The Hawks will head to New Orleans to take on the Hornets tonight at 7 p.m. EST. The Hawks (14-6) are coming off an overtime win against the Pistons and are just a half game out of first behind the Heat. The Hornets (4-15) are in last place in the Southwest Division and have the worst record in the Western Conference. However, they are coming off an impressive win against Orlando in which they held the struggling Magic to only 67 points.

Injury Update: Jeff Teague, who left Friday’s game with a sprained ankle, practiced with the team yesterday but will still be a game-time decision. If he doesn’t start, Coach Larry Drew says Kirk Hinrich will likely take his place.

What to watch for: What will Joe Johnson do? Thus far, the Hawks guard has stepped up his game since the injury to Al Horford and the Hawks have been riding on his success. But the Hornets have a stingy defense and have held the Hawks to less than 90 points the last three times the teams have met.

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.

It’s never a good sign when your “top performance” is Jeff Teague‘s 12 points and 6 assists. The Hawks let this one slip away, losing 90-76 to the Sixers Friday night.

The Sixers’ second year coach, Doug Collins, wrote on a board during halftime, “If you want to go fast, go alone. If you want to go far, go together.” Apparently the motivation worked. Atlanta was up 47-39 at the half, but collapsed in the third quarter as the Sixers outscored them 25-10.

“I thought our guys went fast in the first half, and alone,” Collins said. “I thought we went far in the second half, and together.”

Hawks coach Larry Drew had less flattering things to say of his team after the loss:

“It got tough for us and we quit,” Drew said. “That’s what happened. I was more disappointed than frustrated.”

Next Up: The Hawks look to bounce back tonight against the Cleveland Cavaliers at Philips Arena. The game is at 7:00 p.m. EST.

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 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 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.

Hawks Coach Larry Drew remembers 9/11 on the 10th anniversary:

“It changed completely… It was a topic every day… In the locker room, amongst the coaches. During training camp, everyone is excited and looking forward to the upcoming season. Certainly, the chain of events that happened on 9/11 changed all of that. Basketball to me just took on a whole new meaning. It just didn’t seem as important anymore. After what so many people were going through and how lives were affected, just how the whole world was affected.”

Despite all of the rumors and phone calls prior to and during the draft, the Hawks couldn’t move up and stuck with their no. 48 pick. But it turned out to be a pretty good deal for the team as they went with center Keith Benson from Oakland University. Benson is the first player from Oakland to play in the NBA.

While the Hawks could have gone with a bigger name like Kansas point guard Josh Shelby who ended up going to the Grizzlies at No. 49, they stayed with their original plan and got a big man. I’ve got to say, I’m pretty pleased that Sund stuck to his guns and for once the team didn’t fold to the temptation of playing yet another round of Point Guard Roulette. We needed a center and we got a center.

And as the No. 48 pick in a relatively weak draft anyways, Benson is a good pickup for the team. At 6’11″ with a 7’4″ wingspan, Benson set school and conference records for career (363) and single-season (127) blocks.

The Hawks were pleased to have him, expecting him to go earlier in the draft. They watched Benson play various times and were impressed with what they saw.

“I thought we had some pretty good options when it came time for us to pick. Certainly, we did not think Benson would be there. We had him taken a little bit sooner, but we were very pleased that he was there and we were able to get him.” ~Larry Drew

And he already has ties to the city. Benson’s godmother is an anchor for local news station and his mother and grandfather both attended HBCUs in the city (Spelman and Morehouse).

“I’m really happy to join this Atlanta Hawks team. I think they have a bright future and I think I can contribute. I’m going to continue to get better and work hard for this team. I think it’s a good fit for me. They’re an athletic team and I think I can contribute to that.” ~Keith Benson

Keith Benson

Josh Smith, forward for the Hawks for the past seven years. Andruw Jones, centerfielder for the Braves from 1996-2007. Two players that came in with immense talent and potential. Two players that failed to meet expectations and have gotten into scuffs with their managers for attitude problems.

When Andruw first came into the league, Bobby Cox said he was the greatest center fielder he’d seen since Willie Mays. Jones had an uncanny ability to instinctively sense where a ball was headed at the crack of the bat. He finished second in Rookie of the Year voting in 1996, but hit a disappointing .231 the following year as the starting center fielder.

Jones, who grew to rely solely on natural talent, became complacent and lazy and was even pulled from a game by Bobby Cox in the middle of an inning for his lackadaisical play. After stints with the Dodgers, Rangers and White Sox, Jones has settled in as a washed-up, overweight backup outfielder for the Yankees.

When the Hawks selected Josh Smith in the first round of the 2004 draft, Atlanta was abuzz with excitement. With such sheer, natural athleticism, Smith had the ability to take over a game as an inside force. The hometown hero, born and raised in Atlanta, quickly became a fan favorite. In 2010, Smith became the youngest player in NBA history to record 1,000 blocks.

But Smith’s run in Atlanta has been all but “smoove,” and the 25-year old ran into his fair share of troubles during the 2010-2011 season. Immaturity, absentminded turnovers and careless jump shots provoked boos from his own Atlanta fans and disapproval from head coach Larry Drew who sat Smith on numerous occasions during the playoffs for erratic play.

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