Wednesday the Hawks got a much-needed win in their first home game after the brutal West Coast trip. It was a big boost to the team's confidence, as I think it showed them that things aren't as bad as they may have seemed on the road.

Not that Mike Bibby didn't play well on the road, but his first game in Atlanta definitely showed how much better the Hawks offense can look with a top-flight point guard at the helm.

Tonight presents another game for the Hawks that should help build some momentum. The Knicks, let's face it, are a mess. This clip, which has been making the rounds on the intertubes, puts their performance this season in perspective.

Atlanta should get a win tonight in front of the home crowd, but they can't just show up and expect it to be done with. Bad though they may seem, New York has actually beaten several of the league's elite teams (no one disputes the Knicks' talent - its the way the pieces fit together that most take issue).

As the Al Horford for Rookie of the Year campaign builds steam, tonight presents a chance for him to add to his streak of double-doubles (in it's infancy at two) as he faces off against Eddy Curry and Zach Randolph, neither of whom you'll see on many All-Defensive teams at year's end. If he can stay out of foul trouble (which actually will be tough, as both aforementioned players are terrific offensively), I am going to go out on a limb and say he nets a career-high in points tonight.

And speaking of Al's ROY candidacy, I couldn't leave for the afternoon without sharing this:

Big props to "Big Al", the creator of the above video - according to his Facebook profile, the dude is from Croatia. We are going global on this, man!

Come down to Philips tonight to see the Hawks get their second straight - one that becomes all-the-more-important when you consider they have to travel to Boston on Sunday to face the Celtics.

See you there!