In Saturday night's hugely important home win over Orlando that put Atlanta a game-and-a-half ahead of New Jersey for the 8 spot in the East with only 13 games remaining, Bibby was exactly what the Hawks expected when they made the deal.

Though Joe Johnson was by all account the MVP of the game, scoring a game-high 34 points, it was Bibby who played the Robin to JJ's Batman to perfection in helping the team beat the Magic at Philips Arena for the sixth straight time.

With the Hawks trailing by 4 entering the final period, Bibby hit consecutive 3's to open the period to give the Hawks the lead. Then late in the game, he found Al Horford for an easy lay-up (and-one) on a pick-and-roll. Finally, he iced the game with a fadeaway jumper, putting the Hawks up 6 with only 48 seconds left.

I can't really do justice to how important tonight's game was. A loss, and all of a sudden Atlanta is taking a two-game losing streak on the road to Chicago where they've lost six straight of their own.

Instead, thanks to the brilliance of Joe Johnson and the steady stewardship of Mike Bibby, the Hawks gave themselves a little padding in the standings as they begin a stretch of five games where 4-1 (at the least) is absolutely possible.

The playoff chase is on...