Ever since their miracle run to the Eastern Conference Finals three seasons ago, the Atlanta Hawks have been stuck in the middle of the NBA landscape. In their last two trips to the postseason, they were dispatched by the Miami Heat in five games and by the Boston Celtics in six games, both times during the first round of the playoffs. Both the Heat and the Celtics made it to the Eastern Conference Finals or Finals, so it can be argued that the Hawks just ran into tough teams. However, that does not change the fact that meaningful postseason basketball has been absent from Atlanta for a while.
New-look Hawks poised for return to the playoffs
