Last week the Hawks let a big lead slip away against the Bulls in Chicago, right before the start of a stretch of three games in three nights. Then they lost to the Heat in triple overtime at home on Thursday. Then, after getting into Charlotte at 3am, they needed overtime to beat the Bobcats on Friday night.

At the end of a physically and mentally draining stretch of games, the Hawks chemistry was surely going to be tested against the Bulls on Saturday night. The blowout win helped Atlanta pass with flying colors. (Note: the final margin of 15 points did not do justice to explain how much the Hawks dominated this game. Check out a full explanation from the AJC’s Michael Cunningham.)

Re-watch the highlights from Saturday night (if you haven’t watched them yet, where have you been?) and keep an eye on the Hawks bench. As the Hawks are exploding on their 18-2 run to end the first half the bench might even be more active than the players on the floor. The only team to play nine games in their first 12 days of the season is jumping around and joking with each other like kids that only have 30 minutes of recess to get rid of all their energy.

My personal favorite was when Joe broke Deng’s ankles to end the half. Focus in on T-Mac. McGrady (894 career games) grabs Ivan Johnson (5 career games) and wrestles with him while turning away, as if to say, “Don’t watch. That’s not right to treat someone’s ankles like that.”

Here is a zoomed-in view courtesy of Fox’s X-MO:

Some great examples that were not visible on the highlights:

- The Hawks bench standing up in unison before Vlad even releases the ball on his fifth 3-pointer of the night.
- Josh Smith with some creative towel movements to celebrate another ‘And-1′ from Ivan Johnson in the second half.
- Everyone at the Highlight Factory loved seeing dunks by both Zaza Pachulia and Jason Collins on the same night.

Yes, it is only one win. But at the end of nine games in 12 days, to get a blowout win like this that has everyone feeling good about their game is huge with this year’s condensed schedule.

AP Recap – Box Score – Photo Gallery - Highlights

The Hawks handed the Heat their first loss of the 2011-12 season and improved their own record to 4-1 by posting a 100-92 win in Miami on Monday night. Tracy McGrady, now in his 15th season in the NBA, may not have the athleticism he had when he entered the league as a teenager, but on this night he showed that he can still knock down the 3-ball in clutch situations.

Atlanta executed Larry Drew’s game plan extremely well through the first three quarters, save for a few spurts where they let the Heat get out in transition for easy baskets. In the halfcourt the Hawks forced Miami to settle for perimeter shots with a mix of zone defense and more switching on ball screens than they typically employ. To keep the Heat from getting out in transition the Hawks had solid shot selection and only committed nine turnovers in the game.

All of the Hawks efforts set them up for a clutch fourth quarter by McGrady. T-Mac played all 12 minutes of the final period, scoring 13 of his 16 points while hitting all three of his attempts from behind the arc. For good measure, he added five rebounds and four assists to help Atlanta turn a four-point deficit into an eight-point win.

Joe Johnson also hit a big 3-pointer in the fourth quarter, helping him finish with a team-high 21 points, while Al Horford added 16 points and nine rebounds. Jeff Teague had another solid game at point guard, consistently breaking down Miami’s defense and getting into the paint while taking good care of the ball. Jeff hit six of his first seven shots while scoring 13 of his 15 points in the first half to keep the Hawks within striking distance.

LeBron James finished with a game-high 28 points and Chris Bosh added 19, but the Hawks did a great job of keeping Dwyane Wade out of the lane and settling for jumpers. Wade had 10 assists and scored 12 points, but he shot just 4-of-17 from the field.

The real story of the game was the clutch play from McGrady. With the condensed schedule and T-Mac’s injury history the Hawks shouldn’t plan on counting on these kind of heroics every night, but I think tonight proved that he still has plenty left in the tank to make a big contribution this season. He is definitely not afraid of stepping in to take the big shots.

GAME NOTES FROM HAWKS PR:

– On the strength of 21 points from Joe Johnson and a solid 16 off the bench from Tracy McGrady, the Atlanta Hawks knocked off the previously unbeaten Miami Heat, 100-92 Monday at the AmericanAirlines Arena.

–The win was Atlanta’s fourth in five games, and dropped Miami to 5-1.

– Al Horford also finished with 16 and Jeff Teague turned in a smooth, 15-point, five-assist and four-steal night.

– The Heat led by as many as 10 early, and took a 23-19 lead after one.  Atlanta narrowed the margin at the half, behind Teague’s 13 first half points, 50-47.  The Hawks took advantage of nine Miami turnovers, converting them into 14 points.

– Atlanta trailed by four heading into the final quarter (71-67), and completely dominated the home team in the fourth, outscoring them 33-21.  The Hawks shot 60% in the fourth, making 9-of-15 FGs and held the Heat to 37 percent shooting.

– McGrady had 13 of his 16 points in that crucial fourth, drilling three three-point FGs.

– Atlanta wraps up this three-game road trip Tuesday at Chicago at 8 ET (Sportsouth HD, NBA TV, 680 AM and 93.7 FM).

At times the Hawks got sloppy during Wednesday night’s home opener at the Highlight Factory, but don’t let that take away from the times that they looked like a well oiled machine poised to step into the “contender” category that is so coveted in this league.

For the second time in as many games the Hawks came out firing. They raced out to an 11-0 lead behind 3-pointers from Teague, Williams and Johnson. Their ball movement was immaculate, with players making the extra pass to get an even better look at an open shot. The game tightened in the second quarter, but Atlanta never appeared to be threatened the rest of the night.

As a unit, the starters were lights out tonight. Each of their point differentials (+/-) were better than +22.
- Marvin Williams turned in another strong performance, scoring 17 points and grabbing eight boards while playing strong inside.
- Al Horford and Josh Smith each posted double-doubles while blocking four shots combined. They convincingly outplayed the Wizards young frontcourt that features Andray Blatche and JaVale McGee.
- Joe Johnson got off to a scorching start, hitting his first three shots from behind the arc. He continues to play an excellent all-around game.

The Hawks did lose their focus in stretches, committing careless turnovers and settling for too many jump shots. That focus will be tested again on Friday when they host New Jersey, the team that they drubbed by 36 points on the road.

One of the more intriguing options is a “BIG” lineup that features McGrady, Johnson, Vladimir Radmanovic, Horford and Jason Collins/Zaza Pachulia. McGrady has been used as a point-forward in the past and is capable of bringing the ball up the court on offense, while Johnson was often called on to guard the other team’s point guard when he played alongside Mike Bibby the last few years. With this lineup the Hawks would create some huge match-up problems for the other team’s backcourt and give Al a bigger advantage on the boards as well. Check out the sizes compared to league averages:

(Note: I know Joe is listed at 6’7″, but he plays a lot bigger than that at the 2. Other SG’s around the league may be similar in height, but they are not built like Joe… think Rudy Gay and/or Brandon Roy.)

Joe and T-Mac are able to draw double-teams with standard match-ups, but they will be immediate if they have 4-6 inches and/or 20-30 pounds on their defender. That means open looks for Horford (who was deadly from 15-18 feet for much of last season) and Radmanovich (who has made a living at the 3-point line).

There is no guarantee that LD will ever use this lineup, but it would be interesting to give it a try in one of the preseason games against the Bobcats.

The other end of the spectrum is probably one that you will see somewhat often this season. Let’s call it the “QUICK” lineup.

The core of the Hawks’ lineup this year, on paper, seems built to run. Coach Drew has acknowledged that he is encouraging players to push the ball more that Jeff Teague is the starting point guard. With the traditional starting lineup with Al at center and Josh at power forward, the Hawks sacrifice size but gain a big advantage with speed. Horford can outrun any big man in the league and Smoove is faster and more athletic than nearly every 4. Tweak the lineup a little bit to sub in the speedy Pape Sy for Marvin Williams and the Hawks resemble the Phoenix Suns from ’04-’05 when they averaged over 110 ppg.

Like I said before, LD has options. Look for the tinkering of the rotation to continue into the season since the preseason schedule only includes two games this year.

** – The league averages were pulled from The Bassline Spin‘s numbers from last season. They used the starting lineups from April 8, 2011, (24 of 30 teams were in action) to come up with their averages. It is not the most scientific or exact, but it will suffice for the purpose of this posting.

JOE JOHNSON –
Joe is serving as the Honorary Chairman of Arkansas Baptists Church’s HoopJams this weekend in Little Rock. Joe grew up playing in a similar event in Arkansas called Hoop Fest, and views his appearance at the competition as a good way to give back.

“It’s a chance to give back a little and show my appreciation for what the state and the city of Little Rock have done for me,” Johnson told Lindsey Millar of the ArkTimes.com.

AL HORFORD –
Horford definitely has a busy summer planned and is currently on the opposite side of the globe making appearances for the NBA in China. Al is scheduled to promote Tsingtao Beer (an NBA China partner) and possibly participate in a community event or two. Track all of his activity by following his Twitter feed: @Al_Horford.

Once Al is back stateside he is going to host two youth basketball camps in late June. One will be held in Atlanta at Emory University from June 25-26, and the other will be in Lansing, Michigan, from June 28-29.

JOSH SMITH –
Smoove is also spending some time abroad, working with the NBA’s 5 United Tour. Josh will be making at least two appearances in Spain this month and will join other NBA stars Dwight Howard and Derrick Rose in supporting the tour.

Smoove also has a camp scheduled for this summer (July 8-10) here in Atlanta.

JEFF TEAGUE –
Jeff Teague is hosting a pair of camps in the burbs around Atlanta next week. The first one is at Salem H.S. in Conyers, and the second is at Wheeler H.S. in Marietta.

DAMIEN WILKINS -
Wilkins recently visited the “Star Student” at a local elementary school. (Click Here to watch the video) He is scheduled to join Teague tonight at the Buckhead Bottle Bar (owned by teammate Zaza Pachulia) for a NBA Finals viewing party and Hawks Appreciation event (invitation only).

ZAZA PACHULIA -
Speaking of Big Z, Pachulia will be appearing at the Hawks Youth Basketball Camp early next week at Life University. Zaza is extremely excited for the end of the summer though, when he will lead his native Republic of Georgia in their first-ever appearance in the European Basketball Championships (Aug. 31 – Sept. 18, 2011).

JOSH POWELL –
Powell recently joined up with fellow Atlanta native Dwight Howard and his D12 Foundation to help families in Birmingham and Tuscaloosa whose homes were damaged by this Spring’s tornadoes.  The duo then had a light-hearted moment as they headed for home: rap video.

Keep up with all of JP’s charitable activity on Twitter @jp21reasons.

“We have to do things with energy,” said Al Horford following this morning’s shootaround. “That’s something that needs to be there all the time. We just have to do a better job collectively as a team.”

“It’s basically just energy and effort,” echoed Joe Johnson. “Putting forth the effort and making the mindset that we need to box our guys out and also, us guards getting down there, helping our bigs rebound the basketball.”

One way that Larry Drew is looking to help balance out the rebounding totals is by increasing the minutes of Jason Collins and Zaza Pachulia. Collins brings some added size against the Bulls’ frontcourt and Pachulia always brings energy and effort that helps frustrate Joakim Noah and his assult on the offensive glass.

Still, the Hawks know that it will take a total team effort to win the battle of the boards against this Chicago team.

“They’re just hard workers,” said Horford. “Deng always goes under the radar in the things that he does. Rose, he tip-dunked one in the other day after his own miss. Nobody had a chance to react. They’re rebounding from all different positions.”

MORE ON GAME 5
Handling the double-teams:
Joe – “I know in order for us to be successful as a team I have to score the basketball. If I have to press the issue at times I’m gonna do that. Like I said, I’m gonna try to be as aggressive as possible.”
Jamal – “Just doing what the play dictates, you know. If you get two people on you, you have to find the open man and hope that we finish and take advantage of it. That way they won’t do it. The times where they’re not two people, that is when you have take advantage and go one-on-one or whatever it is you feel like you have to do. Besides that, you just have to play the game. Sometimes try to test it and see how far they go with it.”

As for the decisions about the line-up that have been a main topic of discussion the last few days, Coach Drew has chosen (at least at the moment) to go with Teague, Johnson, Williams, Smith and Horford in the starting line-up.

LD’s decision means that Jamal Crawford (scoring) and Zaza Pachulia (size and energy) will continue to be key contributors off the bench for the Hawks. Also look for Damien Wilkins to get decent minutes in Game 1 as the Hawks try different schemes to slow down Derrick Rose.

The “traditional” starting line-up also creates some intriguing match-ups to start the game outside of the point-guard position (MVP Candidate vs. Young Bench Player). With Marvin Williams as a starter, he is saddled with the task of keeping Luol Deng in check on the defensive end. At four-spot, Josh Smith should have the advantage over Carlos Boozer with his speed and athleticism, especially with Boozer’s current toe injury.

Finally, at center you have two former college teammates and friends doing battle inside. Al Horford and Joakim Noah know each other’s game inside and out, and they each provide a unique skill set. Horford will look to draw Noah out of the paint and score with his mid-range jump shot on offense, while his primary task on defense will be to keep Joakim off the boards.

Check out the following links for more details on the match-ups:
- Hawks.com Scouting Report
- Michael Cunningham’s Blog on AJC.com
- Change in Priorities from NBA.com
- Hawks Turn to Teague from the Chicago Tribune
- Hawks Insist Second Round Will Be Different from AJC.com

“When those two are playing like that is when we are at our best as a basketball team,” concluded Al Horford following the Game 4 win.

So far this series it has happened three out of four times. Jamal is averaging a team-high 24 points per game, while Joe is averaging an even 20.

So far in the postseason, it has not only been their overall play, but also the duo’s ability to close out games that has been important. In Game 3 it was Crawford’s 20-point second half, and his dramatic 3-pointer that led to the victory. In Game 4 Joe stepped up and delivered the final 10 points of the game for Atlanta.

“We are just trying to take advantage of whoever has the hot hand,” said Jamal. “For so many years I was probably the only guy on my team that really wanted the ball in that situation. To have another guy like that, I think it makes it tough for the other team.”

For now, that other team is the Orlando Magic, and their coach Stan Van Gundy is at a loss for how to slow down the Hawks’ guards. “We’ve tried a lot of guys on (Jamal) so far, and no one has been able to guard him yet. Our perimeter guys are being chewed up by him and their guards so far.”

Johnson was huge in Game 1, coming through with clutch baskets each time the Magic made a run in the second half. His biggest weapon was a mid-range floater that got him past the first line of defense but shot over the outstretched arms of Dwight Howard. Joe finished with 25 points on 9-of-16 shooting.

In Game 2 the Magic made a concerted effort to take away Joe’s mid-range shots. He was forced to take shots moving away from the basket, and out of rhythm.

“In Game 2 the double-teamed me a lot,” Joe said after Thursday’s practice at the Philips Arena practice court. “I didn’t take advantage of going quick and trying to make plays. I just kind of succumbed to the double-team and was just passing it off.”

Indeed, the film showed a lot of aggressive double-teams thrown at Joe. With Al Horford on the bench with two fouls for most of the first half the Magic seemed to focus a lot of their defense on containing Johnson. In the second half the double-teams continued, but Orlando also got creative with how they used Howard in the middle.

“He’s so athletic and big that he is able to cover a lot of ground out there on the court,” said Joe when asked if there was a way to take advantage of Dwight’s tendancy to ignore his own man and shift toward the ball. “We understand that, so we just gotta try and make it difficult for him.”

With all of the attention Joe is demanding from the Magic defense, he understands that it is not just his scoring that can push the Hawks to victory. Instead, Johnson is focused on “making plays” and “going quick” to take advantage of a shifting defense.

This weekend look for Johnson to avoid the contested fadeaways that he was forced to attempt in Game 2.

As usual, Joe was straight forward when declaring he intentions: “Tomorrow I will be more aggressive.”

After a Game 1 where Orlando’s supporting cast was extremely limited, Smoove is expecting his defensive assignment, Hedo Turkoglu, to be more aggressive in Game 2.

“I see him being more aggressive,” Smith said prior to this morning’s shootaround. “He understands that when somebody’s hot, like how Dwight was, it’s kind of hard to really assert yourself. I really think he’s going to try and get his stuff early, and I gotta be ready for it.”

Joe’s Floater, Version 2.0
Joe Johnson scored a team-high 25 points in Game 1, converting a majority of his shots inside of 15-feet with an extended floater. Joe has used the floater for years, but against Howard (recently named 2011 Defensive Player of the Year) he has to pull the trigger a little quicker. Last year Joe had trouble hitting that shot against the Magic, but this year he has been on the mark. Here is what he had to say about his floater:
I had it as a youngster coming up, and when I hit a growth spurt it kinda stayed with me. I know I’m not getting in the lane, I ain’t about to jump over nobody or nothing like that. You know I had to counteract that with something else. You know the floater has basically been my shot when I get in the lane.