Atlanta ProView: Hawks finally make it after 28 tries


              Atlanta Hawks' Kyle Korver, center, celebrates along with teammate Al Horford, right, as the Hawks beat the Washington Wizards 82-81 in Game 5 of the second round of the NBA basketball playoffs Wednesday, May 13, 2015, in Atlanta. (AP Photo/John Bazemore)
Atlanta Hawks' Kyle Korver, center, celebrates along with teammate Al Horford, right, as the Hawks beat the Washington Wizards 82-81 in Game 5 of the second round of the NBA basketball playoffs Wednesday, May 13, 2015, in Atlanta. (AP Photo/John Bazemore)

You never want a team to be satisfied with anything short of a championship, but one could understand if the Atlanta Hawks see their participation in the NBA's Eastern Conference finals as quite the achievement.

For a little perspective, consider the following fact: by defeating the Wizards in six games the Hawks broke a streak of 28 consecutive playoff appearances that ended before the conference finals.

The next closest? The Clippers, whose streak now goes to 11.

In other words, this is the end of an epically bad run. Sure, the Hawks have had several good teams, even a couple of No. 1 seeds, but for whatever reason just couldn't put it together in the postseason (of course, trading Dominique Wilkins for Danny Manning killed one promising run).

The odd thing this year is the team hasn't played that well in the playoffs. Admittedly, the Nets and Wiz aren't exactly elite, but each of those teams raised their play and gave the Hawks fits. Is it a good thing or bad thing the team hasn't played well?

If you're the optimistic type you say you've seen the Hawks play at an elite level for most of the season, especially against the better competition. Will the Cavs, a team Atlanta defeated three of four times this year, bring out the best in the Hawks?

The pessimist would say the team's flaws - the lack of a true go-to scorer, relying too often on 3-point shots and weak rebounding - have been uncovered and that a quality team like Cleveland will exploit at will.

Which way do you lean?

photo Cleveland Cavaliers forward LeBron James (23) shoots against the Chicago Bulls during the first half of Game 2 in a second-round NBA basketball playoff series Wednesday, May 6, 2015, in Cleveland. (AP Photo/Tony Dejak)

Here comes LeBron, but what else?

The Hawks don't know which Cleveland team they will face in Wednesday's game one.

Kyrie Irving says he's playing, but at what level? Even healthy he's not a nightmare for the Hawks, who can counter his quickness with Jeff Teague and Dennis Schroder. If he's hobbled there's no way he can keep up with the Atlanta point guards.

Everyone knows LeBron will get his, and that may be the way the Hawks play it. James was strong against the Bulls, but he didn't beat them.

What did was the play of guys like Matthew Dellavedova, J.R. Smith and James Jones. If you send waves at LeBron every time he gets the ball you're only asking for trouble. Demarre Carroll proved in the regular season he can at least slow James down and that's all you can ask. Don't make it easy for him to get 10-12 assists by leaving other guys wide open.

photo Atlanta Hawks guard Kyle Korver (26) drives against Philadelphia 76ers forward Luc Richard Mbah a Moute (12) in the first half of an NBA basketball game Saturday, Jan. 31, 2015, (AP Photo/John Bazemore)

Can Korver be counted on?

I never would have believed the Hawks would still be playing with Kyle Korver struggling so mightily against the Wizards. Still, here they are, but the question now is how much can the shooter be counted on in this series?

He was huge in the three regular season wins over the Cavs and this is a matchup where he should get better looks. However, if he's not hitting that takes a burden off the Cleveland perimeter defenders and the Hawks need at least to have the threat of Korver going off.

Carroll has picked up his perimeter game but if Korver remains cold the Cavs can back off and concentrate on keeping Al Horford and Paul Milsap from getting good touches. Maybe this is where Mike Scott, such a valuable scorer for most of the regular season, makes his mark.

photo Atlanta Braves starting pitcher Shelby Miller throws to the Miami Marlins during the eighth inning of a baseball game in Miami, Sunday, May 17, 2015. The Braves won 6-0. (AP Photo/J Pat Carter)

Shelby Miller assumes ace role

The right-hander's latest gem only reaffirms his status as the Braves' new ace. No disrespect to Julio Teheran, but it's not even close right now.

Miller has quieted the criticism of the Jason Heyward trade, at least for now. In fact, John Hart's first trade may go down as the turning point for the team in its new direction.

The trade is amazingly like the Doyle Alexander-for-John Smoltz deal, a rare baseball deal where a team trades a one-year rental and gets an ace. Heyward may one day realize his massive potential, but from what I've seen the only thing a huge contract will do is put even more pressure on a player who has not responded well in such situations.

This rotation has all the makings of a great one. Losing Mike Minor to shoulder surgery is a big blow, but with all the top-tier talent now in the upper level of the minors there should be enough depth moving forward.

It now has a bonafide ace.

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