Psychological barrier

[TheNorthCydeRises]

We're looking at it again. The "Berlin Wall" for these current group of Hawks. It's the thing that is probably keeping us from really taking off as a team. Getting ABOVE .500 For the schizophrenic fan base, it's a mark that we all look at to really judge if we really do have the potential to be a good team and make the playoffs. Getting above .500 this "late" in the season would be an early Christmas present and the ultimate ray of hope. To the players, especially to the 2 - 4 year guys who have been here for all the losing, it's probably an even more important mark to reach. They're in unchartered waters right now. They've never experienced this. For the rookies, it's huge, because they don't have to first rid themseves of a losing mindset, in order to become better and more confident players. Portland is absolutely on fire right now. I believe it's an 8-game win streak right now. They've gone from a potentially 34-win season without Oden, to a legit playoff threat. And you can see when they step out on the court these days, that they EXPECT to win . . not hope or stay close enough to win. They're 13 - 12 right now. I think tonight's game is the biggest game of this franchise in 8 years. This game won't derail the season if we lose, but it will be a huge psychological weight lifted off the franchise, if we win. We play the team that usually has a crowd advantage in our own building, in Miami. Even with the win over them this year, and even with them struggling, they represent the "Berlin Wall" to us, more than any other team in the league. Tonight, 1/2 of Philips will probably initally cheer for D-Wade and Shaq, like they always do. But this young team has the ability to quickly turn this game into a true home court advantage. Beating the Heat tonight means . . . - we're 5 - 1 vs the Southeast, with 4 wins over the 2 teams that have given us the most trouble over the past 3 years ( MIA & CHAR ). - we've won 10 of our last 15 games, something this team hasn't done in a long time, and never in Woody's tenure as coach. - it's a chance to totally win over this fan base and create a buzz about the Hawks in ATL. - and most important . . we're above .500 after 25 games, for the first time in 8 years. For a franchise that has been the butt of jokes for almost a decade, those are huge accomplishments. Getting above .500 may even have them believing that they're a really good team. And when players actually start believing this, it translates into more hustle and desire to win on the court, just like it has in Portland.

[TheNorthCydeRises]

Just thougt I'd break up all of the negative Chill v Marvin talk. There is defnitely a bigger issue to be talking about.

[West]

I agree, and I'll be there tonight to cheer our hawks on!

[exodus]

Quote:

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Just thougt I'd break up all of the negative Chill v Marvin talk. There is defnitely a bigger issue to be talking about.

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There is a bigger issue, but it isn't the one you mentioned.

This week could be the begining of a real division race. The Hawks are only 4 games behind Orlando and 1.5 behind the Wizards.

[TheNorthCydeRises]

LOL . . . where are the paragraph breaks. I hope this isn't being seen as one big azz paragraph. It looked right in the preview. Damn PDA.

[West]

yea man, its one huge paragraph.. i had to follow the sentences with my mouse cursor..haha

[TheNorthCydeRises]

Orlando have games with Houston, Utah, and Boston in their next 3 games. So you're right. This could get real interesting real quick.

[TheDude]

Good post. In order for us to compete for division races or make the playoffs, we first have to do the most important thing, and that's getting a winning mindset.

If you noticed how we ALMOST faltered at the end vs Utha, it showed that we didnt have that winning attitude to finish off the game.

Getting to above .500 this late in the season would be huge. And getting to above .500 this EARLY in the season would be huge also.

[coachx]

Your right !

This could be the moment in time where these young Hawks finally "Break on Through To The Other Side" Jim Morrison style !

Hope they do it and never look back !

This is where a Phil Jackson or Pat Riley type of coach comes in and approaches the psyclopogical and mental make up of the team with a very unconventional approach or movie to change or help evolve the mindset. Woody is a Indiana guy...could a team movie noight of "Hoosier's" be in order......maybe some thing other then basketball like some old classic Heavyweight upset fights ? Maybe "Gladiator" or something along those lines. Maybe he will read some quotes from Ghandi or a Dali-Lama (Spelling ?) on mental preparation and visualizing the game like Phil Jackson has been known to do.

X's & 0's are fine and dandy but sometimes you need another fresh approach.

The mind is a powerful thing once you convince it of what you Will Do and not what you Can or Could Do.

[atlien]

why oh why must I have a huge exam tomorrow

[Swatguy]

I believe guys know they are good and they know they can be better. Looking up and down the roster guys come here from Duke, Stanford, UNC, Florida, Indiana, Detroit, Pheonix, places and teams that won. Athletes have a chip installed and most cannot have "loser" in their "mindset". They are "born winners" by default. I believe sheer maturation equates to more wins as a team. It is fans that hold onto the negative and carry the loser mindset. We do have four games facing to measure the maturation. A Wednesday and Friday, a Wednesday and Saturday. I like the spacing and the opponents. The chance to propell into '08 close to first place.