Marvin Williams’ production has dropped this season, but he is getting less minutes and has become more of a role player for the Atlanta Hawks this season.  He has been a solid role player this season, averaging 10.3 points, 5.5 rebounds, 1.1 assists, 0.7 blocks, and 0.7 steals in 29.7 minutes per game.  All of those averages are his lowest since his 2005-’06 rookie season, including his minutes.  Yet, in the past two games he has put together two of his best games of the season.  He didn’t look like a guy who shoots 44% and only averages 10 points and 5 rebounds.  That’s because on Monday night in a 112-93 win over the Chicago Bulls, he played 32 minutes and went 7-14 for 18 points, 9 rebounds, 4 assists, and 1 steal.  He followed that impressive performance up with another one last night in a 112-93 win over the Philadelphia 76ers, where he went 8-12 for 21 points, 8 rebounds, 1 assist, and 1 steal.  The Hawks are already one of the best teams in the Eastern Conference, so if they can get some more games like this out of Marvin Williams it will be a great bonus.

Starting shooting guard Joe Johnson is one of the biggest reasons for the Hawks being so good this season. He has played in 57 games (all starts) for the Hawks this season and he is averaging 38.0 minutes, 21.8 points, 4.7 rebounds, 4.7 assists and 1.1 steals per game. The Hawks have their eyes on winning the NBA Championship this season but Johnson is going to be a free agent at the end of the year so it will be interesting to see if the Hawks pay him or let him walk away.

23-year old All-Star center Al Horford is playing the best basketball of his NBA career right now for the Hawks. He has played in 52 games (all starts) for the Hawks this season and he is averaging 34.9 minutes, 13.7 points, 9.3 rebounds, 2.1 assists and 1.2 blocked shots per game. Horford has now played in 200 games (196 starts) in his time with the Hawks and he is averaging 33.0 minutes, 11.5 points, 9.5 rebounds, 2.0 assists and 1.2 blocked shots per game. Horford’s game offensively will likely expand even more if the Hawks lose some players to injury or free agency in the near future.

Josh Smith has been doing a little bit of everything for the Atlanta Hawks this year, and he is deserving of All-Star status.  The 6′9″, 240-pound Smith is only 24, but he has been a force in this league for about five years now.  Joe Johnson gets most of the credit for the Hawks success, which is deserving, but Smith is the difference-maker for the Hawks in my opinion.  He is by no means a one-dimensional player and fills up the stat sheet night after night.  This season he is averaging 15.1 points, 8.3 rebounds, 3.8 assists, 2.2 blocks, and 1.5 steals.  Smith is also shooting 52% from the field and with his combination of size, athleticism, and jumping ability Smith often has game-changing dunks or blocks that swing the momentum in the Hawks favor.  Smith does have the ability to hit the open three, but he is not consistent from there.  That is why I like to see that he has taken that out of his game and he is more aggressive, taking it to the hole more often.  Smith is a true all-around player and he is one of the main reasons the Hawks are 29-14 this season.

Center Al Horford has been doing a solid job of doing the dirty work for the Hawks. He plays good defense and he is a great rebounder whose offense is improving. Horford has played in 40 games (all starts) for the Hawks this season and he is averaging 34.5 minutes, 13.7 points, 9.9 rebounds, 2.2 assists and 1.3 blocked shots per game. The Hawks need Horford to keep up the good work because it allows the rest of the Hawks players to leave their games wide open which makes them very dangerous.