Atlanta Hawks Seek Positives from Their Season

Despite a humiliating sweep at the hands of the Orlando Magic, players from the ATL tell the Journal-Constitution that there’s no shame in the kind of year they’ve had: “The Magic swept the Hawks. The total losing margin of 101 points is the largest in NBA history for a four-game sweep. The Hawks were booed in their own arena. They hope all of that doesn’t define their season. ‘We are disappointed at the series,’ Smoove said, ‘but we can’t let a bad series overturn all the good we did the whole entire season. Coming into the postseason we thought we could do something special but we couldn’t get it done.’ ‘I told [teammates] to keep their heads up regardless what they say about us,’ J.J. said. ‘We had a hell of a year. It wasn’t a good series, but the whole season was good.’ ‘I’m proud of our basketball team and what we’ve accomplished this season,’ Woody said. ‘We did a lot of good things this season. I’m happy in the direction the team is going. Sure we have to get better. But it’s a big jump from the first round to the second, third and Finals. We’re still learning.”’