Hawks BasketBlog

Josh Childress is widely considered to be the biggest techie on the Hawks roster. Recently he sat down with Earthling, Earthlink's official blog, to discuss his interests in technology. Here is an excerpt:

What's your favorite social networking site and why?

My favorite right now is MySpace because it's the best way for me to stay in touch with fans and also reconnect with people that I've lost contact with over the years -- from college, high school, and even elementary school. [Note: Josh's MySpace page is over here]

Do you read what fans write about you?

Yes and no. I sift through every now and then to see what people are saying. But it's sort of an unwritten rule in sports not to read the newspaper or message boards because if you pay attention to everything you read, you will go crazy. Of course, you want to read all the positive comments but there are always people who are going to be negative. Sometimes the amount of negativity outweighs the comments from fans who really appreciate you and your game.

I've heard you're using a Helio Drift. How do you like it? What ring do you use?

I really like the Helio Drift. It's small, compact, and easy to use. Although a lot of my friends don't have Helios yet, when they see mine they always ask about it. Right now my ringtone is "money in the bank" but I'm working on downloading a new one.

To read the rest of his interview, check out the full article.

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First of all, I apologize for the headline. I don't watch American Idol, and I really have no idea who Sanjaya is, I just hear people talking about him.

Anyway, this week, Josh Smith is "competing" in a celebrity karaoke competition against WSB-TV's Jovita Moore on Q100.

I think it's your duty as a Hawks fan to go to the site, listen to his vocal stylings, and vote for Josh.

I would say "Smoove, don't quit your day job", but listening to his performance, clearly he is having a good time with it, so I can't kid him too much.

Let's get him a win here, whaddya say? Get out there and rock the vote!

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I'm telling you, I just have a good feeling about where this is headed.

Last year we lost a coin-flip to the Bobcats that relegated us to the fifth pick instead of fourth in the lottery.

Well, we got a bit of good news on Friday afternoon as the Indiana Pacers won their coin flip with Philly and will go into the lottery in the 11 spot instead of 12.

Yes, it improves their chances of moving up, but only slightly. And it improves our potential draft position by one spot otherwise.

May 22 - just a month and two days away...

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Well, I suppose a valedictory of the season is warranted before we truly move on to the business at hand of figuring out just where the ping-pong balls are going to put us for the NBA Draft.

I look at the past season as a four-act play.

Act One - Hangin In:
This comprised most of the first quarter of the season, where we battled through injuries (a recurring theme) to stand 8-9 after an improbable 98-96 win at Denver on December 6. Things were looking up - we were set to get Marvin Williams back from his broken finger, Joe Johnson was one of the leading scorers in the NBA, and Tyronn Lue was playing the best basketball of his career.

Act Two - Die Hard:
It began the next game out, as JJ hurt his calf against the Lakers and things started to trend in the wrong direction. The tipping point came in two games, as the Hawks failed to hold onto two late-game leads (including a 21-point fourth quarter spread) against the Bulls and Jazz. Those losses were devastating. I don't think I've ever felt two losses affect my physical well-being as those games did, and I just work on the website. You can imagine what it did to the team's confidence.

At this point, a perfect storm of circumstances caused the season to spiral downward at an almost dizzying pace. T-Lue hurt his groin. Josh Smith had to have surgery for a hernia. Speedy continued to deal with knee problems that limited his effectivess. Joe's calf. Marvin's finger. Shelden's shoulder. Childress's foot. It went on and on, and all while the team dealt with a brutal schedule that saw the team face seven playoff teams in eight games (with the eighth being Indiana, a team that was comfortably in the playoff picture at that point).

Predictably, the team lost all eight games, and now, sitting at 9-21, hope appeared lost.

Act Three - The Resurrection:
A surprising thing happened at that point. Act Three saw the team begin to play better, starting with an 86-74 home win over the Clippers on January 6. Despite a few bad losses (including consecutive blowouts to Charlotte on back-to-back nights), the Hawks strung together some impressive wins, including a home victory over Detroit, on the road at Minnesota, and home-and-away wins against Orlando to take the season series. The Hawks finished January with a winning record, the first time the team had achieved such a feat over a full month since a 9-7 March back in 2002. February started off well too - the team won three of four on a West Coast road trip going into the All-Star break (including an all-but-inconceivable win at Phoenix), and things were looking up. Even with all the injuries and the big losing streak, the team was just a few games out of a playoff spot to start the second half and to top it off, Joe made the Eastern Conference All-Star team (yeah yeah, I know it was as a replacement, but we all know he was deserving, so shut it).

Unfortunately, that led to:

Act Four - the Deluge:
Another brutal stretch of scheduling (at Chicago, home to Houston, Phoenix, and San Antonio, and at Dallas), saw the team fall further back, and then the bottom dropped out when Joe Johnson was lost for the season after suffering a calf injury at Miami on March 5. The team responded well at first, winning four straight, but eventually the loss of their best player was too much to overcome. Further injuries continued to compound the problem, and soon the playoffs faded from sight. Fans began rooting for the team to lose (Commies) to protect the draft pick that heads to Phoenix if not in the top three, and the team obliged, albeit unwillingly.

There were positives even in the free fall, as Josh Smith continued to show off the game that leads many to predict All-Star game appearances in his future, and both Marvin and Shelden Williams had strong finishes with increased playing time.

Now, as we get ready to begin working on the script for 2007-08, it's time to say thanks to all the fans who stuck with the team through a true roller-coaster of a season. It was great at times and excruciating at times, but hopefully in the end the team takes with them the necessary lessons to build towards tomorrow.

Despite the season's finish, I find myself very optimistic about the future. Yes, we finished with the 4th worst record in the league. But I refuse to believe we couldn't have competed for a playoff spot, if not earned one outright, if we had ever gotten the chance to play with a full deck. We didn't and that's on us - every team deals with injuries, so you can't play the poor me card too much. But I'm not ready to give up on this roster, and I think we are set up to make some interesting moves this summer to improve.

So again - thanks to all the fans for your support this season. Good times are around the corner, I can feel it. Stick with us.

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Today is an important day for the Hawks. Why, you ask? Because today the NBA will flip coins to break all the draft lottery ties between teams with the same record.

Thanks to the late-season swoon by the Pacers and a surge by the Sixers, Indy and Philly ended up tied for 11th with identical 35-47 records. Depending on how you look at things, there are arguments for rooting for either option.

If Philly wins the coin flip, it lessens the chance that Indiana could move into the top three, which would keep us from obtaining their pick (its top-ten protected). On the other hand, if the Pacers win, then the Hawks move up one more place in the order and draft 11th assuming form holds.

Personally, I'm rooting for Indy. I will take my chances at 11.

Which reminds me - with all the grief BK gets, can we declare the trade for Al Harrington a success now? If you were given the option to trade Al today for the 11th pick, would you do it? I would. Nothing against Al, who will be returning to the playoffs this season with the surprising Golden State Warriors, but his absence did not cost us a playoff berth. I stand by the deal.

In other news, maybe we didn't have the best season, but we can take some comfort in ruining other teams' seasons as well. Clipper Blog breaks down the losses that cost their team a playoff berth, and he points to our road win at Staples Center as one of the primary causes. Take that, Clips.

Anyway, if you are interested in seeing the tie-breaks broke, check your local listings for NBATV - it is supposed to air some time this afternoon.

In the meantime, have fun with ESPN's Draft Lottery machine. It's pretty addictive. I got the above scenario on my second try.

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The 2006-07 season has come to a close. It's crazy - it feels like it just started. I can't believe it's over.

We went out on a positive note, beating down the Pacers 118-102 to finish the season with an even 30 wins against 52 losses.

I will get more in depth in the coming weeks, breaking down the players and everything, but for now I will just say that I think that everyone is disappointed in how the season ended (despite last night's victory), but that every player I talked to is determined to do what it takes over the summer to do better in 07-08.

Today was the day they cleared out the lockers for the summer and had their exit interviews with Coach Woodson.

It was personally sad for me, as it may have been the last time I see Royal Ivey, who I have watched since he was a freshman at Texas, and who is an unrestricted free agent going into the off-season.

I spoke to Marvin Williams and Josh Childress about the season and their summer plans. Marvin is headed back to Chapel Hill for summer school, while Childress is heading to South Africa to participate in Basketball Without Borders for the second straight summer.

I also did one final episode of The Show With The Show with Tyronn Lue. T-Lue is a huge NBA fan, so he will be in the audience at several playoff games over the next few weeks. His picks for the finals? Dallas and Detroit.

As I said, I will have more recap of the season in the coming weeks, but for now, here are some pics from the morning:

Solo and Video Coordinator John Beckett on the phone. They may have been talking to each other

Zaza Pachulia gets interviewed by a member of the Georgian media (the Republic, not the state)

Sekou Smith talks to Josh Childress about his summer plans

Chills and Solo clean out their lockers

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Atlanta Hawks ( 30-52) vs. Indiana Pacers (35-46)

POINTS

Atlanta (118) -- Josh Smith/Tyronn Lue, 25

Indiana (102) -- Ike Diogu, 20

REBOUNDS

Atlanta (41) -- Josh Smith, 13

Indiana (33) -- Mike Dunleavy, 9

ASSISTS

Atlanta (30) -- Anthony Johnson, 12

Indiana (22) -- Keith McLeod, 5

FG%

Atlanta -- .530

Indiana -- .493

FT%

Atlanta -- .833

Indiana -- .844

-- Riding four 20-plus point individual efforts for the first time this season, the Atlanta Hawks wrapped up their season with a 118-102 win over the Indiana Pacers before 16,051 at Philips Arena on Tuesday.

-- Josh Smith (25 pts/13 rebs) and Tyronn Lue (25 pts) led the Hawks in scoring, while Marvin Williams totalled 23 pts (10-15 FGs) and Shelden Williams scored a career-high 21 pts to go with his 10 rebs ... Smith had his team-high 32nd double-double, Shelden Williams had his 8th dub-dub (tops among all NBA rookies), and fourth-in-a-row.

-- Lue had a career night from the foul line, hitting 13-14.

-- Marvin Williams scored 20 or more points in five-of-his-final-six games, averaging 19.7 ppg on .565 FG% during that span.

-- Atlanta scored a season-high 41 points in the first quarter, a season-best 76 in the first half (on a season-high 66.7% FGs), and tied a season-best with 44 field goals made ... The Hawks had their second-highest scoring output of the season (118), without the benefit of a made three-pointer (0-6).

-- The Hawks final record (30-52) improved for the third consecutive season, as the team improved from 13 wins (three years ago) to 26 last season, and 30 this season.

-- Hawks attendance at Philips Arena was up for the fifth straight season, as the final average was 15,595 (639,375 total), a Hawks season record in the eight-year history of Philips Arena, and a 4% increase over last season. This season's eight sellouts doubled last season's total.

-- Josh Smith finished the season with at least one block in his final 53 games, the longest current streak in the NBA, and a franchise single-season record.

-- Anthony Johnson dished out a season-high 12 assists, and the Hawks recorded 30 as a team.

-- Prior to tonight's game, Josh Childress received the Jason Collier Memorial Trophy for the second consecutive season ... Following the contest, Joe Johnson was the recipient of the Dominique Wilkins Award (Team MVP), Josh Smith won the Lou Hudson Award (Most Improved), Shelden Williams took home the Bob Pettit Award (Hustle), and Tyronn Lue received the first Earthlink Fan Favorite Award.

-- The NBA regular season wraps up tomorrow with 14 games on the slate, and the playoffs begin on Saturday.

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The most first-round picks the Hawks have ever had was in 1999, when the team had an impressive four. Of course, the four they picked didn't turn out so impressive (of Jason Terry, Cal Bowdler, Dion Glover, and Jumaine Jones, only the Jet is still a rotation player in the league), but hey, it's still a record, what do you want from me.

Congrats to Angela S., who is today's winner.

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I'm a big trivia fan - I love trying to stump my co-workers with various bits of random information throughout the day. So, to have a little fun this year, we are going to be asking a trivia question the morning of every home game - usually around 10:00 am. At that point, you are free to email in your answer to that day's question. Around 2:00 p.m., we will look through all the responses, and one correct answer will be chosen at random as the winner. (Click here for official rules).

And what will they receive for their efforts, you ask? Why, they will get two free tickets to that night's home game! Hooray!

It's that simple! So remember to come to the Hawks BasketBlog every morning of every home game for a chance to win tickets for that night's game! Note: Tickets to weekend games will be given away on Fridays.

Okay, take a look at today's question and give it a shot!
Trivia Question For 04/17 Game:

It's possible the Hawks could end up with two first round picks this season. What is the most number of picks the Hawks have ever had in the first round, and who did they select with those picks?

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Over the weekend, Hawks GM Billy Knight was named to the Indiana Pacers' 40th Anniversary Team as voted on by the fans of that franchise. Knight, who ranks as the Pacers 3rd all-time leading scorer and was an All-Star for the team in 1976-77, was one of 12 players named to the team, which included such Pacers mainstays as Reggie Miller and Jermaine O'Neal.

A pretty cool thing for BK, especially considering that he played for the franchise so long ago and most of today's fans can't remember a game where people wore the size shorts Knight is sporting above.

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Atlanta Hawks (29-50) vs. Washington Wizards (40-39)

POINTS
Atlanta (98) -- Marvin Williams, 24
Washington (85) -- DeShawn Stevenson, 25

REBOUNDS
Atlanta (33) -- Shelden Williams, 10
Washington (37) -- Michael Ruffin, 9

ASSISTS
Atlanta (22) -- Tyronn Lue, 10
Washington (27) -- Antonio Daniels, 12

FG%
Atlanta -- .478
Washington -- .493

FT%
Atlanta -- .667
Washington -- .654

-- The Hawks outscored Washington, 50-49 in the second half, but fell to the Wizards, 98-85, before 16,658 at Philips Arena on Friday at Philips Arena.

-- Marvin Williams (24 pts, career high 11 FGM) put in 20-plus points for the third straight game for the first time in his career ... Shelden Williams (14 pts/10 rebs) recorded his second double-double in the last four games, and fifth on the season.

-- Tyronn Lue notched his second straight double-double with 16 pts and 10 assts.

-- The Hawks were without the services of Zaza Pachulia (lower right leg injury) and Salim Stoudamire (sprained right ankle), along with Joe Johnson, Josh Smith, Josh Childress and Speedy Claxton. Those six combine to average 79.3 ppg (84.6% of Atlanta's offense).

-- Atlanta travels to Cleveland tomorrow for the second half of a back-to-back (7:30 pm, FSN South, 790 The Zone).

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Tonight's game against Washington would seem to be somewhat inconsequential. We are fairly locked into our lottery seeding, and the Wizards are a playoff team (in name, if not in actuality thanks to their injuries), and it shouldn't matter who wins or loses.

Except, I find there is actually a lot riding on tonight's game. The Wizards, incredibly unfortunate of late, have lost their stature as an Eastern Conference contender and turned into a nearly gift-wrapped First Round playoff series victory for someone in the East, thanks to season-ending injuries to Caron Butler and Gilbert Arenas.

I mean, say what you want about the injury issues the Hawks have had this season, but the Wizards have been dealt an absolutely brutal hand.

Going into tonight's game, Washington has lost six straight, and they desperately need to get back on the winning track, playoff spot reserved or not.

The Hawks, still shorthanded as ever, would seem a team they could rebuild some of their confidence against to prepare themselves for the postseason.

But, a loss to us tonight, and they will really have to do some soul-searching to figure out what to do starting next weekend.

In Breaking Down The Wizards with Herb Brown today, he said that with their injuries, Antawn Jamison has become the focal point of their offense. Look for us to pay extra attention to him tonight. Former Gawguh Bulldog Jarvis Hayes will also need to step up for them, tonight and here-on in.

I say let's come out and get a win tonight on Fan Appreciation Night, get to 30 wins, and deal an even larger blow to the Wizards fragile emotional state.

See you there!

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It's been several years since the Hawks swept a home series against Washington. In fact, it's been nearly a decade, as the last time the team accomplished the task was the 1997-98 season.

Congrats to Nicole W., who wins tonight's tickets.

Back in a bit with some chatter on tonight's game!

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I'm a big trivia fan - I love trying to stump my co-workers with various bits of random information throughout the day. So, to have a little fun this year, we are going to be asking a trivia question the morning of every home game - usually around 10:00 am. At that point, you are free to email in your answer to that day's question. Around 2:00 p.m., we will look through all the responses, and one correct answer will be chosen at random as the winner. (Click here for official rules).

And what will they receive for their efforts, you ask? Why, they will get two free tickets to that night's home game! Hooray!

It's that simple! So remember to come to the Hawks BasketBlog every morning of every home game for a chance to win tickets for that night's game! Note: Tickets to weekend games will be given away on Fridays.

Okay, take a look at today's question and give it a shot!
Trivia Question For 04/13 Game:

With a victory tonight, the Hawks would win both of their home games against the Wizards this season. When is the last time the Hawks swept the Wizards at home?

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Atlanta Hawks (29-49) vs. Boston Celtics (23-54)

POINTS
Atlanta (104) -- Tyronn Lue, 26
Boston (96) -- Gerald Green, 33

REBOUNDS
Atlanta (39) -- Zaza Pachulia, 12
Boston (27) -- Leon Powe, 7

ASSISTS
Atlanta (21) -- Tyronn Lue, 10
Boston (18) -- Rajon Rondo, 8

FG%
Atlanta -- .603
Boston -- .462

FT%
Atlanta -- .792
Boston -- .800

-- The Atlanta Hawks shot a season-high 60.3 percent from the floor, and led by Tyronn Lue (26), Zaza Pachulia (22) and Marvin Williams (21), downed Boston, 104-96, in front of 13,780 at Philips Arena.

-- Lue put in 8 straight points for the Hawks during a critical fourth-quarter stretch, and scored 13 total in the closing period ... He's averaging 22.0 ppg and 9.3 apg in his last three.

-- The Hawks had three 20-plus point scorers for the fifth time this season, and both Pachulia (12 rebs) and Lue (10 assts) recorded double-doubles.

-- Shelden Williams (14) and Royal Ivey (11) provided firepower off Atlanta's bench.

-- Trailing by as many as 13 in the first half, the Hawks outscored Boston 53-37 in the second.

-- Atlanta returns to action Friday, when they host the Washington Wizards at Philips Arena (7:30 pm, FSN South, 790 The Zone).

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Tonight we finish the season series against Boston, a team we have beaten two of the three times we've played them so far. I know fans are still in a "lets lose to protect our draft slot" mode, but I for one would like to get a win this evening.

First and foremost, I like getting series bragging rights. We've already got them against the Clippers, the Warriors, the Magic, the T-Wolves, and the Grizzlies (maybe we should relocate to the Western Conference?). With a win tonight, we add the Celtics.

Secondly, if you look at the standings, we are pretty much set in the #4 slot. The Bucks are 26-51, two games worse than us, and hold the #3 position. Charlotte and Seattle, at 31-47, are 2.5 games to the better, occupying a tie for the fifth-spot. With only five games remaining, it seems pretty unlikely that we will move from the spot we currently occupy.

Given that, wouldn't you rather see the team finish the season on a high note and grab a few more Ws, maybe get to 30+ wins on the year? I know I would.

It may be tough given the players we are missing, but I'd still like to go into the games desiring a positive outcome.

Tonight's game against Boston is winnable, regardless of who we have out on the court. We got nice performances out of Marvin and T-Lue in the OT loss at Philly, and if Salim is healthy enough to go tonight, I expect him to continue his offensive ways as well.

So come out to Philips and cheer the team on to a win against one of the league's most storied franchises. Maybe it's just me, but a win over the Celtics will always mean something.

See you there!

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Tough question today - how many players on the Hawks and Celtics rosters completed their college eligibility? The answer is 14 - eight for the Celtics and six from the Hawks. It breaks down like this:

Celtics:
Allen Ray
Michael Olowokandi
Theo Ratliff
Wally Sczerbiak
Ryan Gomes
Kevinn Pinckney
Brian Scalabrine
Tony Allen

Hawks:
Speedy Claxton
Royal Ivey
Anthony Johnson
Solomon Jones
Shelden Williams
Salim Stoudamire

Congrats to Sam R., who wins tickets to tonight's game against the C's.

Back with a game preview in a bit!

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I'm a big trivia fan - I love trying to stump my co-workers with various bits of random information throughout the day. So, to have a little fun this year, we are going to be asking a trivia question the morning of every home game - usually around 10:00 am. At that point, you are free to email in your answer to that day's question. Around 2:00 p.m., we will look through all the responses, and one correct answer will be chosen at random as the winner. (Click here for official rules).

And what will they receive for their efforts, you ask? Why, they will get two free tickets to that night's home game! Hooray!

It's that simple! So remember to come to the Hawks BasketBlog every morning of every home game for a chance to win tickets for that night's game! Note: Tickets to weekend games will be given away on Fridays.

Okay, take a look at today's question and give it a shot!

Trivia Question For 04/10 Game:

Both the Hawks and Celtics rosters are very young. Between the two teams, how many players on the combined rosters completed four years of college eligibility?