Sorry I didn't have a chance to post yesterday. There was a bit of brief news around Hawktown, as Marcus Hubbard and Frank Robinson were released, moving the Hawks roster number down to 15. There is speculation as to whether or not the team will stay at 15 or move down one more to 14 before the season starts, but sufficed to say I have no idea how that will play out. When I hear something, I'll let you know.

On to tonight's game against the Suns, the second time we'll face them this preseason. The Hawks took a 100-96 victory in the desert last week, but tonight's game promises to be a little different because each roster has changed a bit since last week. For Phoenix, they will have Leandro Barbosa and Amare Stoudemire back, while Atlanta will be without the services of Marvin Williams, Mike Bibby, and Speedy Claxton. All three are listed as day to day, and hopefully each will be back shortly, but with this being the preseason there is no reason to risk making any injury worse. The good news on Marvin is his thumb is not broken, so that's a huge relief (not that I thought it might have been, but anytime a doctor has to check you out there is always a fear of the worst).

I spoke with Hawks assistant coach Bob Bender after shootaround today to break down tonight's matchup against the Suns, and as usual he was very informative. I asked him about the new look of the Suns without Mike D'Antoni at the helm, which is one of the subplots of the upcoming NBA season I find most interesting. Watch the interview for yourself, but I will say that the basic difference he perceives so far has come on the defensive side of the ball. Does that mean we won't see 120-113 shootouts anymore? I think that makes me sad.

With two starters out, tonight's game will be another chance for Coach Woodson to try some different combinations and find out more about what his bench players are capable of providing. Acie Law has had some nice performances so far, and I hope to see that continue tonight. Also, I think we'll see some more of the Hawks "big" lineup of Zaza in the middle, Al at the four, and Smoove at the three, perhaps even right off the bat.

It should make for a pretty entertaining preseason game. Come on out to Philips and support the team!