The Hawks just don’t trust rookie guard Jeff Teague enough to give him more minutes. Teague has played in 48 games (0 starts) for the Hawks this season and he is averaging 9.6 minutes, 2.9 points, 0.8 rebounds and 1.8 assists per game. He is only shooting 34.4% from the floor and it’s hard to justify giving him minutes over Joe Johnson, Jamal Crawford or Mike Bibby.

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.

The Hawks are looking for a backup power forward in the trade market. It appears that they have been talking to the Bucks about Kurt Thomas. Thomas has played in 41 games (2 starts) for the Bucks this season and he is averaging 13.3 minutes, 2.7 points, 3.5 rebounds and 0.5 assists per game. Thomas is a very battle tested playoff performer and the Hawks have their eyes on winning a NBA Championship this season. The Bucks are said to be interested in Maurice Evans of the Hawks. Evans has played in 50 games (1 start) for the Hawks this season and he is averaging 15.3 minutes, 4.9 points, 1.9 rebounds and 0.6 assists per game. This seems like a even trade for both teams but we will have to wait until next week to see if anything happens or not.

Anthony “Spud” Webb was always told he was too small to play basketball.  That never stopped the 5′6″ Webb from pursuing his dream and becoming a star in the NBA.  Spud Webb had an incredible leaping ability with a vertical leap around 42 inches, which he showed off in the 1986 Slam Dunk Contest.  Spud ended up winning that Dunk Contest, and it really put him on the map.  Most people know about the show he put on in that 1986 Dunk Contest, but most people don’t realize that Spud really was a solid NBA player for quite a few years.  He was a rookie the year he won that dunk contest, and he only averaged about 16 minutes per game in his first four seasons with the Hawks.  He still made an impact, despite playing such few minutes.  As a rookie, he not only won the dunk contest, but he also averaged 15.6 minutes, 7.8 points, 4.3 assists, 1.6 rebounds, 1.0 steals and shot 48% from the field.  Those are some pretty good numbers for a rookie, especially one playing just 15 minutes per game.  His breakout season was in the 1990-’91 season, where he played 29.3 minutes per game and averaged 13.4 points, 5.6 assists, 2.3 rebounds, 1.6 steals, and shot 45% from the field.

Spud impressed a lot of teams around the league, especially the Sacramento Kings who traded for him the next season.  He had his best season that year (91-92) with the Kings, averaging 35 minutes, 16.0 points, 7.1 assists, 2.9 rebounds, 1.6 steals, and shot 45% from the field and 37% from three.  Although Webb had his best years statistically with the Spurs, he will always be remembered for that memorable 1986 Dunk Contest as an Atlanta Hawk.  Spud Webb inspired many small guards from then on, including Tyrone “Mugsy” Bogues (5′3″), Earl Boykins (5′5″), and most of all Nate Robinson (5′9″).  Spud was Robinson’s inspiration for the 2006 Dunk Contest and trained him for it, which Robinson went on to win.  Robinson also won the 2009 Dunk Contest and will be looking for his third Dunk Contest win in this year’s contest, which Spud will be a judge for.

Atlanta Hawks’ point guard Mike Bibby has been very inconsistent for the Atlanta Hawks this season and is averaging career-lows in points, assists, rebounds, and steals.  He has career averages of 16.0 points, 6.0 assists, 3.3 rebounds, 1.3 steals, 36 minutes, and a 44% FG percentage.  This year Bibby is averaging only 8.9 points, 4.2 assists, 2.1 rebounds, 0.8 steals, and is shooting just 41% from the field.  His numbers were even worse in the past month and his play has been very inconsistent.  Due to his poor play, Bibby is averaging just 27 minutes per game and has not played more than 30 minutes in a game in over a month.   In the past four games, Bibby scored 11 points against the Hawks, 0 points against the Spurs, 2 points against the Celtics, and 10 points against the Magic.  That just shows just how inconsistent Bibby has been, especially scoring the ball.  Either Bibby needs to really step up his play, or perhaps the Hawks should start giving their talented rookie Jeff Teague some more minutes.  Even though Teague’s numbers are far from impressive, he is averaging only 10 minutes per game so he has not been given much of a chance to show his stuff.  Luckily for the Hawks they have the best 6th Man in the game in Jamal Crawford, who makes up for Bibby’s poor play and is averaging 17.7 points and 2.8 assists.