First, let’s set the stage. Bibby is on the court with Joe Johnson, Smoove and Horford, with Jamal inbounding. Smoove and Al are each at the elbows while Mike and Joe are hovering on the baseline. Toronto has each defender tightly on their man, except for DeMar DeRozan, who is sagging off of Smoove, clearly anticipating the Hawks decision to go to Joe or Mike.

- Mike initiates the play by moving toward the basket and motions to Joe as if setting up a screen. He does a good job of selling the fake and his defender takes a step toward the baseline to bump Joe off his cut.

- The small separation is all Bibby needs as he darts through the middle of Smoove and Al. The big men close the door and force Jose Calderon and DeRozan to go around them to challenge Bibby’s shot.

- The result? Mike’s shot barely even hit the net as he helped the Hawks to their fifth straight win.

Now here is where the “Deja Vu” comes into play…

On December 6 of this season, Bibby hit a huge 3-pointer in the final minute of the Hawks’ win in Orlando. The shot put the Hawks up by six with 26 seconds remaining, so it was not the exact same circumstances, but play that got Bibby open was very similar.

- Josh Smith got the ball on the wing during live action this time.

- Bibby uses Jamal Crawford as a decoy this time, and is moving away from the ball.

- Horford and Josh Powell close the gate to give Mike the necessary space and hit drills the clutch 3-ball.

To give you a better idea of exactly what I am talking about, check out both highlights with the link below.

WATCH THE HIGHLIGHTS

(Check out this page on MikeBibby.com that features a sample of some of the older versions of his shoes.)

The latest shoe, called the “Air Jordan XX3 Low Mike Bibby Atlanta Hawks Away PE,” is said to be Bibby’s newest model, but he rotates through a number of different pairs throughout the season.

(photo from kicksonfire.com – see more photos here)

Before the playoffs last year, Nike came out with the “Jordan One6One7 Mike Bibby Playoff PE” for Bibby to rock during the postseason.

(photo from theshoegame.com – see more photos here)

Just to show how these personalized shoes have evolved through the years, check out one of Mike’s first customized pairs of Jordan’s from the 1999-2000 season with the Grizzlies.

(photo from MikeBibby.com – see more photos here)

Related Links -
Bibby’s Profile for Brand Jordan

Last night’s win over Golden State Warriors showcased the Hawks scoring depth and versatility. Atlanta scored 127 points and Joe Johnson and Jamal Crawford only had 24 between them. Thinking back to last season’s playoffs, especially in the East, the elite teams had their supporting cast step up and make big plays in big games. Orlando has “Superman” Dwight Howard, but it was Hedo Turkoglu, Rashard Lewis, Courtney Lee and the rest of their supporting cast that made the biggest difference last year when they upended the Cavs last year in the conference finals.

GROWTH SINCE LAST SEASON
Last year the Cavs swept the Hawks out of the second round. This year A) the Hawks are healthy, and B) the supporting cast has made big improvements.

Josh Smith’s improvement has been well documented all season long (see Lang’s latest feature: A ‘Smoove’ Upgrade), but his recent play has been even better. His scoring and assists have increased substantially since the All-Star break.

Al Horford is an All-Star and has shown the ability to have big offensive outbursts to go along with his dominating play on defense. Mike Bibby continues to spread the defense effectively and recently has caught fire from long range. Finally, someone (maybe Kirk Hinrich in Chicago) lit a fire under Marvin recently, and if he can maintain his aggressiveness he gives the Hawks a dominant rebounding trio and another scoring threat.

This doesn’t even mention the main scoring options. Joe was forced to settle for jump shots last year in the playoffs due to health issues with his ankle. Joe can still be effective shooting jump shots (see Game 7 in 2009 vs. Miami) but he can be dominant when he busts out his full arsenal (see Game 4 in 2008 vs. Boston). Plus, simply put, Jamal Crawford is “The Difference“.

First place halfway through, three potential all stars, a great home record and still half a season to go. What did you expect from the Hawks? Did you expect them to be in first place, be one of the highest scoring teams in the league or having one of the best home records?  Did you expect them to beat the Celtics three consecutive times and get two wins in Boston? Did you expect the national media to pick up additional Hawks games throughout the year?

The players, coaching staff and ownership are not shocked one bit. The team has worked hard, learned to play well together, and is progressing nicely in the 2009-2010 campaign.

The Hawks started off hot and with the exception of a four game slide, have been a consistent team in the win column. It seems the team has learned not to let bad habits linger for long, and has figured out how to not one bad game snowball into a bad week or month. While there are times where the starts are slow and shot selection could be better, the good far exceeds the bad and this team has earned the top spot in the division. Can they hold it?  Here are some quotes on the first 41.

COACH MIKE WOODSON

“I like the direction that we are going, losses are tougher to swallow because expectations are high.”

JOSH SMITH

“Feels good, we just have to stay focused and not look at the standings and come out and play.”

MO EVANS

“We feel like we are right where we want to be and we still gave away few games that we felt like we should have had.  If we learn and put this chemistry together we can go really far.”

MARVIN WILLIAMS

“We’ve gotten off to a pretty good start, our goal was to get 50-plus wins and get home court advantage throughout the playoffs. We can’t have too many let downs.” 

ZAZA

“We had a good first half and we are looking forward to a better second half.”

JOE JOHNSON

“Our effort has to pickup in the first quarter, we can’t have mishaps in games we are supposed to win so we need to come out and handle business.”

OWNER BRUCE LEVENSON

“We couldn’t have asked for anymore than what we got this first half … I like this team I like this locker room.”

OWNER ED PESKOWITZ

“The team has just come together and is much better.  Jamal has made a great difference you can see a lot of chemistry, it’s really exciting. This team is really really competitive.”

THE GOOD TIMES OF THE FIRST HALF

The Hawks have had some memorable moments in the first 41 games this year here are a few:

Beating the Celtics three straight times, Jamal Crawford’s buzzer beater against the Suns, Smooth’s buzzer beater against the Rockets, the red jerseys, winning in Dallas, the largest crowd in Philips Arena History against the Cavs , the return of Mario West (Feel free to fill in the blanks).

THE BAD

Some things did not go the Hawks’ way in the first 41, but the sting of the not so good should be used to motivate the guys to not let them happen again.  I’m sure we all remember these:

The entire game against the Magic in Orlando in Orlando, The first half in Miami, the fourth quarter against Cleveland (10 points), two home losses against the Knicks, and who could forget Nate Robinson in overtime!

WHAT TO WATCH FOR IN SECOND HALF

Trade deadline- Is the team fine as currently constructed or will Gm Rick Sund pull the trigger on a move to make the team more devastating?  What do you think?

Mesmerizing  the Magic-The Hawks are in first place against the Magic, but Orlando owns the tie breaker. Figuring out how to beat this team will be huge for the standings and for a mental standpoint.

Beating Beatable and Bad Teams-With the Cavs, Celtics, Magic and Hawks close together not giving games away will be crucial in the second half.  If a team has a losing record they should be beaten. You can’t win them all, but imagine if the loses to the Knicks, Pistons, the Hornets without Chris Paul, had gone in favor of the Hawks.

“BOB-HAWKS”

Five former Hawks will be in the house on Friday as Acie Law, Stephen Jackson, Boris Diaw ,Nazr Mohammed and Flip Murray all return to the highlight factory as the enemy.  Charlotte is a very dangerous team and this will be a highly competitive game.  Great plays, three pointers, and blocked shots will be coming from both teams. Flip Murray was replaced by Jamal Crawford so that will be a production battle to watch. Flip was a fan favorite…but Jamal is better.

The Hawks are 20 games into the 2009-10 regular season . . . roughly a quarter of the way through. Their 14-6 record has them on pace for about 57 wins, which would be 10 more than in 2008-09. A closer look at how Atlanta has gotten to this point of the season makes many believe this year’s Hawks are very capable of maintaining the early pace.

Staying Healthy:(knock on wood)

Atlanta has used the the same starting five for all 20 games this season. Last year the team had used the Mike/Joe/Al/Josh/Marvin lineup only six times at this point, with Horford (2 games), Smoove (12) and Marvin (1) all missing starts.

Quality Victories:

The Hawks are 8-2 against teams with records at or above .500 entering Wednesday night. Quality road wins at Boston, Dallas and Portland are evidence that this year’s team is capable of hanging with the league’s elite even without the comforts of the Highlight Factory. Many will point out bad losses to the Knicks and to the Bobcats in Charlotte, but a quick look at last year’s results reveal that losses to sub-par teams happen in the NBA, even if you are among the elite. The Lakers, who eventually were crowned NBA Champions, lost to the Kings (who finished 17-65) and lost both meetings with the Bobcats (35-47). Orlando, L.A.’s opponent in the finals, lost to Memphis (24-58), Toronto, Milwaukee and New Jersey (all had 34 wins or less). So we shouldn’t panic too much about a couple early season slips.

Analyzing the Analysts:

Seeding:

Most experts had the Hawks finishing as the fourth or fifth seed in the East and not contending with the “Big 3”. While Atlanta is currently holding down the fourth spot, they are now in the discussion when it comes to the 3-seed or even higher.

The Crawford Effect:

Analysts agreed that the biggest difference between this year’s Hawks and the Hawks of 2008-09 was the addition of Jamal Crawford and the departure of Flip Murray. Going inside the numbers shows that Jamal is having a greater impact:

Not to take anything away from Flip, because he was a great fit (and a bargain) for the role that he played on last year’s team, but most of his numbers were built up by leading an inferior second unit that needed an aggressive scorer. Jamal provides even more production and can be used with the starters or with the (much improved) second unit.

Speaking of the second unit:

JC, Joe Smith, Mo, Zaza and Teague have been great through the first 20 games of the season. One stat that should pay dividends down the stretch and into the playoffs is that Al Horford is the only starter whose minutes have increased since last season. The other four starters have seen their minutes cut as Coach Woodson has been able to give them more rest with the stronger bench.

Inside the Numbers:

Obscure stat of the first 20 games: Al Horford career 3FG% = 100%

Al took and made his only career attempt in the Hawks home win over Portland.

The Hawks started off last week in first place. This week, the Hawks begin the week with the best record in the league. Not bad.  While no one was happy about the loss in New Orleans over the weekend or the seven game winning streak ending, no one was in panic mode either.  Jamal Crawford remained confident after the team went 3-1 last week, “let’s start another one.”

I had a chance to go to the game in New Orleans and to the lockeroom afterwards. No one pointed fingers or blamed the end of the streak on playing on back to back nights. Josh Smith who had another stat stuffing night, said that all credit was due to the Hornets as they came out and hit big shots.  Smoove was adamant that there was no lethargy from playing on consecutive nights and that the team had opportunities to win.  I love it, no excuses. Josh smith said he wanted to be an All Star this year he is well on his way on and off of the court.

Coach Woodson

Call me crazy but coach already should be in the pot for Coach of the Year (I know it’s early but hey, think big) and without question, should be the frontrunner for Eastern Conference Coach of the Month. Eleven wins in the bank with a shot at 14 for the month makes him legit.

Great boost for Marvin

After a slow start Marvin Williams has scored in double figures in three straight games.  If Mike Bibby will be banged up for a minute, Marvin’s three point shooting will help.  He’s feeling good about his outside shot as he has hoisted up 10 money ball shots in the past two games. Keep shooting.

Mike Bibby

The loss of Mike Bibby was felt in New Orleans after he left the game early with an ankle injury.  If you want to know what “Bib” means to this team, it is evident.  He is crucial to getting the team in their offensive sets early in the shot clock, helps with spacing on the floor, and directs traffic after makes and misses by the opposing squad.  Get well soon sir.

With the next game  coming up on Thanksgiving, the Hawks have time to reflect and duplicate the success of the last two weeks and should be rested and ready  for another string of consecutive wins.

Defend-Rebound-Hustle
Since Keving Garnett has joined the Celtics they have established a reputation of defense, intensity and rebounding. From the opening tip the Hawks outhustled Boston for loose balls and were tougher when competing for rebounds. In fact, Boston set a season-low for rebounds (29) and a season-high for rebounds allowed (47).

Weathering the Storm
The cold and sloppy stretch in the second quarter could have lingered into the second half and effected the outcome of the game. Seven turnovers in the quarter, and the momentum established early was completely lost. Then, in the second half, Atlanta tightened up (only three turnovers) and the Jamal, Joe and Mike all found their rythm. The team weathered the storm and found a way to win in a hostile environment.

New Guys Step Up
Jamal Crawford had 16 of his 18 points in the second half and seemed to be able to get his pull-up jumper off anytime he wanted. Joe Smith also made big contributions scoring two big baskets and drawing an offensive foul from Sheed early in the fourth quarter.

Have some fun with it on your own, and share your slogans in the comments!