The first half of the season came to a disappointing end last night, as the Hawks continued to struggle to put teams away in the late going and fell on the road at Charlotte. The team was hurt by the absence of Josh Childress and Josh Smith's foul trouble (Smoove only played 17 minutes before fouling out with 2:46 left in the fourth), but still had several chances to win in regulation and OT. The team has six days to try to figure out what's ailing them, because it doesn't get any easier with a West Coast trip to start the season's second half.

There were some positives last night, I don't want to overlook them. Al Horford continues to show his Rookie of the Year form (12 points, 14 rebounds), and Acie Law had a terrific game off the bench with a career-best 13 points and 2 assists.

I've been wanting to see Law take it to the hole more often, and last night he was getting to the basket frequently. Hopefully this will be a game that helps get him going for the season's second half.

Onto the links: