The preseason concludes tonight in Detroit, as the Hawks try to (for what it's worth) finish the exhibition season with a winning record (they are currently 4-3). One of the main stories of this preseason, both with the Hawks and around the league in general, has been the preponderance of injuries. Fortunately for the Hawks no one has been seriously affected, but the injury bug will affect them tonight as they go to Detroit without Joe Johnson, who has a mild groin strain, and Speedy Claxton, who is out for personal reasons.  I don't think anyone is too worried, but why take chances?

I spoke with Mike Woodson after practice yesterday to get his assessment of the team at this point, and he seems reasonably pleased. He spoke about the injuries in this preseason have given several players a chance to show what they can do, which hopefully will give him confidence to use some of them in meaningful situations as the season gets underway.

In other news, the season previews continue to roll out elsewhere, and shockingly, we are getting no love from most of the prognosticators (heavy sarcasm). What else is new? The sky is blue, water is wet, and no one thinks our Hawks are capable of doing much this year. Most of this stuff bounces off me (and the team as well), but for some reason the Sports Illustrated preview always seems to stick in my craw. Not the whole preview necessarily, but always the "Enemy Lines" portion, where they interview a "scout" about the Hawks to get a "real" take on the team from an "insider" (sorry for all the quotation marks, I'm just feeling particularly derisive).

Here is a sample from this year's section on A-Town:

A rival scout on the HAWKS: Who is their lead player? Joe Johnson tends to not take the last shot as much as you'd expect from a franchise guy. He's a good third player on a contending team—not someone you build around...

Here's a little reminder, in case you forgot:

Seriously, I get goosebumps just watching those highlights. How can you watch that performance and think he doesn't want the last shot, let alone claim he's no better than the third best player on a contending team. AAAAAARGH!

Sorry, I'm better now.

Anyway, tonight's game is the final one of the preseason, and then it's game time and it's up to the Hawks to prove their doubters wrong.

I for one can't wait.