After a 3-0 start to the season, the Hawks faced an early measuring stick Wednesday night and while they came up a bit short in the 4-point loss to the Nets, the Hawks showed this season could be different than recent ones.
The Hawks battled for all 48 minutes with the Nets, a team led by two of the best players in the league in Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving, and one that many are considering the favorites to come out of the Eastern Conference.
This is exactly the type of game that in recent years the hawks would be run off the floor, but not on Wednesday.
There are no moral victories in the NBA, but you have to be at least a little pleased and pleasantly surprised by how competitive the Hawks were with the Nets
The two teams face off again on Friday evening and the Hawks can prove the tight game wasn't a fluke and hopefully get a better result as well.