Bob Rathbun & Associates

This is a tough one to write.
Mainly, because I haven’t gotten over the first round elimination by the Boston Celtics.
I just can’t let go of the feeling that this was an opportunity lost. Perhaps the biggest opportunity the Hawks have had in my 16 years behind the FOX Sports South/Hawks microphone to advance to the Eastern Conference finals, and maybe beyond.
The Celtics are good, not great. Aging, but with a champions pedigre, with veterans who know how to win. With the exception of the Game Four debacle, each game went right to the wire.
It would have been nice to have had Al Horford and Zaza Pachulia. In my heart, I believe if the Hawks had those two men, Atlanta would have won the series. But I’m sure the Bulls are saying the same thing about the injuries suffered by Derrick Rose and Joakim Noah. Play with the hand you are dealt.
The off-season begins with great uncertainty. General Manager Rick Sund is without a new contract. By extension, coach Larry Drew’s future seems hanging in the balance. The roster has nine free agents with precious little wiggle room under the luxury tax line.
As always, the off season will be filled with new hope and renewal. The draft will be a great event, as deep as this year’s class is, and will come just days after a new champion is crowned.
Then summer league in Vegas comes after that, and the countdown to a new season will begin.
But until then, I’m left with an empty feeling. Quite unlike any playoff elimination feeling I’ve had in my time in Atlanta.