Hawks close out 2008 with a win on the road, Johnson 27, Smith 24

Hawks 110 Pacers 104

26 24 35 25

25 21 37 21

BOX SCORE



Yes. It has finally been said. ESPN might be coming around to the Hawks this season, people.

First, we were gifted with a ESPN DAILY DIME feature, realistically predicting the Hawks to win 50 games, there was even a national poll taken, and 67% believe the Hawks can do it.



"What can you say? Joe has been huge for us this season, I put him in the same class as LeBron, Kobe -- he's playing at that level. He's making big plays for our team, he's making players around him better." ---Coach Mike Woodson



That is not the quote of a coach saying some nice things about his best player to the media to make him feel good, that's the truth in the NBA that very few realize. Joe knows:



"I don't get treated like that, but I feel like I'm up there in the elite," Johnson said.



If not one of the elite, at least one of the most clutch scorers in the NBA, Joe scored 12 points in the 4th on his way to 27 pts (9/21 FGs 2/6 3pt FGs 7/8 FTs) 7 rbs 5 asts, Josh Smith was great defensively as usual, but was also great offensively, hitting BIG free throws in a close game, scoring 24 pts (7/13 FGs 10/14 FTs) 6 rbs 3 asts 1 blk, but no big, especially not the one he jumped against (7'2 Roy Hibbert - 13 minutes, 0 pts 0 rbs) played bigger than Al Horford. Even with pesky Troy Murphy and Jeff Foster getting 12+ rebounds, Al Horford scored 12 pts (4/8 FGs 4/6 FTs) 14 rbs 2 asts 2 blks. Mike Bibby played about his average, except for his under-average 3pt shooting, 14 pts (5/14 FGs 1/6 3pt FGs 4/4 FTs) 5 rbs 6 asts. Marvin Williams didn't score alot of points, but was more than formidable against the scoring machine Danny Granger, Marvin scored 9 pts (3/10 FGs 1/3 FGs 2/2 FTs) 6 rbs 2 stls.



Our bench was big again, even though Acie Law wasn't part of it, again. ZaZa scored 9 pts 5 rbs, Mo Evans hit 2 big threes for 6 pts 3 rbs, and Flip made a few driving layups for 8 pts 2 rbs 2 asts.



I am an extremely optimistic, but not unrealistic Hawks fan, and even i am pleasantly suprised by the New Year record, 21-10, now let's see how we improve in 2009!

Defense, balanced scoring dominated the Denver Nuggets, Hawks improve to 20-10, T-5th best record in NBA

Hawks 109 Nuggets 91

24 29 18 20

29 25 24 31

BOX SCORE


This is a great year for Atlanta's birds.

Hawks 20-10 (4th in Eastern Conference, 5th in NBA)
Falcons 11-5 (NFC wildcard playoffs, Matt Ryan Offensive Rookie of the Year)

Both franchises have been through their fair share of turmoil, the Falcons a lil' more drama than the Hawks, but its beautiful to see these Atlanta teams maturing into real championship contenders.

This game started out very contested. Denver is a very good team, but NeNe, their starting center was out with an injury. Chris "Birdman" Andersen started in his place, he was no real challenge to Al Horford, as Horford made several big plays in the 1st quarter against him. Joe Johnson scored 12 pts in the 1st quarter, and the Nuggets doubled him at every position the rest of the game, Joe made them pay though with his excellent passing, usually to Mike Bibby who made big shots all game, he is a great floor leader offensively for the hawks, scoring (20) and assists (9). Al Horford played great. 16 pts (6/9 FGs 4/5 FTs) 10 rbs 4 asts, people don't give Atlanta's passing enough credit, especially that of Al Horford and Mike Bibby. Al Horford has to be the best passing center in the east, right?

i had been getting on Josh Smith lately, because i felt he hadn't played extremely well yet, but i just found out he had a nagging injury that he a playing through. That's alright, this is the year for the improvement of Mike Bibby, Marvin Williams, and Al Horford to shine, we won't be talking about Josh Smith all-star this year, but we will be talking about the Hawks 50 wins :)

The Hawks are looking real good right now, to themselves and the rest of the league. Joe Johnson is in his absolute prime, he is undisputedly an all-star and one of the best all-around players in the league. Mike Bibby is in his absolute prime, he has led this Hawks team to a winning situation better than anyone could have imagined this season, Mike Bibby should be an all-star.

• The Mike Bibby-Joe Johnson backcourt combine to score more points per game than any other backcourt in the NBA.
• the Mike Bibby-Joe Johnson duo has made more 3 pointers than any other duo on any team in the NBA.
  
• Mike Bibby has made 78 3pt FGs this season, 2nd in the NBA, Joe 70, 5th.

Its beautiful, the Hawks being a winning team, now I am going to make another outlandish prediction. Hawks 21-10 in 2008, 13-4 in January to make them 34-14. Watch.

Joe Johnson season-high 41 fuel highest scoring Hawks game all season, defeat Bulls 129-117

Hawks 129 Bulls 117

35 28 32 22

32 36 30 31

BOX SCORE

From the opening tip to Al Horford, pass to Josh Smith, assist to Al Horford with a jumpshot, you could tell this was going to be a high-scoring game. We could see that Derrick Rose was going to be a handful, as he was last time in Chicago, and as he will be increasingly for years to come as the soon-to-be ROY (or OJ Mayo). But we could have not seen the shootout unfold as it did between Ben Gordon and Joe Johnson.

First quarter, Joe 12, Ben 15. Second quarter, Joe 10, Ben 3. Third quarter, Joe 8, Ben 8. And in the all important fourth quarter, Joe 10, Ben 4.

Overall, it was the Hawks best offensive game of the season, and a great demonstration of the versitility of the Hawks, they can play slow pace, half-court style basketball, or the 7 seconds or less D'Antoni style they tried today. Either way, Hawks win. Josh Smith agrees;

"It shows we are real versatile," Smith said. "It doesn't matter whether we're playing a fast style of basketball or slow, just as long as we win."

Every player had a great stat line for the night:

ATLANTA HAWKS
STARTERS	MIN	FGM-A	3PM-A	FTM-A	OREB	DREB	REB	AST	STL	BLK	TO	PF	PTS
Marvin Williams, PF	35	6-10	0-1	4-5	3	5	8	4	0	1	1	4	16
Josh Smith, PF	34	8-14	1-3	7-9	2	5	7	5	2	1	2	1	24
Al Horford, C	38	4-10	0-0	2-2	5	5	10	5	0	1	0	2	10
Joe Johnson, SG	44	16-31	4-6	5-6	1	2	3	8	2	0	1	2	41
Mike Bibby, PG	35	6-8	3-5	2-2	0	2	2	7	0	0	1	3	17
BENCH	MIN	FGM-A	3PM-A	FTM-A	OREB	DREB	REB	AST	STL	BLK	TO	PF	PTS
Maurice Evans, SF	12	1-1	1-1	2-2	0	1	1	0	0	0	1	2	5
Zaza Pachulia, C	21	5-7	0-0	0-0	2	5	7	2	0	0	0	3	10
Ronald Murray, SG	20	2-6	0-3	0-0	0	0	0	2	0	0	0	3	4

Somebody ask Woodson, when will we see more Acie out there? Its a damn good question..

If (and when) we beat Denver on Monday, the Hawks will be 20-10, the first time the franchise has reached 20 wins before the calendar flip since the 1987-1988 season. That team coached by Mike Fratello and led by Dominique Wilkins 30 ppg, and Doc Rivers 14 ppg 9 apg led the Hawks to a 50-32 record that season. Let's do better.

Joe Johnson 2nd career triple-double, Williams 21 lead Hawks over Thunder

Hawks 99 Thunder 88

24 19 25 20

23 22 24 30

BOX SCORE

A few pundits say we should be taking care of "bad" teams early and flexing our muscle in the eastern conference. We do threaten every team in the eastern conference but i think we played the Oklahoma City Thunder very well.

Joe Johnson scored 20 pts (8/23 FGs 2/8 3pt FGs 2/2 FTs) 11 rbs 11 asts, including 8 pts 4 rbs 6 asts in the 4th quarter alone. Marvin Williams was on the recieving end of at least 4 of those assists on his way to 21 pts (9/13 FGs 1/3 3pt FGs 2/4 FTs) 7 rbs, Josh Smith had his best offensive game since coming back from injury, 19 pts (6/11 FGs 1/1/ 3pt FGs 6/9 FTs) 3 rbs 3 asts 3 stls 1 blk.

Mike Bibby did his usual well, 14 pts (6/13 FGs 2/5 3pt FGs) 7 rbs 6 asts.

Al Horford did okay but "the Boss" got BOSSED in the paint in this game, OKC outrebounded the Hawks 52-40, Jeff Green had 14 rbs, Chris Wilcox off the bench had 19 pts 12 rbs, i mean, what really good, Al? lol

We will be alright, Merry Christmas, Happy Holidays, and a 22-10 record for 2009.

Mike Bibby season-high 27 pts, Iverson benched 4th Q, Hawks win

Hawks 85 Pistons 78

25 16 22 15

22 30 17 16

BOX SCORE

In the preview for this game, it had been said that a key matchup was the Iverson VS Bibby battle of team leadership, offensive effeciency. It's pretty safe to say Bibby won that battle. This game had also been donned as a PLAYOFFSHAWKS PREVIEW, for these Detroit Pistons would be our first round matchup if the playoffs started today, we hope things stay that way, because even the Hawks would rather see, especially after this game, these Pistons rather than, say, the Dwayne Wade Heat in the 1st round. Agreed. Regardless, we could be them too, as we did in south beach last week in the clash of the southeast, it was the game after we endured a 3-game losing streak in that Texas triangle trip, we all know what happened there.

So, HERE, Mike Bibby goes off, scores 27 pts (10/13 FGS 6/6 3pt FGs 1/2 FTs) 3 rbs 5 asts 3 stls in 38 minutes. Joe Johnson has a solid game, 19 pts (8/22 FGs 1/4 3pt FGs 2/2 FTs) 5 rbs 7 asts, Josh Smith had a very interesting game. One of the main matchups we saw in that game was Josh posting up against Tayshaun Prince. Now, Prince is a true Small Forward, always has been and with this new coach, he likes to start Rodney Stuckey, so that moves AI to the SG, Rip to the SF and Prince to PF...Josh Smith should have OWNED that matchup, but it was good for him to feel himself big in the paint, he hasn't owned the paint in any game yet, but he was posting up, we need to see more of that from him, anyway, he scored 11 pts (3/13 FGs 5/8 FTs) 8 rbs 2 asts, but he also held Tayshaun Prince to 2 pts 1-8 shooting.

Al Horford owned the paint, 11 pts (5/9 FGs 1/2 FTs) 11 rbs 4 asts, but only his 4th double-double of the season.

I predict wins for the rest of the year, and close the year 22-10, 4th in the eastern conference, closing in on the southeast division title.

Hawks shake off Celtics loss, balanced-attack smack Warriors, Williams 22, Johnson 19

Hawks 115 Warriors 99

21 33 27 18

31 21 27 36

BOX SCORE


Good game. The Hawks love this style of play and excel greatly in these type of games, not so much the chaotic, no-defense, shoot-in-less-than-5-seconds type of offense, but the fastbreak passing, Josh Smith rebounding and igniting the break, Mike Bibby to Joe Johnson to Marvin Williams for the alley-oop BOOM! Thats what im talking about, this isn't quite Suns basketball, especially not anymore, but it was an interesting test for how we can be against them and in fast games in the future.

Marvin Williams scored 22 pts (10/13 FGs 2/2 FTs) leading the Hawks to a 115-99 victory at Phillips arena on Friday night. It was only two nights after a heartwrenching defeat by the Champion Celtics in a much anticipated, ESPN broadcast game, the only one of the Hawks season and the first in 5 years. We all know what happened in that game, but the important thing is how the Hawks bounced back, and who other than Marvin Williams would have a career night the night after a game like that. Marvin Williams 10-13 FG equals 76.9%, a career-high FG%, with 9 rebounds in 35 minutes. Joe Johnson was looking to bounce back in a major way after missing that game-tying free-throw, he did well with 19 pts (8/20 FGs 2/8 3pt FGs 1/3 FTs) 5 rbs 5 asts, Josh Smith was the assist man in this game, 14 pts (5/8 FGs 4/5 FTs) 6 rbs, and 7 asts.

IS there any logical reason why Al Horford only had 1 personal foul, yet played 29 minutes, and still scored 14 pts (5/9 FGs 4/5 FTs) 6 rbs 5 asts 3 blks ?

Acie Law 8 minutes ?

Mike Bibby had a Rondo-game (lol) 2nd led the team in rebounding ended with 7 pts (2/8 FGs 1/3 3pt FGs 2/2 FTs ) 8 rbs 7 asts.



so ESPN is the mainstream most popular sports news media, right? well, why do they make themselves look like such fools so often? see the way Mr. PAUL SEVERINO generalizes the Hawks on internet TV:

"The Hawks like many sports teams have multiple personalities, there's the "Bad Hawks" the team that plays on the road, just 6-8"

from what i understand, maybe im just nieve, a 6-8 road record isnt bad, especially when those wins have come against Orlando, New Orleans, Chicago, OKC, Washington, and Miami. Can't be mad at losses to Celtics, Cavs, Nets, Raptors, Dallas, Houston, San Antonio. Oh, yeah that Indiana game we should have won, but still.. all i'm saying is the Hawks don't deserve a reputation as a "bad" road team, they will have to earn that respect, and my sentiment is that they will this season.

Tomorrow is another "biggest test of the season" this is a 2009 PLAYOFFSHAWKS PREVIEW at Phillips Arena on Sunday. The Allen Iverson Pistons against the new-improved Mike Woodson HAWks, we wil see who prevails

Celtics military execute down the stretch, Hawks not quite there yet, Celtics win 16th in a row

Hawks 85 Celtics 88

22 20 17 29

21 22 19 23

BOX SCORE

Mann.. it hurts so bad to type that headline. This was the game of the year to alot of people, the city of Atlanta was alive for this game in a way they haven't been since the playoffs, of course, there was no shortage of hype for this game. What sucks is the result of all that hype. So many things went wrong for the Hawks in this game, this was a defensive battle, and unfortunately, obviously, the defending champs win in that aspect.

PeachtreeHoops defined the deciding factors in this game in his recap, here is some of that info:

Possible determining factors for Boston's win...

• Whereas only Ray Allen (1-8) struggled atypically from beyond the arc for Boston, both Joe Johnson (1-7) and Mike Bibby (2-8) struggled for the Hawks. Of course, the flip side* of that for Atlanta is that Josh Smith and Ronald Murray combined to make 3 of 5 three-pointers. Atypical isn't really a strong enough word to describe that.
• Atlanta's willingness to switch ball screens and leave Mike Bibby guarding Paul Pierce one-on-one. On a night when no one who was used to making three-point shots was making them, Pierce attempted just one three-pointer mostly because he didn't need to. I presume the Boston staff watched tape of the Cleveland game where a couple of times in the second half, the Cavaliers had either Mo Williams or Delonte West set a screen for LeBron, the Hawks switched, and LeBron got to attack either Flip Murray or Mike Bibby one-on-one. Cleveland only ran this a handful of times. Boston had to run it at least 12-15 times. Bibby never had a chance.
• Boston, with the bizarre exception of Atlanta's penultimate possession (if you count Bibby's prayer with .7 left a possession) where Joe Johnson was presented with just Ray Allen as an obstacle to the basket, did Johnson no such favors. When Atlanta ran (and ran and ran) isolations for Johnson on the wing, Boston put at least three defenders on the strong side. There was nowhere for Johnson to go and no one to receive the ball as off-the-ball movement, as 'Nique pointed out (and pointed out and pointed out) on the local broadcast last night, isn't really a part of the Hawks' half-court offense.

There is some level of respect (at least in the media) for the Hawks to the Celtics, here are some post-game quotes:

"This is not a rivalry. [The Hawks] are a very good team, they play with a lot of confidence and swagger. Joe Johnson is one of the best in the business and they cause a lot of hell and havoc. But you have to win for it to be a rivalry." -Kevin Garnett

"If they played everybody the way they play us they’d be a top five team in the league." -Rajon Rondo

What we learned about the Hawks in this game:

Josh Smith needs to learn how to play the power forward position,and he should learn that from Kevin Garnett, if he can rebound and block shots with the best in the NBA, but if he wants the ball on offense, he has got to develop that KG footwork, the reason the Hawks aren't taken seriously as a balanced team is beacause we dont have a true center and we don't have a true power forward.

Marvin Williams needs to do a little more on offense, i think he is the most improved Hawks player this season and he is slightly reliable on offense, he should be given more chances, after scoring 11 pts at halftime he scored 5 points the rest of the game

Mike Bibby needs to learn to penetrate, he did that one time and scored, but never again, seeing the way Rajon Rondo gets the rim at will, Mike Bibby should learn to do that.

Al Horford is a beast, but Kendrick Perkins is just a little meaner than he. Al Horford plays the center position as well as any big in the East not named Howard, but he must be more offensively polished

Joe Johnson is not perfect, people. I know that might break alot of hearts, but even with the biggest game of the season on the line, after making 7-7, Joe can miss that 8th free throw, he is still the 3rd best SG in the league, but not perfect.

The Hawks are gonna be alright, it will be very interesting to see how they bounce back from this at Phillips Arena against fast-paces Golden State, i wanna see the Hawks score 120 pts for once.

ATLANTA HAWKS
STARTERS	MIN	FGM-A	3PM-A	FTM-A	OREB	DREB	REB	AST	STL	BLK	TO	PF	PTS
Marvin Williams, PF	39	6-12	0-2	4-7	4	4	8	3	1	2	2	2	16
Josh Smith, PF	41	4-13	1-2	5-7	1	6	7	4	1	1	3	5	14
Al Horford, C	41	3-10	0-0	2-2	4	7	11	4	0	2	2	3	8
Joe Johnson, SG	40	6-16	1-7	7-8	2	3	5	4	3	0	0	3	20
Mike Bibby, PG	38	5-16	2-8	2-2	0	5	5	2	0	0	3	1	14
BENCH	MIN	FGM-A	3PM-A	FTM-A	OREB	DREB	REB	AST	STL	BLK	TO	PF	PTS
Maurice Evans, SF	15	1-4	1-2	0-0	2	0	2	0	0	0	1	2	3
Ronald Murray, SG	12	2-4	2-3	0-0	0	0	0	1	1	0	1	0	6
Zaza Pachulia, C	14	2-4	0-0	0-1	2	1	3	0	0	1	2	4	4

Hawks VS Celtics PLAYOFFS INTENSITY RIVALRY continues tonight at Phillips, ESPN game preview

Hawks VS Celtics RENEWED RIVALRY ESPN gameday

Yess! As an ATLien and a lifelong Hawks fan, I, along with the entire city of Atlanta, the NBA, and the entire sportsnation is very excited about this game. Whoever aint, isn't a fan of NBA basketball, there is so much beautiful symbolism to tonights game, there's no question this is the game of the night in the NBA (finally, for once).

I am one of the biggest fan of the Atlanta Hawks, not in a crazy, paint my face kind of way, but more like i am with the team every step of their journey of each game in the 82 game season, i predicted 47 wins in the pre-season, i changed that to the Hawks having their first 50 win season since the 1997-1998 season after seeing the Hawks 11-6 first month start, 12 of those 18 without Josh Smith. I have attended a couple games this season (Philly, Nets, Memphis), and its always a excellent experience, i had big plans to take lots of pictures, talk to fans and ESPN, and really be involved with as much festivities as i could at this game.

But, i have just as much trouble as the next fan getting tickets to games, and i am probably unable to make tonights game (kills self), but i am going to cover as much possible from the outside Phillips festivities, and the game itself, postgame and everything. So to begin, this is the grand preview to tonights RENEWED RIVALRY, Hawks VS Celtics Game 9.

Sekou Smith feels like me, this game is worth all the hype! in another excellent entry he talks to the Hawks players about the monstrosity of a game this is, and what it all means:

• Josh Smith: “It might be a little rivalry now. They know they can’t take us lightly. They play their hardest when they step out on the court with us. And we do the same. It’s like a respect level but also competitive nature that we’re going to win this game and they feel the same way.”

• Zaza Pachulia: “We feel like it’s a game we should win because we’re playing at home in front of our crowd. I know it’s easy to say we owe them and all that to get everybody pumped up. The bottom line is this game should be special, but in a good way.”

• Marvin Williams: “It might be impossible not to get too hyped up for this game. We played them as well as we ever played them in Boston earlier this year. Now we come back here. They’re playing well and we’re playing well at home. Something’s got to give.”

• Mike Woodson: “After the first couple of games I truly believe we were somewhat scared. A lot of guys that had never been in the playoffs were feeling the heat a little bit. Mike [Bibby] tried to take some of the heat off with the quotes he made in that series early trying to switch the heat onto himself because he had been in playoff situations.”

• Mike Bibby: “Everybody thought we were going to get walked over. But we had a chance to shock everybody. We never really played well in Boston but we played great here. Knowing that everybody was against us and to play like we did was satisfying. But we wanted to win. We have to take that next step.”

Even the Celtics concede that there is a little pressure on themselves to win there.

• Rajon Rondo: “They are a tough team. They just beat Cleveland at home so they’re pretty confident right now. They’re waiting on us. It’s a tough game. We have to try to go in there and focus and try to get a win in Atlanta. We didn’t do it at all last year instead of in the regular-season. But I’m sure this will be a playoff type of game, very physical. Probably go to the wire.”

• Ray Allen: “Atlanta is ready and waiting and they’ve been promoting this for a while. The building is going to be a playoff atmosphere so we need to go down there with a different mind set.”

• Paul Pierce: “This is going to be a whole different ball club that we saw last year during the regular season. It’s going to be more like the team we saw in the playoffs. We have to come with our A game or we won’t be walking out of there with a win. The way they’re playing at home, they’re playing at a high level.”

• Leon Powe: “I think it’s the crowd. I think they all feed off the crowd. When they got their crowd going, waving towels and doing all kinds of crazy stuff, and they start hitting all kinds of shots, even with our hands up, contested, I think it has a lot to do with the crowd.”

 

CelticsBlog picks the brain of the #1 Hawks blogger Brett LeGree AKA Hoopinion AKA PeachtreeHoops.com, this is a great interview, very insightful for Celtics and Hawks fans alike, i learned some things about you Brett:

Hoopinion:  I'm less of a Joe Johnson fan than most Hawks fans as I thought (and still think) that the team paid too high a price to acquire him.  That certainly doesn't mean that I think he's a mediocre player, just that it's not possible to build a championship contender if your best player is Joe Johnson.  That is not my most popular opinion.

Wow, i mean, not many Hawks fans are thinking championship this season, but damn,  "it's just not possible to build a championship contender if your best player is Joe Johnson"? I'm sure the Hawks team and organization would beg to differ, and everyone is entitled to their realistic opinion, but here's what i think about Joe Johnson. Joe is the 3rd best SG in the NBA, undisputed. Scoring, rebounding, passing, leadership, decision-making, leadership, durability, basketball IQ, he is everything a team could ask for in a shooting guard franchise player. Of course we all know he is a great player, forget statistics for once, in his 3 seasons with the Hawks he has taken a franchise that was the worst in the league to a legitimate eastern conference contender. 

The Hawks gave up too much in that trade? Joe Johnson for Boris Diaw + 1st round pick in 2007, 2008. What did those 2 picks turn out to be? Alando Tucker and Robin Lopez, are any of those franchise players? How about Boris Diaw, i'm sure he is a franchise player, being the 2005-2006 MIP and all, right? Look, the Suns are killing themselves right now for trading Joe, the Suns could have been to the NBA Finals at least twice by now if they did not make that trade. Joe was a great complimentary player, but his destiny was to be a franchise player, if it wasn't the Hawks, Joe would have gone to another team to be the man eventually, but Atlanta, the Hawks organization, and Joe felt that they were a perfect marriage, and it has been increasingly every season, shoot, the only reason the Hawks didn't go to the playoffs in 2006-2007 is because Joe got injured and missed the last 25 games of the season. 

Joe Johnson is better than Manu Ginobili because Manu is 3rd in a "big three" system that he has stayed in his entire career. Of course, manu is a 3x NBA champion, a great scorer and a pesky defender ( i personally hate his flopping style), but he has never led his team anywhere without the other 2, and Yes he is very efficient but he has never even scored 20 ppg, how can he be better than Joe when Joe has done that consistently for 4 seasons?

 

Joe Johnson is better than Tracy McGrady in every way. Who is Tracy McGrady? is he a great playmaker, explosive scorer that led the league in scoring two seasons in a row with Orlando (32.0, 28.0), or is he that inconsistent, weak effort, weak bodied, injury prone forward who has never ever won a playoff series on 2 teams with 3 appearances on each. Of course, Joe Johnson hasn't won a playoff series by himself yet either, but Joe clearly wins in durability, shooting (FG%, 3ptFG%, FT%), defending, passing, and leadership.

 

Joe Johnson is not yet better than Vince Carter. Vince Carter should have been one of the greatest SG in the game today, and he is definetly top 10, but he is not the great player he could have been. One of the most explosive scorers of our generation, he jumps over the moon at will, he has averaged 20+ ppg every season of his career, outside of he as a rookie in toronto. Vince Carter was an intricate part of a "big three" Jason Kidd, Vince Carter, and Richard Jefferson, that made the Finals 2 years in a row, they didn't win, but until Joe makes it at least past the 1st round, he is not better than the great Vince Carter.

In conclusion, I just want it to be known that I believe that Joe Johnson is the 3rd best shooting guard in the league, and he can lead the Hawks to a championship, or at least to the Finals in the next 3 seasons, I see that as a realistic possibility.

But in order to prove we are on that level or show that we are ascending to that level, we gotta stop this streak TODAY.

Hawks 98 Celtics 93

Go Hawks!

Hawks defeat Diaw-led Bobcats, lol, Johnson 28, Smith 15

Hawks 83 Bobcats 79

27 21 20 11
23 19 26 15

BOX SCORE

ESPN RECAP


Well alright, that was fun. It is always fun to play a bottom-feeding team in the division because you know you should win, but that's also sometimes the trick that doesn't treat too, I won't say the Bobcats cannot beat the Hawks, especially with the aquisition of Boris Diaw and Raja Bell for them, that actually makes their team better balanced talent-wise, so their gameplay should improve slightly, but they will still be a bottom-feeder.

The Hawks allowed the new-look Bobcats to win the 1st 2 quarters of the first half, then Hawks defense cranked up, and showed why they will be a tough match for the Boston Celtics on ESPN Wednesday. After only scoring 10 points in the 1st half, Joe Johnson turned it up offensively to finish with 28 pts (11/18 FGs 2/6 3pt FGs 4/5 FTs) 5 rbs 8 asts, Joe is truely one of the NBA's best clutch players. Josh Smith was great in this game, staying in his game scoring 15 pts (6/11 FGs 1/2 3pt FGs 2/4 FTs) 7 rbs 5 blks 2 asts, Al Horford is staying true to his nickname "THE BOSS" and owning the paint, scoring 12 pts (6/12 FGs) 14 rbs 5 asts 2 blks, and Mike Bibby was good and average, despite missing all 5 three point attempts and no free throws in this game, he scored 14 pts ( 7/15 FGs) 3 rbs 6 asts. Marvin Williams had an unimpactful game, in 34 minutes scoring 6 pts (2/4 FGs 0/2 3pt FGs 2/2 FTs) 6 rbs 2 asts.

Next up, the great Boston Celtics (23-2), if any team can break their streak, its us.

Hawks impressive win over LeBron, Cavs, Bibby 24, Williams 19

Hawks 97 Cavs 92

24 14 28 26

31 16 21 29

BOX SCORE



Josh Smith swatted the potential lead-taking 3 pointer deep into the stands with such powerful emphasis, it was as if Delonte West got smacked in the face right by the Cavs bench, oh wait, that actually did happen. (right after that block, watch the replay)


The Hawks made a HUGE statement defensively in this game against the 2nd hottest team in the NBA, the Hawks played poised, Joe Johnson was so cool in the clutch down the stretch, its a beautiful feeling as a Hawks fan having this confidence in your team, that knowing sense that we can beat any team ESPECIALLY at Phillips Arena, and their timing couldn't be more perfect as we begin a 8-game homestead to bring the fans of Atlanta out for the Holidays.



Mike Bibby should be an undisputed all-star this season, leading the Hawks with his veteran leadership scoring, playmaking, even his defense has been exceptional, he and Joe Johnson make THE MOST LETHAL backcourt in the Eastern Conference, so they should both be all-stars this season, or vote all 5 Hawks starters to the all-star game, we one of 3 teams that have 5 all-star candidates (Lakers, Celtics). Mike Bibby played exceptional in this game, led the Hawks with 24 pts (9/16 FGs 3/8 3pt FGs 3/4 FTs) 6 rbs 5 asts, Joe Johnson scored 4 points in the first half, then 11 in the 4th for 17 pts (7/17 FGs 0/5 3pt FGs 3/5 FTs) 3 rbs 8 asts, and Marvin Williams got the the free throw line tonight! 19 pts (3/6 FGs 2/3 3pt FGs 11/13 FTs) 7 rbs 2 asts 2 blks, not bad compared to the last time these teams met, and how did our frontcourt matchup with theirs?

Josh Smith 12 pts (5/8 FGs 2/2 FTs) 8 rbs 1 ast 1 stl 1 blk

Al Horford 12 pts (3/5 FGs 6/7 FTs) 8 rbs 2 asts 1 stl 1 blk


There was one thing i didn't like about the ESPN Recap:

"The Hawks are trying to build their fan support after making the playoffs last season for the first time in nine years. Despite taking eventual NBA champion Boston to a deciding seventh game in the first round of the postseason, Atlanta seemingly has yet to convince many fickle fans that the Hawks are as much worth the price of admission as seeing a superstar such as James."

I don't think the 19,200 fans in attendence at Phillips Arena were all there to see LeBron, and although the Hawks are not yet in the top 10 fan attendence in the NBA, i think we should be doing a little better than "trying to build our fan support," that's disrespectful to me as a Hawks fan. But, i feel Joe Johnson, the way to earn respect of national media and the league is winning. We're doing pretty good at that right now. (Hawks 14-9, 2nd SE divison, 4th Eastern Conference)

This was a fun win, great win, now the Hawks must relax and pray on Sunday to get ready for the practice Bobcats on Monday, and the BIGGEST SHOWDOWN OF THE SEASON on Wednesday.

Hawks VS Cavs Preview

Last time the Hawks and Cavs met, it wasn't a pretty sight.

A victory over the Atlanta Hawks three weeks ago helped the Cleveland Cavaliers bounce back from a disappointing defeat.

The Cavaliers haven't lost since, and even more impressive than their streak has been the fashion in which they've won.

Cleveland looks to continue its dominance, and set a franchise record with its 12th straight victory on Saturday night when it visits the Hawks, who are opening a season-high eight-game homestand.

After squandering a fourth-quarter lead in a 96-89 loss at Detroit on Nov. 19, Cleveland (20-3) has simply overpowered its last 11 opponents. The Cavaliers have won by an average of 19.8 points, and haven't trailed in the second half in any game during the streak.

The Cavs' streak began with a 110-96 home win over Atlanta (13-9) on Nov. 22, as James had 24 points, eight assists and seven rebounds. The four-time All-Star is averaging 30.9 points and 8.0 boards in his last 10 games against the Hawks.

But for the first time this season, Cleveland was forced to deal with some adversity on Friday. Starting centerZydrunas Ilgauskas sat out with a sprained left ankle, and reserve guard Daniel Gibson missed the game with a sprained toe.

Ilgauskas, who is averaging 14.8 points and a team-high 7.6 rebounds, suffered his injury in Wednesday's 101-93 victory at Philadelphia, and is expected to miss several games.

Anderson Varejao stepped up in Ilgauskas' place against the 76ers, and finished with 17 points and seven rebounds in his first start this season. Varejao had eight points and six rebounds in 19 minutes off the bench in the Cavs' win over Atlanta earlier this season.

Cleveland, which opens a four-game road trip on Saturday, has won 15 of its last 18 against the Hawks, and seven of the last nine in Atlanta.

The Hawks are hoping to take advantage of a favorable schedule, as they won't play on the road again until visiting Indiana on Dec. 30. Atlanta has won five straight home games since a 119-107 loss to New Jersey on Nov. 15, and is 7-1 at Philips Arena this season.

The Hawks wrapped up a four-game road trip with an 87-73 win at Miami on Friday to snap a three-game skid. Atlanta had a sound defensive effort, as it held the Heat to 38.6 percent shooting including 5-for-22 (22.7 percent) from beyond the arc.

"That's the best I've seen them play defensively," Hawks coach Mike Woodson said after his team allowed its fewest points in a game this season. "It was a total team effort across the board."

Joe Johnson scored 21 points against Miami, and is averaging 26.0 points in his last four games -- up from 16.3 in his previous six. He now looks to avenge one of his worst performances of the season, as he scored a season-low four points on 1-of-8 shooting in last month's loss to the Cavs.

GAMEDAY MATCHUP
	W-L	PF	PA	HOME	ROAD	STK	L10
CLE	20-3	103.2	89.7	13-0	7-3	W11	10-0
ATL	13-9	97.0	95.6	7-1	6-8	W1	5-5

Hawks A+ PASS Southeast Division TEST, Hawks defense back, Johnson 21 Smith 15

Hawks 87 Heat 73

20 23 32 12

25 15 15 18

Hawks erase terrible start to top Heat

Finally, a great game from the Hawks with Josh Smith in December. That exciting Grizzlies victory was a given with Josh returning and that team sucking, we all saw the brick-fest, bullet-dodged win against the Knicks at Phillips arena, "Happy b-day Josh," God said, and then the Texas Road Trip that showed the Hawks still can't quite mess with the Western Elite, which is fine, because we won't see them often. But this Miami game was the biggest test of the season, to me. Atlanta Hawks went from 12-6 to 12-9 real quick, tied with Miami for 2nd in the Southeast Division and 4th in Eastern Conference, it was a real team-will defining game. The Hawks imposed their will on this one, in Miami, no less.

The Hawks beat the Heat with sound defense and excellent passing, playmaking, assists in the game. the 73 points scored by the Heat is the lowest point total Hawks held an opponent to all season. Joe Johnson scored 21 pts (8/20 FGs 3/8 3pt FGs 2/2 FTs) 7 rbs 4 asts, Mike Bibby has a good-average game scored 15 pts (4/13 FGs 4/7 3pt FGs 3/3 FTs) 4 rbs 8 asts, Al Horford scored 8 pts (3/6 FGs 2/3 FTs) 10 rbs, and Josh? Josh Smith had an interesting stat night, i hope Josh himself sees this stat and makes a positive change before this LeBron game:

See Brett LeGree's recap of Miami VS Hawks game

15 pts (5/11 FGs 0/3 3pt FGs 4/5 FTs) 7 rbs 3 asts 1 blk

Now Josh, if you would just drive to the basket 80% of the time, and shoot those jumpshots and 3s only when they REALLY dare you, you can be the defensive beast you already are and score 20 ppg 8 rpg 4 apg 3 blks or more.

Marvin Williams had his first really BAD game of the season, that's alright, he was due, guarentee he will play better in Phillips against LeBron, hopefully.

37 min 6 pts (1/10 FGs 0/3 3pt FGs 4/8 FTs) 9 rbs 0 asts 0 stls 0 blks

ATLANTA HAWKS
STARTERS	MIN	FGM-A	3PM-A	FTM-A	OREB	DREB	REB	AST	STL	BLK	TO	PF	PTS
Josh Smith, PF	28	5-11	0-3	5-6	0	7	7	3	1	1	1	3	15
Marvin Williams, PF	37	1-10	0-2	4-8	4	5	9	0	1	1	0	0	6
Al Horford, C	32	3-6	0-0	2-3	4	6	10	2	1	1	1	1	8
Joe Johnson, SG	40	8-20	3-8	2-2	2	5	7	4	1	0	4	1	21
Mike Bibby, PG	36	4-13	4-7	3-3	0	4	4	8	2	0	2	1	15
BENCH	MIN	FGM-A	3PM-A	FTM-A	OREB	DREB	REB	AST	STL	BLK	TO	PF	PTS
Maurice Evans, SF	24	4-7	0-2	4-5	2	4	6	0	1	0	0	1	12
Zaza Pachulia, C	17	2-3	0-1	3-4	1	6	7	0	0	0	0	4	7
Ronald Murray, SG	18	1-3	0-0	1-1	0	2	2	1	0	0	1	0	3
Acie Law, PG	6	0-1	0-0	0-0	0	1	1	0	0	0	1	1	0
Solomon Jones, PF	2	0-0	0-0	0-0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
Mario West, SG	2	0-0	0-0	0-0	0	0	0	0	0	0	1	0	0
Randolph Morris, C	DNP COACH'S DECISION
TOTALS		FGM-A	3PM-A	FTM-A	OREB	DREB	REB	AST	STL	BLK	TO	PF	PTS
		28-74	7-23	24-32	13	40	53	18	7	3	11	12	87
		37.8%	30.4%	75.0%	Team TO (pts off): 13 (17)

Texas Road Trip and beyond

The Hawks learned from that loss to Dallas, today they go up against the Yao-led Rockets. Now, usually a team can gain some comfort from a few starters being out with an injury, but in this situation, it makes the Rockets even more dangerous. With Tracy McGrady and Ron Artest out with injuries that leaves the Rockets more offensively relied on Yao, and Yao, when he gets his rhythm, is slightly unstoppable. Its not an impossible task, but seeing as the Hawks no true 7 footers against a guy 7 foot 6 inches, it may be difficult but we might need Randolph Morris and his 6 fouls for this game.

Joe Johnson is rightfully more concerned with the Hawks team play over the possibility of being dominated by Yao, its not effort that he questions, its the team being in sync on the floor, there can be no missed defensive rotations or mis-mismatches, Hawks must impose their will, their style of defense, offense, which means more this season than iso Joe, lol. Josh and Al must be the unstoppable tandum than can be, are already close to being. They just have't had enough games together yet, Josh is getting the ball down on the block a little more often than before the injury, and he is shooting a higher percentage in these last 3 games than he did in the 1st 3 games of the season. Josh is still getting his rhythm, he was the most hurt by that loss in Dallas, and he didn't even have a bad game, this will be a good test against Yao.

In the Grizzles Preview, i had predicted the Hawks December record to be 12-4, with predicted losses at Houston and Denver, with 2 unexpecteds. That Dallas loss was not an unexpected, they simply will pick it up in Houston and go on to San Antonio tomorrow.

Look, the Hawks are in no ways similar to the Spurs, a championship franchise, the NBA's darlings with the big fundamental Tim Duncan, they win championships like every other season, which is exactly what they have done in the 21st century; '03, '05, '07, but to me, that team is on the decline. The spurs right now are 8-11, 9th in the Western Conference, and its not that the Spurs aren't good, its that they aren't GREAT anymore, the Spurs don't scare anybody, and they are old and slow, the Hawks are a team that they don't match up well with. Mike Bibby VS Tony Parker is a draw this season, Joe > Manu, damn the rings, Joe is a better more versitile player, Williams > Bowen, does Bruce Bowen still start and play for them? Isn't he like 42? Smith VS Duncan will be very interesting, Josh Smith will be determined to play him better than he did Nowitzki, and Duncan will struggle against the defensive Josh Smith, but when Josh gets the ball, Duncan is not quick enough to cover him. I could probably never say that Josh is a better Power Forward than Tim Duncan, but he might win that matchup about 50% of the time. and of course, Horford > Thomas, i say all that to say this. Hawks will win in San Antonio, probably for the first time in a decade or so. We will probably see that occur tomorrow.

Then its Miami. Dwayne Wade is the potential MVP of the league he is probably the best guard player in the league. Averaging 29.5 ppg 5.0 rpg 7.5 asts 49.9% FGs 27.7% 3pt FGs 75.1% FTs, he is proving that last year was surely a fluke. Except no one else on that Miami team has improved or is contributing in a major positive way. I mean, Micheal Beasley is the team's second leading scorer at 13.9 ppg 5.2 rpg but Shawn Marion leads the team in minutes played and he is only averaging 12.7 ppg 9.2 rpg, far below his career averages, equivelant to what Udonis Haslem is doing, 12.1 ppg 9.2 rpg, and the starting point guard? averages 30.7 mpg for 9.4 ppg 4.4 apg 2.1 spg. Not bad, but they don't match up well with the Hawks, especially our bigs. All the matters is the Wade factor, i would like to think Johnson and Wade cancel each other out, that Johnson is almost as good as Wade as a scorer and ball distributor..then i get back to reality. I always say Joe Johnson is the 3rd best SG in the NBA, but #2 is Wade, and of course #1 is Kobe, but in the game against Miami, Wade might score 40 but if we can keep the rest of the team in single digits we'll be good.

Then..its the revenge of the Hawks against LeBron. Our worst played game of the season was in Cleveland, we want to keep our home team record pretty for playoff time, and Josh Smith is back to cover LeBron, and Joe surely won't score 4 points again, so i think we can get a win at Phillips against the 2nd best team in the Eastern Conference.

That's all for this week, of course next week is the ESPN game of the season so we'll have a special for that, but all in all, the Hawks are doing fine and will continue to grow and improve.

Hawks seemed to have took Knicks win for granted, played same way in Dallas for 7th loss

Hawks 98 Mavs 100
23 20 16 39
21 20 33 26

ugh, another painful loss. Josh Smith agrees, “There’s no question this is one you wake up thinking about in the morning,” he says in the Sekou Smith Traveling Hawks piece.
Its unfortunate, it would have been monumtenal to go to Dallas and steal one on them, especially the way they are rolling, the hawks could have stopped that. Let me just say that Dirk Nowitzki is a magnificent player, its no wonder or question why he won the MVP that year, he is still the 3rd best PF in the NBA(Duncan, Garnett), and the best shooting PF of all time, seriously, how many other 7 footers average 25 ppg on 50% FGs 40% 3pt 90% 3s ? Yes, so it was understood that dirk would win that matchup, it was Joe's job to exploit the matchup between he and Juan Jose Barea. HE was supposed to score 30 and Barea should have been held to single digits, well, Joe Johnson DID score 32 pts (12/22 FGs 5/10 3pt FGs 3/5 FTs) 2 rbs 2 asts, but we shouldnt have let this under 6-footer score 22 pts (16 in the 3rd), the key to Dallas 33 pts 3rd quarter that almost sealed the game.

But how o how did the Hawks score storm back with a 39 point 4th quarter and then with the hawks down by 2 with Dallas ball, Josh Smith stole the ball! He dribbles upcourt with 35 seconds left in the game, loses control on the ball, and Jason Kidd steals it, flings it upcourt to Brandon Bass, who slams it home to make it 96-92, but then Mike Bibby runs downcourt and hits a three! score 96-95, Dallas has the ball, Josh Smith fouls Jason Terry, hits both free throws, score 98-95, hawks ball. No timeouts. Joe brings the ball up, tries to force a shot, we really dont know what happened here but Jason Kidd ended up with the ball and flings it up to Brandon Bass AGAIN who slams it home again. 100-95, 3 seconds left. Joe brings the ball up and hits a 3 as the buzzer expires, just to give him that 30+. Mavs win, 100-98.

The Mavs won and they deserved to win, but the Hawks could have deserved to win too with the excellent 4th quarter they played.

Marvin played okay. Bibby played good. Josh played good. Zaza played great. Joe played great.
nobody else did anything, Flip continues to suck.

STARTERS	MIN	FGM-A	3PM-A	FTM-A	OREB	DREB	REB	AST	STL	BLK	TO	PF	PTS
Marvin Williams, PF	38	3-10	1-4	4-4	2	4	6	1	1	0	1	2	11
Josh Smith, PF	39	3-9	0-1	7-11	2	7	9	3	1	1	3	4	13
Zaza Pachulia, C	35	4-7	0-0	5-5	4	8	12	1	2	2	4	4	13
Joe Johnson, SG	39	12-22	5-10	3-5	0	2	2	2	0	0	2	5	32
Mike Bibby, PG	38	9-18	2-5	1-1	1	4	5	5	3	1	3	1	21
BENCH	MIN	FGM-A	3PM-A	FTM-A	OREB	DREB	REB	AST	STL	BLK	TO	PF	PTS
Maurice Evans, SF	19	1-4	0-1	0-0	0	1	1	0	0	0	1	0	2
Acie Law, PG	10	0-1	0-0	2-2	0	1	1	2	1	0	1	1	2
Ronald Murray, SG	9	0-2	0-1	0-0	0	1	1	0	0	0	2	1	0
Solomon Jones, PF	13	2-2	0-0	0-1	1	1	2	1	0	0	2	2	4

Hawks narrowly avoid loss against Knicks, Josh Smith birthday

Hawks 98 Knicks 95
30 25 16 24
31 17 26 24

Happy 23rd Josh Smith! We felt this was gonna be a great game with the style the Knicks play and the return of forward Al Harrington against our Al Horford and Josh Smith. The result was not pretty in the first half, Harrington scored 20 pts on 8/12 shooting, but Atlanta was leading 57-55. the Hawks buckled down on defense in the 3rd quarter, but it looked like their offense went with it, holding the Knicks to 16 pts in the 3rd, the Hawks only scored 17. The 4th quarter, the Hawks gave the ball to their 2 best playmakers Josh Smith and Joe Johnson, we are still waiting for Josh to become the great offensive playmaker he can be, especially if he would, i dunno, take 60% of his shots in the paint, he could be an unguardable player at the power forward position, but he scored 16 pts (6/12 FGs 1/5 3pt FGs 3/5 FTs) 8 rbs 5 asts. Joe Johnson scored 17 pts (8/17 FGs 1/7 3pt FGs) 5 rbs 7 asts, and Marvin Williams was the leading scorer of the game with 18 pts (7/14 FGs 0/2 3pt FGs 4/4 FTs) 4 rbs 3 stls.

Its good to see Al Harrington reminice and respect the progress the Hawks made since his departure, he was always a class act for the hawks, he'll be a fine 2-year-rental for the Knicks.

Hawks surely didn't play their best in this win, they know it and they'd better learn from it before facing Dirk Nowitzki in Dallas.

STARTERS	MIN	FGM-A	3PM-A	FTM-A	OREB	DREB	REB	AST	STL	BLK	TO	PF	PTS
Marvin Williams, PF	38	7-14	0-2	4-4	0	4	4	0	3	0	1	1	18
Josh Smith, PF	35	6-12	1-5	3-5	0	8	8	5	0	2	2	3	16
Al Horford, C	29	5-7	0-0	4-5	3	6	9	1	1	0	0	0	14
Joe Johnson, SG	44	8-17	1-7	0-0	0	5	5	7	1	0	6	2	17
Mike Bibby, PG	37	4-14	2-8	0-0	1	5	6	9	1	0	2	0	10
BENCH	MIN	FGM-A	3PM-A	FTM-A	OREB	DREB	REB	AST	STL	BLK	TO	PF	PTS
Maurice Evans, SF	28	5-10	1-4	0-0	2	2	4	0	2	0	2	2	11
Ronald Murray, SG	16	4-6	0-0	2-3	1	3	4	1	0	0	2	1	10
Zaza Pachulia, C	13	0-0	0-0	2-4	0	0	0	0	1	0	2	2	2

Josh Smith returns, Hawks superb defense, balanced scoring effort grounds Grizzlies

Hawks 105 Grizzlies 95
24 15 30 26
24 26 33 22

BOX SCORE

Well, I sure wish i was the D that Sekou is referring to in his blog entry, something about a guy who accurately predicted all of the Hawks first 16 games wins and losses, coinscidence his name is D and im DJ, maybe it is me. If or if not, THIS was me, in yesterday's rare preview, i wrote the casual prediction of a 105-95 Hawks win, and, there you have it. But the story of this Hawks win is so much more than the score.

Josh Smith's return was grand, defensively, offensively (still taking those 3s, if Hawks aren't the #1 3pt shooting team in the league by the end of the season, ill say thanks JOSH!), still as explosive as ever, Josh Smith is, was, and always has been that X-factor that makes them able to beat ANY team in the league, i mean, of course any team is capable of beating any team in a game situation, but the 08-09 Hawks without Josh Smith were a 45 win team good for 5th seed in the East and beyond, but the 08-09 Hawks WITH Josh Smith are a 50 win team and may even earn homecourt advantage in the 1st round THIS SEASON.

SWAGGER Of the Game

Mike Bibby
Wow, Mike is really showing what he can do this year, you can see his floor leadership and decision making skill is at an all-time high, he is easily in his prime at 30 years old, shooting a career high FG%, 3pt FG%, now if we can just get that FT% above 80 he'll be an all-star PG. Last night Bibby scored 20 pts (7/11 FGs 4/6 3pt FGs 2/2 FTs) 3 rbs 10 asts, that will be his 7th game so far with 20 pts or more, his 2nd game with 10+ assists, and his 7th game shooting 50% or better from 3. I mean, he isn't quite Devin Harris (Bibby for Harris and the Hawks go to the Finals) but the Hawks aren't gonna get much better than this from another veteran PG in the league, Bibby is a great fit for this team. Mike Bibby played a perfect second half: 6-6 FGA, 4-4 3PTA, 5 assists, 0 turnovers.

SUPERSTAR JOE
Joe Johnson
Thats the Joe we know, thats the 3rd best SG in the league Joe, thats one of the most versitile players in the league, shooting and passing beautifully leading his team with Bibby to a win. Not every night Joe will score 26 pts 5 rbs 5 asts

The Invisible X factor
Marvin Williams
Marvin Williams scouting report from the opposing team about him probably reads, "average at everything, try not to completely ignore him" and so far opponents haven't taken heed to that little truth of advice in that statement, because Marvin's a shooter now, he may not be Ray Allen or Peja Stoy, but he's got a better 3pt % than both of those players right now. He has also improve in his ball handling and passing ability, there were several nice assists made in this game, 16 pts (4/9 FGs 2/5 3pt FGs 6/6 FTs) 4 rbs 5 asts.





The BO$$
Al Horford is the Boss, i guess. After the Hawks beat the Bucks at Phillips Arena, somebody asked Al his nickname, or rather he volunteered it, then, clearly making it up on the spot declared, "I'm the BOSS!" at the time i was making fun of him for it, my friend asked me, "is that anybody's nickname is the NBA?" i said "no, maybe in the WWE" so im laughing joking about it, and i go to Phillips Arena and they booming it over the system everytime he scores now, "AL HORFORD, THE BOSS!" Wooooww.... we'll see how long it sticks, probably as long as LeBron's wrist kissing thing before each free throw.
NEVERTHELESS, "the BOSs" had a good game, it would be good for Horford to average a double-double, but with this hawks team, its so not important these induvidual milestone statistics, and with Horford especially because his presence is bigger this season than the last, especially on the offensive end. 15 pts (7/9 FGs 1/2 FTs) 5 rbs 4 asts is a good stat line for the starting center.

Hawks ball movement is beautiful.


Joe Johnson is still magnificent.

Al Horford is still a beast

Josh Smith is still great.

Season Prediction:
Many people called me crazy for my preseason prediction of a 47-35 record for the Hawks this season, a 10 game improvement for a team that only added bench would have been great, but no one could have predicted the Hawks beautiful ball movement, excellent 3point shooting, all-star play of Mike Bibby, and improvement of Marvin Williams, if you look at my previous prediction i predicted Marvin would DISimprove this season, but i am glad to be wrong, Marvin is a very important piece to the Championship-level Hawks, whenever we get there, but THIS SEASON, it is not outside the realm of possibility to achieve a record of... 50-32 - 5th seed in eastern conference, i would put us at 4th seed, but its too early to count out Detriot and Allen Iverson, no matter what, THAT is who we will see in the first round playoffs this year, in my prediction, and since that D person predicted November I am going to predict December

Hawks VS Grizzlies W
Hawks VS Knicks W
Hawks @ Dallas W
Hawks @ Rockets L
Hawks @ Spurs W
Hawks @ Miami W
hawks VS Cleveland W
Hawks VS Charlotte W
hawks VS Celtics W
Hawks VS Golden State W
Hawks VS Detroit W
hawks VS OK City W
Hawks VS Chicago W
Hawks VS Denver L
hawks @ Indiana W

and dont call me a jynxer if they lose a few of these games, but i think worst case scenario, Hawks will go 10-6 in December to match the November record, and if they stay on that path these Hawks may end up....50-32 exactly as i predicted, i swear if the Hawks get 50+ wins Mike Woodson deserves Coach of the Year, so follow December with me i wanna see the Hawks succeed.

Hawks record going into 2009: 23-8