Atlanta Hawks: Resilient Comebacks Are A Promising Sign
By Adam McGee
As the Houston Rockets sit atop the NBA pile having won all of their opening six games, thanks to the bizarre nature of the schedule the Atlanta Hawks have only played half as many times. With a record of 1-2 for those three games, one could be forgiven for suggesting that Atlanta has had a disappointing start, but that is not necessarily the case. The saying goes that the box score doesn’t always tell the whole story, and the same applies for the scoreline itself.
Atlanta’s victory came at home to the injury plagued Indiana Pacers, in a game the Hawks would have been expected to win, while their two defeats came on the road against the Toronto Raptors and San Antonio Spurs, two teams that by general consensus seem to be considered better than the Hawks. So on the surface, there really is nothing unremarkable, and the Hawks have done just what was expected of them.
By delving a little deeper into the team’s two defeats, something much more significant emerges though.
Starting with the game with the Toronto Raptors, the Hawks trailed by as much as 19 points at the beginning of the fourth quarter, having looked a little rusty for most of the night as they began their season up North. Even though many fans may have given up hope at that stage, it was clear that the team hadn’t. Behind a 15-2 run comprising mostly of Jeff Teague and Mike Scott, Atlanta found themselves within two possessions with 90 seconds remaining and the game on the line.
Having fouled Raptors star DeMar DeRozan, the Hawks were hoping desperately for missed free throws, and unbelievably they got their wish as DeRozan missed both, yet Atlanta then committed the cardinal sin by not boxing out, as DeRozan came up with his own rebound from his second miss. The Raptors would then go on to win by seven.
A similar theme emerged when exactly a week later the Hawks traveled to San Antonio to be hosted by the reigning champions. Against the Spurs, the Hawks trailed by as many as 17 points at one stage in the second half, and had to gradually chip away to pull themselves back into the game. This time, it was perhaps a surprising face who managed to help them to do just that, as Dennis Schröder provided a sharp burst of energy and production.
Schröder had nine points in eight minutes of play, and with an uncharacteristic one-handed dunk between Kawhi Leonard and Tim Duncan pulled his team back to within one point with eight minutes left on the clock. The Hawks went on to lead, and with ten seconds left the game was all tied up, but a soft foul call in the dying seconds would allow Manu Ginobili to ice the victory for the Spurs.
So, there are two ways of looking at those Atlanta Hawks defeats. First of all, there’s the negative approach of, they should never have fallen behind that much in the first place, and their execution was poor when it mattered. As much as that’s true, in the first week of the season it can almost be expected.
Secondly, and more importantly, the positives of the character and fight the Atlanta Hawks showed are pretty significant. It’s evidence of a strong team unit, and across an 82-game season, that’s pretty important.
Even the best teams in the league are going to put themselves in big holes in games this season, just like the Hawks did in San Antonio and Toronto. The big difference is that the bad teams will roll over and accept defeat, while the good teams find a way back into the game.
The Hawks are going to be better than a lot of people expect this season, and Spurs coach Gregg Popovich noted this after Wednesday’s game:
"“They’re a great basketball team. Bud has done a great job with them, they’re going to be one of the best teams in the East.”"
So, although the Hawks will be hoping not to have to comeback too often, if they want to have a great season, it’s nice for them to know they have that type of resilience in their arsenal.