Category: Atlanta Hawks Blog

Atlanta Hawks blog

Cool stats worth knowing

Phoenix’s Shaquille O’Neal needs 20 points to tie John Havlicek for 10th on the all-time scoring list (26,395). O’Neal is averaging 14.8 points over six games. He scored a season-high 29 points Saturday at Milwaukee. The Suns host Memphis tonight and Houston Wednesday.

O’Neal’s teammate, Amare Stoudemire, has attempted 15 or more free throws in a franchise-record tying three-straight games (Connie Hawkins: January, 1970; Stoudemire: April, 2004). The last player to attempt 15 or more free throws in three straight games was Dwight Howard in December, 2007.

Toronto’s Chris Bosh is the second player in team history to pass the 7,000-point mark in career scoring. He has 7,011 points, second behind Vince Carter, who scored 9,420 points between 1998-2004.

Miami’s Mario Chalmers — one of only two rookies starting at point guard (Chicago’s Derrick Rose) — leads rookies in assists (5.7 apg) and steals (2.8 spg). Rose is second in assists (5.1 apg) and tied for fourth in steals (1.1 spg).

Milwaukee guard and former NBA Development League player Ramon Sessions is averaging 17.2 points, 6.2 assists and 3.6 rebounds.

Atlanta, which remained undefeated (5-0) with an 89-85 triumph over host Oklahoma City yesterday, is off to its best start since the 1997-98 season 11-0.

–NBA News

Nov 9: Hawks 89, Thunder 85

The AP reports: Joe Johnson scored 25 points and Atlanta came from behind after a late Oklahoma City run to beat the Thunder 89-85 Sunday night and move to 5-0 on the season… Flip Murray keyed the Hawks’ comeback by scoring the first nine points in a 12-2 run, and Atlanta held Oklahoma City without a field goal for a 5-minute stretch to pull ahead… Marvin Williams added 16 points, Murray finished with 14 and Bibby scored 13 for Atlanta, which is off to its best start since winning 11 straight games at the outset of the 1997-98 season. The Hawks’ next three games are also on the road… Kevin Durant led the Thunder with 20 points, rookie Russell Westbrook scored 15 and Joe Smith had 14 points and nine rebounds.

Hawks off to strong start

It’s too early in the season to focus on records or standings, but still, the Atlanta Hawks deserve praise for their 4 wins with no losses. All their wins were against decent or good teams: the Magic, 76ers, Hornets and Raptors.

They’ve been led by Joe Johnson, who has averaged 25.3 points, 6.0 rebounds and 4.3 assists per game on 55.4% shooting.

Mike Bibby has played well, though he still needs to shoot better.

Flip Murray has provided a nice scoring boost, scoring 12.0 ppg.

Josh Smith, who isn’t scoring much but steals the ball, blocks shots and makes a difference on both ends of the court, has been decent, but will now miss the next several weeks due to a sprained ankle.

Al Horford and Marvin Williams have both started the season fairly quietly. But new Hawk Maurice Evans has provided nice scoring punch.

Nov 7: Hawks 110, Raptors 92

The AP reports: Mike Bibby scored all of his 19 points in the first half, making four 3-pointers during an 18-4 run that broke open the game, and the unbeaten Hawks routed the Toronto Raptors 110-92 on Friday night. Bibby added 12 assists for Atlanta (4-0). The Hawks are off to their best start since 1997, when they won their first 11 games… Chris Bosh led Toronto (3-2) with 26 points. Jose Calderon, the Raptors’ second-leading scorer, had only six points on 2-of-10 shooting, but finished with 12 assists… Flip Murray added 16 points for Atlanta. Maurice Evans scored 15 and Marvin Williams 14. The points were season highs for Bibby, Murray, Evans and Williams.

Nov 5: Hawks 87, Hornets 79

The AP reports: Joe Johnson scored 24 points and the Hawks made 12 3-pointers to stay perfect on the young season with an impressive 87-79 road win over a team that hadn’t lost even since preseason began… Atlanta is now 3-0 for the first time in 11 years, thanks in part to reserve Flip Murray, a key free agent acquisition who came up with big shots when Johnson was double teamed… Chris Paul had 22 points and 11 assists for New Orleans (3-1), while David West added 15 points and James Posey 10… “That just shows the maturity of the program,” said Atlanta’s Josh Smith, who had 11 points and 11 rebounds… Hornets center Tyson Chandler and forward Peja Stojakovic returned to the starting lineup after both missed New Orleans’ previous game last Saturday with sprained right ankles.

Nov 1: Hawks 95, Sixers 88

The AP reports: Joe Johnson scored 35 points, including a long 3-pointer that clinched it with 11 seconds remaining, and the Hawks rallied from a 23-point deficit to stun the Philadelphia 76ers 95-88 Saturday night. The Hawks improved to 2-0 in their home opener, the team’s best start in a decade… The 76ers outhustled the Hawks, building a 20-8 rebounding edge at one point, and Atlanta couldn’t make anything. Starting forwards Smith and Marvin Williams combined to go 0-for-11 over the first two quarters… Mike Bibby added 19 points for the Hawks, and Zaza Pachulia came off the bench to add some much-needed defensive toughness. The burly center picked off eight rebounds in 21 minutes… Young led the 76ers with 22 points, but only five came after halftime. All five Philadelphia starters scored in double figures, including Elton Brand with 17 points and Iguodala with 16. Brand also had 16 rebounds.

Oct 29: Hawks 99, Magic 85

The AP reports: The Hawks surged to an early lead and held off the Magic in the fourth quarter Wednesday for a 99-85 win in the season opener for both teams. Joe Johnson scored nine of his game-high 25 points in the fourth and the Hawks handed Orlando only its second loss in its last nine home openers. Atlanta won its first road opener since 1987. Josh Smith, playing on a sprained ankle, chipped in 17 points and 10 rebounds for the Hawks. Dwight Howard scored 12 of his 22 points in the final quarter and added 15 rebounds to lead Orlando… Mickael Pietrus had 20 points, more than double his preseason average. .. Rashard Lewis fouled out with 11 points and Hedo Turkoglu scored 13.

Hawks mess up a lot

The Atlanta Journal-Constitution (Sekou K. Smith) reports on the Hawks: Few teams have endured a more dizzying array of bad draft picks (Shelden Williams anyone?), puzzling trades (everyone’s still waiting for those Gary Payton Hawks jerseys to go one sale), botched free agent signings (in their defense, Speedy Claxton did have severe injury issues and Josh Childress got a groundbreaking offer from Olympiacos), off-court drama Hollywood screenwriters couldn’t dream up (let’s not revisit the ownership squabble), stunning drama (Jason Collier’s family remains in our prayers) and just about any other crazy thing that could happen to a team during a four-year stretch fit for the Twilight Zone. To their credit, the Hawks have come through all of it in relatively decent shape. The roster is as balanced as it’s been in years. The salary structure is solid, with the ability to get better with a few moves here and there over the next couple of seasons. They rekindled some of the love with their fans by putting on as good a home playoff show as any team (other than the Celtics) during the postseason.

NBA opening night rosters

The NBA’s opening day rosters are official, and now posted on InsideHoops.com.

This evening was the deadline for NBA teams to trim their rosters down to 15 players or less.

The 2008-09 regular season starts Tuesday, October 28. InsideHoops is your online basketball home. We’re pumping out more content this season than ever.

Enjoy the season!