National Basketball Association

The secret to Hawks' success? Atlanta takes its vitamins

Published Mar. 16, 2015 12:10 p.m. ET

foxsports

There's a perfect metaphor that sums up all the little things the Hawks do in order to be the very best -- and it's one that Hulk Hogan would appreciate.

Spend some time around the Hawks, and one word continues to surface: vitamins. It is a metaphor for their philosophy, and it helps explain their record, 51-14 through Friday. They take their vitamins when they hit the cold tub for treatment. They take their vitamins when they lift weights. They take their vitamins when they study film and watch their diets. Above all, they take their vitamins when they head to the gym for individual skill sessions with Budenholzer’s assistants.

(Read more at NYTimes.com)

What does taking your vitamins mean as a basketball team? If you're Kent Bazemore, it's a shooting coach telling you that he's shocked that you can even make a basket with your current shooting form. If you're coach Mike Budenholzer (CMB to his friends in the ATL), it means huddling with a coaching staff that must balance the vitamin-taking with rest and the strong opinions on both sides that naturally form. And for everyone, it's studying film, all of the time, every day.

Put it all together, throw in a dash (but not too much) of similarity to the San Antonio Spurs and you've got the best team in the Eastern Conference.