With all due respect to Kevin Durant in Seattle, Al Horford is the best rookie in the NBA. He has a huge upside and he will be one of the cornerstones of the Hawks future which appears to be a bright one. Horford played in 81 games (77 starts) this season for the Hawks and he averaged 31.4 minutes, 10.1 points, 9.7 rebounds and 1.5 assists per game. The most impressive thing about Horford is that he raised his game in the playoffs against the Celtics in Round #1. Horford started all 7 games against the Celtics and he averaged 39.6 minutes, 12.6 points, 10.4 rebounds, 3.6 assists and 1.0 blocked shot per game. Look for Horford to make some All-Star teams in the very near future.

Acie Law was also supposed to move into the starting lineup this season but he started the year slowly. With Law struggling the Hawks felt the need to trade for Mike Bibby and that was a great move for the Hawks. Law didn’t sulk as he learned a few tricks from Bibby and he played much better as his backup. Law played in 56 games (6 starts) for the Hawks this season and he averaged 15.4 minutes, 4.2 points, 1.0 rebound and 2.0 assists per game. Maybe Law will be ready to start when Mike Bibby starts to wear down.

G/F Mario West didn’t get much playing time despite playing in a lot of games as a rookie. West played in 64 games (2 starts) this season for the Hawks and he averaged 4.2 minutes, 0.9 points, 0.8 rebounds and 0.2 assists per game.

The Hawks season ended with a thud yesterday afternoon in Boston as they only shot 29.3% from the floor and were never really in the game. Joe Johnson only shot 5 of 17 from the floor but he still led the way for the Hawks with 16 points and 3 rebounds. Salim Stoudamire was good off the bench in garbage time as he finished with 10 points in only 15 minutes. Al Horford had his worst game of this series at an inopportune time. He was only 3 of 12 from the floor as he finished with 8 points, 12 rebounds, 3 assists and 2 blocked shots. The Hawks lost this series 4-3 but it was a very solid step for the future.

The Hawks outplayed the Celtics tonight and they have forced a Game 7 winner take all game on Sunday Afternoon in Boston. Marvin Williams led the way for the Hawks with 18 points, 4 rebounds and 2 assists. Mike Bibby only shot 6 of 17 from the floor but he still finished with 17 points, 6 rebounds and 7 assists. Al Horford was busy again last night as he finished with 16 points, 5 rebounds, 4 assists and 3 blocked shots. Joe Johnson was only 4 of 13 shooting from the floor as he finished with 15 points, 4 rebounds and 5 assists. Josh Childress was solid off the bench with 15 points, 6 rebounds and 3 assists in only 26 minutes. It will be interesting to see how the Hawks play on Sunday as none of the “Big Three” on the Celtics have ever won anything.

The Hawks didn’t have much of a chance last night in Boston. The Celtics shot 53.6% from the floor and they outrebounded the Hawks 39-28 which explains the final score. Joe Johnson led the way for the Hawks with 21 points, 3 rebounds and 2 assists. Josh Smith only shot 4 of 13 from the floor but he still finished with 18 points, 5 rebounds, 3 assists and 3 steals. Al Horford was solid again for the Hawks with 14 points, 10 rebounds and 5 assists. The Hawks are now down 3-2 in this series.

The Hawks outscored the Celtics 32-17 in the 4th quarter to pull away with a big win on Monday. Joe Johnson led the way for the Hawks with 35 points and 6 assists. Josh Smith stuffed the stat sheet with 28 points, 6 rebounds, 2 assists, 2 steals and 7 blocked shots. Mike Bibby also had a solid game with 18 points, 3 rebounds and 2 assists. The Hawks are now tied at 2-2 in this series.