I for one can't wait. Everyone appears to be reasonably healthy, and based on what the team has been up to over the past month or so, it seems as if everyone on the team is aware of what is at stake this season.

For those who missed Sekou Smith's piece about it in the AJC, nearly every player on the Hawks roster has been back in Atlanta for nearly a month, voluntarily cutting their vacation short to put in work with their teammates in hopes of getting into game shape early and building the kind of chemistry that is important for any team, but especially so for a team as young as the Hawks.

I have been down to the court to see them in action some, and there are definitely some spirited games going on. I got a few photos, but my camera doesn't do so well with flash indoors, so they are a little grainy.

One thing that is interesting is that, in addition to the pickup games they've been playing down at the practice court, they've also been working out together at the track at Georgia Tech doing endurance and conditioning workouts to get themselves in better shape for the start of camp.

How will all this extra work pay off? We'll start to see the fruits of their labor in just a few days...

Today is a bittersweet day for me (and not because it's International Talk Like A Pirate Day). Royal Ivey, a backup point guard (and sometimes starter) for Atlanta the last three years, is now officially an ex-Hawk after signing a one-year contract with the Milwaukee Bucks on Tuesday.

First things first, I am thrilled for Royal. I knew his time was most likely up in Atlanta - with four point guards on the roster (five if you want to include Salim Stoudamire, but not sure if he counts) with guaranteed contracts, it was going to be tough for him to find a spot. And, given his relative lack of playing time, I feared this would be the end of the line for him in the NBA (not that there isn't a good life to be made playing overseas), so I am happy to see him landing on his feet on another roster.

Still, I am sad to see him go. As a University of Texas grad and a fierce supporter of all ex-Longhorns (except Chris Simms), I have watched with great pleasure as Royal grew from an overlooked recruit coming out of high school to a contributing member on an NBA roster. Though he never got extensive playing time in any of his three seasons here, he was a practice court warrior and a coach's delight, always giving max effort no matter the situation. Plus, I could always talk Texas sports with him - who am I going to do that with now, Acie Law? I still haven't forgiven him for this.

Anyways, I just wanted to take this opportunity to say, good luck Royal. Here is hoping he finds a good fit in Milwaukee, and prolongs his career not only another season but several more after as well.

Today we continue the series with All-Star SG Joe Johnson. How do you think these players will do? Leave your answers in the comments!

Joe Johnson

2007 Stats: 25.0 ppg, 4.2 rpg, 4.4 apg, 47% FG, 75% FT

2007 Highlights: Pretty tough to pick out Joe's best games in any year, given his consistently excellent play. There was the Hawks-record seven-straight games with 25+ points to start a season, that was pretty nice. There was also a stretch of five straight games with 30+ points from November 28 - December 5. But my choice for his best game is the 39 points he dropped on Orlando in a 93-90 road win on January 26, followed closely by a 37-point performance in another road victory for the Hawks, the 101-99 OT thriller at New Jersey on Feb. 4. Of course, it's also hard to forget the 12 points he scored as a participant in the 2007 NBA All-Star game, the first appearance of his career (but hopefully not the last).

What he needs to work on this summer: Joe's game is pretty much above reproach at this point. He does everything well - defends his man, shoots for a high percentage, and is able to score in a variety of ways. If there is one thing I'd like to see Joe do more, it's get to the foul line and make more free throws once he gets there. For a guy who is as good a shooter as JJ is, he only shot 75% from the line in 2006-07. Joe only averaged 5.5 FTs per game, whereas a player like Dwyane Wade, got to the line 10+ time a game, and you can see where Joe could improve his scoring average by 2-3 points a game if he drew a few more whistles.

Otherwise, Joe just needs to continue to develop his arsenal. All the great players continue to adapt their game, adding new wrinkles every year to keep their opponents off-balance. It will be interesting to see what, if anything, JJ added in his spare time this offseason.

Click here to see Joe Johnson's video highlights!

Outlook for 2007-08: Clearly, Joe is the most important piece to the puzzle for the Hawks. Last season he suffered  through a rash of injuries for the first time in his career, perhaps due to his Team USA duties throughout the previous off-season. This summer he was able to take it easy, which hopefully will keep him healthier. Teams know that stopping Joe is the key to stopping Atlanta, so he will once again have to deal with a steady diet of double- and sometimes triple-teams.

Joe's teammates developed some confidence in his absence towards the end of last season, especially Josh Smith. Hopefully, their play also instilled some confidence in JJ as well, who at times went it alone late in games to try to win games for the Hawks. That's a lot of pressure for one player to deal with, and not a great recipe for success if other teams know exactly what you are going to do when you need buckets. If the other Hawks can continue to produce at a high enough level to take some of the heat off, Joe can become even more dangerous to opponents and the team could really take a step forward this year.

We are only a few weeks away from finding out!

The season is getting closer. The guys are in the gym working out on their own to get a jumpstart on 2007-08 (we'll have more on that next week), and we figure you should too! As a reward for being a loyal reader, here's a link to get you in on the pre-sale for single game tickets that started today. I did a little preview for the site that I put up today, highlighting 10 of the biggest games on the calendar, to whet your whistle a little and give you some dates to target. So please, take advantage of this little blog-exclusive offer, get your tickets while they're hot, and thanks for reading!

Josh Childress and Harold Ellis teach at Basketball Without Borders - Africa

The NBA's Basketball Without Borders program is really one of the best charitable programs in any professional sport. It should get a lot more press than it does, but regardless it gives many NBA players a chance to see the world and give back to the worldwide community.

Several Hawks have been involved in the last couple years, including Zaza Pachulia and Marvin Williams, and this year also marks the second straight year Josh Childess has participated. We caught up to him as he took part this past week in Basketball Without Borders - Africa, which took place in Johannesburg, South Africa from Sept. 5-9, to find out more about his experience:

Hawks.com: You did BWB last year in China - how does the African version compare?

Josh Childress: The Africa version is very different to Basketball without Borders Asia especially being African American - the kids here in Africa really really look up to you they see you as a real role model and also just the level of athleticism and how much the kids really love to learn it's a big difference. But both camps were great and I'm looking forward to doing more as the years go on.

Hawks.com: You spent time Wednesday at the Apartheid Museum. What was that experience like?
JC: The Apartheid museum was a real eye-opening experience. I'd heard about the apartheid regime but you never really know until you witness it and there I saw it first hand. It was amazing, it was great to learn that people went through such a struggle and it was a real eye-opener for me and it as very humbling and it makes me realize how blessed I am. I really enjoyed that experience.

Hawks.com: What is the best part of the BWB program for you?
JC: The best part of the BWB program to me is the really the community events. This year in South Africa we did Habitat For Humanity where we helped build a home and just to go to these communities that are so poverty stricken and you see these kids faces and its incredible. We worked on building a house, and when it was done I gave a kid the gloves that I used to work on the house and he was thrilled and he was pumping his chest and just so excited.

Hawks.com: Is it nice getting to share the experience with Hawks scout Harold Ellis and broadcaster Steve Smith?
JC: It's definitely nice to share the experience with Steve and Harold. I don't get to hang out with them much during the regular season so just getting to know them and hearing stories about back when they used to play was great. It will be cool for us being able to go back and share our experiences with the people from Atlanta - that will be great as well.

Hawks.com: Most of your teammates are back in Atlanta beginning their preparation for the season. Have you talked to them at all? Are you planning on joining them when BWB is over?
JC: I haven't been able to talk to most of my teammates just because of the time difference and calling the US is pretty expensive.  I know they are there working hard and I definitely plan on coming back to Atlanta on Monday, and I look forward to getting back with the team and starting off the season how we mean to carry on.

Click here to see more photos of J-Chill's trip to South Africa.

Today we continue the series with sharpshooter Salim Stoudamire. How do you think these players will do? Leave your answers in the comments!

Salim Stoudamire

2007 Stats: 7.7 ppg, 36% 3-pt FG, 90% FT

2007 Highlights: Salim's minutes yo-yoed throughout the year, seeing a lot at the beginning, less towards the middle, and pitching back upwards towards the end of the season when the injuries began to pile up. Still, Stoudamire managed to put up some impressive numbers, including a career-high (and second best effort on the team all-season) 37 points in a 102-100 loss to Portland on March 23. Stoudamire was an incredible 14-20 from the field in that game, including 6-9 from downtown. He was similarly hot in a 115-102 win over Milwaukee on April 6, nailing seven 3's accounting for all of his 21 points, and dropped 26 on Sacramento in a rough 117-92 loss on Dec. 10.

What he needs to work on this summer: Salim's playing time seems to fluctuate with his defensive effort and his ability to limit mistakes. Stoudamire plays with such white-hot intensity, it sometimes gets the better of him and he gets down on himself when things take a turn for the worse. Therefore, he needs to continue to work on controlling his emotions during games.

In strictly basketball terms though, Salim will have to prove he can distribute the ball more effectively if he wants to get minutes in the Hawks' crowded backcourt. And, I never thought I'd say this, but he actually needs to improve his shooting. Though most consider Stoudamire to be one of the best shooters in the game, a 41% FG mark a year ago doesn't back it up. I blame a lot of that on a lack of consistent minutes, and the fact that he tends to force a few shots early on to get himself in rhythm. But a guy with his ability should rarely be below 50%, even considering how many 3-pointers he takes.

Outlook for 2007-08: The team wants to play more up-tempo this season, which is good news for a guy like Salim, whose game translates much better to that than the slow-it-down pace of the past.

Stoudamire has been working extremely hard this off-season to improve himself. Because of his lack of size he will probably never be the defensive player the coaches would like him to be, but if he focuses on what he needs to improve on (fighting through screens, learning to defend the pick and roll, and pressuring the dribbler's ball hand) he won't force them to keep him out of the lineup in late-game situations.

With the addition of Acie Law (Anthony Johnson is relatively new as well, but it's unlikely Royal Ivey will return), there are fewer minutes to go around this year as stated previously. However, Salim provides something that really only Joe Johnson has proven himself capable of on this team - the ability to score points in bunches. Like JJ, when Salim is on, it is a sight to behold.

If he can get off to a good start and get his confidence going, he could really solidify his spot in the rotation and make a significant contribution.

Do you agree?

Today we continue the series with point guard Speedy Claxton. How do you think these players will do? Leave your answers in the comments!

Speedy Claxton

2007 Stats: 5.3 ppg, 4.4 apg, 1.7 spg

2007 Highlights: It was a tough season for Speedy, to say the least. A broken finger cost him most of the preseason, and chronic knee pain kept him in and out of the lineup until he eventually had to shut it down for the season in early March. There really weren't many highlights to speak of, but he did show glimpses of what Hawks fans were hoping to see in back-to-back games in December, scoring 19 points and dishing out 11 assists in a 97-88 win at Memphis on Dec. 15 and following that with another double-double (10 points, 11 dimes) in a 106-105 loss to Chicago on Dec. 16.

What he needs to work on this summer: It's hard to pinpoint one thing, given how much went wrong for Speedy in 06-07. He shot 55% from the free throw line, 21% worse than his career average, for example. I think it's safe to say at least some of last year was an aberration. Claxton had arthroscopic surgery on his knee, and has been working out in Vancouver this summer with one of the top sports physiotherapists in the world. Hopefully, improvements to his health and to the competition around him will have him back to the form that led the Hawks to sign him in the first place. So far at least, the word is he is healthy and ready to show what he can do.

Click here to see Speedy's video highlights!

Outlook for 2007-08: As much grief as Speedy got for his season a year ago, there is no doubting his importance to the team's outlook for 2007-08. With the team promising to play more up-tempo, Claxton is just the type of point guard the team needs to implement that kind of style. I simply refuse to believe that Speedy is as bad as he looked last year. This is a guy who finished second in the 6th Man voting as recently as 05-06 - clearly he has talent. For him it will be all about staying healthy, but I also think the stiffened competition at the point from T-Lue, Acie Law, and Anthony Johnson will help to raise his game as well.

The Hawks need Speedy to play to the level they though him capable of when they signed him, and Speedy needs to play well to redeem himself from a nightmare campaign a year ago.

This subplot will go a long way towards determining the team's success.

Agree?