1. The Hawks were 25th best rebounding team in the NBA according to Hoop Data's Rebounding Efficiency Rating.

2. They had the 6th best turnover rate in the NBA.

3. Atlanta were the 18th most efficient team in the NBA (16th defense, 20th offense).

4. According to PER Al Horford was the 24th best player in the league, Josh Smith was the 36th, Jason Collins had the second worst, Maurice Evans had the 8th worst, and Josh Powell had the 11th worst.

5. Al Horford also had the 45th best true shooting percentage.

6. Joe Johnson had the 24th highest usage rate in the NBA, and that was the team-high.

7. The Hawks had no players among the 40 worst in true shooting percentage.

8. When playing for the Hawks, Mike Bibby had the 30th best assist rate in the NBA.

9. Josh Powell and Zaza Pachuila had two of the top 40 highest turnover rates in the NBA; but Maurice Evans had the 3rd lowest and Marvin Williams had the 38th lowest.

10. The Hawks had no players in the top 40 in rebounding rate. Zaza Pachuila and Al Horford had the 41st and 42nd highest totals respectively, but everybody else was poor.

11. Josh Smith was one of the 40 best players in terms of defensive rating.

12. In terms of box score stats, Al Horford was the 15h best in the league and Josh Smith was the 24th best in the league. Jason Collins was the 4th worst, Josh Powell was the 13th worst, Maurice Evans was the 19th worst, and Damien Wilkins was the 21st worst.

13. Al Horford had the 7th best Win Score and Josh Smith the 29th best. Josh Powell had the 11th worst, Jason Collins the 16th worst, and Maurice Evans the 20th worst.

2010 Hawks MVP

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Posted By: Joe Soriano - Category: NBA, NBA Teams, Hawks, Joe Johnson, Marvin Williams, Zaza Pachuila, Josh Smith, Al Horford, Jason Collins, Damien Wilkins, Josh Powell, Maurice Evans, Mike Bibby

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5/15 NBA News: Hawks' Future

May 15th 2011 11:48

The Atlanta Hawks were finally able to beat the Orlando Magic, and they also have their future at point guard figured out with the emergence of Jeff Teague in the playoffs. Larry Drew did a poor job of coaching during the regular season, but he actually made some good decisions in the playoffs. They were never going to beat the Bulls but taking the best team in the NBA to six games is certainly something to be proud of. The future looks bright in Atlanta, and this team could challenge for the Conference Title with another big man.

Jamal Crawford was huge for them in the playoffs, and he's a very important piece for the Hawks. They might lose him because they didn't give him an extension last year. He is set to become a free agent, and it doesn't seem as if he wants to re-sign with the Hawks. That would be a huge loss for them because Crawford is their second best scorer and second best shooter. That's because there's this guy named Joe Johnson on the Hawks.

Al Horford is the Hawks' only proven big man, and they don't really have a pure center who is capable of starting every game in a season. Jason Collins and Zaza Pachuila are backups. The Hawks may not even be able to sign that kind of a player because they don't really have much money right now.

So let's pretend that Crawford was not re-signed, and the Hawks were able to keep everyone else. Let's also say that they didn't get a good rookie- they traded their first rounder for Kirk Hinrich- and they didn't sign a free agent or make a trade. I think they would still be able to make the playoffs with his hypothetical roster. They would be a one-and-done team, so this highlights the importance of Crawford. The Hawks really need to sign Crawford and/or a solid true center. Below are my rankings of the players on the Hawks.

1. SG Joe Johnson
2. C Al Horford
3. SF Josh Smith
4. SG Jamal Crawford
5. PG Kirk Hinrich
6. SF Marvin Williams
7. PG Jeff Teague (He needs some more seasoning, but he'll develop enough to get into the top five on the team)
8. C Zaza Pachuila
9. C Jason Collins
10. SG/SF Damien Wilkins

Will He Re-Sign?

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Posted By: Joe Soriano - Category: NBA, Bulls, Hawks, Kirk Hinrich, Jeff Teague, Joe Johnson, Jamal Crawford, Marvin Williams, Zaza Pachuila, Josh Smith, Al Horford, Jason Collins, Larry Drew, Damien Wilkins, Magic

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4/11 Game Preview: Heat and Hawks

April 11th 2011 14:35

The Heat are currently in a vicious battle with the Celtics for the East's number two seed. They may have the upper hand now after finally beating the Celtics in a 100-77 statement win that featured an insane block from Dwayne Wade and an even more impressive performance from LeBron James. The Hawks are going to be the 5th seed in the East, and they will pose a challenge for the Heat who are looking to distance themselves from the Celtics in the standings.

The Hawks have been playing poor defense of late, and they have to get back on track against a team that will rip them apart if they do not defend well. Offensively, the Hawks have to be able to spread the ball around. They can do that with guys like Kirk Hinrich, Al Horford, and Joe Johnson. Hinrich is the X-Factor in this game. He is Bibby's replacement, and he can burn up the former Hawk as Bibby is one of the worst defensive point guards in the game.

The Heat's bench is far worse than the Hawks' solid bench. Jamal Crawford is the best scoring sixth man in the NBA, Marvin Williams is a solid bench player, and Zaza Pachuila is much better than James Jones and Joel Anthony. Mike Miller is the only worthwhile bench player for the Heat.

Josh Smith needs to be able to key in on LeBron James. Now is not the time for him to risk everything for a chase-down block. Jeff Teague is another interesting player in this game. If Teague gets to play against Bibby, I could see him hassling the veteran point guard from time to time. Teague is a solid defensive player, and he is very quick.

The Hawks are the better team on the interior and have more depth, but the Heat's big three is extremely athletic. They're on a mission, and they have the main intangible coming into this game; hunger. I don't like to use the saying "They want it more" as a key factor in deciding a game, but I do use it as a minor intangible factor because this mentality does exist in games. The Hawks aren't playing for anything. They already know their seed. I see this being a tight game, but LeBron's star power gets the Heat by a difficult test.

Pushing for 2 in East

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Posted By: Joe Soriano - Category: NBA, NBA Predictions, Celtics, Hawks, Kirk Hinrich, Jeff Teague, Joe Johnson, Jamal Crawford, Marvin Williams, Zaza Pachuila, Josh Smith, Al Horford, Heat, LeBron James, Mike Bibby, Dwayne Wade, James Jones NBA, Joel Anthony, Mike Miller

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3/9 Hoop Talk: Coaching Extensions and The Big Games

March 9th 2011 16:05

Yeah, Hoop Talk is a new thing where I'll just start talking about basketball. I'll start with some topics and work my way through the news of the day- sort of. Anyway, George Karl got a three year extension, no surprise because Karl is an icon in Denver. Nate McMillan got a two year extension. He is a great coach that manages players well, he has great strategies, and he deserved like a five year extension. McMillan is one of the best coaches in basketball, and his team plays very efficient basketball.

Kobe Bryant just topped Moses Malone for sixth on the all-time scoring list with his 26 points against the Atlanta Hawks. I called the winner- easy- but I also called the MVP- Andrew Bynum. He of the 16 points and 16 boards with 3 blocks on 8-10 shooting had a boom-roasted kind of day against Atlanta. Bynum was easily the most efficient player on the court in that game. Only Zaza Pachuila could even think about challenging him on the boards. Bynum was easily the most dominating defensive player in the game. He was impressive- as usual- in the paint.

I want to talk about the Portland-Miami game, and that's it for game reviews for today. The Blazers took this one 105-96, and they were the better team heading into this game anyway. All the Heat drama aside, the Blazers have the better roster when you look at it bit by bit. Dwayne Wade and Gerald Wallace both played some impressive defense, and both of them were the MVPs of their teams. LeBron was also good, but the Blazers proved something that I have been saying all year long. You can't win without depth.

6 players on the Trail Blazers scored double digits compared to just 3 such players for the Heat. Brandon Roy was ruthlessly efficient in the 23 minutes he played. Roy shot 3-3 from beyond the arc too. He showed us again what we are missing as fans. Overall, it was a game won by depth even though LeBron James and Dwayne Wade were incredible. They need other people to step up. By the way, Mario Chalmers's ten points was the other double figure point total for Miami.

You can look at box scores to get game analysis, so it's time to just take a small part of this post to just rambling about basketball stuff. I love how the Celtics have secured a playoff spot already, even though the top team out west- San Antonio- has the better record. It sure goes to show you that the superstar flow to the Eastern Conference doesn't change the fact that the Western Conference is still far better and more competitive.

Did you know that Quinton Ross is the most inefficient player in the NBA? This one guy named LeBron is the most efficient. Marcus Camby is the best rebounder in the league this year- Love is second and Howard fourth. Jamal Crawford is the worst. Go figure. Joel Przybilla is the most turnover prone player, but James Jone is the least. Neither of them handles the ball much- Jones handles the ball the least of any player in the league that gets significant playing time- so the stats are a little bit skewed, but interesting all the same. Przybilla has also missed a chunk of the year with an injury.

Joe Called It

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Posted By: Joe Soriano - Category: NBA, Celtics, Quinton Ross, Hawks, Jamal Crawford, Zaza Pachuila, Joel Przybilla, Heat, LeBron James, Dwayne Wade, James Jones NBA, Mario Chalmers, Dwight Howard, Spurs, George Karl, Blazers, Gerald Wallace, Nate McMillan, Brandon Roy, Marcus Camby, Lakers, Kobe Bryant, Andrew Bynum, NBA Analysis

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3/8 Game Preview: Lakers and Hawks

March 8th 2011 14:19

The Los Angeles Lakers are coming off of a remarkable 99-82 shredding of the San Antonio Spurs, while the Hawks are coming off of a 92-79 loss against the Knicks. They were horrible offensively in that game, and they cannot afford to do that poorly against a far better Lakers team. The Lakers won the last meeting between these two teams, and they are the favorites heading into this game- for good reason. So let's kick back and preview the biggest matchup of tonight in the NBA.

Kirk Hinrich really gives this team a point guard that isn't a liability in defense. He is much quicker than Mike Bibby, and thus doesn't get burned by the quicker point guards out there. Derek Fisher isn't a quick PG at all, so I think Hinrich matches up pretty well against him. Hinrich is a great passer that is average in everything else. Defensively, I think Fisher doesn't really do much against him. He can hit some shots if he gets open, but that's the furthest impact I think he can have offensively in this one. Maybe Steve Blake is the man that shows up today at the point for LA. Hinrich is better than all the point guards that Los Angeles has

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