You know what happens when you win? You get recognition. I realize that's a fairly obvious thing to say, but it occurs to me it's something the Hawks haven't done so much over the past several years, and so it's not something they've received much of either.

But a 9-10 start, unimpressive though a sub-.500 record may be, represents real progress for the Hawks franchise, and has resulted in renewed interest in the team's accomplishments around the NBA.

I bring this up today because for the second straight week, I am posting a release on the Hawks website about a player garnering an NBA award. Last week it was Al Horford winning Rookie of the Month honors for November, and today it's Josh Smith earning Player of the Week honors for the Eastern Conference for his contributions to last week's 3-1 stretch.

For the week, Josh averaged 22.0 points, 6.3 rebounds, 3.3 assists, and 3.3 blocks per game, all of which are impressive numbers. But to me the stat that stands out the most is this one: 55% FG percentage.

Simply put, a Hawks team with Josh shooting above 50% from the field is a winning Hawks team. When Josh pounds the ball inside for baskets instead of settling for perimeter jumpers, the Hawks are a different offensive team. I watched him carefully during Saturday's win over Memphis, and several times he was open for long-range shots, but instead of launching them, he either passed the ball around to an open teammate or took the ball strong to the hole. If he keeps that up, the sky is the limit for this kid.

Congrats to Josh for the honor, the first of this kind in his young career - and hopefully the sign of a maturing game that will help take the team to new heights.