Atlanta Hawks’ point guard Mike Bibby has been very inconsistent for the Atlanta Hawks this season and is averaging career-lows in points, assists, rebounds, and steals.  He has career averages of 16.0 points, 6.0 assists, 3.3 rebounds, 1.3 steals, 36 minutes, and a 44% FG percentage.  This year Bibby is averaging only 8.9 points, 4.2 assists, 2.1 rebounds, 0.8 steals, and is shooting just 41% from the field.  His numbers were even worse in the past month and his play has been very inconsistent.  Due to his poor play, Bibby is averaging just 27 minutes per game and has not played more than 30 minutes in a game in over a month.   In the past four games, Bibby scored 11 points against the Hawks, 0 points against the Spurs, 2 points against the Celtics, and 10 points against the Magic.  That just shows just how inconsistent Bibby has been, especially scoring the ball.  Either Bibby needs to really step up his play, or perhaps the Hawks should start giving their talented rookie Jeff Teague some more minutes.  Even though Teague’s numbers are far from impressive, he is averaging only 10 minutes per game so he has not been given much of a chance to show his stuff.  Luckily for the Hawks they have the best 6th Man in the game in Jamal Crawford, who makes up for Bibby’s poor play and is averaging 17.7 points and 2.8 assists.

Back-up power forward Joe Smith is Josh Smith’s back-up and Zaza Pachulia also plays at power forward ahead of him limiting his playing time. But, Smith has played pretty well when he has gotten the chance to play. He has played in 33 games (0 starts) for the Hawks this season and he is averaging 9.0 minutes, 2.8 points, 2.8 rebounds and 0.3 assists per game. If the Hawks suffer an injury in the frontcourt I’s certain that Joe Smith would step up and produce.

Starting small forward Marvin Williams has been a decent player for the Hawks this season. He has played in 42 games (all starts) for the Hawks this season and he is averaging 30.0 minutes, 10.5 points, 5.0 rebounds and 1.1 assists per game. The Hawks need him to just keep playing like he is right now as they have better offensive and defensive players than him on the roster. So they just need him to remain the unselfish player that he is right now.

Josh Smith has been doing a little bit of everything for the Atlanta Hawks this year, and he is deserving of All-Star status.  The 6′9″, 240-pound Smith is only 24, but he has been a force in this league for about five years now.  Joe Johnson gets most of the credit for the Hawks success, which is deserving, but Smith is the difference-maker for the Hawks in my opinion.  He is by no means a one-dimensional player and fills up the stat sheet night after night.  This season he is averaging 15.1 points, 8.3 rebounds, 3.8 assists, 2.2 blocks, and 1.5 steals.  Smith is also shooting 52% from the field and with his combination of size, athleticism, and jumping ability Smith often has game-changing dunks or blocks that swing the momentum in the Hawks favor.  Smith does have the ability to hit the open three, but he is not consistent from there.  That is why I like to see that he has taken that out of his game and he is more aggressive, taking it to the hole more often.  Smith is a true all-around player and he is one of the main reasons the Hawks are 29-14 this season.

Center Al Horford has been doing a solid job of doing the dirty work for the Hawks. He plays good defense and he is a great rebounder whose offense is improving. Horford has played in 40 games (all starts) for the Hawks this season and he is averaging 34.5 minutes, 13.7 points, 9.9 rebounds, 2.2 assists and 1.3 blocked shots per game. The Hawks need Horford to keep up the good work because it allows the rest of the Hawks players to leave their games wide open which makes them very dangerous.