POS Point Guard Shooting Guard Small Forward Power Forward Centre Starts Mike Bibby Joe Johnson Marvin Williams Josh Smith Al Horford
2nd Acie Law Flip Murray Maurice Evans Solomon Jones Zach Pachullia
3rd Speedy Claxton Mario West Othello Hunter Randolph Morris
4th
Current Record - 24-16 (4th East)
It has been along time coming for the Atlanta Hawks but all the signs are there that this team will make it out of the first round of the playoffs. Taking the Celtics to 7 games last year suprised everybody and that experience will see them in good stead to take on the likes of Detroit, Miami, Philly - all of whom at this stage are struggling or looking to make moves. While still lacking a solid true centre which would allow Horford and Smith to move down a position bringing Williams in off the bench they have the parts there.
Mike Bibby is solid. A solid leader offensively, but lacks the speed to contain the likes of Stuckey and Rondo which will require some creative thinking from coach Mike Woodson. But having Josh Smith patrolling the lane will always alter any shot of any player looking to take it strong to the hoop.
Joe Johnson's game continues to evolve he is arguably having his best season averaging 22.2 points, 6 assists in 39.0 MPG. Early in his career playing under Mike D in Phoenix all the signs were there that he had the height, shooting touch and skill to break down and D off the dribble and it finally looks as if his game has matured to a level where his paly now is definiely an asset rather than a liability.
Williams, taken 2nd in the '05 draft ahead of Paul and D-Will (maybe Hawks management got confused between the two at draft time) is slowly developing his game. But the core group is there in Williams, Horford, Smith and Johnson and they will continue to improve. Hopefully the Atlanta fans will notice and start showing up to the Phillips Arena.
What's missing - A solid inside scoring option and a few more years of experience
MId-Season Grade - A+
Posts
No comments:
Post a Comment