Well, here we are at the last game of the month of November. I don't know how I feel about the team's start, to be honest. Given the list of opponents we've played, 6-8 is certainly respectable. If you told me before the season started we'd be 6-8 going into tonight's game, I'd probably have taken it and felt pretty good about it.

Yet at the same time, I feel somewhat unsatisfied. Maybe starting the season with huge wins over Dallas and Phoenix raised our expectations too high. Our CEO, Bernie Mullin, always says you're never as good as you look when you win, and you are never as bad as you look when you lose.

So maybe we aren't world beaters, like we looked against the Suns and Mavs. But we also aren't nearly as bad as we looked in losses to Chicago and Seattle.

Which begs the question - where are we?

Certainly injuries (once again) have affected us. I don't know what we did to the gods of point guard karma that we are unable to keep any of them healthy, but it has hurt us. At present, we don't have a guard with a drive-and-dish game healthy enough to play, and in my opinion we would benefit from that more than anything else right now (offensively, anyway).

Truthfully, so far we have seen the team fall prey to the same issues that plagued them last year - a vacillation (nice word eh?) of play from night to night, playing to the level of competition for better or worse.

I don't mean to sound like a downer. In truth, despite the team's struggles, they are still very much in the thick of it. There is no doubt this team is by far the most talented of the Mike Woodson era, and is absolutely a threat to make the playoffs.

In the first month, Al Horford has been outstanding, and looks to be a major competitor for Rookie of the Year honors. Marvin Williams has taken his game to a higher level, and has proven himself capable of being a legitimate second perimeter option to Joe Johnson. Josh Childress continues to do all the little things that make him one of the most valuable bench players in the NBA. Joe Johnson is the world class player we all know he is.

Tonight's game against New Orleans will be a great test for the Hawks. Win, and the team finishes November with a 7-8 record, having finished with a 4-1 stretch, with a manageable schedule coming in December. The Hornets are a good team, but they are slumping of late (losers of four of their last five). Typically this season, the Hawks have been the team to get back on track against (see Washington, Seattle, Chicago).

The Hawks need to come out tonight and play with desperation and intensity, or else the Hornets are going to win this game. That to me is the one thing that has to change more than anything else going forward - they've got to treat every game like an elimination game, or they are going to continue to see teams reach up and bite them.

Come out to Philips tonight to root the team on and give them the kind of home-court advantage that was so instrumental in the big early season wins. All it takes is a couple wins, and all of a sudden everything will seem rosy again.

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I'll be back with more later today to talk about tonight's contest with New Orleans, but for now, check out the links, and check out our preview with Jim Eichenhofer from Hornets.com.

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Well, that was more like it. Certainly not a perfect game for the Hawks, but given that Marvin Williams was out and they were coming off their worst offensive performance all year, a 16-point win over a good Eastern Conference team like Milwaukee.

A couple thoughts from last night to add to our postgame wrap up:

- I think we need to get Al Horford the ball more on the blocks. He had his way last night with Andrew Bogut and Yi Jianlian, and I don't see many players out there who can stop him once he gets motoring towards the basket. I know he has had a bit of trouble with traveling, but I chalk that up to the fact that he is a rookie with an offensive game that is still a work in progress. The more comfortable he gets, the less that will happen.

- Speaking of Yi Jianlian, this was the first chance I had to see him. He is definitely no dud - he has a great stroke from the perimeter and I can see him becoming an offensive force once he gets better acclimated to the pace of the game. But for those who wanted him at #3, I think the results of his battling with Horford should put that argument to rest.

- It was good to see Royal Ivey back last night, but as much as I hate to say it (cause I love my former Longhorns), Mario West has been every bit as good as Royal was for us, and he gets bonus points for his off-the-charts athleticism. His dunk in the first quarter was one of the most electrifying plays of the whole night.

The team will practice today, and hopefully work on recapturing the magic they had working in the 4th quarter against the Bucks for tomorrow night against the Hornets.

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Last night was disappointing. There's really nothing else you can say about it. As I said yesterday, I don't view the Bulls as your garden-variety basement dweller, and they've had a ton of success at our expense of late - last night was their 12th straight over us.

But I can't help but wonder - where has this team's offensive identity gone? Even in the two wins over Miami and Minnesota, the Hawks struggled to put the ball in the basket. The terrific distribution we saw at the beginning of the season in wins over Dallas and Phoenix seems to have fallen by the wayside, and even worse has been replaced of late by a consistent barrage of one-on-one basketball.

It seemed like every shot the Hawks took last night was a contested jumper, and we failed to use the transition game to get easy layups and inside baskets.

The sky isn't falling, and every team is going to have its ups and downs as an 82-game season plays out. But win or lose, the Hawks are more fun to watch when they are getting up and down the court, and the team's real strengths shine through when we don't get caught in an isolation-only offensive game plan. Losing to Chicago is nothing to be too broken up over - they are still a very talented team despite their record - but it's the way the Hawks went down that was particularly troubling.

Milwaukee has typically been a faster paced team over the last few years, so maybe we'll see more of that tonight by necessity. Either way, something must be done to get these guys rollin again.

Moving on - Lang Whitaker checked in today with his weekly column wondering some of the same things, but his optimism still seems mostly unfazed.

Certainly, a win tonight and a strong showing offensively will make us all feel a whole lot better.

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Tonight could be very important for the Hawks. I don't think the world will end if we lose, but if we win - oh if we win! - it could be a very positive sign of things to come.

Chicago makes me very nervous - 2-10 record aside. They are coming home off a six-game road trip, and I imagine they are going to be fighting mad to get their season back on track. A win over a team like that would be quite a feather in the Hawks cap, and gives the team a chance to finish the month with a winning record as they come home for a two-game home stand.

Let's not get ahead of ourselves though. On paper, Chicago is every bit the team that nearly made the conference finals a year ago, despite the troubles they've had so far. And before we think they are out of it at present, remember they started 0-9 three years ago and still made the playoffs.

Hopefully we'll see Zaza back tonight, but I don't anticipate we'll see Acie Law as he continues to rehab his ankle.

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Hope everyone had a nice Thanksgiving break, and is ready to get back to business. A big week for the Hawks - a road game at struggling Chicago (a team that has consistently owned the Hawks in the last few years), followed by home games against two very good teams in Milwaukee and New Orleans.

Atlanta has put the disappointment of a three-game losing streak behind it with two consecutive come-from-behind wins on the road. A third against Chicago (in addition to winning donuts for everyone around the office) would be a huge step in the right direction. As I said today in the BasketBlog Weekly Podcast (co-hosted by Hornets.com's Jim Eichenhofer), I can't for the life of me understand why Chicago is playing so poorly right now. They have so much talent on that team, and were my pick preseason to come out of the Eastern Conference.

Milwaukee and New Orleans should provide stern tests - both teams have gotten off to impressive starts, with each looking like playoff bound franchises so far.

Hopefully this week, we'll see the Hawks offense get itself in gear a little earlier in the game than in the past few contests...

Onto the links:

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A big win last night for the Hawks, for a number of reasons. First and foremost, stopping the bleeding after a three-game losing streak was huge, getting the team back on track with a winnable game at Minnesota coming up on Saturday.

Secondly, Atlanta needed a road win in the worst way. With 17 straight losses away from Philips Arena dating back to last season, the Hawks needed to prove to themselves that they could get it done in a hostile environment (though, judging by the empty seats on television, I don't know how hostile it really was).

Winning in Miami has been a particularly difficult thing for the Hawks of late, as the team is only 2-13 at American Airlines all-time.

Still, there is work to be done. The Hawks get a ton of credit here for rallying from a double-digit deficit in the fourth quarter to get the win last night, and Josh Smith's block on Dwyane Wade in the closing seconds was a thing of beauty - it was the perfect mix of positioning, timing, and execution.

But, for the Hawks to really get things turned around, they have got to find a way to get others involved in the offense late in the game. There is too much pressure on Joe Johnson right now to carry the load. JJ hit some huge shots last night (and did against Seattle on Friday as well), but they weren't "good" shots. Certainly, any shot that Joe takes is a good shot because of his talents, but they don't all have to be deep three-pointers with the shot clock winding down.

Losing Joe for the last month of the season last year was good for the development of his teammates, and they need to draw on that experience to help him out when possessions become more critical in the late stages.

Yes, we won last night, but the Heat still had several opportunities to reclaim the lead. The Hawks defense certainly deserves a ton of credit for their performance in the win, and if we can get the offense to match that level, then we'll see the Hawks pull out more victories in close quarters.

Still, a win is a win, and this one came at an immensely important time, so I won't be too critical.

Let's enjoy it for a couple days, have a good Thanksgiving, and then we'll get back to business on Saturday at Minnesota.

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Atlanta Hawks (82) at Miami Heat (79)

Scoring by Quarters
ATL - 21/16/19/26 - 82
MIA - 24/19/23/13 - 79

Individual Leaders
Scoring
ATL - J. Johnson - 22
MIA - O'Neal - 18

Rebounds
ATL - 45 (Smith 11)
MIA - 38 (O'Neal 10)

Assists
ATL - 14 (J. Johnson/Smith 4)
MIA - 16 (Wade 5)

-- The Hawks rallied from a 10-point fourth quarter deficit, and Josh Smith rejected Dwyane Wade's game-tying shot attempt with 3.9 seconds left to seal a thrilling 82-79 victory at Miami. The win snapped Atlanta's 17-game road losing streak (dating back to last season).

-- Joe Johnson led the way with 22 points, while Josh Smith added 16, Marvin Williams scored 13 and Josh Childress had 11. Shaquille O'Neal's 18 paced Miami.

-- After missing their first seven field goals and falling behind as many as 11, the Hawks rallied to within six (43-37) at the half. Atlanta cut it down to four late in the third, but the Hawks went into the fourth down down 10 (66-56).
However, Atlanta wouldn't go away quietly, slowly cutting into the lead before taking a two-point lead with 6:43 left, and hanging on for the win.

-- Atlanta improved to 2-13 all-time at AmericanAirlines Arena.

-- Smith finished with his third double-double (16 pts/11 rebs) of the season, while Marvin Williams has now scored in double figures in all 11 games this season, extending the longest streak of his career.

-- Tyronn Lue returned to the lineup after missing the San Antonio game with a groin strain, but Salim Stoudamire (right ankle sprain) and Lorenzen Wright (right hamstring strain) missed their second straight game, in addition to Acie Law (left ankle sprain) and Speedy Claxton (left knee).

-- After Thanksgiving, the Hawks head back out on the road for a two-game midwest trip to Minnesota (Saturday, 8 p.m., 790 The Zone) and Chicago (Tuesday, 8:30 p.m., FSN South, 790 The Zone).

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San Antonio Spurs (95) at Atlanta Hawks (83)

Scoring by Quarters
SA - 29/32/22/12 - 95
ATL - 20/24/21/18 - 83

Individual Leaders
Scoring
SA - Parker - 31
ATL - J. Johnson - 20

Rebounds
SA - 39 (Oberto 10)
ATL - 39 (Horford 8)

Assists
SA - 22 (Parker 9)
ATL - 15 (A. Johnson 7)

-- The Hawks fell behind as many as 24, rallied to cut the deficit to 10 in the fourth quarter, but couldn't get over the hump in a 95-83 loss to the defending world champion Spurs on Tuesday at Philips Arena.

-- Joe Johnson led the way for the Hawks with 20 points, Marvin Williams added 16, while Al Horford and Josh Smith scored 11 apiece.

-- With two blocks tonight, Smith moved past Dominique Wilkins and into sole possession of fifth place on the Hawks all-time blocked shots list (now at 590).

-- Tony Parker scored 21 of his 31 points in the first half, as the Spurs built their first-half lead ... The Hawks went on a late third and early fourth quarter 12-0 run, sparked by Mario West's energy and the crowd of 17,025, to pull within 10.

-- Manu Ginobili (19), Tim Duncan (13), Michael Finley (10) and Fabricio Oberto (10) also scored in double figures for the Spurs.

-- The Hawks fell to 3-7 on the campaign, while the Spurs improved to 9-2.

-- Tyronn Lue (groin strain), Salim Stoudamire (right ankle sprain) and Lorenzen Wright (right hamstring strain) all missed tonight's game, in addition to Acie Law (left ankle sprain) and Speedy Claxton (left knee).

-- The Hawks head back out to the road for a Wednesday night matchup at Miami ( 7:30 p.m., FSN South, FSN South HD / 790 The Zone).

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Based on the way the season has gone so far, we have to like our chances tonight, right? Wins over Dallas and Phoenix, losses to Seattle and Washington. Who can figure it out?

Big Bad San Antonio comes to Philips Arena tonight, and if the Hawks want to win, they are going to have to pull out all the stops much like they did in the two big wins at the beginning of the season.

In speaking with Hawks assistant Bob Bender today in our "Breaking Down The Spurs" segment (That's right, it's my Hawks.com television debut! Hi mom!), he basically stated that all you need to do to beat the Spurs is to play perfectly on offense and defense. Not too much to ask, is it?

We've said it before, and we will say it again - the Hawks have to get into their transition game if they want to win tonight - a half-court battle goes entirely in the Spurs favor.

Come out tonight and support the team in the last home game before Thanksgiving. Hopefully we'll have a lot to be thankful for after tonight (and tomorrow night in Miami).

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A tough, tough weekend for the Hawks. Kevin Durant's buzzer-beater in double overtime sent the team to a hard-to-swallow loss (and caused me to suspend my membership in the KD fan club for a few weeks in protest), then with no time to recuperate from the devastation, they went to Milwaukee and fell there as well.

No excuses made here - Atlanta had every chance to win on Friday and didn't get the job done. Yes, the team was shorthanded, but every team deals with injuries throughout an 82-game season. The loss to the Bucks is more understandable, but either way the team now sits at 3-6 and is staring at back-to-back games against the last two NBA titlists (amazing to think the Heat won the title so recently; it feels so long ago to see them now).

Every season has it's ups and downs, and this is the first real down for Atlanta. Let's see how the team responds - so far they have risen to the occasion when the big boys come a-callin'.

Th