23-year old center Al Horford keeps improving for the Atlanta Hawks. Horford played in 81 games (all starts) last season for the Hawks and he averaged 35.1 minutes, 14.2 points, 9.9 rebounds, 2.3 assists and 1.1 blocked shots per game. I expect that Horford will take his offense to a new level next season if Joe Johnson leaves the Hawks for greener pastures. Horford has now played in 229 games (225 starts) in his three years for the Hawks and he is averaging 33.3 minutes, 12.0 points, 9.7 rebounds, 2.1 assists and 1.1 blocked shots per game. Horford will hopefully have a long career with the Hawks as he is still very young at 23.

Joe Johnson has his eye on free agency this summer. He played in 73 games (all starts) for the Hawks this season and he is averaging 38.1 minutes, 21.2 points, 4.6 rebounds, 4.9 assists and 1.1 steals per game. The Hawks really need Johnson to play well in the playoffs because this is the best team the Hawks have had since Dominique Wilkins played with them. They are legit contenders to win the Eastern Conference this season so they need all hands on the deck.

Starting power forward Josh Smith has been outstanding this season for the Hawks. Smith has played in 71 games (all starts) for the Hawks this season and he is averaging 35.2 minutes, 15.7 points, 8.7 rebounds, 4.3 assists, 1.7 steals and 2.1 blocked shots per game. Smith hustles at both ends of the court and that’s why he fills up the stat sheet so well. They will likely need him to help out Al Horford a lot on defense when the Hawks tangle with a big center in the playoffs.

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.