26-year old power forward Josh Smith is one of the most underrated players in the NBA.  He consistently fills up the stat sheet from night to night by playing hard at both ends of the basketball court.  Smith has played in 21 games (all starts) for the Hawks so far this year and he is averaging 34.3 minutes, 15.8 points, 9.2 rebounds, 3.2 assists, 1.3 steals and 2.0 blocked shots per game.  Smith has now played in 555 games (533 starts) in his first 8 years with the Hawks and he is averaging 33.9 minutes, 14.7 points, 7.8 rebounds, 3.0 assists, 1.3 steals and 2.2 blocked shots per game.

The Hawks held the Hornets to 37.5% shooting from the floor and it was the biggest reason for the easy win last night.  Jeff Teague led the way for the Hawks in this game with 24 points, 1 rebound, 4 assists and 1 steal.  Willie Green pitched in with 16 points and 1 rebound in 18 minutes off the bench.  Marvin Williams had 14 points, 2 rebounds, 3 assists and 3 steals before letting some other guys play last night.  The Hawks are now 15-6 on the year.

The Hawks outscored the pesky Pistons 20-14 in overtime last night to put them away in Detroit.  Joe Johnson (30 points, 5 rebounds, 3 assists and 1 steal) and Marvin Williams (22 points, 8 rebounds and 1 assist) led the way for the Hawks last night.  Josh Smith was very active in this game as he finished up with 19 points, 11 rebounds, 8 assists, 1 steal and 3 blocked shots last night.  Zaza Pachulia pitched in with 16 points, 9 rebounds, 1 assist and 1 blocked shot last night.  The Hawks are now 14-6 on the year.

23-year old point guard Jeff Teague has taken over as the starter this year and he is doing a great job so far this year.  He has played in 19 games (all starts) for the Hawks so far this year and he is averaging 34.8 minutes, 13.0 points, 2.3 rebounds, 5.4 assists and 2.2 steals per game.  Teague is not the traditional pass first kind of point guard, but that’s o.k. on the Hawks as they also got other players who can handle the ball.  Kirk Hinrich has just come back from shoulder surgery, but he will be the #3 guard going forward as Jeff Teague has played too well to be replaced in the starting lineup.  The Hawks hope he can keep up the good work.

The Atlanta Hawks have released 24-year old rookie guard Donald Sloan.  Sloan played in 5 games (0 starts) for the Hawks this year and he averaged 4.0 minutes, 1.2 points, 1.0 rebound and 1.0 assist per game.  He only shot 37.5% from the floor but he didn’t really have much of a chance to get into a groove shooting the ball.  The Hawks weren’t going to use Sloan much this season anyway as they are pretty loaded at the guard spots.  They won’t miss him.

The Hawks were outrebounded 44-34 and the Spurs shot 51.2% from the floor last night and it did them in big time.  Jeff Teague led the way for the Hawks last night with 20 points, 5 rebounds, 3 steals and 1 blocked shot.  Josh Smith only shot 6 of 17 from the floor in this game but he still finished up with 13 points, 5 rebounds, 1 assist, 2 steals and 1 blocked shot.  Joe Johnson pitched in with 10 points, 7 assists and 1 blocked shot in this game.  The Hawks are now 13-6 on the year.

The Hawks grinded out a nice road win on Monday Night against the Bucks.  Joe Johnson led the way for the Hawks with 28 points, 5 rebounds, 1 assist and 2 steals.  Josh Smith also had a huge game with 19 points, 13 rebounds, 4 assists, 1 steal and 3 blocked shots.  Jeff Teague pitched in with 15 points, 6 rebounds and 5 assists in this game.  The Hawks are now 13-5 on the year.

The Hawks shot a blistering 55.4% from the floor last Saturday Night as they thrashed the Cleveland Cavaliers.  Joe Johnson led the way for the Hawks in this game with 25 points, 3 rebounds and 4 assists.  Jeff Teague (14 points, 5 assists and 2 steals), Jannero Pargo (14 points, 2 rebounds, 6 assists and 1 steal in 15 minutes) and Zaza Pachulia (13 points, 6 rebounds, 4 assists and 2 steals) also had solid games for the Hawks.  Marvin Williams (12 points, 3 rebounds, 1 assist and 1 blocked shot) and Ivan Johnson (11 points, 6 rebounds and 1 steal) also pitched in for the Hawks in this game.  The Hawks are now 12-5 on the year.

The Hawks were outrebounded 51-32 and outscored 51-29 in the second half last Friday and it did them in.  Willie Green led the way for the Hawks with 14 points, 2 rebounds, 1 assist and 1 steal in 20 minutes off the bench in this game.  Jeff Teague (12 points, 6 assists and 5 steals), Josh Smith (10 points, 6 rebounds, 4 assists and 2 blocked shots) and Tracy McGrady (10 points, 4 rebounds and 2 assists) also pitched in for the Hawks in this game.  The Hawks are now 11-5 on the year.

The Hawks held the Blazers to 38% shooting from the floor which was the big reason for the home win last Wednesday Night.  Joe Johnson (24 points, 7 rebounds, 5 assists, 3 steals and 1 blocked shot) and Josh Smith (17 points, 11 rebounds, 3 assists, 2 steals and 3 blocked shots) led the way for the Hawks in this game.  Jeff Teague (13 points, 1 rebound, 5 assists and 1 blocked shot) and Marvin Williams (12 points, 8 rebounds and 1 assist) also pitched in for the Hawks in this game.  The Hawks are now 11-4 on the season.