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: