| Hawks Finding Their Wings Authored by Patrick J. Austin - December 17, 2007 - 2:46 pm
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Joe Johnson is having another rock solid season leading the team in scoring (20 points per game) and assists (5 per game).
But the real surprise is the superb play of budding star Josh Smith. He’s truly developing into one of the most versatile players in the game, posting averages of about 18 points per game, 8 rebounds per game, in addition to astounding averages of 3.5 blocks per game (leading the league in this category) and 2 steals per game.
Unfortunately, the stellar play of Johnson and Smith has been hindered by a rash of injuries that hampered the team’s overall development.
Speedy Claxton, the team’s second highest paid player, spent a considerable amount of time on the injured list and has yet to re-gain his form. However, considering his age and the injuries he’s sustained, it’s questionable whether he’ll ever be able to truly re-capture the quickness and tenacity that made him an effective point guard earlier in his career.
Of course, Claxton getting injured is nothing new to this team; it’s the other names on the IR that have really hurt the team. That list has included, at some point this season, Zaza Pachulia, Acie Law, Tyronn Lue and Josh Childress.
All four of those players have important roles for this squad. Childress, the most recent addition to the IR, was having a productive year off the bench and losing him will certainly weaken the team’s second unit production until he returns. Lue, out with a calf injury possibly for the next two weeks, and Pachulia, out with side effects from a concussion and is day to day, are some of the best role players on the team and their absence is noticed.
Acie Law’s early injury prevented him from grabbing the starting point guard position at the beginning of the season and has yet to gain the confidence of head coach Mike Woodson. Acie’s future is still extremely bright, but it’s fair to say his rookie campaign has gotten off to a rocky start.
On the bright side, fellow rookie Al Horford is having a great year averaging 8 points per game and a team-leading 10 rebounds per game (also leads all rookies in that category). Horford’s play has not only been a pleasant surprise, but also essential for the Hawks to be hovering around .500. Due to the aforementioned injury issues surrounding Zaza Pachulia and the underwhelming play of Shelden Williams, Horford needed to overcome the rookie jitters sooner rather than later, and he’s succeeded in that endeavor.
The frontcourt productivity of Smith, Horford, and emergence of Marvin Williams has been key to the team’s relative success. It’s clear the play of the backcourt, particularly at point guard is the real reason the Hawks aren’t battling Orlando for the top spot in the conference. The atrocious point guard play has resulted in the team’s ranking of 27th in scoring and 24th in assists.
Hopefully, Acie Law can get in the good graces of Woodson and obtain more playing time to show us what he can do as a floor general. If not, the team will continue to struggle by giving the aging Anthony Johnson the majority of minutes at the one spot.
Of course, there is the possibility the team could make a deal at the trading deadline to improve the backcourt. A myriad of point guards appear to be on the market including Andre Miller, Luke Ridnour, Mike Bibby, Smush Parker, and Jason Kidd. Obviously, Kidd would be the ideal choice but acquiring him would certainly require giving up at least one piece of our young foundation (i.e. Smith, Williams, or Horford).
I think the best option would be to pursue either Andre Miller or Luke Ridnour. Both are talented point guards signed to reasonable deals. Miller is that pass-first guard we need to get everyone involved while Ridnour has a nice perimeter touch and could be acquired for less considering he’s been wasting away on Seattle’s bench for a majority of the season.
Whatever avenue the Hawks travel, its clear this team is making strides and are poised to make some serious noise in the Eastern conference in the near future. They could definitely challenge for a playoff spot this season if Johnson and Smoove continue to produce at all-star levels and the point guard play improves. |
