Party Like 1999

The Atlanta Hawks nine year playoff draft is over as the Baby Birds officially make the NBA playoffs for the first time since 1999. They finish the regular season with a woeful 38-43 record, but the regular season is over and it’s playoff time. The Birds are the eighth seed and they’ll play top seed Boston.

My thoughts on this season are mixed. On one hand, I’m really happy the team finally made the playoffs as they’ve showed lots of growth as a team. Joe Johnson has lived up to his billing; Josh Childress has turned into a consistent player; Josh Smith is developing into a dominating defensive player, Marvin Williams is still a work in progress, and with the additions of Al Hortford and Mike Bibby, we finally have a solid starting squad and sixth man.

On the other hand, I’m disappointed the Hawks finished below .500 and finished eighth in the weak Eastern Conference. I disagree with those who say a playoff birth is a playoff birth because I believe the Hawks overall talent is better than Cleveland, Orlando, and Toronto, who are all seeded higher than the Birds. The Hawks started the season strong, but underachieved in the middle of the season.

Hopefully, the Hawks will make some noise in the playoffs and then as we progress through the offseason, we can get a new coach and general manager that can take us to the next level.