After unexpected break, Hawks return to action

By Bud L. Ellis

After a break that lasted longer than scheduled thanks to a blizzard, the Atlanta Hawks are ready to return to the court.

Scheduled to play Saturday night against Washington at the Verizon Center, the Hawks couldn’t get into D.C. due to the major snowstorm that blasted the Mid-Atlantic States. The NBA postponed the game. It has been rescheduled for March 11.

Atlanta, which hasn’t played since beating Chicago on Friday at Philips Arena, plays Tuesday night at Memphis. And the Hawks needed the extra day to try and get Joe Johnson over the flu. Johnson, who leads the Hawks in scoring at 21.9 points per game (10th in the NBA), is expected to be in the lineup Tuesday.

Reserve forward Zaza Pachulia will not play. Pachulia is out with a hip injury and may not return until next week.

Atlanta opens the week in tied for third with Boston in the Eastern Conference standings at 32-17. The Hawks sit 1 ½ games behind Orlando in the Southeast Division.

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Tuesday, February 9, 2010 at 5:35 pm by bud

Tags: Atlanta Hawks, Boston Celtics, Chicago Bulls, Joe Johnson, Memphis Grizzlies, National Basketball Association, Orlando Magic, Philips Arena, Verizon Center, Washington Wizards, Zaza Pachulia

Hawks look to slow Thunder before returning home

By Bud L. Ellis

Knotted in a tight race for second place in the Eastern Conference, the Atlanta Hawks seek a little payback when they travel to Oklahoma City on Tuesday.

The Hawks, locked in a battle with Orlando and Boston for second in the East, lost to the resurgent Thunder on Martin Luther King Jr. Day in Atlanta, Kevin Durant going for 29 points in that game.

Durant leads the NBA in scoring the past month, and the Thunder are five games over .500 on the season and tied with New Orleans for the final playoff spot in the West. The Hawks, meanwhile, sit third in the East, one game behind Orlando and ½ game up on fourth-place Boston.

After Tuesday, the Hawks return home for three of their next five, with home games Wednesday against the L.A. Clippers, Friday against Chicago, and next Wednesday against Miami. Atlanta travels to Washington Saturday and Memphis next Tuesday.

After playing host to Miami, the Hawks hit the road for a four-game, six-day Western road swing.

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Tuesday, February 2, 2010 at 6:52 am by bud

Tags: Atlanta Hawks, Boston Celtics, Chicago Bulls, Kevin Durant, L.A. Clippers, Memphis Grizzlies, Miami Heat, National Basketball Association, New Orleans Hornets, Oklahoma City Thunder, Orlando Magic, Washington Wizards

Hawks seek return to offensive output

By Bud L. Ellis

There’s no place like home for the holidays, and the Atlanta Hawks will enjoy plenty of home cooking the first three weeks of December.

Starting with Wednesday’s home contest against Toronto, the Hawks will play six of their next eight contests inside the (apologizes to Cubs’ fans everywhere for this) friendly confines of Philips Arena. The combined record of the opposition in the next eight: 53-88.

Not exactly a list of world-beaters, this upcoming stretch for the 12-5 Hawks. Toronto, which the Hawks face twice, is 7-12. There are home games against 0-17 New Jersey, 4-14 New York and 6-12 Memphis in the next three weeks.

Is it too much to ask the Hawks to go 6-2 during this stretch? If Atlanta could do that, the Hawks would be sitting at 18-7 after 25 games, a 59-win pace that would set the franchise record for victories in a single season.

But these Hawks have much more on their minds than accomplishments from November to April. After reaching the playoffs the past two seasons and winning a postseason series for the first time in a decade last spring, the Hawks really believe they can make a push deep into the Eastern Conference playoffs.

But wins – no matter the caliber of the opposition – all count just the same. And the next three weeks, the Hawks have a great chance to pile up some marks in the W column.

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Wednesday, December 2, 2009 at 9:39 pm by bud

Tags: Atlanta Hawks, Chicago Cubs, Memphis Grizzlies, New Jersey Nets, New York Knicks, Philips Arena, Toronto Raptors

Hawks continue stellar preseason play

By Bud L. Ellis

Riding the strength of a 71-point first half, the Atlanta Hawks improved to 3-1 in preseason NBA action Wednesday night, downing Memphis 111-96 in Memphis.

Maurice Evans returned to the lineup and shined bright for Atlanta, scoring a team-high 27 points on 8-of-10 shooting. Evans, a key cog off the bench for the Hawks last season, hit three 3-pointers and drained 8-of-9 from the free-throw line in 26 minutes.

Al Horford added 14 points and five rebounds for the Hawks. First-round draft pick Jeff Teague continued his impressive preseason with 13 points and four assists.

The Hawks shot 52 percent from the floor and used strong defense to build a 20-point halftime lead. Memphis pulled within 89-77 after three quarters, but the Hawks had too much down the stretch.

Atlanta plays host to Washington on Monday at Philips Arena, then closes out the preseason with a two-game Florida road swing. The Hawks play the Heat next Thursday in Jacksonville, then take on Orlando next Friday in advance of the Oct. 28 season opener at home against Indiana.

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Thursday, October 15, 2009 at 5:32 am by bud

Tags: Al Horford, Atlanta Hawks, Indiana Pacers, Jeff Teague, Maurice Evans, Memphis Grizzlies, Miami Heat, National Basketball Association, Orlando Magic, Philips Arena, Washington Wizards

Hawks using preseason to tune roster, find chemistry

By Bud L. Ellis

With three games in the next four nights, the Atlanta Hawks ramp up preparations for the 2009-10 season.

It’s likely by the time this three-game stretch ends Wednesday, there will be a few players who will be looking for another team.

Cuts are likely to come down at some point during this stretch, which begins at 6 p.m. today at Detroit. Atlanta returns home Monday to play host to Charlotte at 7 p.m., then travels to Memphis at 8 p.m. Wednesday.

As the Hawks’ staff evaluates the guys on the fringe, the more-established veteran players and the top newcomers brought onto the roster in the offseason will continue to work on meshing together as a team.

That’s what preseason is all about. Guys like Jamal Crawford, Jason Collins and Joe Smith are seeking the chemistry and where they fit into a team coming off back-to-back playoff appearances. Other guys, like Mario West, Othello Hunter and Courtney Sims, are hoping they can do enough during the next three weeks to land on the opening-night roster.

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Sunday, October 11, 2009 at 9:35 am by bud

Tags: Atlanta Hawks, Charlotte Bobcats, Courtney Sims, Detroit Pistons, Jamal Crawford, Jason Collins, Joe Smith, Mario West, Memphis Grizzlies, National Basketball Association, Othello Hunter