The Atlanta Hawks have seen several versions of this team throughout the season. Through the injuries and trades, it's safe to say there have been about three or four different iterations of this roster. Despite the changes, the Hawks have managed to stay in the thick of things and are fighting to make a playoff push with just over a month remaining in the regular season.
This current version of the team has been playing some good basketball, as they're currently on a seven-game winning streak. Jalen Johnson, one player who has been a constant on the team this season, recently shared what he's liked about this version of the roster.
“The communication for us has been huge,” Johnson said to reporters. “From the locker rooms to practice to halftime, the way we’re communicating with each other and everybody’s just speaking their mind. I think it’s been really big for us. At the end of the day, we’re the guys on the court, so for us to have that communication on point and on a string, I think it has been really good.”
Communication goes a long way in any profession, but speaking strictly about basketball, it can have a big swing on games. It helps that the Hawks have a good mixture of young players and veterans on the team, so they can get different viewpoints from different sides.
Nickeil Alexander-Walker has said that the Hawks have matured throughout the season, which is one reason why they're playing at this point of the season.
“The focus, how tough we’re playing, even in the technical fouls, something as small as that, I don’t think we would have done in the first half of the season,” Alexander-Walker said. “Now we’re really starting to do that, and credit to everybody. I think this group is really starting to come together.”
The Hawks getting hot has come at the right time, as they try to climb the standings in the Eastern Conference. The thing is that the teams above them have been as well, such as the Miami Heat and Orlando Magic. The Philadelphia 76ers have started to deal with injuries at the wrong time, so there's a good chance that the Hawks will pass them in the standings.
At the end of the day, they can only worry about what they can control and keep winning games.
