Atlanta Sports Fan Blog

The Atlanta Hawks have let coach Mike Woodson go after advancing to their third straight playoffs.

Woodson’s contract had expired Monday, and the Hawks decided to go in a new direction for their coach.

Woodson’s Hawks had advanced to the second round of the playoffs for the second consecutive season, winning 53 games in the regular season, beating the Milwaukee Bucks in seven games before being swept by the Magic, as Orlando recorded the largest margin of victory in any four-game sweep in NBA postseason history.

The Hawks won 47 games last season, and had improved on their record every season since Woodson’s first with the team in 2004-05, when they won just 13.

Click here to read the full article – By of ESPN.com

Jamal Crawford already got what he wanted most — a trip to the playoffs. On Tuesday, he picked up an extra reward for his unselfishness.

After willingly accepting a backup role for the first time in his career, the Atlanta Hawks guard was named the NBA Sixth Man of the Year in a landslide.

“You have to check your ego at the door,” the 30-year-old Crawford said. “It’s all about winning. You do what you’ve got to do.”

He had never been on a winning team until he was traded to Atlanta by the Golden State Warriors last summer. Of course, the deal came with a caveat: The Hawks wanted Crawford to come off the bench, which was quite a change for someone who had been starting his whole life, from youth leagues to the NBA.

Click here to read the full article – By Associated Press of ESPN.com

High-flying Josh Smith dominated on the inside. Joe Johnson stepped up from the outside when the Hawks needed him.

The result: Atlanta has a 2-0 lead in a best-of-seven series for the first time in 40 years.
Johnson took control in the fourth quarter to finish off a 27-point effort, Smith finished one assist shy of a triple-double and the Hawks ran away from the pesky but outmanned Milwaukee Bucks for a 96-86 victory in the Eastern Conference playoffs Tuesday night.

Smith played as though he’s still upset about being snubbed for the All-Star game, when teammates Johnson and Al Horford were selected but he stayed home. He’s certainly a player capable of taking control of a series in many ways, as he demonstrated with his 21 points, 14 rebounds and nine assists, not to mention two blocks and two steals.

Click here to read the full article – By Associated Press of ESPN.com

Today’s regular-season finale for the Atlanta Hawks is more about the future.

“Win or lose, it’s important that we play well,” coach Mike Woodson says of the game against the Cleveland Cavaliers. “We’re a young team still learning to win at a high level.”

Woodson led the Hawks to their first playoff appearance of the decade in 2008, taking the eventual NBA champion Boston Celtics to seven games in the first round. Last season, Atlanta advanced to the second round.

The goal is to at least make the Eastern Conference finals, which could require upsetting the No. 1-seeded Cavaliers or the No. 2-seeded Orlando Magic.

Click here to read the full article – By J. Michael Falgoust of USA Today

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The Hawks, who will play the Cavaliers in Atlanta on Tuesday night and in Cleveland on Wednesday night, made the playoffs last year, but their 47-35 record did not scare any of the Eastern Conference’s elite teams.

By the time the Hawks met the Cavs in the playoffs, they had been slowed by a seven-game series against the Miami Heat and were swept in four games.

This season’s Hawks, led by Joe Johnson (21.4 points, 5.3 rebounds and 5.1 assists per game), are playing at a higher level. They are 21-8 and showing no sign of drop-off.

They rank fourth in scoring and lead the NBA in point differential in their victories.

The Cavs still make their name on the defensive end of the court. They rank second in the league in field-goal percentage allowed, a fact that has contributed greatly to their four-game winning streak, three of which came at the end of a West Coast road trip.


Click here to read the full article – By George M. Thomas of Beacon Journal

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Joe Johnson made it two straight 30-point games, Josh Smith dominated during a decisive first-half run and Atlanta won its sixth in a row, beating Miami to reclaim a share of the NBA’s best record.

Johnson scored 30 points on the heels of a 35-point effort against Portland on Monday. Smith was all over the stat sheet: 16 points, 14 rebounds, seven assists, two blocks and two steals.

The Hawks (10-2) remained perfect at home and finally seemed to awaken the city of Atlanta to just how good this team might be. The first sellout of the season, 18,729, turned out at Philips Arena.


Click here to read the full article – By Associated Press of onlineathens.com

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Opening Night is the NBA’s version of New Year’s Day, where everywhere you look, the mood is good, the forecast is sunny and everything feels right, if only for a night.


This year is the exception, though. This year comes with a quirky twist. This is the year of the pending free agent. And therefore, in select cities, Opening Night qualifies as the beginning, all right. Quite possibly, the beginning of the end.

As in: The end for LeBron James in Cleveland? Dwyane Wade in Miami? Chris Bosh in Toronto? And others?

Wednesday, the fog of uncertainty made its way to Atlanta and was thicker inside Philips Arena than the sparse crowd. It hovered over the Hawks’ bench, right above coach Mike Woodson and leading scorer Joe Johnson, two important pieces from a 47-win team who aren’t guaranteed to appear at Opening Night next season – at least not in Atlanta.

Click here to read the full article – By Shaun Powell of NBA.com

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For probably just the second time in his NBA career, Joe Johnson finds himself at a crossroads. He has one year left on his current contract. His team is looking to make the jump from playoff-maker to contender. He is still looking for the respect due a person of his talents. Where does he go from here? Well, “where he goes” is not so much about next summer as it is about the season that starts in 15 days.

Now I know what you might be thinking. This is all just going to be more noise about Joe not signing the contract extension offered by the Hawks. I assure you it’s not. If you ask me, that is only part of why he is at a crossroads, and it is not even the driving reason behind it all. Without exacerbating the point, we’ve seen all of this before with other teams and players. No, this is about something else. Something I like to call re-evolution. It’s sort of like “coming full circle.” Players get into the league and if all goes well, they evolve to the point of where they become the best they are going to be. Sometimes they then evolve further into something else, play a different role, man a different position. Usually it’s because it’s necessary. Because that’s the best that can be done. But if things work out right, they get to “re-evolve” into that player they were, when they were at their most efficient, effective, and comfortable. Perhaps Joe is about to reach that point. And Perhaps that is exactly where the Hawks need him to be.

Click here to read the full article – By Big Ray of ajc.com

Atlanta Hawks Sports Memorabilia
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Below are links to memorabilia available for Joe Johnson.

The Atlanta Hawks signed free-agent forward Joe Smith on Tuesday to address the team’s lack of inside depth. Smith, a 14-year veteran, was the NBA’s No. 1 overall draft pick in 1995. The Hawks are his 10th NBA home.

The 6-foot-10, 225-pound Smith will join center Zaza Pachulia as the top inside backups behind starters Al Horford and Josh Smith for the Hawks, who advanced to the second round of the playoffs last season.

“Joe’s acquisition provides us with a solid complement to our frontcourt,” said Hawks general manager Rick Sund. “Not only does he bring years of experience to our team, but his versatility gives our coaching staff a player who can play multiple positions and an individual who will provide tremendous leadership in the locker room.”

Click here to read the full article – By Associated Press of ESPN.com

Atlanta Hawks Sports Memorabilia
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Below are links to memorabilia available for Joe Smith.

Atlanta Hawks Sports Memorabilia
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Below are links to memorabilia available for Dominique Wilkins.