It's been about a week now since the Hawks' playoff run was ended by the Cleveland Cavaliers, and with the dust having settled a bit  I thought it might be nice to take a trip down memory lane and review some of the ups and downs of the 2008-09 season.

There are a lot of decisions that will have to be made in the coming months about Hawks' personnel, but for now let's take a final look back at the achievements of this year's squad.

Best Win (Regular Season): Dec. 13 - Hawks 97, Cavaliers 92 - The Cavs came to town with an 11-game winning streak, and the Hawks put an end to that noise as all 5 starters scored in double-figures, led by Mike Bibby's 24. It's over, I know, but results like this one make me sad we weren't healthy against the Cavs in the postseason. May not have mattered in the end, but would have certainly made the series more interesting.

Best Win (Post Season): Game 7 vs Miami - Hawks 91, Heat 78 - Had a hard time deciding this one. Game 7 seems like an obvious choice, given that it was a deciding game and the Hawks pretty much dominated the Heat from start to finish. Part of me wants to give it to the team's 81-71 win in Game 4 in Miami, as it kept the team from falling behind 3-1 and gave them their first road playoff win since the Clinton administration. Still, Game 7s are Game 7s, so I gave it the nod in the end.

More categories after the jump...

Worst Loss (Regular Season): Feb. 7 - Clippers 121, Hawks 97 - Hard to argue with this one. Generally speaking, a team as bad as the Clips (final record: 19-63) should not beat the Hawks at home (home record: 31-10). But beat them they did, and soundly at that. Credit goes to LA for torrid shooting for most of the night, as they shot 57% for the game and 50% from 3-point range (11-22). Mike Bibby missed the game for the Hawks, but that probably doesn't make up the difference. In 82 games, these are going to happen from time to time.

Worst Loss (Post Season): Game 2 vs Cavs - Cavs 105, Hawks 85 - The Hawks didn't have very many competitive games in the playoffs - when they won they won handily, and when they lost it wasn't particularly close either. Something to work on for next season, no doubt. Game 2 against Cleveland was probably the worst of the bunch, as the Hawks trailed by 24 at the half and lost Joe Johnson to an ankle injury to boot.

Best Offensive Performance (Team): Dec. 27 - Hawks 129, Bulls 117 - This one was particularly sweet, as the Bulls have been particular tormenters of the Hawks the last several years before Atlanta swept them in 3 games this season. In the team's first game back after the Christmas break the Hawks took it to the Bulls early and often, scoring 30+ in each quarter and placing 6 players in double figures, led by Joe Johnson's season-high 41 points. The 129 was the high for the year and one of only two times they cracked the 120 mark (the other was in a 122-118 late-season win over Indiana).

Best Offensive Performance (Individual): Dec. 27 - JJ's 41 against the Bulls - Hard to beat the high individual scoring effort for any Hawks player this season, but there were some other nice ones to choose from as well. I went with the previously-mentioned Bulls outing, but you could make arguments for Al Horford's 21-point, 22-rebound showing against the Heat on Feb. 27, Joe's triple-double (20 points, 11 rebounds, 11 assists) in a win over OKC on Dec. 23, or even Marvin Williams 29-point showing against Charlotte on Feb. 6 that included an 18-20 performance from the charity stripe.

Best Defensive Performance (Team): Mar. 29 - Hawks 86, Lakers 76 - No doubt about this one. Atlanta played some nice defense on many occasions this season, but none were better than in the home win over the Western Conference's top-seed. The Lakers scored a season low in the game, and it was one of only five times they were held under 90 for the entire season. The Hawks held Kobe Bryant to 17 points on 7-19 shooting, allowed only one other player in double-figures (Pau Gasol led with 21), and limited the Lakers to 4-20 (20%) from long distance.

Best Defensive Performance (Individual): Nov. 11 - Al Horford vs Chicago Bulls - Big Al feasted on the Bulls in this early-season match-up that saw the Hawks run their record to 6-0. Horford did some damage offensively with a career-high 27 points, but his efforts on the defensive side helped the team pull out the 113-108 road victory, as he pulled down 17 rebounds (11 defensive), blocked a career-high 6 shots, and added a steal to boot. Horford's performance was particularly important given that frontcourt mate Josh Smith was unavailable with an ankle injury.

Best Bench Performance (Regular Season): Mar 23 - Flip Murray goes for 30 against Minnesota - Flip scored 14 points in the 2nd quarter, then added another 12 in a 3-minute stretch of the 4th to help the Hawks beat the T'Wolves 109-97 at Philips Arena. Murray shot 12-18 from the field, and hit 5-8 from distance as well. The 30 points was one shy of his career high 31 he scored with Seattle back in 2003.

Best Bench Performance (Post Season): Game 4 vs Miami - Zaza nabs double-double - With the Hawks trailing 2-1 in their series against the Heat and Al Horford on the bench with foul trouble, Zaza Pachulia stepped up and led the team to a huge 81-71 win with 12 points and 18 rebounds (6 offensive). The win tied the series at 2-2 and helped the Hawks reclaim the homecourt advantage in the series.

Shot of the Year (Regular Season): Mike Bibby beats the Rockets - With the game tied at 100 and time winding down, Joe Johnson found Mike Bibby spotted up at the right elbow for a wide-open 3-pointer (not sure how a team as good defensively as Houston could let that happen). Bibby dropped it through, did a little dance, and the Hawks held on to win 103-100 to split the season series with the Rockets. Honorable mention goes to Mario West's buzzer-beating 3-pointer at the end of the first half of an early season game at New Jersey.

Shot of the Year (Post Season): Joe Johnson finishes off D-Wade and the Heat - Joe Johnson saved his best for when it mattered most, scoring 27 points in the Game 7 win over Miami and hitting 6-8 3-pointers in the process. JJ had several nice buckets, but the one I will remember most was the one he hit with Wade in his face early in the 4th quarter (scroll to about 1:55). The Hawks were already leading by 23, so it's not like it was a particularly important basket, but given the attention Wade drew in the series, it was a fitting end for the Hawks' always-underestimated All-Star.

Have other suggestions for highlights from the season just ended? Share your thoughts in the comments...