What did I say yesterday about training camp being a good time to work out the kinks? One of these days we'll get it all right. Today I went down to practice to observe the action and get some good action pictures (I even took the good camera, not my crappy personal one). When I got back, I went to upload them all to my computer, and of course, I accidentally deleted all of them. Dooop! So, no pics today, but I promise to get some good ones tomorrow. Update: I managed to (sorta) salvage one pic. It's above. Enjoy.

As far as the action today, I thought most of the drills and scrimmages were designed to work on conditioning more than anything else. If you know Mike Woodson, you know fitness is a high priority for him, and he wasn't shy to yell several times about guys looking winded. Still, it's early in camp, and I expect everyone's fitness level to improve quickly over the course of the next few weeks.

There were some highlights during the scrimmage session at the end, which featured a 16-second shot clock and a running timer to get the guys moving up and down the court at a faster pace.

- On the first play of the first scrimmage, I was pleased to see Speedy Claxton blow past his man and get to the rack...where Josh Smith promptly erased the evidence of his journey. Smoove's shotblocking and dunking are already in regular season form, I can tell you that much.

- Flip Murray can score. During his time on the court, I think he scored on 4 or 5 straight trips down the floor via a variety of jumpers and lay-ups. I know he is a volume shooter, but I really think he has the potential to be a big help off the bench.

- Maurice Evans was matched up defensively with Joe Johnson, and you can tell they enjoy going against each other (and neither were shy to rib the other during the game). D'ing up Joe in practice will be great, ummm, practice, for Evans, who often times will be matched up with the opposition's top perimeter threat when he's on the floor.

- Frank Robinson impressed me a bit today. Frank is a rookie training camp invite, and probably a bit of a longshot to make the team out of camp. I often wonder what it's like to be in that position, but Robinson appears at ease. He took part in several after-practice shooting competitions, and he seemed right at home jawing back and forth with his camp teammates. I liked the confidence - I'm sure you need it in spades when you are matched up against some of the best basketball players in the world and trying to earn your own spot.

I'll have more as we continue through the week (the guys practice here in Atlanta until Sunday, when they leave for their first preseason game in Orlando), as I anticipate the intensity of the drills and scrimmages will begin to pick up as everyone regains their legs. And of course, there will be pictures...

At the beginning of the season, there are always a few bumps in the road. That's what training camp is for, no? Today's hiccup saw the internet connection at the office go down for most of the afternoon, which is why I am just able to post this stuff now. I'll have more tomorrow as the team commences practices for the first time, but sufficed to say Media Day was a success, if such a thing can be determined so.

Everyone seemed happy to be back, and guys were clowning around with each other in between giving interviews with the media on hand. Maurice Evans in particular seemed to fit right in with his new teammates, getting into a few shooting contests with Joe Johnson and Mike Bibby. The other thing noticeable right off the bat? Muscles. Specifically those belonging to Marvin Williams and Solomon Jones, each of whom appear to have bulked up considerably in the offseason.

We grabbed several interviews with the guys (and by we I mean ace Hawks broadcaster Bob Rathbun), and we'll post them in the morning.

In the meantime, here are some photos from the event this afternoon.

More after the jump...

And we're baaaaaaaaaaack!

Sorry I've been away for a little while (full disclosure - I took a little time off to get married and honeymoon for a bit - that's me in Florence, Italy, next to a restaurant called Trattoria Zaza), but with training camp upon us it's time to get back down to business full throttle.

Today is Hawks Media Day, a chance for all the local (and national, if they so choose) TV and radio stations to come out and talk with the Hawks players for the first time in 2008-09. It's somewhat chaotic, with players running back and forth to stations for photography, video shoots, and interviews, but it's a great chance to grab the guys for a few minutes to find out how they've spent their time over the last few months.

Anyways, I've got a ton of stuff to catch up on, but I just want to say welcome, everyone, to Hawks basketball 2008-09. We've got a long road ahead of us, but I anticipate it being a fun season. We hope to have lots of new stuff around these parts (not just the blog, but the hawks website in general) over the course of the next several months, so stick around!

I'll be back later on today with stuff from Media Day including player interviews and pictures...

As you know it pays to read this blog - as a loyal reader of the Hawks BasketBlog you have the opportunity to purchase Atlanta Hawks 2008-2009 tickets to all the hottest games before they go on-sale to the general public during the exclusive pre-sale. 

Feel free to click this link

http://www.ticketmaster.com/promo/oin2c4 

and use the password BLOG

Key Home Dates:

Opening Night - Hawks vs. 76ers, Sat. 11/1/08 7pm

                       - Hawks vs. Cavs, Sat. 12/13/08 7pm

                       - Hawks vs. Celtics, Wed. 12/17/08 7pm

                       - Hawks vs. Cavs, Sun. 03/01/09 6pm

                       - Hawks vs. Celtics, Fri. 03/27/09 7:30pm

                       - Hawks vs. LAL, Sun. 03/29/09 3:30pm

"NOW YOU KNOW"

Micah is on vacation cavorting around Europe, so in his place we're bringing you some posts from the decidedly better looking A-Town dancers, starting with this entry from Britt.

Today is a day that I am partly nervous and partly excited about...it's Image Day. All of the A-Town Dancers and the Thrashers Blue Crew will be heading to Jamison Shaw Hairdressers from 4:30 to 6:30 for an image consultation. Today is the day that Donni and Candy, one of the owners of Jamison Shaw, will decide what we will look like for the entire season- eek! Everyone arrived to the salon in Buckhead looking cute- some were obviously very nervous and not prepared for the possible change in their entire appearance...others expressed their excitement for anything new! Personally, I wasn't too nervous because I couldn't see them changing me from being a redhead...I should have been a little more prepared.

We all got our picture taken when we arrived so that we could have an ID card made. Once everyone was there we had group shots taken of each team. After pictures were complete, Candy started by introducing her staff and their strengths, as well as all of the services offered at the salon. We then split up to have our consultations... When it was my turn the stylists asked me what I wanted to see happen with my hair. I told them that I just did not want to loose any length in my hair because it is so curly. They suggested to make it darker red and add more layers. I was satisfied with that (not knowing how dark "dark" really was!), so I moved on to wait for my make-up consultation. While I was waiting all you could hear was talk of what was going to happen to everyone's hair. You could hear plenty of fear in some voices, and definite excitement in others. The fear of the unknown and the fact that you no longer have control of the situation is always a little unnerving. The night came to an end as we all made appointments for the coming days to make the necessary changes. My hair appointment is in one day...and then I will be dark dark red!

Britt

AOL Fanhouse master-blogger Tom Ziller is currently counting down his list of the NBA's top-50 players. He is up to #30 today (Baron Davis), but Atlanta's own Josh Smith checked in yesterday at #32. Ziller has some high praise for Smoove (as well as somewhat of a backhanded compliment to the Hawks for signing him to such a reasonable contract), and foresees big things for him in the future.

His biggest point about Josh's transition into superstar is that he needs someone to help get him easy buckets the way the Suns do for Amare Stoudemire. I couldn't agree more, and I hope that the Mike Bibby/Acie Law/Speedy Claxton combo will make this a priority this season and beyond.

The more easy baskets Josh is getting, the easier it will be for everyone else on the team (and the less jumpers he'll need to take).

#32 is a pretty solid placing for Josh, but I'll be interested to see where and if Joe Johnson and Al Horford fall on this list, as neither has been named so far. My guess is that JJ will be one of the next few selections, but I wonder about Al. I'd place him in the league's top-50 for sure, but it's possible he will need one more year before everyone else catches on to how good he is.
 

Saw this cool Hawks mix on YouTube in the last few days and I've been meaning to post a link to it. This is incredibly well done, and a tip o' the cap to "hawksno1fan" for making it. Just as a warning, there are a few words in there I wouldn't say in front of children, so just be warned.

If this video doesn't get you pumped for the upcoming season, I don't know what will...

I hope everyone had a good Labor Day weekend. Mine was spent doing a whole lotta nothin, which is just the way I like it. Things around the office are starting to pick up now, as we say goodbye to summer hours and really get in depth in our planning for the 2008-09 season. It's crazy to think the new year is nearly upon us; it doesn't feel that long ago that we were duking it out with the Celtics in the Eastern Conference Playoffs.

Nevertheless here we are, four weeks away from the beginning of training camp (Media Day is Monday, Sept. 29, with the first practice set for Tuesday the 30th).

As we begin to look ahead, I know there are several questions on the minds of Hawks fans. Here are couple that are on my mind:

1. Which Hawks players should we expect to improve in 2008-09?
Obviously, you'd like to think they all can, but let's be realistic. Not every Hawks player will have a career-year next season. At this point, I think you can say that guys like Mike Bibby and Joe Johnson are who they are, and I don't expect them to do anything much differently than they have in the past (not that that's a bad thing). Having said that, I remember one thing specifically from talking to new Hawks GM Rick Sund back in June - that because of the team's youth, they are capable of taking a big step forward simply because there are so many players on the roster on the upslope of their careers.

I think it's reasonable to expect improvement from Al Horford, Acie Law, Josh Smith, and Marvin Williams. Of that group, my gut tells me we'll see the biggest leap from Horford. Last season Horford was somewhat of an afterthought on the offensive end, but I expect (or at least hope) that he will be featured more prominently this year in the post. His post moves are still developing, but he already has a big enough arsenal to score consistently against the best defenders in the league (something he proved against the Celtics).

2. How will we make up for the loss of Josh Childress?
Hawks broadcaster Steve Smith liked to call Chills the "Baseline Bum" for all the work he did from the corners in, and his contributions from those spots will be missed. Maurice Evans, signed from Orlando, will be the player who presumably will be asked to pitch in the most. Let's take a look at their seasons last year via my favorite tool, the hotspot:

In my mind, I figure the place we'll miss Childress the most is on the offensive glass, where last season he was the best in the league amongst guards by a wide margin (2.3 a game, with the Warriors' Monta Ellis a distant second at 1.6). However, in looking at the statistics a little closer, I noticed who was the 6th best offensive-rebounding guard - Maurice Evans, who nabbed 1.2 offensive boards in only 22.9 minutes per game. I admit it's a little crude on the math, but extrapolate Evans' rebound-rate up to Chills' minutes and he ends up at 1.6 a game, right where Ellis is. Evans alone can't make up for Childress' prowess on the boards, but hopefully guys like Al Horford, Zaza Pachulia, and Randolph Morris will be able to eat up a few more of those as well.

What questions do you have going in to 2008-09?