The Hawks defeated the Bulls 109-94 last night, giving the team a 6-3 record on the season. The win brought a particular sense of satisfaction after the team lost to Chicago on Tuesday after letting a 17-point lead slip away.

Despite being mired in trade rumors, Josh Smith has performed well and led the team last night with 25 points and six blocks. Three other Hawks starters were in the double digits as well– Al Horford (14), Jeff Teague (12), Joe Johnson (17).

“We did a good team job on him defensively in crowding him, trapping him and showing him different looks,” Smith said of Bulls star Derrick Rose. ”We played sound defense on him.”

Rose was limited to just eight points on the night and did not play at all in the fourth quarter.

The victory is the team’s second in a row after Atlanta beat the Bobcats in overtime Friday night and brought Chicago’s six-game winning streak to an end.

Next Up: The Hawks will face the New Jersey Nets tomorrow night at the Prudential Center.

The Hawks will take on the Heat tonight at Philips Arena in a rematch of Tuesday night’s victory. Wade, out with a foot injury, did not play last night in the Heat’s 118-83 rout over the Pacers. Whether the Heat star plays in tonight’s game will be a game-time decision. Wade said he is hopeful, but also wants to make sure he comes back when he is ready:

“As much as I want to be out there, my team needs me to be Dwyane Wade and not somebody else on the floor,” said Wade.

Wade bruised his foot in a game against the Bobcats on December 28.

The Hawks will take on the Heat tonight in Miami in what will be the first real test for the team this season. Atlanta is 3-1 on the season but has yet to face a team with a winning record. The Heat are 5-0 and are coming off an impressive 39-point victory over the Bobcats, while the Hawks are trying to bounce back from a disappointing loss to the Rockets.

“We didn’t execute and couldn’t finish plays when we were right there,” Hawks head coach Larry Drew said of the loss. “They came down and made shots and the lead went back up.”

Time to kick it up a notch for the Hawks! The game begins at 7:30 p.m. EST.

The Hawks evened their preseason record at 1-1 with a 17-point win over the Bobcats last night. Josh Smith led Atlanta with 21 points, and newcomer Vladimir Radmanovic added 11 points of his own.

According to coach Larry Drew, the team looked much better compared to Game 1 of the series on Monday night:

“The energy level was much greater tonight,” Hawks coach Larry Drew said. “I thought our starters did a good job picking up energy in times where we got a little lackadaisical.”

For the Bobcats, Corey Maggette led the team with 18 points and 5 rebounds. But all eyes were really on Charlotte’s two rookies, Kemba Walker and Bismack Biyombo. Biyombo was the 7th overall pick and got a lot of attention during the draft for the interesting path the Congolese PF/C took to make it big (great piece on his story from ESPN’s Chad Ford). However, Biyombo struggled a bit in his debut with one point, two rebounds and four turnovers in just under 16 minutes.

Walker, the number 9 pick who led the Huskies to the NCAA championships last year, had eight points, four rebounds and two assists in a little over 19 minutes.

Next up: The Hawks will kick off the regular season against the Nets next Tuesday at 7:30 p.m. EST in New Jersey.

In keeping with their trend of adding veteran faces to the bench, the Hawks signed 7-year veteran guard Jannero Pargo yesterday according to GM Rick Sund. Terms of the deal were not disclosed.

Pargo didn’t appear in a game with the Bulls last season, but played in 63 during the 2009-10 season. He averaged 5.5 points-per-game and 13.2 minutes-per-game.

Pargo joins Tracy McGrady and Vladimir Radmanovic as off-season veteran additions. Combined, the three have 32 years of experience under their belts (15 for McGrady, 10 for Radmanovic and 7 for Pargo)… aaand 49 average minutes-per-game in their last full regular seasons (23 for McGrady, 16 for Radmanovic and 13 for Pargo).

The Hawks will take on the Bobcats tomorrow night in a rematch of Monday night’s preseason 79-77 loss.

The Hawks will take on the Bobcats tonight in Charlotte for the first game of the preseason. The last time the two teams met was the last game of the 2010-2011 regular season in which the Bobcats defeated the Hawks, 96-85.

Recent draft pick, Bismack Biyombo, has freed himself from his contract with Spanish team Fuenlabrada by agreeing to pay a buyout clause and joined the the Bobcats. Coach Paul Silas said the Congolese forward would not play tonight because he hasn’t had a chance to practice with the team, but he should be in for the game this Thursday against the Hawks at Philips Arena.

The Hawks’ probable starting lineup includes: Marvin Williams (F), Josh Smith (F), Joe Johnson (G), Jeff Teague (G) and Al Horford (F/C).

For the Bobcats, likely starters include: Derrick Brown (F), Tyrus Thomas (F), Boris Diaw (C), Gerald Henderson (G), and D.J. Agustin (G).

The game will be on NBA TV and begins at 7 PM EST.

Photo Credit: Hector Alejandro

Hawks stars Joe Johnson and Al Horford were among the nine NBA players who kicked off the Hoops for Troops USO Tour on Monday. The players met with several thousand military members and their families at Schofield Barracks, an Army base in Oahu, Hawaii. They also visited injured servicemen and signed autographs and took pictures with soldiers and their families.

The USO, United Service Organization, is a private, non-profit organization that provides moral support, entertainment and recreational services to members of the U.S. military and family members.

Other players on the tour included league MVP, Derrick Rose (Bulls), D.J. Agustin (Bobcats), Tyreke Evans (Kings), Brook Lopez (Nets), Robin Lopez (Suns), JaValee McGee (Wizards), and Mike Miller (Heat).

The tour will last one week and include basketball games at Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickman and Schofield.

The Hawks’ 2007 first-round draft pick, Acie Law, is headed overseas. Yesterday, it was reported that Law signed a one-year deal with the Serbian team Partizan for $500,000.

Unlike decisions to play abroad by many NBA stars, Law’s recent deal is less a consequence of the pending lockout situation. Despite an impressive college career with Texas A&M, the point guard struggled to find his place in the NBA. Law played for 5 teams (Hawks, Warriors, Bobcats, Bulls, Grizzlies) in 4 years and never averaged more than 16 minutes-per-game or 7 points-per-game in any season. His agreement does not include a clause that would allow him to return to the NBA if the lockout were to end before his contract was up.

Sound risky? It might not be. Despite a brief surge of earnest negotiating at the onset, the NBA lockout has since been “weirdly quiet” according to Derek Fisher, president of the NBPA. A real sense of urgency appears to be lacking. But tomorrow represents the one-month mark of the lockout, and players and owners will officially resume negotiations in New York this week. So let’s just hope the current air of indifference is really just the quiet before the storm…

Well, I hope the Hawks’ players enjoyed their little break and have been using their recent skid to rest up and prepare for the playoffs. They darn well better be the most well-rested, mentally psyched team heading into postseason.

Time to come back from vacation, guys

The AP’s game recap nailed it on the head:

“Larry Drew got the Hawks rest, but no momentum.”

Atlanta enters postseason play on a 6-game losing streak, its longest since the 2007-2008 season. Although as a brief sidenote, I have to say that discovering that stat was actually pleasantly surprising. It’s pretty impressive that the Hawks have gone so long without losing more than five in a row, especially when you consider the Cavs’ record-setting 26-game losing streak earlier this season. And the Spurs only recently snapped a six-game losing streak of their own and still have the best record in the West.

In last night’s match-up against the Bobcats, Drew stuck to his plan of resting the starters with no one playing more than 25 minutes. And just as well, because Smith, Hinrich, Horford, Pachulia and Johnson managed only 20 points total between them. Once again, the bench performed well and made a valiant attempt to erase a 20-point deficit in the second quarter. Sometimes I wonder why Drew doesn’t use the bench more often. If nothing else, it might send a message to the starters. It seems to me that at least of late, Crawford, Powell, Wilkins and the Hawks’ other reserves play with a little more hunger and intensity. And I mean, when your sixth man consistently scores more than most of your starters, why is he your sixth man?

But, as good ol’ John Wooden says:

Former UCLA coach, John Wooden

“Failure is not fatal. But failure to change might be.”

The playoffs are as good a time as any for a little redemption. Game 1 tips off at 7 PM EST at the Amway Center in Orlando.

The NBA regular season is coming to a close. In what appears on the surface to be a relatively meaningless game in tonight’s Hawks-Bobcats matchup, Atlanta  actually has a lot to consider in its approach.

In the grand scheme of things, this game won’t have any significant consequences– the Bobcats are out of the playoffs, and the Hawks have been firmly locked in as the fifth seed in the East for a while. So, LD may benefit from resting his starters and avoid risking injury to make sure everyone is fresh for Round 1 against the Magic. And he’s taken that approach over the course of the past few games:

“I think it’s more important to rest starters and get out of these last few games as healthy as we can. Yes, we would like to break the losing streak. Yes, we would like to have a win to gain some momentum heading into the playoffs. But I can live with healthy players better than I can live with a win from a game that has very little meaning.” ~LD

It’s fair to play it safe– a serious injury to J-Smoove, Big Al or J.J. would be devastating. But at the same time, you don’t want to send a message of indifference.

The Hawks are currently riding a season-high 5-game losing streak, and another loss to the lowly Bobcats wouldn’t exactly be the morale-boosting motivation needed to go into what will be a tough series against the Magic. For a team that is so vulnerable to wide swings and streaky play, momentum will be huge. And it doesn’t have to come from having all five starters out on the floor– Monday night’s game against the Heat was a great instance of bench players stepping up when Drew decided to rest his starters late in the game.

Basically, I don’t care who’s out there– all five starters, “garbage time,” a mix of both, or maybe an attempt at throwing  players with interesting names on the floor (newly acquired Magnum Rolle, Pape Sy, Zaza?!) So long as the effort, energy and momentum is there to ride high into the playoffs.

Tipping off at 8 PM EST in Charlotte tonight. Go Hawks!

Time Warner Cable Arena