Rookie first round draft pick Acie Earl has beaten out Speedy Claxton as the starting point guard of the Hawks. He did so by playing in 4 pre-season games (1 start) and he averaged 33.3 minutes, 8.8 points, 3.3 rebounds, 4.3 assists and 1.5 steals per game. He’s a shoot first point guard so it will be interesting to see how well he does with a collection of players that want the basketball in their hands. But the Hawks have no doubt that Earl is a huge upgrade on Claxton. Marvin Williams has held off Al Horford for the starting job at small forward which will move Josh Smith to power forward. Williams had a decent year for the Hawks last season. He played in 64 games (63 starts) and he averaged 13.1 points, 5.3 rebounds and 1.9 assists per game. He needs to improve his shooting a little bit as he only hit 43.3% of his shots from the floor, 24.4% from three point range and 81.5% from the free throw line.

The Hawks will start the #3 pick of the NBA Draft last June, Al Horford, at power forward to start the season.  It’s also possible that the Hawks other first round pick (point guard Acie Law) could be starting soon if Speedy Claxton doesn’t get off to a good start.  The Hawks gave Claxton a lot of money in the off-season before the 2006-07 season and he pretty much stole the first year money as he was awful.  Claxton played in 42 games (31 starts) for the Hawks last season and he averaged 25.1 minutes, 5.3 points, 1.9 rebounds, 4.4 assists and 1.7 steals per game.  He was a terrible shooter last season as he only hit 32.7% from the floor, 21.4% from three point range and 55% from the free throw line.  He will have to play way better than that if he wants to keep his starting job.  Claxton has now played in 332 games (128 starts) in his NBA career and he has averaged 25.7 minutes, 9.3 points, 2.5 rebounds, 4.3 assists and 1.5 steals per game.  Joe Johnson keeps getting better as a basketball player.  He only played in 57 games (all starts) last season for the Hawks and he averaged 41.4 minutes, 25.0 points, 4.2 rebounds, 4.4 assists and 1.0 steal per game.  Johnson is a tremendous shooter from everywhere on the court as evidenced by his 47.1% shooting from the floor, 38.1% from the three point line and 74.8% from the free throw line.  Johnson will be the #1 option for the Hawks on offense and his numbers could actually even get better this season as he won’t have to worry about having to play any point guard.  He began his career as a backup and it shows in his career numbers.  He has now played in 462 games (392 starts) and he has averaged 35.6 minutes, 15.6 points, 4.1 rebounds, 4.0 assists and 1.0 steal per game.  Small forward Josh Smith keeps getting better as a basketball player so there is no telling how great his numbers will look like this season.  Smith played in 72 games (all starts) last season and he averaged 36.8 minutes, 16.4 points, 8.6 rebounds, 3.3 assists, 1.4 steals and 2.9 blocks per game.  The most impressive aspect of Smith’s game is his hustle as he hasn’t appeared to let all of the losing of the last few seasons affect his play on the court and that’s commendable.  Smith has now played in 226 games (204 starts) in his NBA career and he has averaged 32.1 minutes, 12.4 points, 7.1 rebounds, 2.5 assists, 1.0 steal and 2.4 blocks per game.  Al Horford will bring muscle to the power forward spot as he should have no problem beating out Shelden and Marvin Williams for the job.  Horford is a rugged player who is a good rebounder and defender which should make the Hawks a better team this season.  Center Zaza Pachulia is a underrated basketball player.  He played in 72 games (47 starts) last season for the Hawks and he averaged 28.1 minutes, 12.2 points, 6.9 rebounds, 1.5 assists and 1.1 steals per game.  Look for Pachulia’s numbers to improve a little bit this season as he has a lot of good moves around the basket.  Pachulia has now played in 283 games (131 starts) in his NBA career and he has averaged 23.1 minutes, 8.6 points, 5.9 rebounds and 1.1 assists per game.  Look for the Hawks to be a much improved basketball team this season.