This will be a tough game against one of the As best teams. It will be tough for the hawks, but this is basketball, anyine can beat anyone in a single game.

Hawks lead by 6 going into the half at New Orleans. Here’s James Verret’s questions for Josh Smith:

“Great first half, what are you guys doing to contain Chris Paul?”

What Josh Smith SHOULD have said:

“Considering that he already has 19 points and hasn’t missed a shot, not very much. Our best 8 minutes were when he wasn’t on the floor. Let’s just hope he doesn’t beat us by himself.”

you are not going to stop Chris Paul unless you have a great perimeter defender. the way you beat teams like New Orleans is to limit what the rest of the team does. That is exactly what the hawks did tonight.

That’s pretty much what Smith said, and i thought it was a good answer. Has anyone else noticed how much our D suffers when Smith is not in the game?

Holy crap flip Murray played great tonight. I have to admit I wasn’t expecting him to play so well. lets hope he can keep it up.

Our bench has played really well in the early goings of the season. Since that was the reason most of the bloggers thought the hawks would slide this year, maybe they will exceed expectations for once. Remember, the Celtics bench was considered a weakness last year too.

Joe didn’t have a great nite shooting wise, but he hit alot of clutch shots. And, gasp, he actually got a few buckets that his teamates created for HIM. Just what hoopinion has been calling for.

All in all a great effort by the hawks. There were a few times that the hornets got into a grove where the hawks would of folded last year. lets hope it’s due to the veteren presence on this team, as well as maturity from our young players, and not a complete fluke.