Former Nuggets forward Kenyon Martin is heading back to the states, and Atlanta is among the places that he may soon call home. Martin went abroad to play for the Chinese team, the Xinjiang Guanghui Flying Tigers, which finishes their season in mid-February. According to Knicks reporter, Adam Zagoria, Martin is also considering the Knicks, Heat, Clippers and Spurs.

Is it safe to say the Hawks are on a roll? Atlanta continues to find ways to win in Al Horford’s absence, this time riding Joe Johnson’s 30 points past the Raptors. With the win, Atlanta ends its 5-game road trip with a 4-1 record and move to 16-6 on the season.

Although Jeff Teague had only 10 points, he had 5 assists which hopefully is a sign that the young point guard is learning to move the ball around better. Teague has averaged only 2.3 assists per game over his career– not exactly the kind of numbers you want from your starting point guard. T-Mac also came up big off the bench with 15 points in tonight’s win.

The Raptors struggled from the field shooting only 37 percent compared to the Hawks’ 51 percent.

After a relatively easy schedule thus far, the Hawks will face more daunting challenges over the next two weeks during which 5 of their next 7 opponents have winning records, including two division rivals– the Heat and the Magic.

The Hawks face a tough test as they begin a five-game road trip tonight in Milwaukee. Over the course of the next eight days, Atlanta faces the Bucks, Spurs, Pistons, Hornets and Raptors.

Currently, the Hawks are tied with the Magic for first place in the Southeast Division and have managed to win despite serious injuries to Kirk Hinrich and Al Horford. But the majority of those wins have come at home– Atlanta is 8-1 at Philips Arena but only 4-4 on the road.

For Atlanta, it will be the first time the team faces the Bucks, Spurs, Pistons and Hornets this season. In their last game against the Raptors, the Hawks won 93-84. Although the Bucks are only 6-9 on the season, they are coming off a 91-82 win over the Heat. Tonight’s game will be at 8:00 p.m. EST.

We’re one-sixth of the way through this shortened NBA season and the Hawks are right about where pre-season predictions had them pegged– with a winning record (7-4), third place in the division, and living comfortably in the lap of mediocrity.

Despite a valiant fourth quarter effort, the Hawks couldn’t come back against the Pacers Wednesday night and lost 96-84. Atlanta outscored Indiana 25-16 in the fourth but it was too little too late this time, and the Hawks snapped their three-game winning streak.

For the Pacers, the story of the night was Danny Granger‘s comeback– the Indiana forward led both teams with 24 points after being sidelined with food poisoning during the last game. Granger had been struggling from the field but seemed to have found his rhythm tonight. Apparently it wasn’t causing him too much concern:

“I never shoot good at the beginning of the season,” Granger said. “Nothing different. I knew it would come around at one point. Everybody else was worried about it more than I was.”

The Hawks were playing shorthanded, with injuries to Vladimir Radmanovic, Marvin Williams, andTracy McGrady. To make matters worse, Al Horford went down during the first quarter after straining his left shoulder and did not return for the remainder of the game. His future status is still unknown.

Next Up: The Hawks return home to take on the Bobcats Thursday night at 7:30 p.m. EST.

The Hawks moved to 7-3 and a game and a half behind Miami with a 106-101 win over the Nets Monday night.

Josh Smith led the Hawks with 26 points, a season high for him. Joe Johnson had 22 and Jeff Teague added 20 points (and redeemed himself for some poor performances for my fantasy team).

With Marvin Williams out with an ankle injury, newcomer Vladimir Radmanovic got the start for the Hawks and put up 14 points and six rebounds.

Anthony Morrow led the Nets with 20 points, and MarShon Brooks had 19 points and 10 rebounds. New Jersey drops to 2-8 (and 0-4 at home) with the loss.

Next Up: The Hawks will take on the Pacers on Wednesday at 7 p.m. EST.

The Hawks lost a tough one to the Heat in three overtimes last night. Sir Charles called the game and ranted on Weight Watchers and why the Hawks should get Dwight Howard between the basketball:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XOAPL5Td7uo&feature=youtu.be&mid=5707

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 led by as much as 17 with three minutes left in the third against the Bulls. And then it all slipped away.

Coach Larry Drew summed it up best:

“We stopped defending with the intensity that we did in the first three quarters,” Hawks coach Larry Drew said. “We didn’t make our free throws going down the stretch. If you don’t make your free throws on the road you can’t expect to win.”

The Hawks shot 56 percent from the line (14-for-25) compared to the Bulls’ 77 percent (20-for-26).

The Hawks return to Atlanta from a three-game road trip to take on the Heat tomorrow night.

The Hawks came back with a strong second half to give the Heat their first loss of the season on Miami’s own court last night with a 100-92 victory. The Hawks were down by as many as 10 in the second quarter but came back to within three at the half.

Joe Johnson led the Hawks with 21 points. Al Horford also had a big night with 16 points and nine rebounds while Jeff Teague added 15 points and 5 assists of his own. But the clutch performance really came from newly acquired veteran T-Mac whose two 3-pointers late in the game sealed the deal for Atlanta.

Atlanta’s zone defense scheme worked well in keeping the Heat’s big three at bay– James had 28 points, Bosh had 19 and Wade was limited to only 12.

The two teams will tag up again this Thursday at Philips Arena.

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.