Happy Monday morning out there Hawks fans! Ok, I'm not really that chipper a person, but just trying to get this week started on the right foot. Tough loss last night to the Suns at Philips, but all in all, it wasn't a bad weekend for the Hawks. The team got a big win Friday against the Rockets, winning a close game against a very good team and gaining a crucial victory during this brutal stretch. As I said last week, I honestly feel like if we could go 1-3 against the West on the home stand and then grab another 1-3 on this upcoming three-game road trip, then we are still alive.

the Houston win. What I liked the most about this game was how the Hawks never built a big lead or let Houston take one. It's rare, especially for a young team like Atlanta, to see us play so consistently for 48 minutes. It's no surprise to see us getting ahead or behind by double digits (and then losing that lead or coming back) because of how prone we are to streaks. Yet Friday we managed to beat the Rockets, a terrific team and potential title contender if they get Yao back healthy, without ever leading by more than five or six until free throws late in the game.

Sunday against Phoenix...what can you say? The Suns are one of the two teams considered most likely to take home the title this season, and the Hawks gave them all they could handle the entire game. Twice, the Hawks rebounded to take the lead when trailing by 13+ points, which is something to be proud of. We didn't win the game, and we couldn't stop Amare Stoudemire (man, that guy is ridiculous), but I am happy about the way the guys battled back and never let it get out of hand, even though it appeared it might at several different junctures.

What can you say about the Suns? They are 13-0 on the road against the East, and if they beat Indy on Tuesday and Philly on Wednesday, they will become the first team in NBA history to win all their road games against the opposing conference. So, all things considered, it sucks that we lost, but clearly Phoenix is on a serious roll this year - at least we got a split!

Moving on, lets give out a couple of extra kudos for individual efforts. First of all, welcome to the family, Anthony Johnson. AJ had 17 points in his Hawks debut, including three-of-four from long-range. I don't expect to see that every single night, but clearly performances like that one will warm the Hawks community to him very quickly.

Also, props to Marvin Williams, who put up big numbers in both games over the weekend, popping for 20 against the Rockets and 23 more (with 10 boards) against Phoenix. Included in that 23 was a ridiculous moonbeam from behind the rim at the third-period buzzer, the kind of shot you take in HORSE but rarely ever see in game action. Marv hit a career-high 10 fgs against Phoenix - now if we can just get him to take like one big step back and turn those long twos into threes, then you'll see his scoring average jump significantly!

Here are some photos from the weekend for your viewing pleasure, courtesy as always of Hawks ace photographer Scott Cunningham.