RealGM

Following their second straight postseason appearance, the Atlanta Hawks spent this summer re-signing several of their key players.

A return to the second round of the playoffs, though, won't be enough for the championship-hungry Hawks.

Atlanta opens its 2009-10 season Wednesday night when its hosts the Indiana Pacers, who are hoping a change in defensive philosophy will help them reach the playoffs for the first time in four seasons.

Rather than celebrating the team's first playoff series victory in a decade, the Hawks have been focused on keeping pace with the Eastern Conference's elite teams.

"Cleveland is trying to win it all," said Hawks coach Mike Woodson, whose team defeated Miami in seven games before getting swept by the Cavaliers in the Eastern semifinals. "Orlando, they're going to be there and Boston has just taken it to another level, I think.

"I sure hope we're right there at that fourth spot."

The Hawks, who finished fourth in the East in 2008-09 at 47-35, re-signed point guard Mike Bibby in the offseason to a three-year, $18 million deal. In his first full season with Atlanta, Bibby averaged 14.9 points and 5.0 assists.

"I think it's a good situation for me here with this coaching staff," he said. "Woody is one of the best coaches I've played for. You look at what we have and what we have coming back, and we believe in ourselves. We think we can get it done."

So does backup center Zaza Pachulia, who rejoins Josh Smith and Al Horford in the frontcourt after inking a four-year extension in the offseason.

"It would be very hard for me to leave this team and go somewhere else," said Pachulia, who averaged 6.2 points and 5.7 rebounds in 2008-09. "I'm looking forward to building on it and go even farther, to not be satisfied with the second round and go for the championship."

The Indiana Pacers have been the ninth best team in the Eastern Conference each of the past three years. They say they've got enough talent and they believe they'll be better defensively that they can get back to the playoffs for the first time since 2006.

"We enter this season having looked at what we thought was a weakness from the standpoint of the defensive and drafted and signed guys we believe have the capabilities of making that a strength of ours instead of a weakness," coach Jim O'Brien said. "We are very, very focused on getting the basketball team into the playoffs but surprise, surprise -- it all starts at the defensive end."

The Pacers will only have a chance to make the playoffs if they have a healthy roster, which isn't the case right now. Guard Mike Dunleavy (knee) and forward Tyler Hansbrough (shin), two key rotation players, will be in street clothes when the Pacers start the regular season.

Jamal Crawford's first day in the Hawks' locker room was a stunner.

It's been a while since he's been on a team this close, where guys have grown up together in the league and played together for four and sometimes five years.

That's an eternity in the NBA, where free agency and turnover in general can make the first day of training camp seem like the first day of kindergarten, what with all the introductions that go on around the room.

"It's just nice to see a team that has this kind of unity and togetherness," said Crawford, acquired on draft night in June in a deal with Golden State, and one of four new permanent faces in the Hawks' locker room this season along with veterans Joe Smith and Jason Collins and rookie point guard Jeff Teague. "You can't take that for granted in the NBA, having that kind of familiarity with your teammates. It's something that you hope leads to some cohesion on and off the court."

Jim O’Brien has 30 years of coaching experience at the collegiate and professional level. Most recently, he served as head coach of the Philadelphia 76ers during the 2004-2005 season. The Philadelphia native guided the 76ers to the playoffs with a 43-39 record, a 10 win improvement from the previous season.

fter four seasons of fielding one of the youngest teams in the NBA, you can understand the feeling of satisfaction as Hawks head coach Mike Woodson looks back on the 2007-08 campaign. To lead a franchise that was devoid of postseason competition for a then-league high eight years to the brink of one of the biggest upsets in postseason history, he has challenged his players to build on their accomplishment and make it back-to-back playoff appearances in 2008-09.

Wells222 granger practices at shootaround. game time decision 2nite

Much of Atlanta's offseason focus was on strengthening the second unit through the acquisitions of veterans Jamal Crawford, Joe Smith, Jason Collins and Maurice Evans and the drafting of Indianapolis product Jeff Teague. The Pacers should also have a better bench once the team returns to full health but with the injuries piling up the bench will be hard-pressed to keep pace.

azuresou1 wrote:Wow, you guys do some pretty in-depth pre-game posts. I'm suitably impressed.

Is Danny Granger really not playing though? If so, I think this is a walk-away win for us (the Hawks).

Miller4ever wrote:Nothing is a walk-away win against the Pacers. Ask the Celtics, Lakers, Magic, and Cavs from last season.

azuresou1 wrote:

Miller4ever wrote:Nothing is a walk-away win against the Pacers. Ask the Celtics, Lakers, Magic, and Cavs from last season.

You had Danny Granger for those games.