<div class="quote_poster">Quote:</div><div class="quote_post">A month ago, Hawks coach Mike Woodson was running his team through a light practice in Seattle, barking orders with a half-smile, his mind churning on how he could squeeze two more wins out of the first extended road trip of the season and keep his team in the thick of the playoff hunt. Standing with a 7-8 record ? despite the absences of injured players Josh Childress and Marvin Williams ? the Hawks' future appeared promising. "We win two more games on this road trip and we're right where we want to be," Woodson said. "A month from now, if we're still playing .500 ball or better and we finally get all our guys back, we'll really be ready to dig in and chase our goals." The Hawks couldn't be further from those goals today. A myriad of bizarre injuries and 12 losses in 14 games, including their current seven-game skid, followed that promising start and has the Hawks (9-20) beginning 2007 the same way they began 2006: with their critics questioning if they will ever take flight? The Hawks' 48-145 record during Woodson's two-plus years hasn't inspired confidence. But the team's failings go deeper than that.</div> Source
