Hawks Midseason Report

The second half of the 2008-09 NBA season is about to get underway and the Hawks are coming in with a 31-21 record, their best since 1997. So what do they need to do in order to keep up the intensity and try top catch up with the Orlando Magic and earn the No. 3 spot in the Eastern Conference? Well, here's what I think the Hawks need to do in order to have a successful end to their season.

1. Stay Healthy- The break helps because it gives players a time to rest their bodies. Josh Smith Joe Johnson, Marvin Williams, Mike Bibby and Al Horford have missed time due to injuries and those are the starting five for the Hawks.

2. Protect Philips- This goes for any NBA team trying to make the playoffs and the Hawks have done a good job winning at home with a 19-6 record which is the fourth best in the conference. They only have one more home game this month as they take on the Miami Heat on the 27th, but after that, they have 12 home games in March including a nationally televised game again the Cavs on March 1 and on the 29th they go up againt Kobe and the Lakers. So the Hawks have an opportunity to gain so ground.

3. MAKE FREE THROWS- Any time I watch a Hawks game, it seems like they struggle to make shots from the charity stripe and lose games because of it. They are 29th in the league in free throws shooting 73.9%. But guess who is ranked 30th? It's none other that the Orlando Magic shooting 72%. I think the reason for this is both teams have high 3pt percentage with the Hawks in 11th place and the Magic are atop the league making 40 percent of their shots beyond the arc.

I think if the Hawks can do these three things, they can make some noise at the end of the season and lock up at least the No. 4 spot. Johnson and Bibby will keep doing what the have been doing so Smith, Horford and Williams just need to get better. Regardless of what happens, the city of Atlanta should get excited because the Hawks have a chance to do something special this spring.