The Atlanta Hawks have reached the playoffs in nine consecutive seasons. In 2008, they took the Boston Celtics big three of Ray Allen, Kevin Garnett and Paul Pierce to game seven in the opening round. The Celtics won the NBA Finals that year.
In 2009, the Hawks made it to the Conference Semi-finals for the first time since 1999 and were swept by LeBron James and the Cleveland Cavaliers. The next two years they were swept by Dwight Howard's Orlando Magic and were eliminated after 6 games against Derrick Rose and the Chicago Bulls.
Three more years of hard fought first round exits and then in 2014-2015, the Hawks go for their best record in franchise history and get to the Eastern Conference Finals against Lebron James, Kyrie Irving and Kevin Love. Guess what happened... Swept and sent home packing. Irving and Love were both injured during the series with the Hawks and still James was too much.
Which brings us to this most recent playoff performance. A fully loaded Cavaliers team swept the Hawks in the Conference Semi-finals.
As frustrating as early exits are for the Atlanta Hawks and their fans, the bright side is that the team is good enough to make the playoffs. As long as Lebron and his minions are reigning over the Eastern Conference, the Hawks won't be advancing any further than they have been.
The formula to making the playoffs has been working, but now, the Hawks are going backwards and it began with trading away point guard Jeff Teague. Teague spent seven seasons with the Hawks and had shown improvement each year. He was an All-star during the 2014-15 season and ran coach Mike Budehnolzer's offense efficiently. Last season he shot 43 percent from the field and 40 percent from the three-point line.
Teague was a major part of making Atlanta's offense run smoothly and here are five reasons the Hawks will miss him.
1) Dennis Schroeder
OK, Schroeder is nice. Few other guards are as quick to the rim as Teague's replacement. Hardly any are as pesky and aggressive on defense. Schroeder will be a fine point guard for the Hawks, but will he be better than Teague? This is the gamble the Hawks are making and they might've played their cards too early given that Teague is still only 28 years old. As good as Teague is, he is close to his ceiling, but plateauing at his current level still makes Teague one of the better point guards in the NBA. Schroeder is three years into his career and his flashes of potential also come with dry spells. Now that Schroeder is the primary point guard, the Hawks will be counting on him to control the game longer than he is accustomed to. The Hawks will miss the benefit of having a well-seasoned captain on the court.
2) Teague and Al Horford Out
Oh yeah, Horford is gone too. Two staples of the franchise for the last several years are no longer in Atlanta. Teague and Horford won't make any all-time duo's lists, but they were efficient together. Horford's extended shooting ability opened up the floor for Teague and the other guards. Having a center who could run the pick-and-roll with Teague and shot ranging from the elbow to beyond the three-point line was clutch for the Hawks. In Teague and Horford, you're losing two valuable leaders and the scoring options become more limited with their absence.
3) He's still in the Eastern Conference
In the NBA divisions are more or less meaningless. The best eight teams in each conference make the playoffs. The playoffs is where it counts and the Hawks just haven't been able to get over the hump to make it to the Finals. Trading away your starting point guard to one of the tougher teams in your own conference is a bold strategy. It wasn't enough that Paul George is back, but adding Jeff Teague to an already good Indiana Pacers team doesn't make the path to or through the playoffs easier for the Hawks. The Teague trade has the potential to do more tangible harm than good for the Hawks. Should the Pacers advance further than the Hawks this season? the Hawks will be sorry they gave up such a quality point guard.
