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 appear to have hit a home run with the pick of center Al Horford who is off to an outstanding start to the season. He has played in 26 games so far this season and he is averaging 30.9 minutes, 9.1 points, 9.5 rebounds, 1.2 assists and 1.1 blocks per game. He has shot 50.3% from the floor but only 64.3% from the free throw line and he will need to improve on that. He is a legit Rookie of the Year candidate who could help the Hawks make the playoffs for the first time in ages.

Point guard Acie Law hasn’t picked up the NBA game as fast as Horford did but he could start at some point this season if he improves his play. Law has played in 17 games so far this season and he has averaged 18.2 minutes, 4.3 points, 1.2 rebounds and 2.4 assists per game. He is shooting only 37.7% from the floor this season and that needs to improve. But he is shooting 80% from the line which is pretty good.

Guard/Forward Mario West has been getting a lot of playing time in a mop up role. He has played in 23 games for the Hawks this season and he is averaging 6.1 minutes, 1.2 points, 1.1 rebounds and 0.2 assists per game. He is not shooting too well as he is hitting 43.5% from the floor and only 63.6% from the free throw line.

The Hawks are getting everything they have expected out of rookie center Al Horford. In his first 15 games of the season he has averaged 31.9 minutes, 8.7 points, 10.2 rebounds, 1.2 assists, 1.1 steals and 1.3 rebounds per game. Horford has been outstanding at both ends of the court for the Hawks and he’s a huge reason for the improvement the Hawks have showed so far this season. Watch out if he gets a little more selfish on the offensive end of the court because he has the skills to dominate there.

The Hawks keep drafting the same kind of player which is big, athletic forwards.  Shelden Williams played in 81 games for the Hawks and he averaged 18.7 minutes, 5.5 points, 5.4 rebounds and 0.5 assists per game.  Williams really showed that he’s got game at the end of the season with a series of double-doubles with extended playing time.  F/C Solomon Jones played in 58 games last season and he averaged 11.5 minutes, 3.3 points, 2.3 rebounds and 0.2 assists per game.  Jones also played well when he got more playing time at the end of the season.  The Hawks have proven they can draft big guys, but they need a point guard and that should be their focus in this year’s Draft in June.

Many said that Shelden Williams was just a banger that could rebound and play a little defense and that’s exactly the way he has performed for them.  He has now played in 70 games and he has averaged only 4.8 points and 4.8 rebounds in 17.3 minutes per game this season.  Look for the Hawks to consider trading him to try to acquire a real point guard in the off season.

Reserve center Solomon Jones is finally starting to get some playing time and I’m wondering what took them so long.  Zaza Pachulia is a decent starter at center, but Lorenzen Wright is a waste so why not let Jones play those minutes.  Jones has played in 48 games this season and he’s only averaged 9.4 minutes, 2.5 points and 2.0 rebounds per game.  What can it hurt to let Jones play and see what they have in him over the last couple of weeks?