Welcome Back.....Joe Johnson

Last night.....the Atlanta Hawks beat the Charlotte Bobcats....in dramatic fashion thanks to Joe Johnson.

I tuned in to this game at tip-off.   Hey .....ATL.....where were you?   The building was half empty.   Is Atlanta on CPT?  (Colored People Time)?

Fortunately for the Hawks.....the seats were filled .....by the third quarter.....but.....I know traffic is bad....but these Negroes.....need to show up......on time....and support  the team.

In case you missed it.......from YahooSports.com:

Ambushed in a Texas Triangle

What's wrong with our Atlanta Hawks?


A week ago, the Hawks were 12-6 and alone in second place in the NBA's southeast division after dispersing of the N Y Knicks, 98-95 in the friendly confines of Philips Arena in the ATL.


One week later........and the Hawks are still in second........though tied with the Miami Heat. But the record now stands at 12-9, with three straight losses in the state of Texas.


Atlanta lost a heart-breaker at Dallas, 100-98 on Saturday. Then were dismantled on Tuesday, 92-84 at Houston and out played by San Antonio, 95-89 on Wednesday.


Suddenly, these young Hawks are not shooting.....making way too many turn-overs.......and are not functioning as a cohesive unit.



All star guard Joe Johnson has done his part.......Joe averaged 30 points per game in the three losses. For that matter, the entire starting five has been decent........averaging double figures. The problem for these Hawks is bench play from the reserves. No one is stepping up. Are they tired? It is an 82 game grueling schedule but there have only been 21 games played.....roughly one-fourth of the season.


A starting five in the NBA can take you only so far.......players 6 to 12 on the roster have to produce and make an impact . The Hawks bench is neither ..........


Panic time? No........but the Hawks should start recruiting now to strengthen their weakness. Time to check-out those aging veterans who need one more chance to show themselves in post season play........

A few names that come to mind.......

Stephon Marbury ? Jason Terry ? Juwan Howard ? Antawn Jamison ? Joe Smith ?

Just a thought.....

Not Your Average Joe

No.......not "that" Joe...

As in "Joe the Plumber".......That Joe is officially off the radar. With the 2008 election over and done with, we can get back to doing the one thing we were put on this earth to do....that's talk sports.

Let's talk about Joe Johnson and his high flying Atlanta Hawks. A year ago these young birds made the play-offs for the first time in a decade and took the eventual NBA champion Boston Celtics to 7 games.

The off-season saw the Hawks lose free agent forward Josh Childress .....to Greece ....of all places ....in the European league.

Usher in 2008.......with the youngest team in the league.....these guys are 3-0.....with 2 of those wins coming on the road.

Going into last night, Johnson was the leagues leading scorer at 30 points a game. After San Antonio's Tony Parker dropped a double nickel (55) on Minnesota.....Johnson is 2nd.

This is the Hawks best start since 1997....and last nights win was against a previously unbeaten New Orleans Hornets team.

Yes........it is early.......No....I am not yet on that bandwagon .....But after so many disappointing losing seasons.......there is reason to hope.

Pro basketball has not been relevant in Atlanta since the days of Dominique Wilkins and Doc Rivers playing at the old Omni.

To these young Hawks........The City of Atlanta says, "Welcome back".....

Meet the Hawks:

Coach: Mike Woodson
Average Age: 24.8
Average Height: 6-6
Average Weight: 227

NO	PLAYER	AGE	POS	HT	WT	DOB	SCHOOL
33	Randolph Morris	22	C	6-11	275	01/02/1986	Kentucky
27	Zaza Pachulia	24	C	6-11	275	02/10/1984	No College
15	Al Horford	22	PF	6-10	245	06/03/1986	Florida
44	Solomon Jones	24	PF	6-10	245	07/16/1984	South Florida
1	Maurice Evans	29	SF	6-5	220	11/08/1978	Texas
50	Othello Hunter	22	SF	6-8	225	05/28/1986	Ohio State
5	Josh Smith	22	SF	6-9	240	12/05/1985	No College
24	Marvin Williams	22	SF	6-9	240	06/19/1986	North Carolina
10	Mike Bibby	30	PG	6-2	195	05/13/1978	Arizona
12	Speedy Claxton	30	PG	5-11	170	05/08/1978	Hofstra
4	Acie Law	23	PG	6-3	202	01/25/1985	Texas A&M
22	Ronald Murray	29	PG	6-3	200	07/29/1979	Shaw
3	Thomas Gardner	23	SG	6-5	225	02/08/1985	Missouri
2	Joe Johnson	27	SG	6-7	240	06/29/1981	Arkansas
6	Mario West	24	SG	6-5	210	06/19/1984	Georgia Tech