Hawks look to soar in second half of season

By Bud L. Ellis

Joe Johnson and Al Horford are back from the All-Star game. Zaza Pachulia and Jamal Crawford are back from minor injuries.

For the Atlanta Hawks, it’s the second half of the season, and it’s time to make a move.

The Hawks sit in a great place in the standings, third in the Eastern Conference and just 1 ½ games behind second-seed Orlando in the Southeast Division. While catching the front-running Cleveland Cavaliers for the Eastern Conference lead may be a reach for both teams – the Hawks are 8 ½ games back; the Magic seven games in arrears of Cleveland – the division title is there for the taking.

And with Boston just ½ game behind Atlanta for fourth and the red-hot Toronto Raptors in fifth and only four games behind the Celtics, the race for the second through fifth seeds in the East figures to go down to the season’s final days.

Atlanta opens a critical four-game west coast road swing Wednesday night against the Los Angeles Clippers. The Hawks also visit Phoenix, Golden State and Utah on the trip, before returning home to Philips Arena next Wednesday to face Minnesota. The last three teams the Hawks face on the road trip all are above .500 and all would be in the playoffs if the season ended today.

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Tuesday, February 16, 2010 at 8:51 pm by bud

Tags: Al Horford, Atlanta Hawks, Boston Celtics, Cleveland Cavaliers, Golden State Warriors, Jamal Crawford, Joe Johnson, Los Angeles Clippers, Minnesota Timberwolves, National Basketball Association, Orlando Magic, Phoenix Suns, Toronto Raptors, Utah Jazz, Zaza Pachulia