Wednesday the Hawks got a much-needed win in their first home game after the brutal West Coast trip. It was a big boost to the team's confidence, as I think it showed them that things aren't as bad as they may have seemed on the road.

Not that Mike Bibby didn't play well on the road, but his first game in Atlanta definitely showed how much better the Hawks offense can look with a top-flight point guard at the helm.

Tonight presents another game for the Hawks that should help build some momentum. The Knicks, let's face it, are a mess. This clip, which has been making the rounds on the intertubes, puts their performance this season in perspective.

Atlanta should get a win tonight in front of the home crowd, but they can't just show up and expect it to be done with. Bad though they may seem, New York has actually beaten several of the league's elite teams (no one disputes the Knicks' talent - its the way the pieces fit together that most take issue).

As the Al Horford for Rookie of the Year campaign builds steam, tonight presents a chance for him to add to his streak of double-doubles (in it's infancy at two) as he faces off against Eddy Curry and Zach Randolph, neither of whom you'll see on many All-Defensive teams at year's end. If he can stay out of foul trouble (which actually will be tough, as both aforementioned players are terrific offensively), I am going to go out on a limb and say he nets a career-high in points tonight.

And speaking of Al's ROY candidacy, I couldn't leave for the afternoon without sharing this:

Big props to "Big Al", the creator of the above video - according to his Facebook profile, the dude is from Croatia. We are going global on this, man!

Come down to Philips tonight to see the Hawks get their second straight - one that becomes all-the-more-important when you consider they have to travel to Boston on Sunday to face the Celtics.

See you there!

Onto the links:

Mike Bibby makes his Hawks home debut tonight as the team thankfully returns home from a brutal West Coast road trip. The media was out in force to talk to him today at shootaround - it's kinda weird to think this is their first chance to see him up close and personal since he's already played five games, but such is life on the road.

But for those who still can't believe we traded for him, it's legit. He has a locker and everything.

I don't think anyone expected us, Bibby or no Bibby, to do exceptionally well on the last road trip. Many teams in the East have gone 1-4 on trips through the Western Conference. That the Hawks just did that is certainly not a good thing, but it's not out of line with what the rest of the East has done. But starting tonight I like to think we'll start to see what this team is capable of going forward with Bibby at the controls, hobbled though he might be (he is still limping a good bit from the heel injury he sustained in the Lakers game).

It's easy to get panicky with the injuries and the losses, but once again, we have to keep things in perspective. The fact is, Atlanta is 1.5 games out of the playoffs, and with 28 games left to play, still very much in the thick of it. But while excuses can be made to explain losing out West, we will be fresh out of them if we can't turn it around now, starting tonight with the Hawks-Kings mini-reunion.

Larry Drew spoke about it in Breaking Down the Kings today, but for the Hawks to win tonight they've got to do a better job of transition defense and slowing down Ron Artest, who was just too much physically for them in the loss at Sacramento last week.

Bret did a good job over at Hoopinion (a terrific Hawks blog, if you aren't reading it currently) breaking down what the Hawks need to do the rest of the season to make the playoffs. I for one think they can pull it off.

Hopefully tonight against the Kings, we'll see the team begin its final push towards getting it done.

Come down to Philips to check it out for yourself.

See you there!

I kid of course - the Spurs are playing lights out, which makes tonight a very tough proposition. However, I think we've seen some signs of life in the last couple games, at least offensively (defensively, it may be a different story).

Mike Bibby definitely adds a component to the Hawks offense that was missing before, and as the guys get more used to playing together, I think we'll see the team continue to get easier and better shots. It may not happen tonight, or in the next couple games, but sometime soon I think we'll see the real difference between the Hawks +Bibby and -Bibby.

As for tonight - it won't be easy, and the Spurs have beaten us 9 straight in San Antone. Still, the Hawks showed some mettle rallying against the Jazz twice on Saturday. If they hadn't turned the ball over so much, they might have won that game. So, if they can take care of the rock tonight, I think they may even have a shot at finishing this trip with a W. Crazier things have happened, right?

Tune in tonight at 8:30 ET on SportSouth to catch all the action.

Needless to say, these witches were upset. So irate were they, that they immediately went home and put a curse on the Hawks point guards, damning them to be injured at least 85% of the time the moment they donned a Hawks uniform.

Ok, I can't really vouch for the veracity of that story, but at this point, it almost seems plausible. Why can't Hawks point guards stay healthy?

This weekend the Hawks face a brutal back-to-back, taking on the fastbreaking Golden State Warriors tonight before facing the bruising, physical Utah Jazz tomorrow. It doesn't promise to be easy, especially for a team struggling to get its confidence back after losing six straight.

Still, everyone goes through injuries and rough patches in the NBA - no one is going to cut the Hawks any slack.

Both Mike Bibby and Acie Law are questionable to play, but both are tough enough I imagine we'll see at least a little of both in each game.

In their absence, it will be up to Joe Johnson and Josh Childress, most likely, to shoulder the load.

I'd be pretty pleased with a split, I don't mind telling you. I like our chances tonight more than at Utah, where we haven't won in 13 years.

We have had success against Golden State in the past, and we have the horses to run with them even without Bibby or Law. If the Hawks can keep the Warriors from breaking any big scoring runs, I think they can gather up the strength to take home a much needed victory.

Since it's the weekend, I will assume it'll be easier for everyone to stay up and watch the West Coast start times.

Tonight should be entertaining if nothing else - tune into SportSouth at 10:30 to catch all the action.

Tomorrow night's game is a little earlier - 9:00 on FSN.

Here's to breaking out of a slump, and breaking whatever spell is over the health of our guards.

Today is the NBA trade deadline, and though I don't expect us to be involved in anything, I will keep you posted should that change.

Onto the links:

All that has changed of course with the deal for Mike Bibby, and now tonight's game has significance (beyond that of trying to snap a five-game losing streak). Often you will see players get up for a game against their former team, but it's rare you see two teams play each other so soon after completing a blockbuster trade. The question is, with the talent that switched places this past week, who gains the advantage?

I'm inclined to give that edge to Atlanta. Yes the Kings gained four players to our one, but in this case I think the one trumps the four. Mike Bibby spent 7 seasons in Sacramento as the team's leader and point guard - he probably knows the ins and outs of his teammates as well as anyone in the league. Between them, the four players the Hawks traded combine for roughly the same number of seasons played (1.5 for AJ, Shelden, and Lorenzen, around 3 for T-Lue). They can certainly provide insight into the Hawks, but there is only so much they can do without being on the court to put that knowledge in practice. In Sacramento's win at Portland last night, Shelden and AJ combined for 14 minutes, while Lue and Wright drew DNPs.

Assuming Bibby is healthy enough to play tonight (Sekou Smith reports he is questionable), I think his experience running the Kings system will give the Hawks an edge.

Of course if Atlanta plays as sloppy as they did last night, it won't matter.

Still, what was once a garden-variety road game now has a very interesting storyline.

Hopefully you got some rest last night once you realized the game was out of hand, and are ready to pull another late night tonight to cheer on the Hawks.

Game time is 10:00, and once again the action is on SportSouth.

What can you say about last night? The Lakers played like a team contending for a title, and you can't turn the ball over 23 times against a team like that. If you want to look on the bright side, we got some good production from the bench, as Zaza Pachulia posted a double-double with 12 points and 12 rebounds and Acie Law set a career-high in points for the second straight game with 16.

No time to cry over spilled 30-point losses, as the Hawks are right back at it tonight against the Kings. More to come on that later today, but for now, the links:

Hello all. I'm back from New Orleans, refreshed and ready for the season's second half. It's amazing what one weekend can do to turn your spirits around, no?

Tonight we get our first glimpse of the Hawks with Mike Bibby running the show, and I for one cannot wait. Don't get me wrong - I don't expect the team to go on a 9-1 tear in the next 10 games just because the team made this trade, and I will still ultimately be very happy if we can go 2-3 on this road trip against the best of the West (combined record of the five opponents: 158-101). Yet I cannot help but feel renewed enthusiasm for the rest of this season and beyond.

I think Bibby is going to be a godsend for this team. He can shoot, he can pass, and most importantly, he can take charge when the going gets tough. Well, things are going to get tough over the next week, with 5 games in 7 days.

Bob Rathbun and I talked about the deal extensively on today's podcast, and he said something I agree with entirely. The trade for Bibby solidifies the starting five - we all know that. But where the onus will really be for the Hawks going forward will be the play off the bench, in particular Zaza Pachulia and Acie Law. If those two can play at the level they are capable of in what figures to be more extensive minutes for each, then the Hawks will be in good shape.

It's going to be a tough stretch over the next week. Let's all stay up late tonight and see how it begins!

I tell you. All things considered, I think this was an incredibly successful All-Star Weekend. I wish Joe would have gotten more burn tonight (and not had to play point guard for half of the time he was in there), but otherwise, there really is nothing to complain about.

The All-Star game was pretty entertaining, in particular the fourth quarter. I asked Joe after the game if what I'd heard was true, that the players really do try harder in the fourth than the rest of the game, and he pretty much confirmed my suspicions.

The East won a rare tightly-contested game, and LeBron took home MVP honors for the second time in three years with a 27-8-9 combination.

For the record, JJ finished the night with 3 points on 1-2 shooting to go along with 2 assists and one steal in just over 13 minutes of play. Disappointing? Maybe. But something tells me nothing is going to make Joe unhappy about the way things went down this weekend.

The postgame media session was the first chance I got to ask Joe about the Bibby deal. He seemed pretty excited, at least as much as the uber-understated JJ gets excited about anything. I know inside he is just as happy about this deal as the rest of us. I'll say this for him - he's a diplomat. When asked by a writer who he thought the trade favored, Atlanta or Sacramento, he called it a tie.

As I said, it was a pretty great weekend. Al Horford started it out right for the Hawks, shining considerably for the Rookies on Friday night. Saturday Bibby happened, and the All-Star Skills contests were about as good all-around as I can remember. Finally, tonight's game put a great capper on the whole shebang. And though I am sad to leave New Orleans, I cannot wait to get the rest of the season underway.

It was a terrific weekend all around, with the NBA doing everything it could to help bring attention to a city still very much in need of our help. And even with the sobering realities surrounding everything, it's still New Orleans - a city that knows how to throw a party. And speaking of, I am going wrap things up now and head to the media hospitality suite to meet up with some of my fellow web nerds from around the league and celebrate the events of the past 72 hours.

Watch out East. The Hawks are coming for you.

9:45 - Remember a few minutes ago when I said I'd really like to watch Amare and Dwight go at it? Well Amare just took Dwight to the hole and dunked just all over the man. I give it the "Dunk of the Night" Award. Do they still have any games against each other this season? I'm going to check the calendar.

8:45 - CP3 is making a late charge, as the West trails now by only 5 at 108-103. He's got 11 points and 10 assists. Perhaps this thing ain't over yet...

7:07 - Dirk hits a 3, then Paul steals and alleys it to Brandon Roy for the oop. Ladies and gents, this game is all tied up.

5:45 - It's definitely getting interesting now. Chris Paul is D-ing up LeBron pretty tightly, and LeBron airmails a three-pointer out of bounds. The West leads 114-112, and I see this being a James vs Paul duel the rest of the way out.

3:53 - Here's something you don't see every day. Dirk Nowitzki just airballed a three-pointer, but followed it up the next possession by driving to the hole and dunking.

3:23 - I know I'm harping on this match-up a little, but Amare Stoudemire is kind of owning Dwight Howard right now. He just hit an impressive And-1 after pinballing off Howard's chest.

1:50 - Ray Allen, your darkhorse MVP candidate. The intensity of this game has definitely heated up, and Ray Allen is carrying the load for the East right now. He's hit 3 threes in the period, including two straight to give the East a 125-122 lead. For the game, he's now got 23 points, second on the team to Bron's 25.

1:00 - LeBron steals the "Dunk of the Night" award, steaming down the lane through the entire Western Conference defense to absolutely bury a dunk - I think his head was at rim-level.

46.1: Man, the refs have cojones. They just called a charge on Chris Paul in his own building. In an All-Star game. With his team trailing by 2.

1.8 - Ray Allen hits a pair of FTs, and the East wins 134-128 in a very entertaining game. I'm heading down to the press room - I'll be back a little later on with a final wrap up.

10:50 - Yao Ming just attempted a 3. I love it! By the way, LeBron is your MVP, I'm calling it now. He's got 15 points, 6 rebounds, and 7 assists so far.

6:30 - Joe Johnson, back in for the East! It appears he is being given the reins to the offense, as no other guards are currently on the floor with him. The East has opened up a 16-point lead at 95-79.

5:35 - Hey Paul Pierce. Make a jumpshot when Joe feeds you the ball, son!

4:50 - Ray Allen shows him how it's done, drilling a three from the corner off a feed from JJ.

2:15 - The West is creeping back in this thing. 100-93 East.

0:00 - Alright, Paul Pierce is irritating me. First of all, he has passed up JJ several times in this quarter when he was wide open. Secondly, he just dribbled out the last 20 seconds of the period before missing a contested three-pointer. It's an All-Star game dude. Just shoot the ball when you get it or give it to someone who will. 106-93 East as we head to the final (and hopefully quite competitive) quarter.

Just in case you were wondering what the game looks like from my vantage point...

12:00 - 34-28 East after one. Nothing of note in the first period. Amare Stoudemire hit a three, which is always one of my favorite All-Star occurences (big men three-pointers that is, not just Amare). And Joe checks in to start the 2nd. Watch out nets!

10:15 - A couple of nice plays by Chris Paul - a nice bounce pass to Brandon Roy for a lay-in and then a high-arching lay-up that draws the biggest reaction of the night from the crowd. Joe Johnson then hits a three to get on the board, eliciting the biggest reaction from the voices in my head.

9:00 - Give Joe credit - he knows he needs to put it up when he has the chance. He takes a step-back three from the corner but it's just long. 46-39 Eastern Conference.

8:15 - Joe Johnson, stat stuffer - he picks up a foul going for the steal on Carlos Boozer.

6:00 - Ok, this is what the fans came to see. A barrage of incredible alley-oops, mostly by Dwight Howard and Amare Stoudemire. I am making a mental note to make sure I watch the next time Phoenix and Orlando play each other, because the two of them are the most dominant physical specimens in the entire league.

5:00 - Joe checks back out with 3 points and an assist to his credit. Incidentally, I don't know how it looks on TV, but the jerseys this year are kind of confusing. The East team has blue on the front but silver on the back, while the West has white on the front and gold on the back. It's almost like four teams are playing.

2:30 - The Milwaukee Bucks Rim-Rockers are performing during a timeout, doing much of what SkyHawk and the SkySquad typically do. Which reminds me - what ever happened to Slam Ball? I always thought it had the chance to become sort of the Arena Football to the NBA's NFL. I guess not.

Halftime: 74-65 Eastern Conference. LeBron and "Superman" Howard lead the way with 12 points apiece for the East, while Brandon Roy has 11 and Amare Stoudemire 10 for the West. I'm going to take a quick break for a few minutes, and be back shortly for the start of the second half.

Above is a picture I took of Joe being introduced to the crowd. I rather enjoyed the player introductions this year, as they had the Rebirth Brass Band playing live throughout. A nice, New Orleans-y touch.

9:00 - The game is a few minutes in now, and Kobe Bryant has already gone to the bench. I'm guessing his night is done, which is only fair considering his pinky is hurt. As a Hawks fan, I was sort of hoping he'd play a lot of minutes so he couldn't go on Tuesday.

6:45 - Chris Bosh is your early MVP candidate, as he has 8 points (4 dunks) in the early going to give the East an early 18-7 lead. I mentioned this yesterday, but I have a feeling the Eastern Conference players may take this game a little more seriously to protect their rep.

6:20 - The three Pistons, Rasheed Wallace, Chauncey Billups, and Rip Hamilton, all checked into the game at the same time. I am wondering where JJ will rank on the playing time list tonight. As a reserve, I don't expect him to get a ton of minutes, but I hope he isn't the last player off the bench (even though it doesn't matter). If he is to see significant time tonight, I will attribute it to two factors. 1) Doc Rivers wants to rest his two Celtics players, so Joe takes some minutes from Paul Pierce and Ray Allen, and 2) Doc still has a soft spot in his heart for Atlanta from his playing days. I can dream, can't I?

4:15 - There is kind of a lid on the basket right now. If the teams aren't scoring on dunks or layups, they are missing just about everything else. In other news, I find it incredible that Western coach Byron Scott hasn't put in Chris Paul yet.

2:10 - During a timeout, the Hornets dancers performed. Pretty sweet, right? Except it wasn't the Honeybees, it was the "Used to Bee's", comprised mostly of quinta- and sexta-generians. A-Team Dancers, I think you could take them.

1:00 - Still no JJ. Aarrgh. But I seem to recall this is how it went down last year and he still ended up doing just fine, so I won't fret too much. 30-23 Eastern Conference.

The consensus around here is that Chris Paul will most definitely win the MVP, seeing as it's his town. I'm fine with that. I just want Joe to get some quality PT and get into double figures. I don't want to get greedy, but if he could replicate his dunk from last year, that would be gravy.

It would be nice if the game remains close the whole way - the conventional wisdom is that the players mess around for three quarters before things get serious in the fourth.

Stick around these parts and enjoy the game with me, if you so desire.

Bibby doing what he does best - scoring in the playoffs

With all of the posting going on this weekend for the All-Star game, we wanted to give you a compendium of all that is Mike-Bibby-To-The-Hawks, in case that is what interests you most. Here are the most relevant links:

• Hawks Acquire Bibby Press Release
• BasketBlog Analysis
• Analysis From Around The League

Presumably, Bibby will make his Hawks debut Tuesday night against the Lakers. Then, strangely enough, he'll take on his former teammates at Sacramento on Wednesday night. With a five-game road trip on the slate, the first time you'll be able to see him at Philips will be (once again) against the Kings, as they come to town to finish the home-and-home on Wednesday, Feb. 28. You might want to be there.

Just another wonderful day to be a Hawks fan, as we continue to feel the positive vibes of yesterday's trade for Mike Bibby.

This has been quite a weekend for Atlanta. First Al Horford kills it Friday night in the Rookie All-Star game (I didn't see it on TV cause I was at the arena, but apparently Charles Barkley agrees that Horford should win Rookie of the Year). Then Joe wins the half-court shooting contest after practice yesterday (adding a nice little stipend to his already cushy bankroll). And of course, the cherry on top, the Bibby deal.

Though we didn't have any horses in the races on All-Star Saturday night, I can't forget to mention how much fun all the competitions were. Jason Kapono was on fire once again, repeating as 3-point contest champion by firing a record-tying 25(!) in the finals to beat Daniel Gibson.

Nice though that was, the thing most people will remember from last night's festivities is Dwight Howard's creativity in coming up with his dunk repertoire, particularly his cape-donning Superman dunk. If you watch the replay, you'll notice he doesn't so much dunk the ball as fire it through the rim at 100 mph. I'm glad they didn't raise a fuss about the fact that he didn't, technically speaking, complete a dunk on the attempt. For my money, it was actually more impressive to finish the move the way he did!

Tonight commences the ultimate showcase of the weekend, the 57th NBA All-Star Game, and I will be bringing you all the action live from New Orleans Arena.

With the way this weekend has played out so far, I am expecting big things from Joe.

Stay tuned and follow along with me!

Our focus is elsewhere, let's be honest. We traded for Mike Bibby today. Mike Bibby! The dude is money, folks. I loved watching his Kings' teams in the playoffs back in the early part of this decade, and you knew if the ball was in his hands at the end of a game, Sacto was winning.

I came over to the Arena tonight with Hawks PR man Jon Steinberg, and every person we saw when we walked into the building stopped to congratulate us on the trade. It seriously feels like we just had a son - I feel like we should be passing out victory cigars.

Everyone loves this deal for Atlanta. Not only are people telling us this in person, but taking a stroll around the interwebs I have found nothing but rave reviews. Check out the columns for some of the various NBA writers out there:

- Sekou Smith's Blog
- Jeff Schultz, AJC
- Marc Stein, ESPN.com
- John Hollinger, ESPN.com (Insider password required)
- Marty Burns, SI.com
- Tony Mejia, Sportsline.com
- Charley Rosen, Foxsports.com

After the trade went down, I emailed Tom Ziller of Sactown Royalty for his thoughts on Bibby. Here is what he had to say:

"Bibby's a great offensive player -- he can shoot with anyone, he knows how to run a break, and he's a professional on the floor. Don't expect much defense or any Nash-like 15-assist games. But he can give you 20 points most nights and 30 every now and then. When the shot's not falling, you'll beg for Acie. But when it's on, Joe will be loving it.

And in the playoffs, well... you know his reputation."

Obviously, we need to keep in mind that just making this move doesn't technically qualify the Hawks for the playoffs, and with a very tough West Coast trip coming up, the team certainly has it's work cut out for them. But for tonight, I am going to enjoy all the good vibes this deal is generating.

Oh by the way - Dwight Howard is just killing this dunk contest. The event hasn't been good since J-Smoove brought the house down in Denver, but Dwight Howard has done two unbelievable dunks in the preliminary round that makes me think that a big man may win this contest for the first time in forever.

What a day for the Hawks. There have been rumors flying around all day here in New Orleans, and though it's not official yet (it's now official!) Sekou Smith is reporting the Hawks have reached an agreement with the Sacramento Kings to acquire point guard Mike Bibby in exchange for Tyronn Lue, Anthony Johnson, Lorenzen Wright, and Shelden Williams.

Let me say first that I will be sad to see these four guys go, as each brought something to the table for the Hawks and were good teammates and professionals during their respective tenures in the ATL. I wish each of them the best of luck in Sacramento and beyond.

Having said that, this is a terrific deal for the Hawks. Mike Bibby is everything you could want for the Hawks in a point guard. He is a terrific scorer, capable of creating shots for his teammates and for himself. He is used to playing an up-tempo style of ball, so he should be instrumental in helping the Hawks get out and run on the break, which we all know is the key to the team's success.

Also of importance, Bibby has a ton of playoff experience and is a late-game killer. He has hit several big shots throughout his years in Sacramento, and I think we'll all feel very comfortable with the ball in his hands in late-game situations. He will provide a perfect complement to Joe Johnson in the Hawks backcourt, helping to solve a big issue for the Hawks in terms of trying to prevent teams for double- and triple-teaming JJ.

To be able to acquire a player with his amount of talent and not have to give up one of the Hawks core of young players (Josh, Josh, Al, and Joe) is phenomenal. After the trade for JJ, I'd rate this right now as easily the second best move of Billy Knight's career.

Sacramento is out of the playoff race in the West and focusing on rebuilding, and they get a nice bit of salary cap relief with Lue, Wright, and AJ all in the last year of their contracts. Shelden Williams never really found his niche in a year and a half in Atlanta, but perhaps a change of scenery will give him the chance to make his mark.

Bibby dealt with some injuries earlier this year, and his contract is fairly hefty at 26 million over the next two years (though the Hawks are only on the hook for a prorated amount of that this season), but there is risk in any deal you make. This one was a no-brainer for the Hawks, who have to feel pretty good about themselves going into the season's second half.

AJ, T-Lue, Ren, and Shel - we wish you guys the best.

Mike Bibby? Welcome to Atlanta.

Update: It's official. Sacramento also gets the Hawks 2008 2nd-rounder in the deal

Update: Here are some money quotes from Joe about the deal, courtesy of Sekou Smith's piece in the AJC:

"This is another huge step for us," Johnson said Saturday while preparing to play in Sunday's 57th NBA All-Star Game. "You're talking about a guy who can make shots and can run a team. He embodies all the things we've wanted in a veteran point guard and he's also a guy that's known for taking and making big shots.

"And you can never have too many guys like that in the NBA. As tough as it is to see guys like Lue, A.J., 'Ren and Shelden leave, we all realize that this is a business and decisions are made and you make the best of things and move on. But there's no doubt we're getting a guy that can help make us better."

Checking in from All-Star practice. The Eastern Conference was up first, then it was time for the media to descend en masse, followed by a Western Conference practice.

The practices for these guys isn't really "practice", more just getting loose and running a couple simple plays, none of which will get used in the freelancing, run-and-gun All-Star game.

At the end of the drills, the team had it's annual half-court shooting competition. Each player puts $100 in the pot, and the first player to make it wins it all. This year's winner? Joooooooooooooooooooooe Johnson!

Each player on the East team missed on their first try, but Joe hit it right on the money his second time around to take home the prize, much to the crowd's delight.

Halfcourt shots became the theme for the event, as following the first contest East coach Doc Rivers selected 6 players to participate in a contest for the Guiness Book of World Records. The setup? Who could set the world record for made halfcourt shots in 60 seconds. JJ was a participant, but could only drop one. The record ended up being shared by LeBron James and Jason Kidd, who each made three though they went about it in different ways; LeBron shot them almost as jumpers (reminiscent of his Powerade commercial), while Kidd spun them underhanded with surprising effectiveness.

During the media time Joe talked with some reporters about the meaning of playing the All-Star game in New Orleans. I think the players have really enjoyed their time here so far, and they realize the kind of impact a weekend like this can have on a community still dealing with the effects of Hurricane Katrina. He also talked about trying to get a win tomorrow for the Eastern Conference. It's funny - normally I don't think the players care too much about who wins, but I almost get the sense the East has a collective chip on their shoulder given the way everyone disparages them this year. Could tomorrow's game be more competitive than normal?

Since I didn't get a chance to yesterday, I made it a point to get over to Doc to ask him about the Hawks this year, and as per usual with the ebullient coach, he was very high on the team's chances this season.

Also, continuing my quest to drum up support for Al Horford's rookie campaign, I spoke with New Orleans assistant coach Darrell Walker, who coached the Rookie All-Stars last night. Not surprisingly, he had plenty of good things to say about the Hawks' young big man.

That will wrap it up for the practice session - but something tells me you'll be hearing about a lot more than the All-Star game from me as the weekend progresses...

All in all, a pretty great night for Al Horford. The Rookies couldn't keep pace with the Sophomores (which never happens) and lost 136-109, but Horford acquitted himself quite nicely with 19 points and 7 rebounds in just over 21 minutes. It was a typical Horford game - not much flash, just some dirty work down low and good fundamental basketball.

Afterwards, he talked about playing the game, and he seemed pretty satisfied with how it all went down.

Brandon Roy was sitting next to him in the interview room after the game, so of course I had to ask the reigning Rookie of the Year his thoughts on the two front-runners. He made nice comments about both, but if you read between the lines I think you can hear him give the nod to Al. Maybe that's just me.

And with that, I'm going to wrap it up for the day. I may or may not be going to the ESPN party tonight (depending on how long it takes me to get back to my hotel), so if I go and get any good pictures, I'll post them here tomorrow. For now, I will leave you with two galleries I put together from today.

• Horford's Rookie Game Photo Gallery
• All Star Friday Photo Gallery

Good night!

17:50 - Ok, Al hits a pair of FTs (I think his free-throw shooting has improved of late), and he now has 17 points, which would be a career-high if this were a real game. Can he get to 30? Incidentally, and I'm surprised I missed this, but Big Al is also the game's leading rebounder with 7.

11:45 - I realize this is just an exhibition, and I also realize I have an agenda in writing this tonight, but I am telling you, Kevin Durant has a long way to go before he is the kind of player we all think he is capable of being. He has had the ball stolen from him tonight several times, and keep in mind defense isn't exactly a priority here. The Sophs are kinda making him look bad - if you can look bad in a game when you currently lead all scorers with 23 points.

7:40 - Al is out of the game, and I'm not sure if he will return. If he is in fact done, he'll finish with 19 points, 7 boards, and 2 assists to his credit. Daniel Gibson just hit another three - he's got 9 now. The 2-years now lead the 1-years 108-87. Will the Rookies ever win this game again?

4:00 - Apropos of absolutely nothing, I think Jamario Moon looks exactly like Shock G, the lead singer of Digital Underground. I don't think there is a connection there, but I would love to see Moon create an alter ego and do one of his dunks in tomorrow night's Dunk Contest with a false nose.

3:30 - Juan Carlos Navarro has hit a couple threes in the last two minutes, and the PA Announcer is rather enjoying saying his name. He is rolling his r's with mucho gusto. And with that, I need to head downstairs for the postgame interviews. With 3 minutes left, it's 119-101 in favor of the Sophomores, so I think it's fair to say the game is out of reach. (Goodness - Daniel Gibson hit ANOTHER 3. That's 10.) 

17:00 - Durant has a pair of baskets so far. This is unfamiliar territory for me, as I am not used to rooting against former Texas Longhorns not named Chris Simms. Al just got his first touch, and missed a jumper from the corner.

15:40 - Al scores his first points of the game with a tip-in, then grabs a defensive board. Then, as I type this, he gets a feed down low from Mike Conley for a basket. We're up to 4 points and 2 rebounds...

14:27 - The first TV timeout is taken. If you are watching this game on TV, you will probably notice a sea of pink in the stands. These are local children, all of whom have the vocal range of Mariah Carey. I'm glad I don't wear glasses, I think they might shatter from the octaves that are being reached.

13:20 - Two more baskets inside by Al - he is now the game's leading scorer (tied with Rudy Gay, who I predict will be the game's MVP if the Sophs win - and in fact he just hit a 3-pointer as well).

11:00 - Horford sits with 11 points - I don't think you can ask for much more than he's given so far. Daniel Gibson is in for the Sophomores and immediately hits a three. LeBron James is sitting courtside and he slaps him five as he runs back up court. Not to indulge my school spirit too much, but there are three former UT players here tonight. Durant, Gibson, and LaMarcus Aldridge. Not bad for a football school.

9:30 - Brandon Roy rims one out. Roy is pulling the rare All-Star double duty, playing in tonight's game as well as Sunday's main event. That seems like an honor and a terrible inconvenience to me all at the same time.

7:30 - New Jersey's Sean Williams just did my favorite All-Star play, throwing the ball off the backboard and catching it for a one-handed dunk. Naively, I wonder why more people don't do this in actual games, just cause I think it would catch the other team by surprise.

5:30 - Daniel Gibson is giving a preview of what could be in store tomorrow night during the 3-point shootout, as he has come off the bench to hit 5 treys. I hope he's not using them all up tonight. Speaking of which, with Kobe Bryant sitting out because of a finger injury, Dirk Nowitzki will take his place in the 3-point contest. There are an awful lot of good shooters going tomorrow night, it should be a lot of fun.

4:30 - Al checks back in. Sean Williams has taken over the scoring lead for the Rooks with 12, but I anticipate that being corrected shortly. Gibson just hit another 3, and now has 18.

0:00 - The game was close for most of the first half, but thanks in part to Kevin "Turnover" Durant, the Sophs finish on a tear to take a 66-52 lead into intermission. Al has 13 points, good for second best on the Rookie squad to Durant's 15. Daniel Gibson has 7 3's and 21 points to lead all scorers. Right now some band is coming out onto the floor for halftime, and the kids are standing and shrieking their approval. Or they see a mouse. One of the two.

Halftime - It turns out it was approving shrieks, as Jordan Sparks is performing. Apparently, she won some show where you sing to impress some judges that is quite popular. I think it's called Star Search, but I could be mistaken.

I give him an A for effort - watch your back Ryan Cameron!

The game is about to get started, and I have limbered up my fingers for a night of liveblogging. The mission tonight? Get Al Horford the MVP Award. I say Al needs something in the area of 20 points and 15 rebounds, plus a Rookie win.

Let's see how they do...

Al Horford is fighting an uphill battle. That's the basic gist of what I found out from talking to people around here today. Everyone seems to agree that Horford is having a tremendous season and is a future All Star, but people seem convinced (as I suspected) that because Kevin Durant gets so much attention, it will be tough for Al to overcome him. Still, things can change. We were discussing this in the office the other day - I like to think this year's battle for top Rookie honors will be like 1991, when Dikembe Mutombo set the pace for most of the season before Larry Johnson finished strong and wrestled the title away from him. Maybe Horford can pull something like that off.

Anyway, it was a busy morning. Horford and the rest of the participants in tonight's Rookie-Sophomore Challenge spent some time assembling mailboxes and took kits and other supplies for local schools as part of the NBA Cares Day of Service, and it seemed like everyone enjoyed themselves. I know Rasheed Wallace would prefer not to be here, but not the rookies - they definitely seem genuinely appreciative of the recognition they are getting by being here.

After the community service project, the players headed down to practice, where they first had to contend with the media hordes that have descended on New Orleans for the weekend. The media sessions really give you a sense of just how globalized the game has gotten, as there are people speaking several different languages tossing questions out to these guys left and right. These people are aggressive too - Al Horford started the session speaking at one spot on the court, but by the time he was finished he had backed up several feet.

I mentioned earlier my conversation with Mike Conley, and here it is. He seems like a very good kid, and I love that he has respect for Horford.

It's funny - while Joe Johnson is able to maintain a very low profile during these types of events (which is no surprise - JJ is one of the most low-key people I've ever met), Horford's time is booked solid. As soon as the practice was over, he immediately transitioned to a basketball clinic he helped put on for some fans along with Conley, Luis Scola, and Jeff Green. While we were waiting for it to begin, I got a chance to sit with him and get his thoughts on his expectations for the weekend. I really want to see him do well tonight - here's to Kevin Durant missing a ton of jumpers.

Another highlight of the morning was spending a few minutes with Hawks legend and Hall of Famer Bob Pettit, who lives here in New Orleans and is acting as an assistant coach for the Rookie team tonight. I have spoken to Pettit a couple times in the past, and he is really one of the nicest guys around. Incidentally, he'll be in Atlanta on April 12th as the Hawks celebrate the 50th anniversary of the 1958 NBA title winners.

I left Horford at the clinic and headed straight over to the players hotel, where media availability was scheduled for the East and West All-Stars. There were huge swarms around Jason Kidd and LeBron James as I walked in, but only a couple people hanging around talking to Joe, which is I'm sure how he'd prefer it. In my quest to continue gathering info on Horford's R.O.Y. chances, I took the opportunity to get Rip Hamilton's thoughts on his game, especially since he just had 12 and 16 against them on Tuesday.

It was tough getting in to ask people questions with all the activity around, but when I saw Chris Bosh open for a moment I streaked towards him. I am a huge fan of Bosh's, not just for his game, but because he really gets the power of the Internet. His self-made commercial promoting himself for the All Star game is legendary, and I figured he'd be a great person to ask about how to gain some recognition for Horford's exploits. His response was classic. I tell you what - I am pretty sure he was kidding, but I'm not entirely sure we shouldn't take him up on the offer.

The action picked up around Joe for a little while, with most people asking him about the Hawks performance and what the team needs to do to get to the next level. The best was when Sekou Smith asked him if he thought the team had slid too far to come back, and JJ shot back, "Nah man. This is the East." True dat.

More to come tonight, as Horford and the Rookies try to break a five-year losing streak to the Sophomores. I don't love their chances, but I'll be live-blogging it in case anything amazing happens. Horford for MVP!

I talked to a few of the rookies and sophomores at today's scrimmage, and there seems to be mixed feelings about his chances, most of which I chalk up to conference affiliation. I talked to Jordan Farmar from the Lakers, who I assumed would be in Horford's corner since he dropped 15 and 20 on them last week, but he is firmly in Durant's corner. Al's going to have to make him pay for that in LA on Tuesday.

Mike Conley of the Grizzlies was much more willing to give Al a chance, and I'll post my full interview with him a little later on this afternoon.

Most of the people involved with All-Star Weekend are scattered around the city at various community service projects, and I will have a chance to see what's going on with that later this afternoon.

Right now I'm on my way down to see Joe Johnson as the All-Stars have their first media availability.

In celebrity sighting news, Gheorge Muresan is here. Just thought you'd like to know.

Back with more later!

I'm heading out in a few minutes to fly down to New Orleans, and I thought I'd give a little bit of a rundown for my plans for the weekend so you know what to expect.

Friday morning and afternoon: With New Orleans still very much in recovery mode (and still in the early stages, if you ask me), the league has arranged a day of community service called the NBA Cares Day of Service. Both Al Horford and Joe Johnson will be involved, and I will hopefully be accompanying them to their respective locations to pitch in and get some photos. As someone who grew up not far from NOLA, I love that the league has made this such a large focus of the weekend.

Friday night:  The highlight will be the Rookie-Sophomore game (though I am hoping to find a way to see the D-League's H-O-R-S-E competition), and I will be on hand to live-blog all the action. We were talking around the office yesterday about Big Al's chances of winning MVP, and I think it rests upon a couple of things. For one, the rookies need to win (or come darn close), which is something they haven't done in several years. Looking at this year's lineups, I don't know how confident I am in their chances. But if they can pull it off, it will certainly make him an option. Secondly, Horford needs the teams to shoot at a low percentage. I don't see him getting many touches in the paint (other than lobs) as the All-Star games are typically very guard-dominated, but he could put up some pretty big numbers if he cleans the glass the way he normally does. If the players are missing shots, I can definitely see Al riding rebounds and putbacks to a 20-point, 15-rebound performance to take MVP honors.

Saturday: Both All-Star squads will practice in the morning, so I'll be there to talk to a bunch of them much like last year. Without Shaq on hand to lead the festivities, I'll be interested to see if the players treat the fans to something special like last year's impromptu breakdance competition.

Saturday night: I'll be live-blogging this as well. I have high hopes for Saturday night, even if Charles Barkley doesn't give Dick Bavetta a rematch. The Slam Dunk contest participants have raised expectations this year with their pre-contest trash talk and innovation, and the 3-point shootout has a lot of great shooters and former contest winners (and some trash-talking as well). Dominique Wilkins will be on hand to judge the dunk contest, 20 years after he was robbed of the title by some home cooking judges in Chicago (I'm looking at you Dave Bing).

Sunday evening: The main event. I'll be finishing off the weekend with a live-blog of the 57th NBA All-Star game, where Joe Johnson will be making his second consecutive appearance. Last year he had 12 points, 3rd best for the East, and most impressively, dunked a basketball. That's right - you never know what you will see on All-Star Weekend!

It should be a fun weekend in the Big Easy, with a lot of good times, good basketball, and of course, good food.

Feel free to follow along with me in the comments!

The first half of the season came to a disappointing end last night, as the Hawks continued to struggle to put teams away in the late going and fell on the road at Charlotte. The team was hurt by the absence of Josh Childress and Josh Smith's foul trouble (Smoove only played 17 minutes before fouling out with 2:46 left in the fourth), but still had several chances to win in regulation and OT. The team has six days to try to figure out what's ailing them, because it doesn't get any easier with a West Coast trip to start the season's second half.

There were some positives last night, I don't want to overlook them. Al Horford continues to show his Rookie of the Year form (12 points, 14 rebounds), and Acie Law had a terrific game off the bench with a career-best 13 points and 2 assists.

I've been wanting to see Law take it to the hole more often, and last night he was getting to the basket frequently. Hopefully this will be a game that helps get him going for the season's second half.

Onto the links:

Tonight the Hawks head to Charlotte, with each team down an important member of their squad. Josh Childress is back in Atlanta today for an MRI on his knee, which he hyperextended last night. The early word is it's just precautionary, so we'll hope all is well and not worry about it until there is something to worry about. Charlotte is without Gerald Wallace, who is recovering from a strained right foot.

It's an important game for the Hawks, who slipped back into the 8th spot after last night's loss, and need every win they can grab with the West Coast trip looming after All-Star Weekend.

Game time is 7:00 - catch all the action on SportSouth.

Onto the links:

The Hawks played the Pistons in just the second game of the season, back on Nov. 4. Atlanta was coming off a huge win over Dallas, and for almost four full quarters, they looked like they might beat Detroit as well. But the Pistons took over in the last few minutes and eventually won on a contested foul call that put Chauncey Billups at the free throw line with under a second to play.

That's the closest the Hawks have come to beating the Pistons this year, as neither of the other two contests between the two teams were particularly close.

Atlanta needs a win tonight for several reasons. For one, they need a victory to avoid being swept, something they've managed to avoid since 2000-01. For another, this is the team's last home game until February 27th, as they head out West for another five-game road trip right after the All-Star break.

The Pistons are playing exceptionally well right now, but the Hawks don't scare easily at home. They know what needs to be done tonight. They've got to man up.

Josh Childress discussed it when I talked to him after shootaround, and it was the first thing Bob Bender brought up in Breaking Down The Pistons. Detroit likes to push people around, and if the Hawks want to win tonight, they are going to have to push back.

Atlanta hasn't been able to take care of business on the road as much as they'd like so far this year, so taking care of home is even more important than normal. And despite being 5 games under .500 (4.5 if you count the Miami game), they sit only 1 game out of the 6th spot behind a freefalling Washington.

Two wins to close out the first half (tonight against Detroit and tomorrow at Charlotte) would be a nice way to finish, and would give the team some momentum heading into the toughest stretch of the season.

Come down to Philips tonight to see the guys in action as they try to knock off a team they just may end up facing come playoff time.

See you there!

Last year, with Joe Johnson making his first trip to the NBA All-Star game, the Hawks BasketBlog took a road trip to Las Vegas to chronicle the weekend's festivities. It was a ton of fun, and we knew if any of the Hawks made the guest list this year we'd have to head to New Orleans.

The Hawks obliged, placing JJ in the main event for the second straight year and adding Al Horford, who will participate in Friday night's Rookie-Sophomore Challenge.

So, just like last year, Hawks.com will be on site all weekend in the Big Easy to report on all the fun and fanfare. It should be quite a time - if any city can throw as good a party as Las Vegas, it's most definitely New Orleans.

I'll be doing lots of finger exercises this week to prepare my hands for the amount of typing I've got ahead of me, as we'll have live blog coverage of Friday night's Rookie game, Saturday's Skills competitions, and of course Sunday's All-Star Game.

Got any suggestions/requests/advice for my weekend in the Crescent City? Leave 'em in the comments!

Al Horford has posted a new entry in his rookie diary, which he is keeping exclusively for Hawks.com this season. In it, he talks about heading to New Orleans to participate in the Rookie-Sophomore game as part of All-Star weekend.

As you may know, we around these parts are quite enamored with Al's play, and believe he should be the front-runner for Rookie of the Year honors instead of Seattle's Kevin Durant.

In the spirit of championing his cause and getting a read on the prevailing national opinion of his ROY chances, I asked some prominent NBA bloggers to answer this question:

There is a lot of basketball left to be played, but if the season ended today, does Al Horford deserve to win Rookie of the Year honors in the NBA? Why or why not?

Here is what they had to say:

Tom Ziller, Sactown Royalty:
"I think, despite the great season Horford's had, it'd be difficult to give him the nod over Durant. KD's not run away with it because of his poor shooting figures and the team's lack of success. But Horford hasn't really done enough to make the argument for himself, especially on offense where Horford's shooting efficiency is barely better than Durant's .509 TS% [ed. note: TS% means true shooting percentage, a stat you can read about here] versus .499 for KD), despite taking tons fewer shots, playing at a position where shooting percentages are traditionally higher, and having a better cast around him. The rebounds are fantastic, and anecdotally the defense has been decent (though KD's defense has been good too). But Durant's being asked (forced?) to take an inordinate amount of shots at an unfamiliar position. His weaknesses are in large part (in my opinion) a factor of his circumstances, not necessarily anything he's done wrong. Horford, on the other hand, has been put in a rather good situation... and hasn't excelled on offense. It's a tough battle, but I think I'd give the edge to Durant and a firm smack on the hands to P.J. Carlesimo for helping make his superstar look bad."

Bethlehem Shoals, Free Darko:
"Going into this season, we were told that Horford would be the rookie who contributed right away. Well, Oden's not playing, and Durant's play is hazy and exploratory. Horford bangs, defends hard, plays bigger than he is at times and smaller than he is at others, and has some offensive repertoire. He's not as thrilling as some of the other Hawks, but he's that rock-solid feature (Rock-solid feature other than a point guard, of course) the roster has been lacking. He could be Boozer if he keeps improving.

I might think of giving it to Horford, just because he's actually playing basketball this season. Durant's team is terrible, coach is inept, and his season is like one long pre-season goof for him. Horford has helped make the Hawks semi-legit, and even if he does have an off-night shooting, contributes to the competitive efforts of a professional basketball team. That's a slight variation on "so and so's team made the playoffs" argument in the MVP race."

Henry Abbott, TrueHoop:
"Oh man, that is a fair question, but I have to be honest -- I don't know how you judge that kind of thing. I really don't.

I'll say this: I really like Horford's game. And I'm certain the award should be based on some kind of semi-objective measure of how a player actually performs, not some hybrid mix of expectations and shoe deals. Does that mean Horford is better than Durant? I don't know."

What do you think about Al's chances? Let us know in the comments...

Onto the links from the weekend:

You know what is funny? As many times as I've said on this blog "You have to remember it's a marathon, not a sprint" (or something like that), I still manage to find myself making definitive statements about this team all the time. They can do it. They can't. They are a shoo-in for the playoffs. They'll never make it. Yada, yada, yada.

I think we all realize this team is not perfect, yet they are perfectly capable of playing the kind of basketball that inspires us to believe the best is yet to come. Wednesday's victory over LA was a great example. Both teams played well, but the Hawks played better, and in the process took down one of the favorites to win the Western Conference. It's no accident Atlanta has beaten the likes of Utah, Phoenix, and Dallas this year, they have immense talent.

What hasn't developed yet is consistency, and the lack thereof is what keeps the Hawks sitting in 7th place in the East instead of knocking on Orlando's door in the Southeast Division.

Every time they start to string a few games together, I begin to lose my ability to keep the big picture in mind and find myself wondering, "Is this it? Is this the run that shows the team has finally figured it all out?" Anything is possible. Look at Golden State last year, or Portland this year. The light bulb can turn on at any minute.

Which is why I will be very curious to see how the Hawks perform tonight against LeBron James and the Cleveland Cavaliers. Atlanta is 3-0 on their current homestand, and with every win they put the first West Coast swing further and further in the rearview mirror.

The wins over New Jersey and Philly were expected; the win over the Lakers was not. But the things that will ultimately make this team successful were shown off in all of them - playing up tempo, sharing the ball well, rebounding, and getting the guys shots in their favorite spots. When Atlanta does that, they are tough to beat. When they don't, they make it awfully hard on themselves.

A win tonight would seem, on its face, to be a huge step forward for this team as it approaches the All-Star break. A 4th straight win for the second time this season, made all the more important as they play 7 of the next 8 on the road.

Cleveland would seem beatable tonight. They are on the second night of a back-to-back, and they are dealing with a plethora of injuries. Anderson Varejao is out, as might be Drew Gooden and Daniel Gibson. LeBron James jammed his thumb last night as well.

Still, the Hawks have struggled in this setting before. I'd almost feel better about our chances if the Cleveland's whole squad was healthy.

But maybe this is it. Maybe the things that led to three straight wins will also lead to four, then five, then who knows?

Both games against Cleveland this year have been winnable, and they managed to beat the Cavs relatively easily in the previous game at Philips.

How they perform tonight will say a lot about what we can expect from them the rest of the season - unless it doesn't.

After all, as I have to keep reminding myself, it's only one game.

See you there!

Come to the Cavs game tonight, and make a difference while you are at it. TheHawks are donating the jerseys off their backs and it's all for a good cause. At tonight's game the Hawks Foundation will be holding a special silent auction featuring game worn jerseys. Be sure to stop by the foundation table under the Omni scoreboard on the Main Concourse to place your bid and help raise money for the foundation's charitable endeavors. The auctions run until the end of halftime.

Onto the links:

Everyone is talking today about the home dis-advantage we had last night with all the Kobe-ites (Kobe-philes?) showing up to cheer on the Lakers. I want to say thanks to the Hawks fans who came and did their darndest to drown them out. By the end of the game, I think you were out-shouting them and ultimately helped retain the homecourt advantage we should have every single night.

I asked Marvin Williams about the crowd mix last night, and he said he and the rest of the Hawks definitely noticed it. But, they are pros, and he talked about how they just need to keep winning to keep converting people over to the home side.

No doubt though, last night's win was sweet, and hearing the Hawks fans taunt the Lakers on the way out of the Arena was music to my ears.

Congrats to all the guys for their hard work and effort in putting the West Coast trip behind them and strengthening their position in the Eastern Conference standings.

Sufficed to say, Kobe Bryant is in town, and he and Joe Johnson will be going toe-to-toe all night long. For those that came last year, you know this can be a thing of beauty.

Still, each team has more weapons at their disposal this time around, and the team that gets the most production out of their complementary players (if you can call Pau Gasol or Josh Smith complementary) will most likely win the game.

It should be a good one tonight, and a sold out crowd at Philips Arena will be there to root on the Hawks (and hopefully not as much Kobe, though his minions always seem to come out of the woodwork for this one).

Atlanta has done well against the best of the West at home - let's hope they can keep that trend going tonight. Oh, and we get donuts if they win, so it'd be great for that too.

The first thing a lot of people think of when they talk about Josh Childress (besides the 'fro) is the fact that the Hawks passed up Luol Deng and Andre Iguodala to draft him 6th overall in the 2004 NBA Draft.

I understand this thinking. Both Deng and Iguodala have blossomed into terrific NBA players, and while neither of their teams are doing much damage this season, they are both in line for big paydays over the summer.

Still, when people mention those two, it is always said as a way to disparage Childress and the Hawks' decision to draft him.

The problem with that argument is that while people are salivating over Deng and Iguodala, they are ignoring the fact that Childress has become a very talented NBA player in his own right, and one who is nearly as important to his team (if not equally so). Don't believe me? Take a look at John Hollinger's Player Efficiency Ratings, where you'll see Childress (18.10 PER) is ahead of Deng (17.63) and just behind Iguodala (18.70).

I bring this up today because given his performance of late, Chills is long overdue the props he deserves. Just look at his last two games (both Hawks victories): an absurd 19-22 from the field, putting up 23 and 21 points in the process.

Chills is the kind of player every team needs to be successful, because he does all of the little things that help them win. He hits free throws (a career-best 83.5% this season),  rebounds on both ends (something many thought would be an issue for him given his slight stature), and he can play (and defend) multiple positions, including the point.

But the thing I like the most about Chills' game is his understanding of his strengths and weaknesses, and his ability to stick to the things that work and away from ones that don't.

How is that put into practice? I'm glad you asked.

Take a look at this:

This is a chart of all of Childress's shots in the 2007-08 season so far. The results are pretty mind-boggling, if you ask me. Chills has taken 312 shots this year, and of those, 80% have come from the area right around the basket. This is a good thing, since he is shooting 66% (164-249) from there. His shooting percentages from outside that area don't look that great at first glance (he is 17-63 for 27%), but it's such a small sample size it's hard to draw any real conclusions.

I tend to believe Josh is better than a 27% shooter from midrange to the perimeter, but that's besides the point. Chills knows the best way for him to score is to get to the rack, and therefore he devotes almost all his effort on the offensive end towards that purpose - getting out in transition, making cuts, and crashing the offensive glass. As a result, he is a lay-up machine (with a penchant for highlight-reel dunks as well), and he is able to average double-figures in points (12.2 so far this season) without the Hawks ever running a play for him.

Childress may not be an All-Star, but he is definitely capable of taking home some hardware someday. He is the perfect 6th man for the Hawks, and as the team continues to mature and succeed, I don't doubt you'll start to see his name mentioned as a candidate in that category.

Would Deng or Iguodala look good in a Hawks uniform? Sure. But Josh Childress looks just fine, and the Hawks are lucky to have him.

With four minutes left in the second period, here is his stat line: 9 points, 3 rebounds, 4 assists, and 6 blocks. I have stated before I consider J Smoove to be the player in the league most likely to put up the next quadruple double, and I am wondering - could tonight be the night?

The points and rebounds will come, and with 6 blocks already, he is over halfway to getting the most difficult part of it. The Sixers are attacking the basket repeatedly, giving him ample opportunity for rejections. 

Again, I'm not quite guaranteeing it happens, but I just want to say I think it's possible. Come on Hawks, hit those jumpers if Josh passes you the ball.

Around the office today, we are all working on Hawks related projects, but the talk keeps coming back to last night's Super Bowl. What a game. Definitely one of the best of my lifetime, and you could argue perhaps one of the best ever. Games like last night, with the emotions and the stakes involved, remind me of why I love being a sports fan and why I feel sorry for those that aren't.

I've felt at times this season like I have too much of an emotional investment in the Hawks, and no doubt the frustrating losses alter my moods moreso than they should (just ask my fiancee). But all the grief we go through now will be repaid in spades when the team we love finally gets over the hump and does what we've hoped for all along - makes the playoffs and (whether this year or in some future year) makes a run at a championship.

Tonight's game against Philly is another one of those litmus tests for this Hawks team. Philly isn't a good team, but they aren't exactly bad either. They just beat Milwaukee by 43 points on Wednesday and lost by just 2 at Orlando on Friday. The Hawks will not win just by showing up.

With playoff teams on the schedule the rest of the week, it is imperative Atlanta get one tonight and not get caught looking ahead. As Steve Holman and I discussed this afternoon in the BasketBlog Weekly Podcast, the schedule gets much harder as this month goes on, so it's incredibly important for the team to win the games it is supposed to while they have a chance.

Larry Drew spoke today in Breaking Down the Sixers about needing to contain Andre Iguodala tonight, and that is certainly the case. The new AI can do damage, and his athleticism has hurt the Hawks in the past. I will also be interested to see how Louis Williams plays tonight. He has started to assert himself as a future talent in this league, and his quickness is the kind that has given the Hawks fits all year long.

The Hawks returned to their run-and-gun ways on Saturday in an easy win over New Jersey. If they can continue to do that, there is a good chance they'll take a two-game winning streak into their meeting with Kobe and the gang on Wednesday. I say they get it done tonight.

Game time is 7:00, and if you can't make it down to Philips Arena, be sure to catch the action on SportSouth.

See you there!

I'll have more later as we preview tonight's game against the Sixers, but for now, here are this morning's links from the weekend.

And though this is a Hawks blog, I would like to take this opportunity to say congrats to the New York Giants for their amazing Super Bowl win last night. It just goes to show you Hawks fans, things can turn around quickly, and you never know when it will happen. Doesn't mean we are about to win 30 of our last 38 games, but it does mean you should never really give up hope.

As reported on TNT on Thursday night (and scooped by Sekou Smith on Wednesday, apparently much to the NBA's consternation), Joe Johnson will be making his second straight All-Star appearance this season and will represent the Eastern Conference in New Orleans on February 17. I spoke to him about it after practice today, and he was typical Joe - happy about the nod, but taking it all in stride. What can you say? He's a man of few words.

I on the other hand, love words, and am happy to use plenty of them to discuss his selection. In my opinion, this is a huge achievement for both Joe and the Hawks by extension. To be honest, I didn't expect him to get the nod this year. The fact that he did speaks volumes about the respect opposing coaches and players have for his game.

Last year, I wrote repeatedly that Joe deserved a spot on the team, and when he didn't get it at first, I was upset. I felt like he had been disrespected, and blamed it mostly on the fact that no one paid any attention to the Hawks. On an individual level, Joe was killing it last year. The team wasn't having a ton of success, but you couldn't blame any of it on JJ.

This year, I was much more realistic. Though I definitely thought Joe deserved a spot, there are others who, if you took them instead, you would have an argument. He's having a good year, no doubt, but I wouldn't say that (statistically speaking) he is playing quite at the level he did a year ago. Part of that I attribute to the maturation of his teammates; after all, Josh Smith was reasonably close to making the team as well, and Marvin Williams is having a career year as well. But in general, Joe has struggled a bit more this year than in years past.

So the fact that Joe made the team despite not having quite the same year as last season shows, to me, he has finally arrived on the NBA scene. His quiet demeanor and lack of national coverage may keep him from becoming a league-wide superstar, but clearly the rest of the league realizes what he brings to the table every night. And in turn, I think it shows the amount of respect the Hawks as a team are starting to get. Yes, they are struggling right now, but I don't think anyone in the league considers this team to be the league doormats they once were.

Congrats again to Joe, and hopefully this bit of good news will help the team regroup from the collective blow to the psyche that was the West Coast trip.