30-year old shooting guard Joe Johnson’s scoring was down a little bit in 2010-11, but his overall game remained strong.  Johnson played in 72 games (all starts) for the Hawks last year and he averaged 35.5 minutes, 18.2 points, 4.0 rebounds and 4.7 assists per game.  He has now played in 771 games (701 starts) in his first 10 years in the NBA and he is averaging 36.8 minutes, 17.7 points, 4.2 rebounds, 4.5 assists and 1.0 steal per game.  Johnson is starting to work his way up in the Hawks’ franchise record books as he is up to #8 in scoring (9,477), #2 in three-pointers made (783) and he is #5 in assists (2,421).

Power Forward Kevin Willis was one of the best big men in Hawks’ history.  He played in 753 games (592 starts) in his 11 years with the Hawks and he averaged 30.0 minutes, 14.1 points, 9.7 rebounds and 1.1 assists per game.  Willis played along side Dominique Wilkins when the Hawks had a lot of success in the 1980′s.  He is #4 in games played (753) in Hawks’ history.  He is also #6 in points scored (10,582), #3 in rebounds (7,332), #8 in steals (581) and #8 in blocked shots (425) in Hawks’ history.  The Hawks probably should have kept Willis a little longer as he played until he was 44 years old.

53-year old Larry Drew took over as the head coach of the Atlanta Hawks over the summer.  The Hawks finished up 44-38 (53.7%) during the regular season and they were 6-6 (50%) during the post-season.  The Hawks did win 9 less games than they did last year under Mike Woodson, which is the first time in 7 years that the Hawks didn’t improve their win total during the regular season.  That being said, Drew got the Hawks to play well in the playoffs as they paid back the Magic in the first round.  They also were very competitive against the best team in the Eastern Conference (the Bulls) in the second round of the playoffs.  It will be interesting to see if Drew can up the win total during the regular season to make the playoffs a little easier task next year.

The Hawks laid an egg at the wrong time last night.  The Hawks only shot 36.5% from the floor while the Bulls shot 53.2% from the floor and that did them in big time.  Joe Johnson led the way for the Hawks last night with 19 points, 3 rebounds and 4 assists.  Josh Smith filled up the stat sheet with 18 points, 5 rebounds, 1 assist, 3 steals and 2 blocked shots last night.  Jamal Crawford only shot 2 for 10 from the floor last night as he finished up with 8 points, 1 rebound, 2 assists and 1 steal in 24 minutes on the floor.  The Hawks lost this series 4-2 to the Bulls.

The Hawks were only down one point heading into the 4th quarter, but that’s when the roof caved in as the Bulls outscored them 26-15 in the final stanza.  Jeff Teague led the way for the Hawks in this game with 21 points, 4 rebounds and 7 assists.  Josh Smith (16 points, 7 rebounds, 1 assist and 1 steal) and Joe Johnson (15 points, 2 rebounds, 3 assists and 1 steal) also had solid games for the Hawks last night.  Zaza Pachulia (13 points) and Al Horford (12 points) also pitched in for the Hawks last night.  The Hawks are now down 3-2 to the Bulls.

The Hawks outscored the Bulls 33-19 in the 4th quarter last night as they surged to a very impressive home  win.  Joe Johnson (24 points, 1 rebound, 5 assists and 1 steal) and Josh Smith (23 points, 16 rebounds, 8 assists, 1 steal and 2 blocked shots) led the way for the Hawks in this game.  Al Horford also had a solid game with 20 points, 5 rebounds, 4 assists, 1 steal and 1 blocked shot last night.  Jeff Teague (12 points, 4 rebounds, 4 assists, 1 steal and 1 blocked shot) and Jamal Crawford (12 points, 1 rebound and 2 steals in 29 minutes on the floor) also pitched in for the Hawks last night.  The Hawks have tied up the Bulls now at 2 games apiece.

22-year old point guard Jeff Teague was nailed to the bench late this year and in the first round of the playoffs against the Magic.  But, when Kirk Hinrich went down to injury, Teague rose to the challenge.  Teague has played in 3 games against the Bulls in this series and he is averaging 42.0 minutes, 17.3 points, 2.3 rebounds, 3.7 assists and 1.7 steals per game.  Teague is shooting 20 for 38 (52.6%) from the floor against the Bulls so far in this series.  They need Teague to keep up the good work as he is making Derrick Rose play hard on the defensive end of the court.  Teague has now played in 5 games (3 starts) so far in the playoffs this year for the Hawks and he is averaging 27.0 minutes, 11.4 points, 1.4 rebounds, 2.8 assists and 1.0 steal per game.

The Hawks didn’t show up last night and they paid for it.  They were outrebounded 47-34 by the Bulls and they were down 80-63 after three quarters before the Bulls called off the dogs.  Jeff Teague led the way for the Hawks offensively with 21 points, 3 rebounds, 3 assists and 1 steal in 41 minutes on the floor.  Josh Smith filled up the stat sheet last night with 17 points, 13 rebounds, 4 assists, 1 steal and 4 blocked shots.  Marvin Williams, Al Horford and Joe Johnson each pitched in with 10 points apiece.  The Hawks are now down 2-1 in this series.

The Hawks had a rough time last night against the Bulls.  The Hawks only shot 33.8% from the floor and they were outrebounded 58-39, as the Bulls pushed them around.  Jeff Teague led the way for the Hawks last night with 21 points, 2 rebounds, 3 assists, 3 steals and 2 blocked shots in 40 minutes on the floor.  Joe Johnson (16 points, 5 rebounds, 1 assist and 5 steals) and Josh Smith (13 points, 6 rebounds, 3 assists, 1 steal and 4 blocked shots) also had decent games for the Hawks last night.  Jamal Crawford had a rough night off the bench as he only shot 2 for 10 from the floor to finish with 11 points and 1 assist.  As bad as last night was for the Hawks, they are tied in this series at 1 game apiece as the series shifts to Atlanta.

The Atlanta Hawks shot 51.3% from the floor and they outscored the Bulls 31-24 in the 4th quarter to surge to a very impressive road win.  Joe Johnson led the way for the Hawks last night with 34 points, 4 rebounds, 3 assists and 3 steals.  Jamal Crawford had another solid game as he filled up the stat sheet with 22 points, 1 rebound, 3 assists, 1 steal and 1 blocked shot last night.  Jeff Teague got the start at point guard for the Hawks last night and he responded with 10 points, 2 rebounds, 5 assists and 1 steal.  The Hawks are up 1-0 on the Bulls in this series.