The Hawks outrebounded the Blazers 49-34 and they held them to 39% shooting from the floor which helped them get a very nice road win last night.  Jamal Crawford (23 points, 2 rebounds, 1 assist and 1 blocked shot in 34 minutes) and Joe Johnson (22 points, 4 rebounds and 2 assists) led the way for the Hawks last night.  Josh Smith only shot 4 of 14 from the floor as he finished up with 14 points, 11 rebounds, 4 assists, 3 steals and 2 blocked shots.  Marvin Williams pitched in with 11 points, 7 rebounds, 1 assist, 2 steals and 1 blocked shot.  The Hawks are now 36-23 on the year.

25-year old power forward Josh Smith is looking for more shots this month, and why not as he is hitting 53.5% of them so far this month.  Smith has played in 10 games in February and he is averaging 36.7 minutes, 20.1 points, 8.4 rebounds, 3.5 assists, 1.5 steals and 1.2 blocked shots per game.  He has now played in 58 games (all starts) for the Hawks this season and he is averaging 35.1 minutes, 16.8 points, 8.7 rebounds, 3.4 assists, 1.3 steals and 1.7 blocked shots per game.  The Hawks are a much better team when Smith is heavily involved in the offense so they need to keep getting him the basketball.

The Hawks were leading this game 81-55 after the first three quarters before calling off the dogs.  The Hawks outrebounded the Warriors 49-34 and they held the Warriors to 37.1% from the floor which explains the easy road victory last night.  Josh Smith led the way for the Hawks last night with 26 points, 9 rebounds, 4 assists, 1 steal and 1 blocked shot.  Al Horford also had a great game last night with 22 points, 13 rebounds, 7 assists, 1 steal and 2 blocked shots.  Joe Johnson pitched in with 12 points, 5 rebounds, 5 assists and 1 steal in this game.  The Hawks are now 35-23 on the year.

The Hawks didn’t play any D last night as the Suns shot 52.6% from the floor and it did them in.  Josh Smith led the way for the Hawks in this game with 26 points, 6 rebounds, 4 assists, 1 steal and 1 blocked shot.  Jamal Crawford (19 points, 5 rebounds, 1 assist and 2 steals) and Al Horford (17 points, 9 rebounds, 4 assists and 2 steals) also had good games for the Hawks last night.  Joe Johnson (12 points) and Jeff Teague (10 points in 19 minutes) also pitched in for the Hawks last night.  The Hawks are now 34-23 on the year.

The Atlanta Hawks have acquired 30-year old PG/SG Kirk Hinrich and 26-year old center Hilton Armstrong from the Washington Wizards for 32-year old point guard Mike Bibby, 32-year old SG/SF Maurice Evans, 22-year old rookie shooting guard Jordan Crawford and a 1st round pick.  Hinrich will likely replace Mike Bibby as the starting point guard for the Hawks.  Hinrich played in 48 games (29 starts) for the Wizards this season and he averaged 30.6 minutes, 11.1 points, 2.7 rebounds, 4.4 assists and 1.2 steals per game.  He has now played in 562 games (462 starts) in his NBA career and he is averaging 33.8 minutes, 13.2 points, 3.4 rebounds, 5.7 assists and 1.3 steals per game.  Hilton Armstrong played in 41 games (2 starts) for the Wizards last season and he averaged 10.0 minutes, 1.9 points, 2.8 rebounds and 0.2 assists per game.  He has now played in 265 games (39 starts) in his NBA career and he has averaged 12.1 minutes, 3.2 points, 2.6 rebounds and 0.5 assists per game.  Armstrong gives the Hawks another big body but that’s about it.

Mike Bibby played in 56 games (all starts) for the Hawks this year and he averaged 29.9 minutes, 9.4 points, 2.6 rebounds and 3.6 assists per game.  The Hawks will miss his 44.1% shooting from three point range.  Bibby was slowing down though and Hinrich will be an upgrade.  Maurice Evans played in 47 games (12 starts) for the Hawks this season and he averaged 17.8 minutes, 4.5 points, 1.8 rebounds and 0.6 assists per game.  Evans doesn’t seem to have much left in the gas tank.  Jordan Crawford was the Hawks’ first round pick last June.  He played in 16 games (0 starts) for the Hawks this season and he averaged 10.0 minutes, 4.2 points, 1.8 rebounds and 0.9 assists per game.  Crawford was only shooting 35.1% from the floor for the Hawks this year.

In dealing Jordan Crawford and a first round pick for the Hinrich, the Hawks essentially traded two first rounders for him.  They better hope Hinrich steps up for them or they might regret making this deal down the road.

The Hawks laid a big egg last night in L.A.  The Hawks were outrebounded 54-32 last night and they only shot 36.6% from the floor which helps explain the beatdown they took at the hands of the Lakers.  Joe Johnson (14 points, 1 rebound, 4 assists and 1 blocked shot in 27 minutes) and Al Horford (13 points, 6 rebounds, 2 assists and 1 steal in 26 minutes) led the way for the Hawks in this game.  Jamal Crawford pitched in with 12 points and 3 assists in 28 minutes on the floor.  The Hawks are now 34-22 on the year.

The Atlanta Hawks are healthy going into the All-Star break which is good news.  The Hawks are 34-21 on the season which has them in 3rd place in the Southeast Division, 6.5 games behind the Miami Heat.  The Hawks are sitting in the #5 slot in the Eastern Conference, 6.5 games behind the Heat and Celtics.  The Hawks are only 1 game behind the Magic for the #4 seed and they are 4.5 games behind the Bulls for #3 in the East.  The ball is in the Hawks’ court now, so we’ll see what they are made of the rest of the way.

BIGGEST SURPRISE:  24-year old C/PF Al Horford has taken his offensive game to a new level.  He has played in 51 games (all starts) for the Hawks so far this year and he is averaging 35.1 minutes, 16.0 points, 9.8 rebounds, 3.6 assists and 1.1 blocked shots per game.  Horford is shooting 56.8% from the floor and 82% from the free throw line which is downright outstanding.  Horford has the potential to be a 20/10 man if the Hawks need him to be.

BIGGEST DISAPPOINTMENT:  22-year old point guard Jeff Teague c0uldn’t beat out Mike Bibby for the starting job at the point during training camp.  He has been sitting near the end of the bench ever since them.  Teague has played in 45 games (0 starts) for the Hawks so far this year and he is averaging 11.6 minutes, 3.9 points, 1.3 rebounds and 1.7 assists per game.  Teague looks like he will be prime trade bait if the Hawks want to make a move at the trade deadline.

The Knicks just outclassed the Hawks tonight in Madison Square Garden.  Marvin Williams led the way for the Hawks tonight with 17 points, 8 rebounds, 3 assists and 2 steals.  Mike Bibby (15 points, 1 rebound and 2 assists) and Josh Smith (14 points, 5 rebounds, 2 assists, 2 steals and 1 blocked shot) also pitched in last night for the Hawks.  Al Horford (12 points, 11 rebounds, 3 assists, 1 steal and 1 blocked shot) and Joe Johnson (11 points, 7 rebounds and 6 assists) also helped out for the Hawks in this game.  The Hawks are now 34-21 on the year.

The Hawks held the Pistons to 28 points in the second half as they turned up the D and that was the big reason for the win last night.  They outrebounded the Pistons 39-26 and they held them to 38.6% shooting from the floor!  Josh Smith led the way for the Hawks in this game with 27 points, 14 rebounds, 3 assists and 3 steals.  Mike Bibby (16 points, 6 rebounds, 7 assists and 1 steal) and Marvin Williams (15 points, 8 rebounds, 1 assist, 2 steals and 1 blocked shot) also played solid games last night.  Joe Johnson (14 points) and Al Horford (10 points) also pitched in for the Hawks last night.  The Hawks are now 34-20 on the year.

The Hawks were outscored 20-14 in the 4th quarter and Stephen Jackson hit them with a dagger jumper at the buzzer.  Josh Smith led the way for the Hawks last night with 28 points, 6 rebounds, 1 assist and 2 steals.  Al Horford also had a solid game with 16 points, 10 rebounds, 3 assists and 1 steal last night.  Mike Bibby (11 points), Joe Johnson (11 points) and Zaza Pachulia (10 points) also pitched in last night.  The Hawks are now 33-20 on the year.