"What that shows you is nothing in this league is guaranteed for any team," Hawks captain and All-Star Joe Johnson said. "We know how talented that team is and what they've accomplished. So we'd be fools to look at them sideways and assume that just because they're not where most people thought they would be that they're not capable of destroying you if you show up half-baked.
"So we've really been talking about that the past few days; how to handle ourselves now that we've crawled out of the mess we were in at the start of the season. And to be honest with you, records don't mean [anything] right now. Because the difference between us and about six other teams right now is just a couple of games."
The Hawks' 10-home wins ranks behind only the Celtics (14) and Pistons (13) in the conference. If they hold serve at home and bat .500 on the road, holding onto that spot in the top four gets a whole lot easier for the Hawks.
"You're always focused on taking care of home," Hawks coach Mike Woodson said. "And we're no different from any other team in our league in that we want to take care of our business before the home fans and on our court above all else. But if you're going to be a serious playoff team, or even contend for a playoff spot, you have to be able to go on the road and not just compete but win games.
"We've had our ups and downs on the road this year [the Hawks are 5-7 away from Philips Arena]. We've found ways to win some big games on the road, and we've had our struggles. The next step, if we're going to continue to claw our way up, is finding some consistency."
Consistency on the road and overall.
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