Orlando Magic Waive Gilbert Arenas
The Orlando Magic have waived guard Gilbert Arenas after a brief stint playing in Orlando. Arenas will be designated as the team’s amnesty player. This new amnesty clause allows teams to waive a player with their contract coming off the salary-cap and luxury-tax totals immediately.
Atlanta Weathers The Storms in Week 15, Literally
Starting off the week on a bad note was a road loss to the enthusiastic Oklahoma City Thunder 106-99 on
Tuesday, February 2, 2010. Thunder forward Kevin Durant has been on a monster tear as of late, as he has scored 30-plus points in 19 of his last 22 games. He had 33 points and 11 rebounds against the Hawks. Bouncing back on Wednesday, February 3, 2010, Atlanta got off the losing side with a 103-97 home victory against the Los Angeles Clippers. Hawks guard Joe Johnson poured in 34 points. In a home tilt with the Chicago Bulls on Friday, February 5, 2010, Atlanta beat the Bulls 91-81 as Josh Smith recorded his second career triple-double as he chipped in with 18 points, 10 assists, and 14 rebounds. Things got a little rocky in the national capital however, as the Hawks game against the Washington Wizards got postponed because of snowstorms in the D.C. area.
Going into all-star weekend brings light action for pretty much the entire league as the NBA family gets prepped up for NBA All-Star Weekend 2010 at Cowboys Stadium in Arlington, Texas. Atlanta travels to play the vastly improved Memphis Grizzlies on Tuesday, February 9, 2010 in a Tennessee/Georgia state border affair. Staying along the lines of the borderline face-offs, the Hawks then host the Miami Heat on Wednesday, February 10, 2010 in a Georgia/Florida match up before they take a break for all-star weekend.
Hawks Go .500 In Week 14, Second In Southeast
I said last week that I was very interested to see how the Hawks would fare in their back-to-back-to-back games against three of the top quality opponents in the entire NBA. Well, Atlanta had a somewhat respectable week. They split their four games for the week, winning two and losing two.
The Hawks started the week on the right track with a 102-95 win over the Rockets in Houston on Monday, January 25, 2010. Atlanta’s game against the San Antonio Spurs wasn’t too competitive as the Hawks lost 105-90 in San Antonio on Wednesday, January 27, 2010. The win snapped the Spurs three-game losing streak as well as snapped Atlanta’s three-game winning streak. Spurs forward Tim Duncan snagged a career-high 27 rebounds. The Hawks rebounded nicely to defeat the team whose number they have seemed to have all year, the Boston Celtics. Atlanta defeated the Celtics at home, 100-91, on Friday, January 29, 2010. With the win, the Hawks swept the season series with Boston as they went 4-0 against them this regular season. In another pivotal game against division foe the Orlando Magic, the Hawks came up short as they were drilled by the up-tempo team in Orlando, 104-86, on Saturday, January 30, 2010. Magic center Dwight Howard had a monster game with 31 points and 19 rebounds for an Orlando team that has seemed to have the Hawks number as of late. The Magic also went ahead of Atlanta in the Southeast Division with the victory.
The Hawks have another long week ahead of them in week 15 of tilt. They go on the road to face off against the young and surging Oklahoma City Thunder on Tuesday, February 2, 2010. The next day on Wednesday, February 3, 2010, Atlanta hosts the Los Angeles Clippers. After having a day off, the Hawks host the energetic Derrick Rose and the Chicago Bulls on Friday, February 5, 2010. Going on the road to end the week, Atlanta travels to Washington, D.C. to play against the distraction-filled Wizards on Saturday, February 6, 2010.
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Atlanta’s Respectable 2-1 Record In Week 13 Has Team Still Sitting Atop Southeast
Atlanta is a team to be reckoned with. Despite the ups-and-downs of the year, the Hawks continue to remain one of the best teams in the entire league. Since the loss to the
Oklahoma City Thunder on MLK Day,
Atlanta has ripped off three straight wins, two of which were against teams playing pretty good ball.
The Hawks defeated the downward spiraling Sacramento Kings 108-97 at home on Wednesday, January 20, 2010 as Jamal Crawford and the rest of Atlanta’s bench chipped in nicely. They then sent the surging Charlotte Bobcats home with a sour taste in their mouths after a103-89 victory at Philips Arena on Friday, January 22, 2010 as Crawford and Al Horford each had over 20 points.
Week 14 has started off on the right pace for the Hawks. Their winning streak is still in tact after their 102-95 victory over the Rockets in Houston on Monday, January 25, 2010. The defeat of the Rockets in Houston was another big accomplishment for Atlanta. Paced by Josh Smith’s 22 points and ten rebounds, the Hawks beat the hustle-minded Rockets at their place for the first time in nearly ten years. A good task accomplished by this Atlanta team that’s flying high.
The rest of the week is a tough tussle against three of the best teams in the league. The Hawks face off against the always-consistent Spurs in San Antonio on Wednesday, January 27, 2010. On Friday, January 29, 2010, Atlanta has a home date with one of their current rivals in the league, the Boston Celtics. The next day on Saturday, January 30, 2010, the Hawks travel to sunny Orlando to square off against division foe the Orlando Magic.
What a week in store for the Hawks. I’m interested to see how they will fare in back-to-back-to-back games against three of the top-quality opponents in the entire NBA.
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Hawks Solid 3-0 Week Twelve Record Has Team Currently Sitting At Third In East
This 2009/2010 season for the Atlanta Hawks has the makings to be a special one. Having a 3-0 season record against perennial Eastern Conference power the Boston Celtics is a huge momentum booster for a team of young, rising stars. Fluctuating from first to fourth place and in between in the Eastern Conference all year long only builds to that momentum. Sure the Hawks have had some disappointing outings this year, but what team doesn’t sustain loses like that? One thing to be certain about is that the Atlanta Hawks will have opposing teams worried in the playoffs.
Their 102-96 victory of the Boston Celtics on Monday, January 11, 2010 only adds to that notion. As the Atlanta train kept rolling, the Hawks went on to defeat their other two opponents in week twelve of action. Atlanta won 94-82 against the Wizards at home on Wednesday January 13, 2010 despite Antawn Jamison’s stellar 25 points and season-high 19 rebounds. They also had a thrilling 102-101 victory over the visiting Phoenix Suns on Friday, January 15, 2010 that saw a miraculous 3-point buzzer-beater by Jamal Crawford to seal the exciting come-from-behind win.
Looking to keep their hot, three-game winning streak in tact on Dr. Reverend Martin Luther King, Jr. Day, Atlanta ran into a buzzsaw in the surging Oklahoma City Thunder. The Hawks lost to the Thunder 94-91 in front of the home crowd where MLK first made his historic mark on the U.S. Kevin Durant paced the Thunder with 29 points.
Looking to rebound from the loss Oklahoma City, Atlanta has home dates for the rest of the week against the Sacramento Kings on Wednesday, January 20, 2010 and the Charlotte Bobcats on Friday, January 22, 2010. This is going to be another tough week for the Hawks since they play two opponents similar in style to theirs, as both the Kings and Bobcats are full of youth and energy.
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Atlanta Splits Games In Week Eleven, Sit Firmly In Fourth In East
Week eleven was another critical week for the Hawks and Atlanta lived up to its rocky play that has plagued the team all season long. The Hawks had an unimpressive 92-75 loss to the Miami Heat in Miami on Monday, January 4, 2010 that saw Miami hold Atlanta to season-lows as a team in field-goal percentage and points in a game. The performance was “unacceptable” according to Coach Mike Woodson. The team rebounded at home on Wednesday, January 6, 2010 as they pounded the New Jersey Nets 119-89. Jamal Crawford paced the way with 29 points to help the Hawks end their four-game losing streak in route to one of their best shooting nights of the season. Amped up from finally getting a well-needed win, Atlanta had the Boston Celtics number again as they defeated the Celtics 93-85 on Friday, January 8, 2010 in front of the home crowd that saw all five of the Hawks starters score in double-digits. Ending the week on a very low note, Atlanta got blasted in Orlando by the Magic 113-81 on Saturday, January 9, 2010. The Magic ended a four-game losing streak of their own.
The rocky results of week eleven are sure to make Coach Woodson go balder than he already is. Luckily for the crew, week twelve got off to a blistering start. Atlanta defeated their recent playoff nemesis the Celtics yet again 102-96 in Boston on Monday, January 11, 2010. Doc Rivers got ejected from the game after two quick technical fouls and assistant coach Armond Hill got a “T” of his own. Atlanta is now 3-0 against Boston this season, which is a great confidence booster for the Hawks.
Atlanta hosts the Washington Wizards on Wednesday January 13, 2010. They conclude their light week with a Friday, January 15, 2010 home date with the Phoenix Suns. Hopefully the victory over Boston will jumpstart another strong winning streak.