Sekou Smith weighed in today with some thoughts on the team at the mid-way point; I thought I'd do the same.

Best Win: We've had some good wins so far, but the one that impressed me the most was the 116-111 victory over Utah back on Dec. 17. The Jazz have owned the Hawks the last few years, and their brand of physical ball just overwhelmed us in the past. But this season the Hawks traded body blows with them back and forth the whole game, taking over a tie game going into the final quarter to halt a 9-game skid against the Jazz. It was especially sweet for the Hawks, who saw their season run off track the year before after blowing a 21-point lead in a home loss to Utah.

Worst Loss: There have some frustrating Ls so far, but for my money nothing flustered me more than the 126-123 double-OT loss to Seattle on Nov. 16. It didn't derail the season, and the team rebounded from it to eventually move back over .500, but it spoke to the essence of what has so far kept this team from really asserting itself - the inability to put its competition away. Atlanta had so many opportunities to close that one out, and eventually Kevin Durant's magic overtook them. The loss at Portland on Sunday was heart-breaking, but they are a good team. Losing at home to a 9-35 (they were 1-9 at the time) is hard to rationalize.

Team MVP: Joe Johnson. Easy call. JJ's numbers may be down slightly from a year ago, but when teams put together a defensive game-plan for Atlanta, it still begins and ends with Joe Johnson. His teammates have improved this year, and that has helped the team immensely. But it's not an accident that the Hawks' record is 10-4 (11-4 with the Miami game) when Joe scores 24 or more (hat tip to Hawks PR for that stat).

Biggest Surprise: Anthony Johnson. AJ was an afterthought at the beginning of the season, barely getting off the bench in the first few games (though part of that was due to the birth of his son). But injuries gave the vet a chance to start, and he has been a rock in the Hawks backcourt ever since. He may not be the flashiest player, but his steady play and ability to avoid turnovers (to the tune of a 4-1 assist-to-turnover ratio, 4th-best in the league) has helped the Hawks survive the loss of Speedy Claxton and the adjustment period for rookie Acie Law.

Most Improved: Marvin Williams. We all knew how important Marvin's maturation would be to the team's success, and he has risen to the challenge this year by averaging career-bests 16.6 ppg and 5.8 rebounds. His 33-point performance the other night in Seattle is a hopeful sign of things to come - a more aggressive player, capable of beating teams with his jumper or by slashing to the hole. Josh Smith has done wonderful things for the Hawks this season and is closer to an All-Star appearance than Marv, but Williams' sweet shooting stroke has become one of the most reliable offensive options for the Hawks and has helped to punish teams who bring the double-team Joe's way.

Best Trend: The Hawks transition game. Maybe it doesn't happen as much as we'd like, but when the Hawks are running, it is a thing of beauty. With so many guys who can get up-and-down the court quickly and finish, Atlanta can put points on the board in a hurry when things are clicking. My particular favorite is when Al Horford grabs a rebound and starts the break. The big guy navigates the floor like a point guard and rarely makes a bad decision - not bad for a rookie.

Worst Trend: Fourth quarter woes. Every team is going to blow leads over the course of a season. With as much talent as there is in the NBA, it's bound to happen sooner or later. What has been troubling about the Hawks of late has been the repetitiveness of the way in which they've blown them. I don't think you can pin the blame on any one person, coach or player. It's a collective issue, and it's one the team needs to focus on more than anything else if they want to reverse the curse.

Soapbox Moment: I love Kevin Durant. I went to Texas, and he'll always be one of my favorite Longhorns (alongside Royal Ivey of course). But I think the fact that everyone is handing the Rookie of the Year award to him right now with the way Al Horford has been playing is ridiculous. Take Friday's Hawks-Sonics game as a microcosm of each of the two players' seasons so far: Durant scored 17 points, but they came on 7-21 shooting from the field and he finished the game with only 2 rebounds and a team-worst -18 rating. Horford, on the other hand, had 10 points and 16 rebounds and was +12. Durant is going to be an amazing player in this league, and I am excited for that to happen. But he isn't amazing right now, and to think that he's having a better year than Horford at this point is ignoring the facts at hand. Hopefully people's minds will change as the season wears on.

Second Half Outlook: Looking at the schedule, the name of the game to me is to hold fast during February. With several tough home games (Cleveland, LA Lakers, Detroit) and the last big road trip of the year (including at the Lakers, Jazz, and Spurs), the Hawks will be tested as much if not more than they were with the murderer's row to open the season. If the Hawks can avoid doing anything disastrous (something along the lines of 5-9 or worse) in February, they'll have the opportunity to do some damage in March with several games against their Eastern Conference competitors. Atlanta is in line for its first playoff berth since 1999, and despite the team's recent struggles stand a very good chance of turning that prospect into a reality.

It will be interesting to see how the team reacts to Sunday's loss to Portland tonight when they play the Suns. Phoenix is a team that plays at a pace that favors the Hawks (which is not the same as saying the Hawks will be favored), but if they come out thinking about the Blazers, Steve Nash and co. will run them off the floor. Atlanta got arguably its biggest road win of the season in Phoenix last year, something I'm sure is not lost on the Suns. They also have Amare Stoudemire back, who missed the first meeting between the two teams earlier this season at Philips.

Honestly? I am not expecting a win. There is no such thing as a moral victory of course, but if nothing else I'd like to see them come out with effort and energy to show they are able to put bad losses behind them. That kind of backbone will go a long way towards determining their fate this year. A win would be outstanding, but I'll settle for a close loss.

Game time is 9:00 ET, and you can catch all the action on SportSouth.