The Atlanta Hawks Look to Make Strides in '09-'10 Season

By Joyce Fried

The Atlanta Hawks were a good team in the 08'-09' season. The Hawks were swept in the second round of the playoffs by the Cleveland Cavaliers - this would suggest the Hawks are yet to take the leap into one of the better Eastern Conference teams.

The Hawks finished second in the Southeast division behind the Orlando Magic with a 47-35 record and were swept in the second round of the playoffs. The first round win against the Miami Heat wasn't that impressive either - every win and loss was in the double digits.

The 08' playoffs against the Boston Celtics proved that the Atlanta Hawks were on the rise and should compete for the Eastern Conference Championship in the near future.

The Hawks did improve on their previous season - many feel the Hawks took a step backwards in 09'. Not being able to win 50 games in the Eastern Conference isn't very impressive by many accounts. If a team is a serious playoff threat -winning 50 games should be accomplished.

It will be very tough to over take the Orlando Magic in the Southeast division this season. While the Magic have some new pieces in place surrounding Dwight Howard - they are still the favorites.

Rounding out the team are other valuable pieces, which include the ever so talented Josh Smith, point guard Mike Bibby, newly acquired Jamal Crawford, rookie Jeff Teague, and others.

The only concern I see is the lack of scoring for this team. They must improve on putting up bigger points if they want to make some noise.

Look for the Hawks to build on their success from the last two years. This is a talented, young team that can't be slept on looking forward. Hawks fans have many reasons to be excited. - 29943

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