Moooovin on Up, to the Eastside, finally got a piece of the pie!

Drink it in Atlanta. DRINK. IT. IN.

For the first time since 1999 the Atlanta Hawks are playoff bound. Thanks to their resounding win over...ok, so it took Indiana losing to Washington last night for the Hawks to clinch that elusive playoff spot. Someone asked me a fair question the other day: Is Atlanta making the playoffs a credit to the Hawks or an indictment of the Eastern Conference?

Obviously, with the Hawks guaranteed of making the playoffs with a losing record it is a fair indictment of the bottom half of the conference which has been flat out atrocious this season, but why is it in sports that we have to have absolute answers? I've never understood this "either/or" mentality. Was Tiger Woods mortal and the rest of the field unspectacular at the Masters? Certainly, but Trevor Immelman played so well for three days that he was able to struggle a little bit Sunday and still win. Did Memphis choke away a national championship in basketball? Absolutely, but Kansas made huge plays down the stretch and played incredible defense keeping Memphis from scoring to give themselves a chance.

I could go on, but you get my point, while the bottom half of the East is terrible, the Hawks deserve some credit for surviving the muck. The reality is that everybody has to play the same competition and the Hawks were just a little bit better than Indiana, New Jersey and Chicago. Since acquiring Mike Bibby the hawks are 15-14. In that time, Joe Johnson has averaged 24.5 points per game, Bibby has hit big shots in several big games to help Atlanta win and supporting characters Al Horford, Josh Smith and Josh Childress have all shined at times.

Yes, it took way too long for the Hawks to get back the playoffs. Yes, it was thanks in large part due to the incredible mediocrity of the Eastern Conference. Yes, with the Joshes unsigned for next year and Bibby beyond next year the future is uncertain. Yes, Joe and Bibby are running on fumes. Yes, the rest of the starting cast has beyond Horford has been terribly inconsistent and Yes, the Hawks have no bench to speak of. All that being true, the Hawks are in the playoffs and that's an achievement for the much maligned franchise and since their first round draft pick goes to Phoenix making the Playoffs is MUCH better than the alternative.