Peachtree Hoops: Atlanta Hawks: Is it Time to Adjust Expectations?

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Disappearing Act?

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Coming into this season I was as optimistic as anybody about the chances this Hawks team had to at least duplicate what they had started last year. I was pretty confident with my prediction throughout the 6-0 start. No they weren't necessarily beating great teams but they were winning on the road and at the point I had no reason not to take for granted that the Hawks would carry over their home dominance from last season. 

More after the jump:

Since that six game win streak to start the season the Hawks are 2-6 and have not beat a team that participated in the playoffs last season. Even worse over the last week and a half they have at times looked lifeless. The same sort of look we saw at the disappointing end of last season. This was supposed to be a fresh start with Larry Drew bringing new ideas and philosophies to the team after taking over for Mike Woodson. Now the warning signs are there that maybe there is a much deeper problem with this group. 

Drew had this to say about last night's game:

"This was very, very embarrassing," he said. "If I had to sum it up in one word: embarrassing. To come out with that type energy; that type urgency. What I see with our team right now I don’t feel real good about."

Al Horford brings up the word accountability.

"We have some soul-searching to do,"

Al 

said. "I don’t think we are [accountable]. We tend to have excuses for everything."

This to me is the most disturbing statement in the whole article because you can actually see this on the court. Countless times you could see a Hawks defender get beat on the perimeter and just stop. Not try to rebound, not try to help, just stand there and do nothing and to see that is discouraging. 

One more from coach Drew.

"I am disappointed that we are not playing with a hunger," L.D. said. "We are looking to point fingers. We are playing the blame game. More importantly, our energy level is not good at all. We are not doing things quick, we are not doing things with speed, we are not doing things with urgency."

There are many more of these in MC's recap so be sure and check those out. So I offer the question. Is it time to adjust expectations for this team? The season is still relatively early yet the team seems to be on life support. Can they circle the wagons so to speak? Sure they can the question is will they? Don't get me wrong here because I am in this for the long haul but I can't sit here and say that I don't see the warning signs that many other fans are seeing and may have seen all along. 

What is the answer? A Trade? A lineup shake up? A players only meeting? I am just throwing ideas out there now and I hope that is what this team is doing as I type this. One need only to look at the standings to find other teams that are disappointed at this point. I hardly think that Miami would expect to be 8-6 including a 93-77 home loss to the Pacers last night? Even though Milwaukee beat the Hawks down, they are still just 5-8 and are the worst offensive team in the NBA. 

Exit Question: Are we overreacting? Or is it time to admit that the sky might in fact be falling?

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