The surprising Atlanta Hawks -- and the way they were built -- should become required study for those NBA general managers who wheel and deal too fast, making change for the sake of change, always searching for the quick fix.
The Hawks are proving that patience does work.
The Hawks (9-2) have become the top team in the East, quietly moving past the freer spending Celtics, Cavaliers and Magic, the high-profile contenders who previously thought it was a three-team race to the top of the conference.
No. 4 has crashed the party.
The Hawks are home Wednesday night against the Miami Heat, another team having some early, unexpected success. While a national television audience will be watching the Cavs-Wizards, LeBron James-Gilbert Arenas matchup, it's the Hawks-Heat winner that likely will produce the conference's best record.
"It's kind of nice to sit at the top of the division,'' Hawks coach Mike Woodson told reporters earlier this week. "There is nothing wrong with winning your division.''
The Hawks are no fluke. They are part of a slow and steady climb to the top, expecting their fifth consecutive season of winning more games than the year before. They have gone from 13, 26, 30, 37 and 47 victories, building mostly through the draft with some trades and free agency signings mixed in. They appear headed for their first 55-win season since 1997.
They drafted three of their starters (Al Horford, 2007, Josh Smith, 2004, and Marvin Williams, 2005). And they have waited patiently for each to develop. They paid big money for shooting guard Joe Johnson, their only All-Star, in 2005. And they traded for point guard Mike Bibby midway in the 2007-08 season.
They brought back seven of their top eight players from last season, traded this summer for sixth-man Jamal Crawford, and they now are reaping the rewards for their development together. Horford, although undersized, is proving tough enough to play with the best centers. Smith is maturing nicely. Johnson remains the low-key leader who leads by example.
Crawford ($9 million) might be the only player on their roster who looks too pricey, but he has been big in reserve. Unlike Boston, Cleveland and Orlando, teams that changed their chemistry with high-profile moves this summer, the Hawks mostly stayed the course. Their $64 million team payroll is in the middle of the pack, proving you can win without spending the most money.
"This is not the team it was three-four years ago, even though we have some of the same guys,'' Woodson said. "We've got guys that have been together, and they've grown up together.''
They have beaten Boston, Portland twice and Denver. They beat Miami last spring in the first round of the playoffs, only to get swept by the Cavaliers in the second round. It was the deepest they have been in the playoffs since 1999.
"I think we can do something special here,'' veteran Joe Smith told the Atlanta Journal-Constitution. Smith was one of their low-budget additions who is proving to be a wise choice. "The sky is pretty much the limit if we believe in each other.''
