Peachtree Hoops: Atlanta Hawks playoff primer via the big time media

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I think this spring could be the last stand for the Rejuvenated

Atlanta Hawks

And here's why:

Joe Johnson

is getting max money this summer to play in Chicago, New Jersey, New York, Clipperland or wherever. He's irreplaceable for Atlanta obviously. Assuming

Josh Childress

returns from his Greek exile, that gives them Childress,

Josh Smith

,

Al Horford

,

Jamal Crawford

, Marvin "I Look Worse As a No. 2 Pick Each Season" Williams,

Zaza Pachulia

, Zaza Pachulia's bacne, and

Mike Bibby

's chalk outline next season. That's a 42-win team. The window is right now. They can absolutely make the 2010 Eastern Finals ... and then get swept, but still. The Eastern Finals!

I don't read Bill Simmons to be informed anymore. Josh Childress is almost certainly not returning to the Hawks. The Marvin Williams meme is not only played out, but he was actually getting better each year until this one, and well, there is actually no analysis here. Just possibilites followed by an opinion.

Still, I think this is where most national media stand on the Hawks (well, maybe not the Eastern Finals part) and at least Simmons presents it in an entertaining format.

On the complete other end of the spectrum, I love John Schuhmann of NBA.com. I think he makes stats easy to understand and pertinent to understanding teams better. He looked at the top five man units with more than 100 plus mintues for each playoff team. Here are the Hawks.

Starting Lineup, Best Defensive Lineup:

Mike Bibby, Joe Johnson, Marvin Williams, Josh Smith, Al Horford

Min: 1,172, Off: 106.4, Def: 100.7, Diff: +5.8

Even though the Hawks' starters played a ton of minutes together, their numbers don't reflect the team's overall numbers very closely. For a team that ranked 14th defensively overall, the Hawks have a strong defensive starting unit.

Best Overall Lineup, Best Offensive Lineup:

Jamal Crawford, Joe Johnson, Marvin Williams, Josh Smith, Al Horford

Min: 356, Off: 116.9, Def: 104.5, Diff: +12.4

Crawford played more than twice as many fourth-quarter minutes than Bibby this season (864 to 397), and there's no secret why. Crawford may be a bad defender, but Bibby isn't much better. And Crawford gives the Hawks a lot more on the offensive end of the floor. Of all the Eastern Conference units that played at least 100 minutes together, this one was the best offensively.

Still, if you replace Williams with Bibby, you get a lineup that's just as potent, scoring 116.4 points per 100 possessions, but not as good on the defensive end, allowing 105.7. Bibby and Crawford together in the backcourt is not a combination Hawks fans want to see for a key defensive possession.

Moral of the story, every time you see Bibby and Jamal playing at the same time, get mad at Mike Woodson. Every time you see Bibby and Jamal playing at the same time in the fourth quarter get raging mad.

Finally, Bethlehem Shoals previews the playoff series and offers this nugget that should satisify both the Joe hater and the Joe apologist in all of us. Salary being manageable of course.

Joe Johnson

is unrestricted this summer; Ziller

has him ranked

as #7 overall in the class. You'd think this would be a big deal, especially with Mike D'Antoni coaching the

Knicks

, D'Antoni being the first coach to believe in Johnson, and the

Knicks

looking to do something with their cash once the top few pass them by. But this is Joe Johnson, people. If ever there was a player, and personality, who seemed tailor-made for the "I just want to finish my career in Atlanta", it's JJ. That the team no longer relies on him in isolations so much also makes him a wiser long-term investment than he would be otherwise. A twenty-nine year-old shooter/scorer isn't such an attractive proposition, but with reinforcements like

Jamal Crawford

around, Johnson can now show that he can do more than dribble and force shots. I will call him Penny Soft and Lite here and regret it forever. Oh, and he's never been so reliant on physical ability, which makes aging not such a big deal. I hope you enjoyed this Joe Johnson update.

Lots of playoff stuff coming later in the day.

Go Hawks!

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