by Micah Hart
The Hawks are in free-fall right now, having gone 2-7 in their last nine games after a 6-0 start. All around the team there are whispers of discontent, rumors that players are bickering with each other and that new head coach Larry Drew has perhaps already lost contol of the locker room.
Last night Atlanta fell 107-101 in overtime at New Jersey, the team’s third straight loss, and coming off the heels of Monday’s 99-76 embarrassment courtesy of the Celtics, the picture looks bleak at present. Which is why I’m here today to say…everything is going to be cool, Atlanta.
Relax. Take a deep breath. Now take a look at the Eastern Conference standings. See that? You may be struggling, Hawks, but aside from Boston and Orlando, so is everyone else. At 8-7, you are still in 6th place in the East, and only a half-game out of third. No one else is playing particularly well — in fact the East as a whole (Boston aside) has been one big ball of underachieve.
So yeah, there are some things you need to figure out (what to do with Jamal Crawford, how to get Joe Johnson untracked, Josh Smith’s jumpers, etc), but even if this streak of bad play continues, be patient. The East isn’t going anywhere. Besides, it could be worse. You could be Miami.
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Catch up on every single game-winning buzzer beater during the season and see how it rates on the Horry Scale.
