Between injuries and all the ups and downs, the Hawks don’t seem to have a consistent game plan or lineup so far this season. But whatever they’re doing appears to be working.

Kirk Hinrich seems to be making his way back to his old form, with 5 points and 9 assists in his second game back after shoulder surgery. He played 32 minutes in last night’s 107-101 OT win over the Pistons. There was some uncertainty about what Jeff Teague’s role would be once Hinrich was back, but Larry Drew may be able to prolong that decision for a while. Teague went down with an ankle injury and left the game in the second half. He is still day-to-day.

Joe Johnson had 30 points last night while Josh Smith added 19 points and 11 rebounds. For the Pistons, Greg Monroe led the team with 22 points and 11 rebounds.

Next Up: The Hawks will play the New Orleans Hornets Sunday at 7:00 p.m. EST.

As the Republican primaries continue to rage on in Florida, preliminary results for NBA All-Star voting has raised a few eyebrows. Hawks forward, Josh Smith in particular seems to be getting the short end of the stick.

Despite the fact that Smoove was the only forward who ranked among the top 10 in points, rebounds, assists, steals and blocks after an earlier ballot update, he didn’t crack the top ten list of forwards in the most recent All-Star ballot update.

In fact, the only Hawks players who did make the list were Joe Johnson (10th among guards) and Al Horford (6th among centers).

Voting ends on January 31st, and All-Star weekend will take place the weekend of February 24-26 in Orlando.

Throughout the off-season and continuing into the start of the regular season, Hawks forward Josh Smith has been engulfed in trade rumors. The Atlanta native had a disappointing year last year, and his name was constantly mentioned in potential Dwight Howard acquisition moves. But Smith hasn’t let it distract him on the court, and he is the only forward in the NBA to make the top 10 in points, rebounds, assists, steals and blocks among forwards.

How’s that for well-rounded?

The Hawks have a three-game winning streak since starting forward/center Al Horford went down with a shoulder injury last Wednesday against the Pacers. Atlanta beat the Toronto Raptors 93-84 this afternoon at Philips Arena with big performances from Joe Johnson and Josh Smith. Smith led the team with 28 points and 15 rebounds. The 15 rebounds were a season high for Smith.

For the Raptors, Leandro Barbosa led the team in scoring with 22 points off the bench. Toronto was without center Andrea Bargnani, out with a strained left calf.

Since Horford’s injury, Atlanta’s other starters have stepped up and picked up the pace. Horford may miss the remainder of the regular season, and Hawks management has remained tight-lipped about a long-term solution. But in the meantime, it looks like Drew’s current lineup is doing alright for now.

Next Up: The Hawks take on the Blazers at 8 p.m. Wednesday night. The game will be on– wait for it– ESPN! *gasp*

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 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.

According to a report by ESPN.com, the Hawks are also one of the teams interested in the Magic big man:

“Sources told ESPN.com that the aforementioned Hawks, meanwhile, engaged Orlando in trade talks for Howard earlier this month with an offer believed to be headlined by $124 million guard Joe Johnson and swingman Josh Smith. You have to figure that the Magic, though, would insist on Al Horford if such discussions ever got serious.”

However, it appears that Howard has little desire to play in his hometown, due in large part to the team’s disorganized ownership situation.

Ahhh, it feels good to write about real games again. The Hawks open the regular season tonight against the New Jersey Nets at the Prudential Center in Newark. The Nets are coming off a 90-84 win against the Wizards yesterday.

A few things to look out for in tonight’s game:

• Which Jeff Teague will show up? - With Kirk Hinrich still out with a shoulder injury, the young point guard will have a chance to show that his standout performances against the Bulls during the playoffs last season weren’t complete flukes.
• Role of veteran newcomers - The Hawks’ offseason moves didn’t exactly jump out in the “breaking news” column and seemed to have a geriatric theme. The acquisition of veterans Tracy McGrady, Jerry Stackhouse, Vladimir Radmanovic, and Jannero Pargo add a lot of years and wisdom to the bench, but how will this translate in the win-loss column?
• Will Josh Smith get over his fear of the paint and stop taking perimeter jump shots? - After shedding 25 pounds in the off-season, let’s hope a leaner, meaner and more aggressive J-Smoove shows up.

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.

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.