Empty the Bench

It’s important not to lose sight of what else happened last night in Atlanta besides a little controversy.

As Hawks color commentator Steve Smith so bluntly put it as Alfred Horford stood at the free-throw line in the waning moments of OT, his team all but assured of a thrilling comeback win over the Toronto Raptors, last year these Hawks would have folded and packed it in when faced with a 17-point deficit in the second half. The fans would have vacated the arena, the players would have resorted to one-on-one isolations with little to no success, the defense would have rested until further notice.

But these Hawks. These Atlanta, playoff-bound Hawks. These Hawks are different.

They’re slowly but surely growing up. They’re anchored by a veteran point guard in Mike Bibby who’s sunk his fair share of clutch shots in big games, and are led by one of the most underrated scorers in the Association in Joe Johnson. They have a stud rookie in the middle—our Rookie of the Year, in fact—named Alfred Horford who comes from a Florida Gators program that won back-to-back NCAA titles during his tenure… and yes, he played a major role in that success. And of course there’s the mercurial Josh Smith, who on any night is as capable of hanging 25 points, 14 boards, 5 assists, 3 steals, and 5 blocks on his opponent as he is of letting his screws come loose and doing something stupid. But he’s starting to get it, kids… and by the way, he won’t turn 23-years-old until December.

In short, the Hawks are getting better. They’re no longer a laughingstock with no future and no direction. Sure, there’s still some pieces that need to be added to the puzzle, but they’re on the right track. Finally. Exhale with me, Hawks fans—at long last, you have something other than Dominique Wilkins and Spud Webb to be proud about. It’s been a long time coming.

With the 127-120 win, the Hawks clinched their fifth straight victory. They gave themselves a solid, not-quite-insurmountable-but-pretty-damn-close four game lead over the New Jersey Nets and Indiana Pacers for the 8th and final spot in the Eastern Conference playoffs. And perhaps just as importantly, they learned a little bit more about themselves and what they’re capable of. I know we’re talking about a sub-.500 team that will draw the Boston Celtics in the first round (read: done in four or five).

But the last time we were talking about the Atlanta Hawks and their playoff prospects, the year was 1999. Dangerous Y2K viruses threatened to shut the world down and throw us back into the Stone Age. Michael Jordan had just retired (again). And I was still a college undergrad. So, yeah… it’s been a minute.

More on the Atlanta Hawks and their big win over the Raptors after the jump…

I had already turned this one off when ETB gadfly Andrew Thell texted that the Hawks were pushing overtime. Nothing against the Raptors, but they don’t strike me as an especially exciting team to watch whether they’re winning or especially when they’re losing, so after they lit up the Hawks in the third quarter on 15-20 shooting as a team and built up that huge lead, I figured Atlanta was donesy.

But like the Father & Son Construction mantra, “no job’s too big, no job’s too small” for a motivated NBA team who hustles, plays defense, and hits their three-pointers. The Hawks limited the ice-cold Raptors to just 16 points in the final quarter, and their stars stepped up when they needed them most. Horford (12 points, 14 boards) grabbed rebounds. Johnson (28 points, 11 assists, 7 boards) started going off. J-Smoove (24 points, 9 boards, 2 steals, 2 blocks) helped lock down every frontcourt scorer not named Chris Bosh. And then there was the most recent addition to the Atlanta Hawks, PG Mike Bibby, taking full advantage of Toronto’s inexplicable decision to leave him unguarded from beyond the arc and exploding with a few threes, including the big one that sent it to OT.

In the early moments of the extra stanza, the two teams traded baskets and it looked like double-overtime was a real possibility. But then came the backbreakers: two Josh Smith longballs, one of which was a fadeaway as the shot clock ticked down to zero. The crowd went ballistic, Smith followed suit, and before long the Raptors slunk back into the visitor’s locker room, losers. They’re now in a three-way tie with the Washington Wizards and Philadelphia 76ers for middle-of-the-pack seeding in the East (5, 6, 7). If there’s any consolation following this tough loss, however, it’s in the schedule: six of their last seven games pit them against sub-.500 teams.

Back to the Hawks. “We’re confident,” said Smith. “We feel good about ourselves. We feel like the sky’s the limit for this team. We’re not taking nights off.” Hawks fans would have likely settled for just that from their team—not taking games off—before the season began. Now they probably have at least two playoff games to look forward to at Phillips Arena. Who cares if they don’t have much of a chance at upsetting the Celtics. They have something else they haven’t had in a long, long time: a future.

Tags: Atlanta Hawks, Josh Smith, Joe Johnson, Mike Bibby, Al Horford