Heck of a season. THANK YOU Hawks!

[Dejay]

16 minutes ago, JayBirdHawk said:

I don't think they're content. As long as Trae the leader says and understands this, the rest of the team will follow. It feels like a missed opportunity but....

 

 

 

 

That's the key difference between this team and their predecessors. I could be wrong but I never heard guys from the Joe Johnson or Steve Smith era openly talk of proving that they belonged amongst the elite, that the year before wasn't a fluke? 

[AUhawksfan]

From just wanting make the playoffs to being our most successful team ever, big thanks to the Hawks for an unforgettable and just plain fun season. 
 

And big props to Gallo for holding up health wise and doing his thing in the playoffs. He also exceeded my expectations. 

[Wretch]

1 hour ago, Sothron said:

If our players and team accept that "just getting there" is good enough then that's the real issue. Look at every championship team and the key players on it. They all said essentially the same thing I did. There's only one team each year that finishes with a winning record. If that's not your team then your team didn't do enough.

When the #8 Hawks took the #1 Celtics to seven games we heard all this before. Look at the Hawks, wow what a moral victory! They will definitely be a champion soon!

And...none of that happened. It didn't even come close to happening.

I am proud of this team for this season. Don't get me wrong. But this can't be the bar they set for themselves. So yes, as much as some people might not like to hear this only ONE TEAM at the end of a season is the champion. Only one team can say they had a good season. Anything else is just losing. 

I had that mindset before I played division 3 basketball and still have it now. Anything less than that as a player or coach is settling for mediocrity. They don't give out rings for moral victories or mediocrity.

 

I feel you on this.  However, the only reason why I'm not right there with you is because I know how different this would have been if we were semi-healthy.  The game was decidedly different when Cam was guarding Middleton and Holiday.  Imagine having both Hunter and Cam.

Some would say that we should have beat them without Giannis, but I think him not on the floor gives them an edge.  His absence forced better shooters and playmakers to take over.  Middleton is the "closer", but having Giannis out forced him to show up for 48 and he did that...but again, it was decidedly different with a good defender on him.

To me, this is like Golden State missing Klay.  We're not the same team if we don't have our best defenders out there.  Not to mention what we got from Hunter consistently on offense.  But it is what it is.  For now, I'm good.

[JayBirdHawk]

 

Add in NBA playoff experience, we pale in comparison.

[hawkman]

33 minutes ago, JayBirdHawk said:

 

Add in NBA playoff experience, we pale in comparison.

The experience gained is indeed invaluable. This team was a mess in crunch time for most of the regular season. Also, no 2nd half or 4th quarter lead was safe because they would inevitably fall apart when teams came back. To go from that to coming back from 20 points down to win Playoff games is a huge swing that shouldn't go unrecognized. They closed out rounds 1 and 2 on the road in front of hostile crowds. That shows tremendous growth. Despite their youth, these guys had a legitimate chance to win a Championship this season if they could have stayed relatively healthy. 

[TheNorthCydeRises]

The effect of this playoff run will be far reaching.

Today, I have on my Trae Young jersey.   Two people stopped me today, talking about the Hawks.

Keep in mind, I'm in Tennessee, 4.5 hours away from Atlanta.  One guy told me how we played real good, and he wished Trae didn't get hurt.  The other guy flat out asked me where I got my Trae Young jersey.  Because of course, they're not selling Hawks stuff here in Tennessee, outside of a few hats.  I've literally NEVER seen a Hawks jersey being sold in our mall.  Not even a Dominique jersey.

I did buy this Hawks starter jacket back when I was in high school.  But this is the closest to any Hawks style gear that wasn't a hat, being sold here.

 

 

This run will put us on the national radar, with a lot more games on TNT/ESPN.  If we start to play really well on the national stage, the fandom of this team should explode.  Hopefully, it will have the same effect that the Braves had on the South, during their runs in the 1990s.

[TheNorthCydeRises]

6 hours ago, Sothron said:

If our players and team accept that "just getting there" is good enough then that's the real issue. Look at every championship team and the key players on it. They all said essentially the same thing I did. There's only one team each year that finishes with a winning record. If that's not your team then your team didn't do enough.

When the #8 Hawks took the #1 Celtics to seven games we heard all this before. Look at the Hawks, wow what a moral victory! They will definitely be a champion soon!

And...none of that happened. It didn't even come close to happening.

I am proud of this team for this season. Don't get me wrong. But this can't be the bar they set for themselves. So yes, as much as some people might not like to hear this only ONE TEAM at the end of a season is the champion. Only one team can say they had a good season. Anything else is just losing. 

I had that mindset before I played division 3 basketball and still have it now. Anything less than that as a player or coach is settling for mediocrity. They don't give out rings for moral victories or mediocrity.

 

 

Normally, there is a maturation process before you go from 0 to 100. 

Had Atlanta made the Finals, I think this would be the first time in NBA history that two teams that hadn't made the playoffs in the previous 3 seasons, played for the NBA Championship.

I don't think any of the players are satisfied with the outcome.  But they can be proud with what they have accomplished.  They're not going to settle just for getting this far.  They got a great taste of what it is like to win in the playoffs.  This will encourage every player on the roster to better themselves for next season.

Even the Joe Johnson team that you mentioned, came back the next year and beat the Miami Heat in the 1st round, to get to the 2nd round.   And even after that team got smoked by the Cavs brilliant 3 point shooting, they came right back the next season and won 53 games and another 1st round win.   

The fact that they couldn't get past Lebron and Dwight, is not an indictment on that team being satisfied with winning in the 1st round.  The roster was not constructed, at that point, to win a title.  And we didn't want to trade our young pieces for high quality vets who could help us.  That's not on the players.  That's on ownership and management.

 

[JayBirdHawk]

 

 

[TheNorthCydeRises]

6 hours ago, Dejay said:

That's the key difference between this team and their predecessors. I could be wrong but I never heard guys from the Joe Johnson or Steve Smith era openly talk of proving that they belonged amongst the elite, that the year before wasn't a fluke? 

 

That may be because neither Smitty nor JJ made it past a Game 6 in the 2nd round.

Maybe that mentality would be different had they made a conference final.  Then again, Trae's mentality as a player is far more aggressive than the mellow personnas that JJ and Smitty put forth.

[JayBirdHawk]

3 minutes ago, TheNorthCydeRises said:

Then again, Trae's mentality as a player is far more aggressive than the mellow personnas that JJ and Smitty put forth.

This

[RedDawg#8]

Solo said it best. Summed up the season and playoffs perfectly.

He needs to be in the locker room next year. Maybe as a coach or something lol

 

[AHawks89]

Luckily, I was to drunk to watch game 6. I think I passed out by 9 PM. The only game I was unable to watch due to acting like I was 21 again. I really do love this team and excited to keep the core rotation players with hopefully Nate at the helm. Trae, Bog, Kev, Collins, Capella, Gallo, Hunter, Cam, OO & Lou. I think we should have used Snell more often in the series.  Who else am I missing? Travis did a great job with the Lou for Rondo trade. Def helped us win 2 big games in the playoffs. One thing we know for the future that Nate may not know.. OO should be getting the most minutes against Noel & Lopez. Excited to see if we can add more depth during the off season. Crazy we went from our goal is to make playoffs to we are pissed we didnt make the finals. I think I mentioned it before, but I am stationed here in Charlotte and all of my fellow Sailors know me as a Hawks fan, and all of them were pulling for us.  They all are a big fan of Trae and the Hawks. They were talking about how Hawks are the most exciting team to watch, how we have that grit. We finally have our our own swagger. Charlotte radio hated us all season but yet were asking themselves "what player are we away from being the next Atlanta?" The haters will never admit, but we are for sure on the way to being a franchise team. Great drafting & building Travis. You have Georgians on notice. LETS GO HAWKS!

[AHawks89]

Now I am forced to watch the Braves. Luckily, Freddie, Ozzie, Acuna, & Riley are playing pretty damn well AS OF LATE. I had my die hard Braves best friends (all college baseball players) watching Hawks playoffs over the Braves regular season games. And that's rare. Still salty that Mookie Betts made the ASG over Riley. Unfoturtanely, but fortunately, I am Steelers fan so I got nothing on the Falcons. Good luck? Georgia Bulldogs?? This is our year. I wonder how NCAA is going to shape up  with paying college athletes now. Will that help UGA or hurt us? Make sense why they'll be expanding the playoffs. Maybe we'll have a good bball team now. Until then, I'm absolutely positive media will put us like 6th seed in projecting rankings for The Atlanta Hawks but I bet we get wayyyy more national tv coverage. 

Edited July 5, 2021 by AHawks89

[bobrathbun4pres]

Thanks for the memories boys

[RandomFan]

14 hours ago, Sothron said:

If our players and team accept that "just getting there" is good enough then that's the real mistake. 

 

But that is your mistake. You made your whole original comment based around one big IF, and one that has no evidence that I've seen of it being an accurate assessment of the situation with the Hawks.

Jaybird's response was spot-on. Nobody I've seen is saying getting there is good enough. We can be simultaneously appreciative of where they are while recognizing there is still farther to go. 

[NBASupes]

4 hours ago, RedDawg#8 said:

Solo said it best. Summed up the season and playoffs perfectly.

He needs to be in the locker room next year. Maybe as a coach or something lol

 

He's critical to our locker room. Of all of the vets. He was the one I labeled critical 

[RandomFan]

4 hours ago, RedDawg#8 said:

Solo said it best. Summed up the season and playoffs perfectly.

He needs to be in the locker room next year. Maybe as a coach or something lol

 

Good stuff from Solo. Again sounding like someone that expects to be on the team next year. And I hope he is. We obviously don't want him getting playoff minutes, but having a guy like him in the locker room is valuable, especially when they are on a vet minimum contact and can still give you some minutes in the regular season. 

Edited July 5, 2021 by RandomFan

[Spud2nique]

13 hours ago, TheNorthCydeRises said:

The effect of this playoff run will be far reaching.

Today, I have on my Trae Young jersey.   Two people stopped me today, talking about the Hawks.

Keep in mind, I'm in Tennessee, 4.5 hours away from Atlanta.  One guy told me how we played real good, and he wished Trae didn't get hurt.  The other guy flat out asked me where I got my Trae Young jersey.  Because of course, they're not selling Hawks stuff here in Tennessee, outside of a few hats.  I've literally NEVER seen a Hawks jersey being sold in our mall.  Not even a Dominique jersey.

I did buy this Hawks starter jacket back when I was in high school.  But this is the closest to any Hawks style gear that wasn't a hat, being sold here.

 

 

This run will put us on the national radar, with a lot more games on TNT/ESPN.  If we start to play really well on the national stage, the fandom of this team should explode.  Hopefully, it will have the same effect that the Braves had on the South, during their runs in the 1990s.

I have this starter jacket from 1988. I still wear it sometimes. Granted I look like Chris Farley in fat..buff man in a little coat.

[Dejay]

13 hours ago, TheNorthCydeRises said:

 

That may be because neither Smitty nor JJ made it past a Game 6 in the 2nd round.

Maybe that mentality would be different had they made a conference final.  Then again, Trae's mentality as a player is far more aggressive than the mellow personnas that JJ and Smitty put forth.

That's the difference between him and guys like Joe Johnson. We went from talking about avoiding the play-in game a couple of months ago to now being salty as a pork steak about not beating a team with lightyears more experience in the postseason to make the Finals. That's the biggest turnaround from this franchise that any of us have ever seen. 

Although there is a sense of resignation coming from them after defeat, I feel no vibe that they were happy to get this far. In contrast, their predecessors would've been popping bottles and smoking cigars in the locker room after winning more than two games in the second round. 

I think that they'll be hungry to return here and finish a year from now. And at this point, why not?

Edited July 5, 2021 by Dejay

[ATLHawks3]

5 hours ago, RandomFan said:

Good stuff from Solo. Again sounding like someone that expects to be on the team next year. And I hope he is. We obviously don't want him getting playoff minutes, but having a guy like him in the locker room is valuable, especially when they are on a vet minimum contact and can still give you some minutes in the regular season. 

I agree. I don't want to be in a situation where we are playing Solo big minutes, but his voice in the locker room would be really valuable next year.