Another day of practice, and another three-plus hour marathon for the Hawks. I saw most of the same stuff today as I saw on Tuesday, with more up-tempo work to get the team accustomed to that style of play.

Continuing on another thread from yesterday, Joe Johnson was once again very vocal. I spoke with him after practice about increasing his leadership within the team, and he definitely sounds like someone who is intent on asserting himself within the locker room for the coming season.

In watching them run today, I saw another thing that interested me: Josh Smith shooting (and making) a turnaround jumper from the baseline. I don't know that I've seen him take (or make) many of those in his career, and I know he spent his summer working out with Hakeen Olajuwon on post moves, so perhaps this is a product of that. Either way, a turnaround J would be a lethal addition to Smoove's offensive repertoire, as there is pretty much no one in the league who would be able to block it.

We'll have to keep an eye on it as the preseason progresses...

 

Catching their breath between drills

Shelden Williams shows off his free throw shooting touch

Hawks video coordinator John Beckett looks on with Tyrone Hill

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!

Joe Johnson has had a pretty quiet summer so far, taking care of his body after missing significant time with an injury for the first time in his career this past season. He is sitting out national team duty (certainly a potential cause for his breakdown a little bit last year, it seems to happen to many of the guys who play for their national team and don't get the summer off) to get healthy, and in the meantime, he is doing what I'm sure we'd all like to do with our time off - playing a little golf and a little poker. Ok, maybe that's just me.

Recently JJ took part in Memphis Grizzlies F Mike Miller's charity event in Tunica, Mississippi, participating in a poker tournament and sponsoring a putting contest to help benefit the Boys and Girls Clubs of America.

Check out some pictures below from the event, which raised $25,000 for the Mike Miller Foundation (photos courtesy of Joe Murphy Photography).

USA Basketball announced some roster changes for this summer's Olympic qualifying competitions.

The biggest news first - Joe Johnson is off the team for the time being due to injury. This is probably a good thing, as the Hawks' team captain suffered from injuries last season for the first time in his career and getting the summer off to get healthy is selfishly very good for us.

He is not the only one taking the summer off - Chris Paul, Gilbert Arenas, Brad Miller, Lamar Odom, Paul Pierce, and Dwyane Wade will also be inactive for the national team.

In their place, eight players were added: Carlos Boozer, Tyson Chandler, Kevin Durant, Jason Kidd, Mike Miller, Greg Oden, Tayshaun Prince, and Deron Williams.

What this means for Joe's long-term future on the team is unknown, but I imagine he will always be in the mix for a spot so long as he is healthy.

In the meantime, use the time well Joe and get some rest - we need you for 2007-08!

 

Well, Luol Deng won the NBA's Sportsmanship Award today, beating out our own Joe Johnson amongst others. For being selected a finalist, the NBA will still donate $10,000 to the charity of Joe's choice.

Personally, I'd love it if Joe reacted to losing this award by trashing a hotel room or disparaging Deng, I suppose that would go against the spirit of the whole thing.

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.

Tonight is going to be a tough one, no doubt. Joe Johnson and Marvin Williams will be joining Speedy Claxton on the sidelines, courtesy of injuries they sustained Monday night in the loss at Miami.

Washington has been a particularly frustrating opponent so far this season, as we have played well enough to beat them twice on the road, only to lose by a single point each time.

What do we need to do tonight to get off the schneid? I spoke to Assistant Coach Herb Brown earlier today for our Breaking Down the Wizards segment, and he says the key to their offense is F Antawn Jamison. I was surprised to hear that, considering how many points Gilbert "Hibachi!" Arenas is capable of scoring, but Brown says the Wiz can be had if Arenas gets his 40 but they limit Jamison and Caron Butler to ten apiece.

If we are going to win, we are going to need big-time scoring contributions across the board, but particularly along the perimeter as that is where Marvin and JJ get a lot of their points. Personally, I'd like to see more Josh Childress after his performance on Monday, as he had a few very impressive forays into the lane for points.

We are on a six-game slide, and yes, breaking that would be a lot easier if we had two of our best scorers, but let's not feel sorry for ourselves. If anything, this will give some of our younger players a chance to show if they can contribute on a meaningful basis. To whit, Sekou Smith is reporting that Solomon Jones will be in the starting lineup tonight.

Come out tonight to support our guys - a win without Joe would be a huge confidence boost.

See you there!

To win tonight, we basically just need to play like we did yesterday, but have Joe shoot better. Fortunately, the Mavs don't have a 7-foot inside dominator like Amare Stoudemire. Unfortunately, they do have a 7-foot perimeter dominator in Dirk Nowitzki, so we can't exactly breathe a sigh of relief.

Either way it goes down tonight, I am just hoping for good effort, and hopefully, if just a few (ok, maybe several) things go our way, maybe we can shock the world.

Tune in tonight on FSN South at 8:30 ET to catch all the action!

The game is over, and the West has won. Bully for them. I wouldn't say this game stood out in any particular way, except for getting to see Joe play, which was the highlight for me. JJ ended up playing the entire fourth quarter, which was exciting. He finished the game with 12 points, third-best on the Eastern Conference team, which though it doesn't mean a whole lot I think it helps him continue to edge his way into the American basketball conscious.

I joined the fray to talk to him after the game, and to be honest, he said all the things you'd expect him to say: he was happy to be here, he enjoyed being in the game and spending time with the other players over the course of the weekend, etc. But I wanted to ask him one thing, and so I did. I wanted to know about his dunk.

I thought his response was pretty funny. Speaking of funny, here is the interview I did earlier this evening with Jimmy Kimmel.

Well, that about wraps it up for me from Vegas. I had a blast, I hope you all enjoyed reading along with me as well. And, wouldn't you know it, I actually have a ticket into a party tonight after all, courtesy of Hawks CMO Lou DePaoli, a stand-up guy if there ever was one. Everything works out in the end! Yay Vegas!

I leave you with a few more pics from tonight, mostly of a few pre-game shots and some post-game interview shots. If I am able to chat up any celebrities (please let it be Chappelle!) later tonight, I will post something about it tomorrow.

Good night!

Louis Gossett, Jr!

Sir Charles signs something for Greg Anthony's son (I assume)

Las Vegas Mayor Oscar Goldman addresses the media. It's good to be the king.

ESPN's Stephen A. Smith listens in to questions asked to Dwyane Wade before probably shouting something to someone

D-Wade had a quiet night with 10 points and 3 assists

Joe talks to the media after the game

10:45 - As if to show they mean business, Eddie Jordan has put JJ back in the game to help get the East back into the game. His faith is rewarded as Joe immediately hits a three from the elbow. Mehmet Okur answers for the West, and now its 123-94. Okur hasn't played much today, but he is the first NBA All-Star from a country pronounced like a food. Chile, hang in there, you'll get one someday.

10:48 - Does it sound like I have a man-crush on Shaq? It just may. Amazingly, despite all the action on the court, it appears he found time to sneak away to a computer and see that I advocated he try to take someone off the dribble. Never one to disappoint me, Shaq just dribbled the ball up the court and tried to take Okur with a few crossover moves at the top of the key. Sadly, his jumper was off target, or this place would have really erupted.

10:50 - Joe down the lane for two more, cutting the deficit to 27 with 8 minutes to go. They just showed Dave Chappelle again on the jumbotron. Please let me end up at whatever party he is at tonight. Or let me end up at any party.

10:53 - MVP update. Kobe just scored five straight, he now has his jersey number, 24. But Stoudemire just returned to the lineup. It's pretty much between the two of them at this point. Also, Caron Butler comes in to replace Joe (thanks coach!). With 6:20 left to play, that may have been the last we see of JJ, who I think acquitted himself well in his limited minutes. He'll be back for more of these.

10:56 - Whoops! Spoke too soon. JJ is still in the game, and just dribbled between most of the Western "defense" for a nifty left-handed reverse. He is now 4-5 from the field for 10 points. Huzzah!

11:00 - I am enjoying doing this blog, but it has been hard to follow the action every now and then when I have been staring at the computer. Apparently, I just missed perhaps the highlight of the night, as during the break the Flying Elvises (possibly not their real name) performed a trampoline dunk routine. I wasn't watching, but at the very end, Gilbert Arenas came out and jumped off the trampoline, put the ball between his legs, and rammed it home. Please, please let that be on Sportscenter later or something, it sounded really cool.

11:07 - Just over two minutes left to play, and the West leads 147-123. I'm just going to go ahead and say it - LeBron is being a ballhog. Boooooooo.

11:09 - OH MY GOD. JOE DUNKED! Sorry for the caps there, but it's just not something he does very often. This is probably as good a time as any to mention this:

I think we all agree that Joe is heavily underrated by the general public, witness his lack of support in the All-Star voting. Well, I figured out how we can get him more notoriety - he needs to grow an old school, Dr. J-style chin goatee, like three inches long or so. It would be so tight. I decided to explain my plan to him at practice last week before they left for the road trip, and I am sad to say it's a no go. Not because he didn't like the idea, but because he can't grow the facial hair required! Dooop!

I won't give up though - he is only 25, he may still be able to pull it off if he starts shaving more.

11:12 - And that's your ballgame! The West wins 153-132 over the East, let by Kobe's 31 points. I will assume he gets the MVP award. Joe ends up with 12 points, and he played for most of (if not the entirety of) the fourth quarter. Just for that, I won't prank call Eddie Jordan's hotel room later on tonight.

Ok kids, it's been fun. I hope you enjoyed the game - it was fun from here (and they are now announcing Kobe as the MVP. The crowd is reacting much more favorably to it than the Philly crowd did in 2002, but I guess that's not much of a surprise. George Bush probably gets a better reception in the Middle East than most people get in Philly.

Back with some wrap up in a bit!

Wrapping up for Saturday night in Las Vegas...

The All-Star Saturday night festivities were really fun to see live for the first time ever. The dunk contest was very entertaining and I appreciated the contestants creativity, but it still feels like the show has run it's course.

Here are all the interviews I promised you from earlier today:

Today was a good time. I overcame a credential crisis to make it to the practice session earlier, where I got a chance to talk to Joe Johnson about making the All-Star team, which I promised I would get to you. Well, I am a man of my word, so here it is. I don't know if you can tell from listening to it because Joe is so understated, but he really seems excited to be here.

The Eastern Conference practiced from 11:00 - 11:45, and following that they were available for interviews. I don't think I've seen Joe talk to this many people in his life, but he handled it pretty well.

The media crush was ridiculous, with everyone clamoring to talk to the NBA's cream of the crop. I used the opportunity to get some feedback from some of the guys about Joe's performance this year, in particular some of his former co-workers in Phoenix. I also got a chance to talk to TNT's Kenny Smith (a former Hawk) about Johnson, as the TNT crew all left JJ off their picks for the Eastern Conference squad originally. I won't say I held his feet to the fire too bad, but I at least asked him to explain himself. I suppose I will let it slide.

I will post all of those interviews shortly. But right now I have to stop salivating over the computer - Charles Barkley is about to race Dick Bavetta. If you haven't been following this, it is really one of the funniest things ever. Basically, Barkley claimed on a TNT broadcast that no 67-year old man could ever beat him in a race, and now we are about to find out if that is true or not. I can't imagine Barkley is in shape enough to beat Bavetta (I'm not even sure he is in shape to finish the race period), but he is a fierce competitor, and who knows what he is capable of when his adrenaline is pumping.

Back with more in a bit, unless I have passed out on the floor from laughter.

For awhile now, we on the website have been planning on making the trek cross-country to the City of Sin in the event that Hawks employees were asked to participate. Well, that didn't work out exactly as we'd hoped. First Shelden and Marvin got overlooked for the rookie-sophomore game, then no one was asked to participate in any of the skills competitions (I think you'll see Joe in the 3-pt shootout one of these years), and of course, JJ was overlooked when the original teams were announced.

Just like that, the trip to Vegas was shot. But, a faint ray of hope began to shine this week when Jason Kidd's back started acting up (I swear I had nothing to do with it), and wouldn't you know it, just like that, the trip was back on.

So, amazingly, just when all hope seemed lost (and all reservations had been cancelled), suddenly all systems are go, and I am proud to announce that the Hawks BasketBlog will be in the house to witness what really should be one of the most unique sporting events (and scenes) the world has ever seen: NBA All-Star Weekend in Las Vegas. There is no turning back now, sports - you were destined one day to take up residency in the Nevada desert, and here is the first real chance to see what it might be like (sorry, XFL).

As it stands now, due to the last-minutedness (a word?) of the trip, I am not getting into Vegas until tomorrow evening, so I will most likely miss the Friday night festivities. But, from there on out, I will be blogging daily about the sights and sounds of the weekend, including interviews with players and A-List celebrities (A-List defined in this case as "those who are willing to talk to me"). In addition, I will be live-blogging the All-Star game Sunday night from press row, which I am very much excited about. Plus, I will have my camera with me, and I promise to post a ton of photos of my experience (at least in the places where cameras are allowed).

It promises to be a great time - if you have any recommendations of things to do, or have questions you'd like me to ask, let me know in the comments.

Vegas baby...Vegas!

What a way to finish the first half of the season (metaphorically speaking, the Hawks have actually played 52 games now). Last night the Hawks came back from a 15 point deficit to defeat the Clippers 96-93, ending their West Coast Swing with a 3-1 record. Ok, raise your hands if you saw that one coming?

You know what was so great about the game last night? For some reason, I always thought we were going to win. Even when we were down by double-figures, I still felt like the Hawks would pull it off. Why? I'm not sure. Part of it was because we were hustling the entire game, whereas the Clippers seemed to be almost sleepwalking at times. And part of it was just because I am gaining confidence in these boys. Remember when we were wondering at the beginning of the season who would be the player to step into Al Harrington's shoes and become the Hawks legit #2 option behind Joe Johnson (who is an All-Star, by the way)?

Well, Josh Smith has staked his claim over the past few weeks, and ever since the guys seem to have all found their niche. That was what impressed me the most last night - instead of people sitting around wondering who was going to do what, it seemed like everyone was doing what they do best to help the team win. Zaza Pachulia was doing the dirty work down low, Marvin Williams was hitting jump shots (and free throws), and Lorenzen Wright was punishing people for coming into the lane. The list goes on. I have spoken before about how the confidence of such a young team can fluctuate wildly, and I definitely think they are playing with more confidence right now than at any point in the season so far. I think they also thought they would win last night, regardless of time and score.

So, as we hit the All-Star break (more on that later today), the Hawks sit at 21-31, five games out of the 8th spot in the East. As I see it, the Heat, if they stay healthy, are in. Orlando, on the other hand, appears to be on a downward trend. To make the playoffs, the Hawks will need to make up basically six games in the standing against the Magic - and hope New Jersey doesn't catch fire. Is that likely? It's hard to say. We have to start winning at home, and we have to start beating the teams who are worse than us as often as we beat the teams that are better (weird, eh?).

Still, anything is possible. All it takes in the East is one big run - one win-seven-of-eight stretch and we can be right back in this thing.

No matter what happens, the team should be proud of the way they played on this West Coast trip (well, maybe not the Utah game so much) - coming back from second-half double-digit deficits twice to get wins is impressive anywhere, even moreso on the road.

A tip of the cap to the Hawks for the way they closed out the first half, and here's to hoping everyone uses the break to rest up and get ready for the season's second act - everyone that is, except Joe, who if you didn't know, is an All-Star. Did we mention that?

Sekou Smith is reporting on his blog that Joe Johnson has been named to the Eastern Conference All-Star team as an injury replacement for Jason Kidd. I don't know about you, but I am starting to believe in karma just a little bit more.

I know there should be somewhat of an asterisk attached with this because he is a replacement, but I don't feel that way at all. I look at it more as fate deciding to right a previous wrong.

So, Joe will now head to Vegas to represent the Hawks, giving us our first all-star since Shareef Abdur-Rahim in 2002.

Congrats to Joe, who I just can't say enough is so deserving of this honor. Maybe someday making the All-Star team won't be such a big deal to him, but I can guarantee this feels pretty sweet to him (and to all of us) right about now.

More on this later on, and throughout the weekend.

Obviously, everyone around here believes it should be Joe Johnson, but that doesn't mean it will be. If it's going to be anyone else, as we have said, it could be Chicago's Ben Gordon or Luol Deng, and another name bandied about would be Charlotte's Emeka Okafor.

You would think Okafor would be out, since the Bobcats' record is worse than ours, but taking a player off the Bulls, who are 29-24 and fifth in the conference, sounds plausible.

All I know is, if Kidd is indeed out, it should be Joe. Whether it will be remains to be seen...

The Hawks dropped a tough one at home last night, losing 90-83 to the Lakers. Joe Johnson and Kobe Bryant staged a duel of sorts in the 4th quarter, and each finished with 27 points, but the Mamba's Lakers came away with the road win, as once again our Hawks just couldn't get over the hump. I give them credit for hanging tough on a night when the shots weren't falling, but missed opportunities kept the home team from winning their second game in two days.

Here are some photos from the game, courtesy of Hawks photog extraordinaire Scott Cunningham.

I will be back with more later to discuss the other event that went on last night, Hawks Blog Night.

Tonight is going to be a big night at Philips (as I may have just written in the title to this post). Not only are the Mamba-led Lakers in town, but tonight is our first-ever Blog Night as well. Over a dozen Atlanta-area bloggers are signed up to come down, laptops in tow, to provide you with their thoughts and analysis of the game as it happens (or soon thereafter, it's entirely up to them).

The Hawks will be looking for their second win in two days, thanks to yesterday's 101-99 win at New Jersey courtesy of your favorite braided Hawk and mine, Tyronn Lue. Lue downplayed his efforts slightly when I spoke to him about his game-winning buzzer-beater this morning, but if you watch the highlight of the play (which I have done several times already this morning), you can see just how excited the team (and Lue himself) was to come out of the Meadowlands with such an important victory.

Joe Johnson once again was spectacular, continuing his All-Star retribution tour by dropping 37 points on the Nets and their two All-Stars Vince Carter and Jason Kidd, but this game was a team effort. Everyone who played chipped in, including Speedy Claxton, who continues to show a little rust from his layoff. His offense may not be where he'd like it to be yet, but defensively, Claxton made two plays yesterday that were complete difference makers - the charge he drew late in regulation against a streaking Kidd, and then his pilfering of Carter with 33 ticks left in overtime and the Hawks clinging to a one-point lead.

Neither of the Hawks floor-generals are even close to 100% right now, but yesterday gave a tantalizing preview once again of some of the things they are capable of when they are up and running.

Tonight's game is going to be a tough one, no doubt, as any game is against a team with Kobe Bryant on the roster. Hawks assistant coach Greg Ballard said in breaking down the Lakers this morning that Bryant isn't the only one to focus on - Lamar Odom and company will be every bit as important to focus on tonight in order for the Hawks to win.

We have seen the Hawks play much improved basketball over the last couple weeks, winning five of their last seven. Still, this is the kind of game they need to win to show they have really put the slump of late December-early January to rest.

Can they get it done? Join us and a chunk of the Atlanta blogging community tonight at Philips and find out!

See you there!

Now that that's out of the way, a few words if you don't mind about last night's injustice. Clearly, as Hawks fans, we all believed Joe Johnson deserved a spot on the Eastern Conference squad. While it was no surprise he didn't factor into the mix in the fan voting due to the team's lack of a national presence, the thought around the office was that because the Eastern coaches would be doing the balloting, they would vote for Joe since they are the ones double- and triple-teaming him on a nightly basis (yet still giving up 25.3 ppg).

However, it wasn't meant to be. I'll admit it, I'm disappointed. I won't say I'm outraged, because it's not like they put a bunch of complete stiffs on the squad, but I honestly think that no player in the league got worked more than JJ did. Carmelo Anthony leads the league in scoring, but he got suspended for 15 games for the Knicks brawl, so it's not a surprise. Michael Redd certainly is deserving, but he has been hurt for several weeks now and I suppose if he is out of sight, he is out of mind.

I have heard the notion before that players who put up stats for bad teams are not as worthy for All-Star consideration, given that they have to score so much because no one else on the team is capable. Well, that is certainly true in some cases, but consider this about Joe's season so far. Despite being a marked man every time down the court, and despite constantly battling through extra defenders, and despite missing several of his most offensive-minded teammates for long stretches of the season, JJ is currently shooting 48% from the field - a career-best. Joe's numbers are not empty, nor are they put together thanks to a series of meaningless baskets in garbage time. He has carried the Hawks on his back for much of this season, and he should have been rewarded for his efforts with a trip to Vegas.

In the grand scheme of things, maybe this is for the best. Much like Josh Smith, Marvin Williams (another snub for the Rookie-Sophomore game), and Josh Childress upped their play in the second half of the last two seasons after getting rejected from All-Star festivities, maybe this will cause Joe to raise his game to an even higher level (if that's possible).

Anyway, I know you are probably as upset about this as we are, so if you like, please feel free to voice your opinions - the NBA has set up a mailbox where you can write in who you think got left out (thanks to reader Elizabeth H. for pointing us to this). Let em hear it!

Meanwhile, back on the court, the Hawks have a very big game tonight against the Raptors. The home team can snag their second series win of the season with a victory, as they are currently 2-1 against Toronto on the year. The Raptors are playing incredibly well of late, led by January's Eastern Conference Player of the Month Chris Bosh. Stopping him and the rest of the team from getting out on the break will be important tonight, as we heard from assistant coach Larry Drew earlier today.

I think you are going to see an angry team tonight, out to make a statement that they are tired of being overlooked. Well, the only way to change that is by winning, and a W tonight would make it three straight and five-of-six.

Come out tonight and let's show Joe and the gang that we appreciate them, even if no one else seems to.

See you tonight!