i have to take credit. three years ago when i publicly declared i was going to be a fan of the hapless atlanta hawks, right after they had drafted acie law iv and al horford with their two first round picks, i was routinely chided by friends. “good luck,” they told me, smiling, “that team will break your heart.”

and what has my fandom wrought? well only three straight playoff seasons. and each one improving over the last one. consider this:

-the hawks snuck into the playoffs in 2008 as the eight seed in the east, losing to the celtics in the first round
-last season, the hawks finished fourth in the eastern conference, beating miami in the first round before getting swept by the cavs
and this season?

well, with the celtics loss last night, the hawks will be the THIRD SEED in the eastern conference. heading into tonight’s final game the hawks have 52 wins and are among the top six teams in the nba. not too shabby. and yes, i am totally taking credit.

playoff tickets are on sale. the hakws are the best thing sports-wise going on in this town right now. come out and support them.

i tried to tell you a long time ago. our hawks ended the nba’s longest playoff drought and snuck in as an 8 seed in the eastern conference finals.

the hawks open tonight against the celtics in boston. sekou smith has the match-ups, and you can see how hard it will be. the hawks have lost all the regular season games against the celtics by 10 points or more, getting blown out by 23 in the first meeting.

the celtics are arguably the best team in the nba, and one blogger is seriously hoping the hawks can just win ONE game.

the hawks are 15.5 point underdogs, which according to some is probably a good bet. i’d offer to bet my friends over at the boston metblogs but i am a realist.

either way they are in the dance and it’s nice to say i told you so…..