Do The Hawks Have The Size To Matchup Against Cleveland and Orlando?

The Atlanta Hawks have proven, at least partly, that they can contend in the Eastern Conference.

They have a perennial all-star in Joe Johnson, who is 10th in the NBA in scoring this season.

They have perhaps the most athletic player in the NBA not named Lebron, in Josh Smith.

They have the front-runner for the Sixth Man of The Year award this season, in Jamal Crawford.

Oh, did I forget to mention that they also have an all-star center in Al Horford?

Sounds like quite a team, doesn't it? Through Saturday, the Hawks were 42-23, one half game ahead of the Celtics, and 4 games behind the Orlando Magic, sitting at third place in the Eastern Conference.

"If they have an all-star center, then why are you asking if they have the size to compete?" Good question.

Although Horford was an all-star this season, he is just 6'9, and 245 pounds. Which means he gives up 2 inches, and 20 pounds to Orlando Magic center Dwight Howard. He also surrenders 4 inches and 80 pounds to Cavaliers center Shaquille O'Neal, and 6 inches and 20 pounds to (eventual) Cavaliers big man, Zydrunas Ilgauskas.

The Hawks are currently 0-5 combined versus the Cavs and Magic this season, though they had late leads in both games against Cleveland. The Magic though, have been a completely different story.

Hoping to contain Howard, Atlanta repeatedly double-teamed him, leaving a court full of shooters wide open in order to knock down triples. The strategy came back to haunt the Hawks over and over again, and it would seem as though the Hawks will need to switch it up in hopes of beating Orlando should they play each other in the playoffs.

Preseason signings of Jason Collins and Randolph Morris were praised as steps in the right direction towards adding size to the lineup and slowing down Howard and Shaq. But alas, neither player has done much of anything, really, nothing at all.

Collins is averaging 0.2 points per game on 16.7 percent shooting, and has more than four times as many fouls as points on the season. While Morris is slightly better averaging 2.3 points per game, and 51 points compared to just 27 fouls! Regardless, neither will be seeing the court against Howard or Shaq, except perhaps to throw six fouls against him and sit down with a sense of accomplishment.

The Hawks primary backup center, Zaza Pachulia, has seemingly regressed since signing a four-year/$21 million contract extension this summer. He is playing just 13 minutes per game in relief of Horford, and is averaging a meager 4.2 points and 3.5 rebounds in that time. One thing Zaza does have going in his favor is size, as physically he can match up against Howard, and even has a 10 pound+ advantage on him.

Unless Horford and Pachulia can play bigger than they have however, Hawks coach Mike Woodson will likely continue to double Howard in the post, which leaves the Hawks fans with only one course of action... PRAY that the Orlando shooters grow cold and cannot hit their shots.

Atlanta was reportedly interested in signing Ilgauaskas after he was bought-out by the Wizards, but alas, like most people around the country assumed (read: knew) he is planning on returning to Cleveland. Two seven-footers on one team, or the best center in the NBA on the other. No matter how you look at it, the Hawks will NEED to come up with something, or perhaps call the 'Monstars' to have any chance of containing the big men they're likely to face in the playoffs.