Progress

[KB21]

Progress.

That is what the Hawks are making this year. After a 2-16 start to the season, the Hawks are 12-15 in their last 27 games. That's a .444 winning percentage over that span. If they continue playing at a .444 clip, they will win between 15 and 16 more games on the season. That will put them at 29-30 wins, a tremendous improvement over last season's 13 wins. A 17 game improvement is astonishing.

Progress.

The team has improved a lot in certain areas since last season. First off, it's obvious that this is a much better perimeter shooting team than last season's team was. Atlanta was in the bottom 3 of the league when it came to three point shooting. This year, they are top 5.

Secondly, the team is shooting free throws much better than they did last season.

Thirdly, I think the ball movement has improved a lot since last season, and a lot of that has to do with the fact that Atlanta now has a playmaker in Joe Johnson as the lead guard.

Another area that has improved is the ability to get out on the break. I think there is still some improvements yet to be made on this, and a lot of those will be tied into the defensive improvements this team needs to make.

There's no doubt in my mind that going into next season, the Hawks will be in a position to add the types of players they need to get to become a better overall defensive team. The Hawks will also have more chemistry next year, and those defensive rotations may finally click with these young players at that time.

In the 2006-2007 season, 40-45 wins will be a reasonable expectation, IMO, as well as a playoff push.

Progress.

[Duff_Man]

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Progress.

That is what the Hawks are making this year. After a 2-16 start to the season, the Hawks are 12-15 in their last 27 games. That's a .444 winning percentage over that span. If they continue playing at a .444 clip, they will win between 15 and 16 more games on the season. That will put them at 29-30 wins, a tremendous improvement over last season's 13 wins. A 17 game improvement is astonishing.

Progress.

The team has improved a lot in certain areas since last season. First off, it's obvious that this is a much better perimeter shooting team than last season's team was. Atlanta was in the bottom 3 of the league when it came to three point shooting. This year, they are top 5.

Secondly, the team is shooting free throws much better than they did last season.

Thirdly, I think the ball movement has improved a lot since last season, and a lot of that has to do with the fact that Atlanta now has a playmaker in Joe Johnson as the lead guard.

Another area that has improved is the ability to get out on the break. I think there is still some improvements yet to be made on this, and a lot of those will be tied into the defensive improvements this team needs to make.

There's no doubt in my mind that going into next season, the Hawks will be in a position to add the types of players they need to get to become a better overall defensive team. The Hawks will also have more chemistry next year, and those defensive rotations may finally click with these young players at that time.

In the 2006-2007 season, 40-45 wins will be a reasonable expectation, IMO, as well as a playoff push.

Progress.

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I agree. It's nice to see some progress. Can't wait for the haters to come in and pee on the thread, but we are getting better.

[ATLJA316]

well put!

[TROUBLEMAN69]

Good post KB21, which is why I find it strange that we have all the fire Woody posts. The greatest defensive coach in history could not make this a good defensive team, especially with the lack of a big man with defensive skills. Josh Smith is the only shotblocker on the team, but some people seem to want the Hawks to be the Southern Pistons.

We may disagree on the Paul/Williams draft choice, but we both seem to understand that this Hawks team is a work in progress. I believe it will be a successful season if the Hawks continue to progress towards at least doubling their win total from last season. The draft and whatever the Hawks get for Al Harrington, along with the improvement of the youngsters, will put this team in a position to be deeper and better next season.

[Spiral]

Good post! My personal hope for us at the beginning of the year was for us to win 30 games. I think we have a good shot to get there. At this point, I still expect us to lose the majority of our games. I do want to see us play hard and thats what we've been doing lately. Tonight is going to be a good test with Detroit. They put the game away in the 2nd quarter the last time we played them. This is one of those games I don't expect us to win, but I do hope we play hard and are at least in a position to battle for the win in the 4th quarter.

[KB21]

We don't play Detroit till Tuesday. We play Washington tonight.

[Popeye]

That's good, we have a chance for a 4 game win streak

go hawks

[DrReality]

The critical issue for this team is that they mature and learn to play together. That has happened slowly over the past 6 weeks. They've lost a bunch of close games that makes it hard to see how they've grown at times, but it's starting to show. A lot of it is a natural learning curve with the new additions. Hopefully they will start to put together some 2-3 game winning streaks. It's been great to see the excitement on the bench too. With a little bit of confidence they could start to turn the corner. Given where they've come from this year . . . . the devastating loss of a team member, they've done fairly well. Hopefully the worst is behind them. Also appears Joe J. is emerging as a leader. That could be a huge step with so many young guys on the squad. A little bit of confidence could do wonders.

[Packfill]

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In the 2006-2007 season, 40-45 wins will be a reasonable expectation, IMO, as well as a playoff push.

Progress.

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I just wanted to take the opportunity to call you a hypocrite. A few weeks ago you called me a "moron" for suggesting those very same expectations for next year.

[mrhonline]

I'm not too worried about the overall record, but I've been pleased that the Hawks have lately been able to beat teams they are supposed to beat.

Now, that's a sign of progress.

[Wretch]

[DJlaysitup]

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In the 2006-2007 season, 40-45 wins will be a reasonable expectation, IMO, as well as a playoff push.

Progress.

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I just wanted to take the opportunity to call you a hypocrite. A few weeks ago you called me a "moron" for suggesting those very same expectations for next year.

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re: name-calling...his satus as a hypocrite has and your status as a moron are not mutually exclusive