were never projected to be this special? If the Hawks lose to Lebron James in the Eastern Conference Finals, propelling James into his 5th straight NBA Finals, a feat that only rivals Bill Russell, will the Hawks doom and gloom crowd eviscerate all the Hawks accomplishments this year?
Or, are the Hawks playing with house money? A season as exceptional as this has caught everyone by surprise, prompting fantasies of championship champagne and parades. Advancing to the second round of the playoffs is exponentially more than anyone imagined the Hawks ceiling to be much less a trip to the NBA Finals in June.
Mar 21, 2015; Auburn Hills, MI, USA; Chicago Bulls guard Derrick Rose (1) warms up before the game against the Detroit Pistons at The Palace of Auburn Hills. Mandatory Credit: Raj Mehta-USA TODAY Sports
The NBA is married to its star culture. The stars drive the market and everyone else gets second billing or are an afterthought. With that reality, the Hawks and their unselfish team play are not supposed to beat a team with Derrick Rose and Pau Gasol. They are not supposed to dismantle Kyrie Irving and Lebron James and get to the NBA Finals. These are the particular boundaries within the anatomy of the NBA that the Hawks have pushed through for six months. Still, they are not taken seriously. To most, they are not the favorites to get to the NBA Finals.
So perhaps this is the true story: the Hawks have met their expectations and exceeded them by winning 60 games. Nevertheless, those 60 wins loom large. If you win 60 games you are better than almost every team in the NBA. Your offense is better. Your defense is better. Your coaching is better. Your bench is better. You are tougher. You have chemistry. You fight through adversity. You fight off pressure.
Expectations are both fixed and fluid. They adjust as the season goes on, they either go up or they go down with air out of the balloon. The Hawks of October are not the Hawks of April.
Lose too early in the playoffs and it will be the same familiar story Atlanta fans are used to. But, win in June and many will think of it as the Atlanta Miracle.
The playoffs can have a very harsh glare with light so classically invasive, it can ruin teams. The playoffs bestow fame and they exaggerate mistakes and it won’t matter if the Hawks did win 60 games in a season, not if they fall down the cliff.
Often you don’t get what you deserve. You just don’t.
Win 12 playoff games and you get to the NBA Finals. The Hawks may deserve to get there as they play their collective asses off, series after series. But, if one thing is true it is that life is not fair. The Hawks may indeed come up short if the ball bounces the wrong way. If that happens, nothing about this oh so perfect year will be a failure. It will just be a heartbreak.