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Joe Johnson, Mike Bibby, Josh Smith, Al Horford, and Jamal Crawford make All-Star Ballot for Atlanta Hawks

Scribe Written on November 14, 2009

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At nine games into their season, the Atlanta Hawks are sitting pretty with a 7-2 record, good for second place in the Eastern Conference

Last night the Hawks defeated Eastern Conference rival Boston Celtics, giving the Celtics just their second loss of the season. The victory moved the Hawks past the Miami Heat for second place in the Eastern Conference.

The 7-2 record is tied with the Los Angeles Lakers for the third best record in the NBA. The Hawks are a team that has made the playoffs the last two seasons, getting into the second round last year. The Hawks hope to continue this trend and make it their third straight trip to the postseason.

Where is their success coming from? You can find it in the combined efforts of five players.

Joe Johnson, Mike Bibby, Al Horford, Josh Smith, and Jamal Crawford are giving the Hawks exceptional play. I’m not the only one to notice. The NBA has rewarded these players for leading their team to such a hot start. All five can be found on the All-Star ballot that the NBA released last week.

Besides Johnson, the other four players have never made an All-Star Team. Bibby, Smith, and Horford have participated in the NBA’s All-Star weekend Rookie vs. Sophomore game, and Smith won the NBA’s dunk contest in 2005.

Horford continues to improve each season since being drafted as the third overall pick in the 2007 draft by the Hawks. In his rookie campaign he played on the Rookie Team in the 2008 Rookie vs. Sophomore game, and played in it again as a sophomore back in February.

His 13.5 points per game after eight games is seventh best in the East among centers. He is also eighth in rebounds for Eastern Conference centers, pulling down 10.5 a game. Horford is also getting 2.25 blocks per game. This is good for a three-way tie for fifth best in the NBA.

For Horford, his scoring and rebounding among his peers in the East is not where it needs to be. But, Horford is no doubt proving that he can compete with the best centers in the league. He has had five double-doubles, which is only one behind the NBA’s top centers, Andrew Bynum of the Lakers, and Dwight Howard for the Orlando Magic, to lead the NBA.

He is a key player for the Hawks on the offensive and defensive end, without Horfod the Hawks have no other player who averages a double-double. And sometimes numbers alone are not the only thing voters take into account when making their selections.

If you are a guy who consistently brings it for his time every night, voters notice that, and can give the player a nice reward with a check, or punch-out next to their name.

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written on November 14, 2009 Opinion

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Joe Johnson, Mike Bibby, Josh Smith, Al Horford, and Jamal Crawford make All-Star Ballot for Atlanta Hawks

John Boller

Joe Johnson, Mike Bibby, Josh Smith, Al Horford, and Jamal Crawford make All-Star Ballot for Atlanta Hawks

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