Patient Hawks have built themselves into a winner

ATLANTA -- It's taken a good part of this decade, but the Atlanta Hawks finally feel like a winning team. After last season's Playoffs, when the Hawks unexpectedly pushed the eventual champion Celtics to seven games in the first round, the Hawks didn't stop making moves to keep heading in the right direction.

In the summer, Atlanta was thrown a curve when its spark-off-the-bench swingman Josh Childress decided to opt out of his contract and play overseas for the Greek powerhouse Olympiakos. The Hawks soon picked up 6-foot-5 free-agent defensive specialist Maurice Evans, who started 47 games for the Orlando Magic in 2007-08.

The club also acquired free-agent center Randolph Morris, guard Thomas Gardner and forward Othello Hunter. In August, Atlanta retained its athletic, power-dunking forward Josh Smith, matching an offer sheet by the Grizzlies and re-signing him to a five-year deal.

"Signing Josh over the summer was a big deal. I think he is what makes us go," All-Star guard Joe Johnson said. "When he is playing with a lot of energy and flying around blocking shots, slamming to the basket and getting those big dunks, that gets the crowd into the game that takes us to another level."

After the Hawks locked up the deal with Smith, they made another move to solidify their bench by bringing in six-year veteran guard Ronald "Flip" Murray, who in 2007-08 split his time between the Detroit Pistons and the Indiana Pacers.

"Adding Flip and Mo [Evans] was huge because we needed some veteran guys that have been around the block a few times," said Hawks coach Mike Woodson.

When the Hawks signed Murray, they not only brought in experience but someone who has the ability to play multiple positions. He averaged 12 points per game this season in an average of 25 minutes on the floor.

"Flip is probably having one of his best years in terms of being able to score the ball and defend for us," Woodson said. "We had a sit-down meeting before we brought him on board, and I told him what I expected and he's kind of fell right into the mold of what we want him to do and he's helped us in a huge way."

Added Johnson: "Flip brings a lot. He brings toughness. He's a guy who could flat-out score the basketball whenever he wants. He's a good leader for this team; he's very vocal and gets on people when they are not in the right spots and not doing the right thing. You know that's something that we really needed."

Evans' impact on the team has been a little different. When Marvin Williams went down at the beginning of March, Evans had to step into his starting role. The Hawks lost Williams for 16 games with a lower back injury he suffered in a win against Detroit.

"He comes from a system where they won the division a year ago in Orlando and he started for them. Now he's made big shots for us and is a big-time defender for us," Woodson said. "So these two guys [Evans and Murray] bought into what we want done around here and it's been a nice carryover in us winning basketball games."

In building the new-look Hawks, there were some growing pains. Over the past five seasons, Woodson has endured a lot of criticism.

"I came off a championship year in Detroit, and coming in I knew that they had gutted the team basically, and we were starting from scratch with a bunch of young players," he said. "I've been around this league a long time to know that it is tough to win with young players, so the process was very slow and sometimes the media and fans they don't understand that part of it because they expect you to win right now, and that wasn't being realistic."

One of the first major changes during Woodson's reign was the 2005 swap-and-trade deal for Joe Johnson. That was difficult, too, because Johnson had to adjust from a supporting role in Phoenix to the lead man in Atlanta. He's been a witness to the growth.

"We were a very young team, and it was guys' first and second years. They were put in starting roles and I mean that's kind of tough. They expected for us to come out and win games and make the playoffs," Johnson said. "But as the years went along I've seen a lot of growth and maturity in this team. Even over last year and in the Playoffs, I thought we grew up a lot."

The Hawks drafted two-time NCAA Finals MVP Al Horford after his second straight national title with the University of Florida with the No. 3 overall pick in the 2007 Draft. Horford is a player who looks best at the power forward position but plays center for Atlanta, too.

In February of 2007 the Hawks acquired point guard Mike Bibby from Sacramento in exchange for Tyronn Lue, Anthony Johnson, Shelden Williams, Lorenzen Wright and a 2008 second-round pick. The Hawks were still developing the talents of their second pick in the 2007 draft (No. 11 overall), Acie Law, and were not satisfied with the production from Salim Stoudamire, Anthony Johnson, Lue and the injury-plagued Craig "Speedy" Claxton. Bibby seemed the perfect fit.

Bibby brought automatic leadership and an experience in winning, going back to his college days at Arizona. By the time he got to Atlanta, Bibby already had 51 Playoffs appearances and led the Kings to the 2001-02 Western Conference finals.

"Mike vowed to me in [last year's] exit meeting that he would come back in the best shape that he's ever been in, because he missed veteran camp that particular season. And he did," Woodson said. "He came back in great shape, and was probably our best camp player being the oldest guy on the team, which was amazing. I mean he never missed a day and I think when the young guys saw that, it was a nice carryover in the exhibition season."

One of the goals entering training camp this season was to finish in one of the top four spots in the East. They climbed into that position in January, though it became a little shaky with losses to Philadelphia, Boston and Orlando earlier this month.

"We had little stretches where we didn't do as well as we wanted to," said Bibby. "I think we held off and we got the fourth spot and that was our goal at the beginning of the season -- to win between 45 and 50 games. We accomplished that and we accomplished the fourth spot."

Atlanta officially clinched the fourth seed in their 122-118 win at home over the Pacers on April 10th. That game, the Hawks also got back forward Marvin Williams.

The Hawks are now hosting a Playoffs series for the first time in 10 seasons. The question now is how deep they might go.

"It's going to be mental. It's going to take experience," Murray said. "You know a lot of guys haven't been there, and the only way for them to learn is to go out there and play."

Said Johnson: "I don't think it's matchups. It's more about us just playing together and staying mentally focused and staying on the right track. If we're mentally focused, I don't think any team could beat us."