LAS VEGAS — Hawks fans feel like it’s 2021 all over again.
After the Hawks downed the Knicks on Wednesday to advance to the semifinals of the NBA Cup in Las Vegas, fans of the team felt the need to be at the forefront of history. They felt compelled to be in the building to witness the team’s NBA Cup semifinals debut against the Bucks on Saturday afternoon at T-Mobile Arena.
“I would compare them to that team that played Milwaukee in the Eastern Conference finals (in 2021), and ... I think they’re similar in that they’re a combination of some young players who are just kind of on the come-up,” said Michael Wilson, a Hawks season ticket holder. “They have some veterans, too, and that team to me was a nice blend of both of them.”
For some, the good feelings toward the Hawks have flowed for weeks after the team beat the Celtics without guard Trae Young on Nov. 12.
“So I think it was after they won against the Celtics. I guess that was a great game,” Hawks fan Patrick Sweeney said. “So, I was really excited. I don’t know. I just said we’d go (to Vegas). So (my girlfriend and I) have been talking about after every win, like, ‘Oh, one more game, two more games, whatever.’”
Sweeney, who is from Doraville, told his girlfriend, Jamie Gallardo, that after the Hawks won in Boston that if the team made it to the semifinals, they had to go. He said he is the biggest Hawks fan out of his group of friends, and he bought one-way airplane tickets to Saturday’s game right after the Hawks beat the Knicks.
“We’ll see how the game goes on Saturday,” Sweeney said.
For many others, they had no hesitations to attend the semifinal Saturday with the Falcons set to play the Raiders on “Monday Night Football” at Allegiant Stadium. Since many already had booked their flights for the football game, they had no qualms about switching their flights to make it in time to catch the Hawks on Saturday afternoon.
“First of all, just really proud of the season we’re having,” Lisa Baker said. “I am a season-ticket holder, and so I’m at practically every game back in Atlanta. So I am here to continue to support the journey to our success this year. And didn’t hurt that they won a game in the tournament (before) the weekend that the Falcons were in town.”
“I had this booked months in advance,” said Yuriy Andriyashchuk, who often sits in the Hawks FanDuel 404 section. “But as soon as the Hawks won, I decided to come a day early, and (I) made sure I got here on time. I just got to the hotel now.”
Andriyashchuk said he often travels to at least two Hawks road games a season to support the team, and with the way the Hawks have played recently, he had no qualms of spending a little extra to see them.
“When you’re winning the way the Hawks have right now, it brings a lot of major optimism to the fans in the city, and with me I mean, yeah, I decided to come to Vegas, too, but I always try to make sure I go at least two road games a year, in general,” Andriyashchuk said.
The Hawks have won seven of their past eight games, including wins over the Cavaliers in non-Cup and Cup play, as well as the Bucks and Lakers.
Fans also have been impressed with not only the wins but also how the Hawks have gotten them. The Hawks have put together a balanced team that has eight players putting up double-digit scoring every night. It’s also consistent effort on the defensive end that has fans feeling like this Hawks squad isn’t the same old team.
“Dyson Daniels,” Bob Kerns of Atlanta said. “The D, man. The Great Barrier Thief. He compliments Trae really well.”
“I like that they still got the lob game,” Joe Shelby of Smyrna said. “Any of them. About any of them except Trae, can get up to the rim. I guess (Bogdan Bogdanovic) doesn’t do it too often.”
“This year really shows how much Quin Snyder, the coach,” Craig Jackson said. “For him to do what he’s doing, to sit the veterans down and let all these young kids come in and start. This really shows how great, of a coach he really is. It’s easy when you got all veterans, but you just start these young kids, everybody in their early 20s, and to be here doing it, doing right now, it says a lot about him, the courage, that he has to do that.”
“I don’t think I’ve seen anything like it in a long time,” Kerns said.
“We were just talking about this,” Shelby added. When was the last time you were this excited about the Hawks midseason?”
With their Las Vegas berth, the Hawks have put themselves in a similar position that the Pacers found themselves in last season. Behind the strong play of guard Tyrese Haliburton, the Pacers launched themselves into the national conversation and a deep playoff run after competing all the way to the In-Season Tournament final.
At least 55 games remain in the regular season, and Hawks fans hope that the team’s play in the NBA Cup can become a catalyst for them to make another deep run.
“I mean the resume is right there,” Andriyashchuk said. “We’ve beaten every major contender in the East. We beat Cleveland twice, New York twice, we beat Boston on the road with half of our roster out. We beat Milwaukee. We beat Milwaukee on the road last week. So, I think this thing could easily be top five in the East this year.”
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