It has been a long time in the making for the NBA’s Atlanta Hawks. Sunday afternoon, the team won its first playoff series since 1999.
In the best-of-7 first round series, this was Game-7 on the Hawks’ home court in Atlanta. After a tight opening quarter of play, the Hawks took control to lead by 13 at halftime, and enjoy as big as a 19-point lead in the game. In the end, the Hawks walked-off the court with a 91-78 victory, and ticket to the Eastern Conference semifinals for a meeting with the tough Cleveland Cavaliers.
This type of excitement--and success--was nowhere to be found for years. And as recently as four years ago, the Hawks under head coach Mike Woodson won only 13 games out of 82 played. Now this:
In the best-of-7 first round series, this was Game-7 on the Hawks’ home court in Atlanta. After a tight opening quarter of play, the Hawks took control to lead by 13 at halftime, and enjoy as big as a 19-point lead in the game. In the end, the Hawks walked-off the court with a 91-78 victory, and ticket to the Eastern Conference semifinals for a meeting with the tough Cleveland Cavaliers.
This type of excitement--and success--was nowhere to be found for years. And as recently as four years ago, the Hawks under head coach Mike Woodson won only 13 games out of 82 played. Now this:
"You venture out with a young team...it takes time. And this team has grown. Do we still have ways to go?...sure we do as a basketball team. But I sure like the direction of where we're headed. I really do."One of the keys of the team is guard Joe Johnson, who took the leap of faith to sign as a free agent with the Hawks after that 13-win season. Now fast forward to the present, Johnson and the Hawks get the reward of facing top-seeded Cleveland and league MVP Lebron James in Round-2. The Hawks and Cavaliers open their series in Cleveland tomorrow night.
