Soaring Down South
Fansided

Decade in Review: The 2010-11 Atlanta Hawks

By Dallin Duffy

ORLANDO, FL - MAY 4: (L-R) Josh Smith #5, Joe Johnson #2, Jamal Crawford #11, Al Horford #15 and Mike Bibby #10 of the Atlanta Hawks stand on the court in Game One of the Eastern Conference Semifinals against the Orlando Magic during the 2010 Playoffs on May 4, 2010 at Amway Arena in Orlando, Florida. The Magic won 107-91. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and/or using this Photograph, user is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. Mandatory Copyright Notice: Copyright 2010 NBAE (Photo by Fernando Medina/NBAE via Getty Images)
ORLANDO, FL - MAY 4: (L-R) Josh Smith #5, Joe Johnson #2, Jamal Crawford #11, Al Horford #15 and Mike Bibby #10 of the Atlanta Hawks stand on the court in Game One of the Eastern Conference Semifinals against the Orlando Magic during the 2010 Playoffs on May 4, 2010 at Amway Arena in Orlando, Florida. The Magic won 107-91. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and/or using this Photograph, user is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. Mandatory Copyright Notice: Copyright 2010 NBAE (Photo by Fernando Medina/NBAE via Getty Images) /
facebooktwitterreddit

Looking back to the 2010-2011 Atlanta Hawks team.

The Atlanta Hawks brought in the new decade with mostly positive results.

Larry Drew took over as head coach after the team moved on from Mike Woodson, who led the team to a 53-29 record the previous year.

Drew inherited a talented roster, with the dynamic duo of Joe Johnson and Josh Smith being joined by Al Horford after his breakout ’09-’10 campaign and a young but talented Jeff Teague.

The starting five, for the most part, looked like this:

PG – Mike Bibby

SG – Joe Johnson

SF – Josh Smith

PF – Marvin Williams

C – Al Horford

Key bench pieces included Jamaal Crawford, Kirk Hinrich, Teague, and Zaza Pachuila.

After starting the season convincingly, winning their first six, they cooled off. They were still winning more games than they lost, but were not heading back towards the 3 seed they got last year.

In fact, they limped into the playoffs, amassing a 10-17 record post-All-Star break, losing the final six on the year.

That was still good enough for the 5th seed in the weak Eastern Conference, and they were able to upset the Dwight Howard-led Magic in the first round.

Their season ended at the hands of the 62-20 Chicago Bulls in the Eastern semis, who were led by MVP Derrick Rose.

Joe Johnson led the team in scoring through the regular season, putting up 18.2 per game while shooting 44% from the field.

Al Horford, in his 4th NBA season, led the team in rebounds with 9.3 a game, while Josh Smith wasn’t too far behind with 8.5. As a team, the Hawks were one of the worst teams in the league on the boards, finishing 28th in the NBA for rebounds per game.

They were better defensively, and were one of the most mistake-free teams in the league, with only one team turning the ball over less.

More. Atlanta Hawks' Top 5 players of the Decade. light

Definitely not one of the most memorable or successful teams of the decade, the ’10-’11 Hawks struggled a bit adapting to a new coach and a new franchise player in Al Horford.

Whenever you’re able to win a playoff series however, the season can’t be considered a true failure.

Home/Hawks News