The Atlanta Hawks came into Toronto to face the Raptors on Friday with the distinction of the hottest team in pro sports right now — and they left just the same.
After beating the Raptors 110-89 (and what a beating it was), Atlanta extends their winning streak to 11 games, and are 25-2 since losing to the Raps on November 26 — six more wins than any team in the NBA.
In that span, the Hawks have been killing it on both ends, fifth in defence and sixth in offence, and are simply overwhelming opponents these days. Just ask the Raptors.
But what’s interesting about the Hawks streak is that this is the same group of players who lost twice already to Toronto this season, and essentially the same team that barely earned an eight-seed last season.
Often, there’s a single event or personnel move that kicks off these kinds of incredible runs — the Raptors went on a tear in the second half of last season after trading Rudy Gay for a bench, while more recently the Detroit Pistons, who just came to town and beat the Raptors as well, dumped Josh Smith and promptly won nine of eleven games.
So then what’s the deal with Atlanta? Talk to the Hawks players and coaches, and they’ll tell you it’s a combination of things — roster continuity, comfort with their coaches system, growing confidence and versatile depth (sound familiar, Raptors fans?) — but one factor stands out above all.
“Al Horford’s healthy,” says Hawks forward Elton Brand, a former first-overall pick. “Those teams you mentioned subtracted a player and got better, but it’s almost like we went out and added a piece.”
A torn pectoral muscle suffered in December 2013 cut Horford’s ‘13-14 season short (the team was in third place at the time), and after dealing with lingering effects earlier this year, the Hawks centre, perhaps the most overlooked two-way post player around today, is making his presence felt — particularly on D.
“He’s the anchor for the defence; he moves his feet on the pick and roll and he traps in all of our defensive sets,” Brand explains.
“You normally think of the point guard as the head of the snake, but Al and our bigs are out there contesting shots, trapping, putting pressure on their guards, so it’s hard for [the Raptors] to score. Everybody talks about our system on offence, but our defence is really where we hang our hat.”
In their second season under head coach — and former San Antonio Spurs assistant — Mike Budenholzer, Atlanta has only two new players on the roster — former OKC Thunder wing Thabo Sefolosha and human can of Red-Bull, Kent Bazemore, who spent the last two seasons with the Golden State Warriors.
“When you come from a winning organization you just fit right in here,” says Bazemore. “The mindset, the work ethic…I caught myself rooting for them in the playoffs against the Pacers last season.”
“Those two guys — Thabo and Kent — they’ve really helped us on that wing,” Brand says. “Baze brings his energy and he’s been scoring latelyWe don’t skip a beat when DeMarre [Carroll] or Kyle [Korver] are on the bench., so those two additions have been great.”
But you’d be hard-pressed to find a player on this roster who isn’t playing out of their skull at the moment. It’s why the Hawks were able to decimate their last two opponents (granted, the meagre Celtics and Sixers) while resting their starters in preparation for Friday’s tilt against the Raptors, as well as a date with the Chicago Bulls on no rest on Saturday.
When a team is in a groove, there’s just an air of confidence surrounding them. And at shootaround Friday afternoon, you could sense just that as the team was focused but loose, clearly a team having a good time playing ball at the moment. Just watch their bench after a big play, like Horford’s monster slam over Amir Johnson on Friday.
If you want a single play that might define the Hawks mindset at the moment look no further than this late-game three by sophomore sensation Dennis Schroder, in which he turns his back to the basket and celebrates before the ball drops through the hoop during the closing minutes of a blowout win over Washington.
“We’re not as cocky as that Dennis turnaround three,” Brand jokes, “but we feel we can compete with any team and win every game. We expect to win. And we still know we can lose any night- our last loss was a stinker, getting blown out by Milwaukee. And before that it was a buzzer-beater by [Tobias] Harris against Orlando. So we’re confident, but cautiously so.”
For his part, Bazemore remembers that Shroeder shot well, and knows it’s a sign of the times for the Hawks.
“It was very ballsy of him,” Bazemore says, “but that’s the type of player he is. As for the rest of us? We’re trying to be humble in victory. We’re not out to showboat, but when you’re a team playing as well as we are, stuff like that happens. We’re just having a good time.”
Winning will do that, won’t it?