Atlanta Hawks Preview

The next few days, leading up to the start of the season, I will be previewing the positions, outlooks, and preditions for the Hawks this season. We are going to start with the guard play for the 2008 season.

Starting at point will be Mike Bibby. The Hawks acquired him in a trade deadline deal last year. I liked the deal, didn't love it, but I liked it. Mainly because I thought the Hawks needed to do something and he is a real solid player. Mike avgeraged 14 pts, 3 reb, 6 assists, shot 41% from field and 78% from the line. His real contribution is that he gives this team some stability at the point which was much needed. Look for Bibby to have a real solid year for 2 reasons. First he is more comfortable with his teammates and second he is in a contract year. I would like to see the Hawks resign him for 2 or 3 years to give Acie more time to develop.

The starting 2 guard will be Joe Johnson. He is the best all around player on the Hawks team and lone all-star. At first I thought we overpaid for him, but now I think it was a great move. He is probably the most underrated player in the NBA and we needed an offensive leader. JJ averaged 22 pts, 4.5 reb, 6 assists, and shot 43% from field and 83% from the line. He is our best 3 pt shooter and most consistant player on the court.

Acie Law is in his 2nd year after the Hawks drafted him with one of two first round draft picks of the 2007 draft. I think we will see marked improvement from him this year. He has had a solid preseason and probably will share time with Speedy. Last year was defintely a learning experience for him. At times it seemed like he was lost and other times he was the quickest player on the court. I like Acie. I think he will be a really good player some day. Just give him time to get confidence in his jumper and we possible could be looking at an all-star.

Speedy Claxton is an unknown as far as the Hawks are concerned. He might be the fastest player I have ever seen with the basketball. It is either him or Darrell Armstrong. Health is the major concern here, hopefully he can give some veteran leadership to the second string. He could be a real assest to the team if he stays healthy.

Ronald "Flip" Murray comes over from Indiana and has a good preseason. He bring 6 years of experience off the bench and should help people forget about Childress. Obviously a better shooter than Childress, hopefully he will be as energetic.

The last 2 are Thomas Gardner and Mario West. Both are energy guys. Gardner is probably the better player of the 2 but Mario brings more energy than anyone on the team.

Our starting guards are as good as any in the NBA. Our bench on the other hand needs some leadership and experience. Hopefully Speedy is the answer. I am comfortable with the guard play and think they will be better than expected.