8 Jan 11 Atlanta Hawks Are Example of Why Early Season NBA Power Rankings Lie

Ever since the 2008 playoff game in which we saw the eighth seeded Atlanta Hawks take the first seeded Boston Celtics to the seventh game, all we heard was Joe Johnson is the most underrated player in the NBA and that the young Hawks will only get better as they mature and will soon be a championship team.Nearly two years removed, Atlanta fans and Charles Barkley still have yet to see this "championship caliber" team show its potential.Joe Johnson does his job on a nightly basis but does it make sense that you can sweep the annual series with the CelticsPhiladelphia Eagles jersey
but lose to the Bobcats by 20, blow a 13-point lead with just over four minutes to go against the Mavs, blow two leads against the Cavaliers in the 4th quarter and lose by 32 to the Orlando Magic?Now I don't know if it's beneath a guy like myself to put the majority of the blame on the shoulders of Mike Woodson and Josh Smith. I do not mind Woodson for the most part, but the lack of development from players like Marvin Williams and Josh Smith has me questioning his coaching ability.While the addition of Mike Bibby was what put us over the top in the 2008 season and helped the Hawks develop into one of the top four teams in the East, people are beginning to wonder when are we going to stop developing and just get to the Eastern Conference Finals at least!How many times have you seen Marvin Williams miss a wide open jump shot?How many times have you seen Josh Smith take a jump shot, when our 15-point lead has dwindled down to a two point lead, and then the ball barely catches the rim and the opposition takes off on a fast break to get an easy dunk to tie it up?While we all appreciate Josh's dunks that help build the highlight factory, I think we would all like to see Josh finally get a consistent jump shot. Smith is a guy that possesses the same abilities as Chris Bosh and LeBron James, but seems to not have that push that makes him reach that plateau.With all these other problems that have seemingly piled on at the worst possible time, life always seems to throw you another.Joe Johnson will be a free agent at the end of the season, and many teams in the NBA were so impressed by how he transformed the Hawks that they are willing to give up the big bucks for his services. Leaving us with an inconsistent Jamal Crawford, an aging Mike Bibby, and an underachieving Marvin Pittsburgh Steelers jersey
Williams.The Hawks seem to have only a few options: Either trade for a guy who could replace Johnson, or allow Crawford to run the 2-Guard and obtain a big man to run center or No. 2 for whatever he is asking for.Staying on that topic, I have long been a fan of moving Al Horford to his natural position, power forward, which is currently occupied by Josh Smith. Most fans do not think about the most important aspect when it comes to putting together a team, and that is the money.Not only is Josh Smith a one dimensional power forward, but also carries a big contract that you can bet management wants to get rid of, especially to free up space for whatever the offseason could hold. Everything that Josh does Horford does just as well, if not better; most decent basketball minds will tell you whoever leads the league in blocks is only doing so because of his teammate who boxes out the opposition setting him up for the big play.If you are concerned about the defense lost with Josh Smith, Al Horford does a great job on his own defending far bigger centers San Diego Chargers jersey
and shows the same quickness and ability that J-Smoove brings to the table, but remember Horford brings a well-developed jump shot.All in all, the Hawks need to decide are they going to linger around in the four or five spot of top teams in the Eastern Conference, or do they want to take that next step and project themselves into the next level and become a top-tier team in the NBA?