High-flying Hawks stay perfect with win over Pistons

By Bud L. Ellis

Granted, it’s just five games. But the Atlanta Hawks are more than pleased with the start to their 2010-11 season.

Atlanta improved to 5-0 and remained the only unbeaten team in the Eastern Conference Wednesday, riding a strong 18-4 run late in the contest to pull away from Detroit 94-85 at Philips Arena. ( Read More…)

Friday, November 5, 2010 at 4:40 am by bud

Tags: Al Horford, Atlanta Hawks news, Atlanta Hawks schedule, Atlanta Hawks tickets, Detroit Pistons, Joe Johnson, Josh Smith, Los Angeles Lakers, Marvin Williams, Minnesota Timberwolves, National Basketball Association, New Orleans Hornets, Philips Arena, Zaza Pachulia

Reports: Hawks set to interview two for coaching vacancy

By Bud L. Ellis

With the Mike Woodson era over following one of the more embarrassing playoff performances in recent memory, the Atlanta Hawks are wasting little time in trying to turn the page.

According to published reports Monday, the Hawks are set to interview former Dallas head coach Avery Johnson and current Dallas assistant Dwane Casey. This comes three days after Woodson was told he would not be brought back following a four-game sweep of the Hawks by Orlando in the second round of the NBA playoffs, three of the four defeats coming by lopsided margins.

Johnson already has interviewed with New Orleans and Philadelphia. He led the Mavs to the 2006 NBA Finals, where Dallas won the first two games before losing the championship to Miami.

Casey has no previous NBA head coaching experience, but worked under Atlanta GM Rick Sund in Seattle.

Woodson, let go after six seasons at the helm, directed the Hawks to a better record in each season, raising the franchise from the stench of a 13-69 campaign to a 53-29 mark and the third seed in the Eastern Conference this season. But the Hawks were swept in the second round of the playoffs for the second consecutive season, after nearly losing to undermatched Milwaukee in the first round.

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Monday, May 17, 2010 at 7:58 pm by bud

Tags: Atlanta Hawks, Avery Johnson, Dallas Mavericks, Dwane Casey, Mike Woodson, National Basketball Association, New Orleans Hornets, Orlando Magic, Philadelphia 76ers, Rick Sund, Seattle

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 offensive spark to end mini-skid

By Bud L. Ellis

Dropping three games in their past four outings has moved the Atlanta Hawks out of the top spot in the Eastern Conference.

And the weather isn’t the only thing that’s cooled in the waning days of November and the opening hours of December.

The Hawks have scored 88 points or fewer in all three of their losses during their mini-skid that’s dropped Atlanta into a tie with Cleveland for third place in the Eastern Conference.

Prior to the recent hiccup, the Hawks ran off seven consecutive victories, scoring 97 points or more in each victory and topping 100 five times.

So, why the sudden struggles on offense? Start with a lack of patience.

The Hawks have been impatient on offense, which is surprising considering how fluid the Atlanta offense has been through most of the first 17 games.

In one of the losses, the Thanksgiving night defeat to Orlando, the Hawks faced one of the top defensive teams in the league. But in losses to New Orleans and Detroit (who combined have one more victory – 13 – than the Hawks), Atlanta simply didn’t find their rhythm on offense.

No doubt when the Hawks return to the floor to face Chicago on Wednesday, they will seek a return to the patient, balanced offensive attack that sparked their rise to the top of the East.

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Tuesday, December 1, 2009 at 8:33 pm by bud

Tags: Atlanta Hawks, Chicago Bulls, Cleveland Cavaliers, Detroit Pistons, National Basketball Association, New Orleans Hornets, Orlando Magic

Bibby injury the first bump in Hawks’ road

By Bud L. Ellis

On an Atlanta radio show last week, an observer noted the impressive run of the Atlanta Hawks to the top of the NBA through the first three weeks of this young season.

But the caller brought up a great point, mentioning how everything had clicked just right for the high-flying Hawks. How would this team handle adversity?

The Hawks have hit their first roadblock of what’s been a nearly perfect start to their season, losing point guard Mike Bibby to a sprained left ankle injury early in Saturday’s loss at New Orleans.

Now it’s unfair to say the Hawks don’t lose if Bibby doesn’t get hurt. Atlanta was playing the second night of a back-to-back, the first one a gritty, hold-on-for-dear-life victory over Houston on Friday. The Hawks also were facing a New Orleans team that hadn’t lost since former coach Byron Scott was shown the door.

But now the Hawks face perhaps the task of taking the court without Bibby, the savvy veteran whose acquisition from Sacramento at the 2008 trade deadline fueled Atlanta’s return to the playoffs after a decade-long absence. In those playoffs, against behemoth Boston, Bibby took on the wrath of Celtics fans, a calculated move done to take the heat off his teammates, most of whom had never played in the postseason.

It worked. Atlanta pushed the eventual world champs to a Game 7, stunning the basketball world and giving the Hawks the confident push that resulted in a 47-win season in 2008-09 and a first-round victory over Miami last spring.

Without Bibby, the point duties fall to veteran Jamal Crawford and rookie Jeff Teague. For the former, it takes away from his role as scorer off the bench. For the later, its’ a chance to add to the impressive play we saw from him in preseason.

Either way, it would behoove the Hawks to get Bibby back and soon. After all, the next time the Hawks hit the floor is Thanksgiving night at Philips Arena, and the team Atlanta is tied with for first in the Eastern Conference, Orlando, is the opposition.

If Bibby can’t go Thursday, we’ll see just how well his teammates handle their first dose of adversity.

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Monday, November 23, 2009 at 10:54 pm by bud

Tags: Atlanta Hawks, Boston Celtics, Byron Scott, Houston Rockets, Jamal Crawford, Jeff Teague, Miami Heat, Mike Bibby, New Orleans Hornets, Orlando Magic, Philips Arena

Hawks’ streak snapped with loss at New Orleans

By Bud L. Ellis

You knew it couldn’t last forever, this streak of improbable and galvanizing victories by the Atlanta Hawks.

The story of the year in the NBA to this point, the Hawks saw their seven-game winning streak halted Saturday night in a 96-88 loss at New Orleans.

For the Hawks (11-3), the difference came from beyond the 3-point arc. Atlanta hit just 4-of-22 from 3-point range (18.2 percent), while the Hornets knocked down 12 of their 17 3-point tries.

And still, Atlanta had a chance in the final minute to pull within five after trailing by 14 with nine minutes to play. But the Hawks, down seven after a Marvin Williams layup and a New Orleans turnover, couldn’t get any closer.

Jamal Crawford led Atlanta with 20 points off the bench. Williams scored 17, and Josh Smith and Joe Johnson added 14 points each. Both Smith (10 rebounds) and Al Horford (10 points, 11 rebounds) posted double-doubles.

Crawford played 39 minutes, coming in early after Atlanta loss starting point guard Mike Bibby to an ankle injury. Bibby played just five minutes.

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Sunday, November 22, 2009 at 11:25 am by bud

Tags: Al Horford, Atlanta Hawks, Jamal Crawford, Joe Johnson, Josh Smith, Marvin Williams, Mike Bibby, National Basketball Association, New Orleans Hornets

Smith dunk sends Hawks to seventh-straight victory

By Bud L. Ellis

Josh Smith is no stranger to living above the rim, having won an NBA Slam Dunk title en route to becoming one of the highest fliers in the league.

But in the waning seconds Friday night, in a game where the Atlanta Hawks looked ready to turn a seventh-straight victory into a difficult defeat, Smith came through with the biggest dunk of his career.

Slamming home Mike Bibby’s miss with 0.7 seconds left, Smith’s jam snapped a 103-103 tie, the Hawks earning a 105-103 win to push their winning streak to seven and their NBA-best record to 11-2.

It shouldn’t have come down to the final seconds. Atlanta led 102-92 on a Jamal Crawford 3-pointer with 2:07 left, but Houston rallied to tie the game on two Carl Landry free throws with five seconds left.

But great teams find a way to win, and everything we’ve seen from the Hawks so far this season leads one to believe this Atlanta squad indeed could be great.

Marvin Williams broke out of his early-season scoring slump in a big way, hitting 13-of-19 shots from the floor en route to a 29-point, nine-rebound performance.

Crawford hit three 3’s off the bench, finishing with 21. Joe Johnson added 19 and Al Horford scored 17.

Atlanta plays Saturday at New Orleans, looking to run its record 10 games above .500.

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Friday, November 20, 2009 at 10:42 pm by bud

Tags: Al Horford, Atlanta Hawks, Houston Rockets, Jamal Crawford, Joe Johnson, Josh Smith, Marvin Williams, Mike Bibby, National Basketball Association, New Orleans Hornets

Balanced attack paces Hawks to win in preseason opener

By Bud L. Ellis

It’s not the type of game that will foster dreams of playing in June. Quite the contrary: the preseason opener, held in the opening days of October, is merely a time to return to the court against competition, the first step of a long journey toward next spring.

 

But the Atlanta Hawks made the most of it nonetheless, running out to a big first-half lead en route to a 101-84 win over New Orleans on Wednesday, in the preseason lidlifter at Philips Arena.

 

Plenty of optimism surround these Hawks, following consecutive playoff berths and the franchise’s first postseason series victory in a decade last spring.

 

Wednesday, Atlanta rode a balanced attack to earn the victory in the preseason debut. Joe Johnson and Zaza Pachulia led five scorers in double figures with 17 points each, Johnson knocking down 7-of-10 shots from the floor in 19 minutes. Jeff Teague, the team’s first-round draft pick from Wake Forest, added 15 points in 26 minutes.

 

Josh Smith scored 14 and pulled down seven rebounds. Al Horford added 11 points on 5-of-6 shooting. Reserve Mario West pulled down a team-high nine rebounds.

 

Again, one cannot read too much into a victory to open the preseason, but there were plenty of positives for the Hawks on this night. Atlanta shot 50 percent (35-for-70) from the floor, committed just 11 turnovers, and used a withering 30-12 second quarter to build a 62-36 lead at intermission.

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Wednesday, October 7, 2009 at 9:41 pm by bud

Tags: Al Horford, Atlanta Hawks, Jeff Teague, Joe Johnson, Josh Smith, Mario West, National Basketball Association, New Orleans Hornets, Philips Arena, Wake Forest, Zaza Pachulia

Hawks’ fans asked to bring school supplies to preseason opener

By Bud L. Ellis

If you’re ready for some NBA action in Atlanta Wednesday evening, bring some school supplies with you.

The Atlanta Hawks open the NBA preseason at 7 p.m. Wednesday at Philips Arena, playing host to New Orleans.

Fans are being asked to bring school supplies(at least $10 worth) to the game, to benefit Clarkdale Elementary School. The Cobb County school drew nationwide attention during the flooding that hit parts of Metro Atlanta two weeks ago, the floodwaters covering all but the very top of the school.

Students have been displaced, separated into two other elementary schools. It’s possible Clarkdale will have to be torn down and totally rebuilt.

Fans who bring at least $10 in school supplies will receive two vouchers, good for tickets for either the Oct. 28 or Oct. 30 games (Atlanta plays host to Indiana on Oct. 28, and Washington on Oct. 30).

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Tuesday, October 6, 2009 at 8:56 pm by bud

Tags: Atlanta Hawks, Indiana Pacers, New Orleans Hornets, Philips Arena, Washington Wizards