Next year is the 10 year anniversary of the 60 win 2014/15 Hawks

[Sothron]

Just had to shake my head when Mrs. Sothron pointed this out to me. I can't believe we are quickly approaching TEN YEARS since that magical season. 

What are you favorite memories of that team? The perfect month of January? The multiple All Star selections? The most balanced Hawks team in franchise history?  We were 6th in offensive efficiency and 6th in defensive efficiency. 5th on offense for total points and 5th on defense for points allowed if you prefer raw stats.

Another more pressing question perhaps: Look at that team for those of us old enough to remember them. Where is this current team and front office in relation to that team and its front office? Do you feel we are on the same level? Worse? Better? 

The only downside to that wonderful 60 win team is that it soon was broken up and guys left. I feel like this current team doesn't have that issue so much.

Let's take a moment and reflect on that great team, the literal best team in Atlanta Hawks history, and talk about it. Good and bad. I took a page from @NBASupes book and have a realistic 2014/15 franchise mode going in NBA 2k and having a blast with that 60 win team.

[Spud2nique]

6 hours ago, Sothron said:

I can't believe we are quickly approaching TEN YEARS

Yup, a friend and I discussed the quick passing of time last night over dinner, blink of an eye, it’s gone.  

 

6 hours ago, Sothron said:

What are you favorite memories of that team?

Team unity, grinding and playing as a unit. We were a well oiled machine with folks who knew their roles, and the team came together perfectly.

 

6 hours ago, Sothron said:

The perfect month of January?

That was crazy, best month of my Hawks fanhood most likely. 4 all star type dudes, 5 with DMC.

 

6 hours ago, Sothron said:

The multiple All Star selections? The most balanced Hawks team in franchise history? 

Yes and yes.

 

6 hours ago, Sothron said:

Where is this current team and front office in relation to that team

Well which part of it. Things got messy with the Ferry/Deng and Ferry in general comments. No denying Ferry was good, at least for that period, Landry hasn’t done a damn thing but hire Korver I think. 
 

This team has more star power in Trae (superstar), I mean we had Sap, Hor, Teague and Korver but none as good as Trae individually. Having said that, the 2014-15 would be the current team by 12-15 points imo.

6 hours ago, Sothron said:

The only downside to that wonderful 60 win team is that it soon was broken up and guys left. I feel like this current team doesn't have that issue so much.

 

6 hours ago, Sothron said:

The only downside to that wonderful 60 win team is that it soon was broken up and guys left. I feel like this current team doesn't have that issue so much.

Yup all on the down side of their prime probably with the exception of Teague coming out in 2009, DMC and maybe Hor, but Sap and Korver seemed to be winding down a tad a couple years after that, or at least a few years.

 

I’m hoping this team can gel like that one, gonna take a bit of work.

[bird_dirt]

Favorite parts are absolutely the unbeaten January and everything around it. Shaking my head as the month went on like, “how in the world do they keep doing it?”  Some of those wins were by the skin on their teeth. 

The HaWWWWWWWWWWK’s twitter account adding Ws to their name until they ran up against character limits. 

Then that success giving all five our our starters Player of the Month honors. 
I think that is still the only time in history a team has won every game in a month and the only time five guys have had that shared POM honor. 

That propelled them into the All Star team with Bud coaching, and him putting all five on the floor together briefly (another first in history I believe). Hawks against the Best of the West!

Then the biggest heartbreak thanks to Dirty Delly and the NYPD. That team needed every part of it to run on all cylinders to succeed, which worked great until it didn’t.

That team was so great bringing in underutilized/underappreciated vets to add to solid young players. The only problem is the vets had limited shelf life so they couldn’t last to sustain long term success. And Alice leaving for greener pastures. 

[Diesel]

Let's talk about the winningness Hawks team.

1.  My favorite part of that team was the month that all of the players were player of the Month. 

 

It was a highlight that I think will not be matched for a while. 

2.  It was good to see 4 Allstars out of this team.  They deserved it. 

3.  This team vs. That team.

Offensively, this team could be better than that team.   I know that team was efficient because of Kyle's amazing 3 pt shooting and because of Everybody could pass.   But it's something to have a great playmaker and goto scorer.  Put em on Skates was one of my favorite players and definitely could score... but he wasn't a true PG.   Trae is a true PG.  He is a true superstar PG. Definitely the best to put on a Hawks Uniform and maybe the best player to ever wear a Hawks uniform.   The wildcard is JJ. If JJ comes back and continues to average about 42% from three and is the fast break guy..I think this team may be better offensively.

Defensively though, that team is miles ahead.   I mean, Sap and Horf were a great duo for the frontcourt.   Even though undersized, they were both great positional defenders.   They were vet enough to know where to be.  The great glue for that team was DMC.   DMC at the time was the guy who would pick up anybody and everybody and would hinder them all day long.  Our problem starts with the PF position, the guard positions, and the SF position.   Clint is our best defensive player.  Mainly because of knowledge, motor, and technique.  But he doesn't have the force behind him to make him standout the way that the 60 win Hawks team had. 

4.  That Front Office vs. This Front Office. 

Ferry was astute at trading for value.  His team building was the strength of his GMship.  He knew how to put pieces together that fit... and this was readily seen when he was gone. 

But But But...  He made major mistakes. 

• He allowed DMC's contract and Millsap's contract to be up in the same offseason without trying to extend one or the other beforehand.. and that led to the breakup of the team. 
• He never drafted well. 
  • John Jenkins.
  • Lucas and Dennis.
  • Adrien Payne

 

The Story on Landry is just now being played out so it's hard to know how well he has moved. 

From the draft, he has brought in a lot of players with high upside.  From trade, he has made some heady deals.   Again, though, we don't know how much room he has from the FO. 

In Summary, it's definitely a team to be celebrated because they were the winningness Hawks team. 

 

 

[NBASupes]

9 hours ago, Sothron said:

Just had to shake my head when Mrs. Sothron pointed this out to me. I can't believe we are quickly approaching TEN YEARS since that magical season. 

What are you favorite memories of that team? The perfect month of January? The multiple All Star selections? The most balanced Hawks team in franchise history?  We were 6th in offensive efficiency and 6th in defensive efficiency. 5th on offense for total points and 5th on defense for points allowed if you prefer raw stats.

Another more pressing question perhaps: Look at that team for those of us old enough to remember them. Where is this current team and front office in relation to that team and its front office? Do you feel we are on the same level? Worse? Better? 

The only downside to that wonderful 60 win team is that it soon was broken up and guys left. I feel like this current team doesn't have that issue so much.

Let's take a moment and reflect on that great team, the literal best team in Atlanta Hawks history, and talk about it. Good and bad. I took a page from @NBASupes book and have a realistic 2014/15 franchise mode going in NBA 2k and having a blast with that 60 win team.

That squad was insane. I even got them playing like that year in 2k where they all know how to play with and without the ball at a high level and there aren't any #1 options. 

[Wretch]

It's bittersweet for me.

The team was fantastic, but for the first time in 30 years I had completely given up on the Hawks.  At the beginning of the season, I saw another middling team and after years of the treadmill, I had enough of it.  Danny Ferry's vision didn't sit well with me.  A blue collar team, without a star, building through late 1st rounders and whatever decent FA's would agree to come here.  Pete Babcock and Lenny Wilkens had an ideology that they called "win without losing."  The idea was the same: make the playoffs, stay out of the lottery, focus on team over prolific individual contributors.  At the end of the day, this is a star driven league and pretty much, the path to acquire star talent is in the opposite direction of this strategy.

It was hard watching the team succeed at first.  It wasn't so much putting my foot in my mouth.  I honestly felt horrible for trashing the team and giving up.  I was a full on hater and it was completely out of character for me. I have a very limited tolerance for front office guys and coaches, but  I ALWAYS see the best in every player we have.

In terms of comparing our front office now to then...

I didn't like Danny Ferry, all of the in-fighting, and the implications of his own words and his comfort level with the chatter taking place behind the scenes. From the beginning of Ferry's tenure to the start of Trae's era, I was almost completely disconnected from the team.  At one point, I had even left the Squawk as we were polarized over the circus that was our front office.  Needless to say, I appreciate where we are as an organization infinitely more - regardless of our current record.

In terms of the team itself, there was nothing to not like.  I didn't have a lot of faith that it was sustainable, but they were a joy to watch in the moment.  Even though it was a total team effort, I believe Kyle Korver was the star of the show.  We were dialed in and hitting 3's when we needed to...but KK was the big gun punishing the defense. 

Man, if I could go back in time and put prime KK on this team..........

[AHF]

The balance on that team was just incredible.  Sap and Horford were strong defenders, elite big man passers, and good scorers with only size being a limitation.  DMC was the all-around blue collar wing combined with the elite shooting of Korver and elite defense of Thabo.  Teague was a serviceable point.  Baze and Dennis were solid backups in the backcourt with Pero and Moose spreading the floor in the frontcourt.  Everyone had a role to play and when January arrived they gelled together in a way few teams ever do.

That January was the ultimate highlight for me.  Every game was a joy with an exciting brand of basketball that felt a bit like Hoosiers with “team” prevailing over brighter stars on other teams.  So much fun and the excitement just built on itself game after game.  Joyful basketball.  
 

The playoffs were always going to be a challenge but having two key cogs wiped out by absolute BS was tough.  It hurt getting curb stomped by LeBron’s Cavs (who had injuries of their own but the game’s best player to keep them more whole).

[JayBirdHawk]

They ran like a perfectly well oiled machine. Loved it at the peak in January.

Unfortunately, once one cog became loose, it wasn't pretty in the end, but what a ride that season was. Philip's Arena during that run was DEAFENING!!!!!!

  - All Love!!!

[Final_quest]

I remember when they put us on top of the power ranking before January, and it may have even had a sarcastic comment like, "Why not just put the Hawks here for this week."  Then we kept on winning and they couldn't take us out of the top spot.

The thing about that team at its peak is we didn't just win close games.  The games were over mid way through the 4th quarter.  It was domination.  

Just the feeling of being the best for a sustained period of time.  Never experienced that as a Hawks fan.  The media didn't know what to do with us either because we had no stars.  

[macdaddy]

Remember those season though when the season started you knew it would be the Cavs and GS in the finals?  Those years sucked.   I'm glad there's more parity these days. 

[Diesel]

As ranking goes..  top 5 Hawks teams... the 60 win is the winningest but I don't consider them the strongest??  What?  The strongest wasn't the best coached.   Here's how I rank it and why...

1.  2010-2011 Atlanta Hawks. 

Yeah.. a 44 win team.  Why Diesel Why?  If those players would have been coached correctly...    

Bibby, Johnson, Crawford, Smoove, and Horf with Teague, Zaza, Marvin,  and captain Kirk off the bench.   This team beat Shaq and the Magic 4-2.  They also put fear into the Bulls with MVP Derrick Rose.   I don't believe that they were coached well.   If Bud had these guys, they would have been in the finals. 

2.  2014-2015 Atlanta Hawks.

60 win team goes without saying.  The only problem with this team is that they lacked depth. 

3.  2007-2008 Atlanta Hawks.

Another one of those.  Yeah, first round loss to the Celtics.  In 7 though.  This was a nonmodern NBA team.  Nobody was good at hitting that 3. 

4.  2020-2021 Atlanta Hawks. 

If this team had Depth and a second ball handler...

5.  1997-1998 Atlanta Hawks.

Any team with Smitty and Deke and Mookie is a great team.  It's a strong possibility that this team can beat all the rest. Just think Deke averaging 3.4 bpg.

I limited myself to 30 yrs.  I know Nique had some teams.  There's an anniversary there that i would rather let go...

 

 

[Sothron]

31 minutes ago, Diesel said:

As ranking goes..  top 5 Hawks teams... the 60 win is the winningest but I don't consider them the strongest??  What?  The strongest wasn't the best coached.   Here's how I rank it and why...

1.  2010-2011 Atlanta Hawks. 

Yeah.. a 44 win team.  Why Diesel Why?  If those players would have been coached correctly...    

Bibby, Johnson, Crawford, Smoove, and Horf with Teague, Zaza, Marvin,  and captain Kirk off the bench.   This team beat Shaq and the Magic 4-2.  They also put fear into the Bulls with MVP Derrick Rose.   I don't believe that they were coached well.   If Bud had these guys, they would have been in the finals. 

2.  2014-2015 Atlanta Hawks.

60 win team goes without saying.  The only problem with this team is that they lacked depth. 

3.  2007-2008 Atlanta Hawks.

Another one of those.  Yeah, first round loss to the Celtics.  In 7 though.  This was a nonmodern NBA team.  Nobody was good at hitting that 3. 

4.  2020-2021 Atlanta Hawks. 

If this team had Depth and a second ball handler...

5.  1997-1998 Atlanta Hawks.

Any team with Smitty and Deke and Mookie is a great team.  It's a strong possibility that this team can beat all the rest. Just think Deke averaging 3.4 bpg.

I limited myself to 30 yrs.  I know Nique had some teams.  There's an anniversary there that i would rather let go...

 

 

The Nique team that had Moses Malone as a free agent and the trade for Reggie Theus could have won a title if Kevin Willis hadn't missed the entire season with a knee injury. Off memory this was either 1988 or 1989.

[Chrimturn]

Always had a personal dislike for Paul Pierce.  I always respected him as a player.  Clutch, money, automatic, all of the above.  Was probably because of the formation of the Super Teams (PP, KG, RA Celtics…..Lebron lost me when he went to Miami, blah blah blah).

Playoffs, in the twilight of his career he banks in that buzzer beater in game 3.  A realization of “The Truth”.  The feeling of A LIFETIME of living on the short end of the stick.  I could’ve sworn he looked at me through the TV and grinned.

Fast forward to the end of Game 6.  This mutha….  wait…sorry…not this time Paul.  (John Wall or no John Wall) Was a personal victory for me.  What a feeling.

Edited December 22, 2023 by Chrimturn

[bird_dirt]

4 hours ago, Diesel said:

Let's talk about the winningness Hawks team.

1.  My favorite part of that team was the month that all of the players were player of the Month. 

 

It was a highlight that I think will not be matched for a while. 

2.  It was good to see 4 Allstars out of this team.  They deserved it. 

 

 

 

Is my mind playing tricks with me? I could have sworn all five of our starters made the all star team and that Bud played all of them together for a couple minutes during the game. 

[JayBirdHawk]

11 minutes ago, bird_dirt said:

Is my mind playing tricks with me? I could have sworn all five of our starters made the all star team and that Bud played all of them together for a couple minutes during the game. 

DMC did not make the ASG.

[bird_dirt]

10 minutes ago, JayBirdHawk said:

DMC did not make the ASG.

That damn multiverse playing tricks on me. 

[Diesel]

2 hours ago, Sothron said:

The Nique team that had Moses Malone as a free agent and the trade for Reggie Theus could have won a title if Kevin Willis hadn't missed the entire season with a knee injury. Off memory this was either 1988 or 1989.

Yeah.. I put a cap on the years I went back because of uhm....  cough cough... 1993-1994.

 

[benhillboy]

Bud molded so many fringe players into useful pieces.  Pero, Baze, Shelvin, I never even heard of DMC before he got here.  Moose is still in the league due to his formative years under Bud, Money Mike not so much

You could still get a great seat versus the Warriors for a reasonable price.  Best game I ever been to.

Watching Kyle move and shoot and Thabo glide across the floor every night was an absolute blast for me.  Kyle led the team in minutes with an obscene TS% of .699!  Thabo had a microscopic 100 defensive rating.  Hawks would have to tear everything down to identify players who can be that efficient and get to a near 6 point differential again

Edited December 24, 2023 by benhillboy