Heck of a season. THANK YOU Hawks!

[JayBirdHawk]

 

 

[Dejay]

2 minutes ago, JayBirdHawk said:

 

 

Damn straight...

[JayBirdHawk]

Shout out to ALL the Fans in attendance for showing the team love.

 

 

[marco102]

Just proud of these young guys.  I came in afraid of the Knicks an left expecting a championship in the next few seasons.  The key to the Hawks success will be their depth.  We will still be one of the deepest teams in the league going forward.  With Trae, Gallo, Hunter, Reddish, Huerter, Bogi, Collins, Capella,  and Okongwu they will have all the firepower and defense they need to win this.  It's going to be harder said than done, but I finally don't feel like a homer when I say we have a championship contender. 

[klharper]

1 hour ago, GameTime said:

Its official. Finally got a superstar folks. First since Nique. This team when healthy is built for another long playoff run. Hunter and Cam as two way players guarding the elite wings and Trae running the point. Bogi an elite sharp shooter with Capela/Collins/Okongwu as rim runners. Future is bright for this team.

+ Gallo doing Gallo things, and Kev doing K’Von things

[bleachkit]

Great season! I admit I am feeling a little sad though. Imagine having NBA finals games in Atlanta! So close! Would have been super exciting! Suns would be tough to be beat, they are good. 

[Spud2nique]

Proud of our young Hawks. Dream season for us in many ways. Bright future. I look forward to the ride with you great folks. Exciting times ahead!

[Dejay]

41 minutes ago, marco102 said:

Just proud of these young guys.  I came in afraid of the Knicks an left expecting a championship in the next few seasons.  The key to the Hawks success will be their depth.  We will still be one of the deepest teams in the league going forward.  With Trae, Gallo, Hunter, Reddish, Huerter, Bogi, Collins, Capella,  and Okongwu they will have all the firepower and defense they need to win this.  It's going to be harder said than done, but I finally don't feel like a homer when I say we have a championship contender. 

Agree on all counts.

Injuries aside, Brooklyn and Milwaukee are all that stands between them representing the East this time next year in the Finals. While both sport MVPs on their roster, I'm loving the odds with the young cards we've been dealt and here's why: 

Over the last few weeks, I saw a squad that wasn't just happy to make the playoffs or the second round. That alone is a far cry from what we usually get before they're escorted off of the premises by a higher seeded team. Even after getting bounced and sometimes embarrassed in the process, there was no rally cry to go further. The team always appeared to be perfectly fine with being a second or third-tier squad, which trickled down from ownership to the front office to the coaching staff and roster itself. An entire generation of potential Hawk fans, not to mention loyal season ticket holders, were lost as a result.

I have seen every rendition of this franchise since the '70s and have waited since 1988 to call this team a legitimate contender for the world title. Even the 2015 squad gave me pause because of the Lebron factor that they had no real answer to. For the first time in over 30 years, I'm no longer afraid of anyone they face; regular season or otherwise. This team was six wins away as is without Hunter and with Trae and Bogdanovic playing on two good knees and ankles combined. Could any of us had seen this coming back in December?

They're not some scrappy little bunch whose luck ran out, only to return to being mediocre next season. They're division champions and a squad with enough firepower to send anyone home in a 7-game series, especially if they're healthy. 

They'll be back, smarter, tougher, and stronger than today. And the rest of the league will be left to feel their wrath...

Edited July 4, 2021 by Dejay

[Sothron]

This was a good season but not a great one. Why? 

I don't buy into the "well look at the Hawks, that's a moral victory". That's not how sports works. You either win a championship or you are a loser. That's it. You either win the ring or you get nothing. The Hawks had a chance to get the ring and lost. Regardless of whoever wins the Finals the team that doesn't win is still a loser just like the Hawks are now. They had a chance despite the injuries and horrible officiating and blew it. There's no moral victory champions in sports.

So no, I don't want the players or coaches or the front office to go "well, shoot, we did such a good job". There's only one team that gets to say they did a good job at the end of a season. That's the champion. Anyone else is just a loser. We need our guys to feel this sting, get angry about it and never forget the feeling of being robbed like they were by the refs and injury gods.

[warcore]

We will be back. 

I can't think of another team that has as much young talent and depth as we do. We have talent at every position sans backup PG and big C... every roster has flaws. Our bones are great. Just gotta fill it out and run it back. 

Cam is better overall than Bogi and is deserving of starting at the 2, but I wouldn't be surprised if Bogi continues to start because neither him or K'Von are legit SFs off the bench. 

This was a big step in the right direction. Remember -- the Warriors didn't win their first go-round. Nor the LeBrons. Even MJ had to get bounced a few times before he won it. 

[hawkster911]

Great season.  I’m glad to have witnessed the birth of a great young team in the making.  
 

I honestly felt a comeback in the 4th quarter because I truly believed in these Hawks.  
 

This summer will be interesting and questions to ponder:

 

1.  John Collins is not a max contract player.  If he still believe in this, match and trade him for a big that can rebound.  Maybe throw in Huerter and this years first round pick.  After this playoff push, I wonder how many NBA Superstars want to pair up with Trae Young

[QuantumHawkz]

Atlanta stand up!!!! We have nothing to be mad about. We had a blast with this Hawks team! I'm very proud and excited for our young Hawks! For the first time our future is bright! THANK YOU HAWKS! 

[RandomFan]

1 hour ago, Sothron said:

This was a good season but not a great one. Why? 

I don't buy into the "well look at the Hawks, that's a moral victory". That's not how sports works. You either win a championship or you are a loser. That's it. You either win the ring or you get nothing. The Hawks had a chance to get the ring and lost. Regardless of whoever wins the Finals the team that doesn't win is still a loser just like the Hawks are now. They had a chance despite the injuries and horrible officiating and blew it. There's no moral victory champions in sports.

So no, I don't want the players or coaches or the front office to go "well, shoot, we did such a good job". There's only one team that gets to say they did a good job at the end of a season. That's the champion. Anyone else is just a loser. We need our guys to feel this sting, get angry about it and never forget the feeling of being robbed like they were by the refs and injury gods.

This take ain't it. This is a sad and disturbing way to look at life, sorry man. Taking the stepping stones in your path to your destination should never be considered making anyone a loser. This take is just...wow. 

[Dejay]

45 minutes ago, QuantumHawkz said:

Atlanta stand up!!!! We have nothing to be mad about. We had a blast with this Hawks team! I'm very proud and excited for our young Hawks! For the first time our future is bright! THANK YOU HAWKS! 

I'm not nearly as upset as I normally am after playoff defeats. I cannot think of any team with a core this young in the league even sniffing the ECFs much less coming within two wins of winning it. 

While nothing is guaranteed in pro sports, this isn't the NFL where things can go sideways in a hurry (see Falcons, Atlanta) after a tough loss in the postseason. And from what I'm gathering, they're not run by penny pinching owners unlike a certain local baseball team who shall remain nameless, either.

Almost everything is in place for them. From the star player that most of us have been hoping against hope to get since Nique, to a head coach who can lead them, to a competent GM who plays chess instead of Connect-4 (FINALLY!!!), to an owner who felt that loss tonight as much as the players did. If not anything else, Tony Ressler loved those ridiculous gate receipts from this run (all franchise record numbers, BTW) and want to keep that going. 

In other words, we're no longer playing around in the kiddie pool, hoping to strike gold in the lottery. We're in a much higher weight class now...

[Final_quest]

3 hours ago, RandomFan said:

This take ain't it. This is a sad and disturbing way to look at life, sorry man. Taking the stepping stones in your path to your destination should never be considered making anyone a loser. This take is just...wow. 

I don’t think it’s a bad take.  We’ve seen a few teams like the Bulls with Rose and Celtics with Tatum make it to the ECF as a young team and never make it back.  
 

Giannis goes down, and the Bucks lead the two games from opening to close.  Just because your a young team doesn’t mean you will get this chance again.  

[Diesel]

5 hours ago, Sothron said:

This was a good season but not a great one. Why? 

I don't buy into the "well look at the Hawks, that's a moral victory". That's not how sports works. You either win a championship or you are a loser. That's it. You either win the ring or you get nothing. The Hawks had a chance to get the ring and lost. Regardless of whoever wins the Finals the team that doesn't win is still a loser just like the Hawks are now. They had a chance despite the injuries and horrible officiating and blew it. There's no moral victory champions in sports.

So no, I don't want the players or coaches or the front office to go "well, shoot, we did such a good job". There's only one team that gets to say they did a good job at the end of a season. That's the champion. Anyone else is just a loser. We need our guys to feel this sting, get angry about it and never forget the feeling of being robbed like they were by the refs and injury gods.

Sorry Ron.

I don't give a damn about St. Louis.  The Atlanta Hawks have been in existence since 1968.  That's 53 years.   In 53 years, we have never gotten this far.   What you're seeing in this thread is not a moral victory.  It's a thank you for taking us to a place that we've never been before.   If you were talking about the Falcons losing to New England in the Superbowl, you would have a point.. The Falcons had been to the SB before.

However, for 53 years, we have not won a ECF game.  Through the great players and allstars that have been a part of this franchise, none of them has taken us this far. 

So why not say thank you??   As a Fan, I'm thanking these guys because I don't have to go to another Texas Peter Draft Lottery party.   I'm thanking this team because even though they lost, I can see great things ahead. 

So now.. we're not losers... We are a great team who lost a series. 

 

[Thomas]

Truly a strange starting but great, great season for us. Cementing the apex of this year to me are two wins in the ECF and that incredible comeback we had against Philly. We demoralized the number 1 seed in the East. And also having a playoff coach. Looking for much better health next season and will go with the results of that. Enjoyed it very much everyone.

[benhillboy]

Salute.

[Thomas]

In reference to the comment that nothing is guaranteed in the playoffs my argument would be "refs being refs" is always guaranteed in this league. That is not a good thing. Hoping the fact folks across the country saw a great deal of us in the playoffs will help with the consistent ref bias but we will see.

[NBASupes]

8 hours ago, marco102 said:

Just proud of these young guys.  I came in afraid of the Knicks an left expecting a championship in the next few seasons.  The key to the Hawks success will be their depth.  We will still be one of the deepest teams in the league going forward.  With Trae, Gallo, Hunter, Reddish, Huerter, Bogi, Collins, Capella,  and Okongwu they will have all the firepower and defense they need to win this.  It's going to be harder said than done, but I finally don't feel like a homer when I say we have a championship contender. 

Final Four baby! Next time, we gonna win it all