The Hawks Lay Some Wood on a Worn Out Nuggets Squad

In the Guide today, Ziller noted that the Hawks feature a pretty fierce starting five all of a sudden. The Nuggets' response after tonight's 109-91 Hawks win would probably be something like "Thanks for the update, there, Wild Zill. Any other breaking news you want to clue us into while we wipe the treadmarks off our baby blues?"

The Hawks took on a surging Nuggets squad and after trying to stave them off for a while, finally decided it would be better to simply knock them out and leave them for dead. The Hawks took the lead for good early in the second half on the way to a 55-38 advantage in the final two periods.

Perhaps most impressive was the fact that Josh Smith continues to struggle for the Hawks, scoring only 10 points on 3-8 shooting and the Hawks offense still fired on all cylinders. Of course, Smith's eight rebounds, six assists, 2 blocks and a steal were very reminiscent of... um... Josh Smith. And who needs Smith's points when you have Mike Bibby continuing the Bibbissance shooting 70% from the field and adding 20 points and Al Horford doing the dirty work on his way to 16 and 10.

And that perimeter shooter the Hawks have needed to round out the offense? How about Flip Murray hitting 3 of 4 from the arc off the bench? The Hawks seem to have an answer for the critics this year as opposed to just replying "But we're really athletic!" like in years past.

For example, a big game against a division leading Western Conference team would usually spell an inconsistent, incomplete effort from Atlanta. Instead they responded with a 129.8 efficiency mark and pounded the Nuggets on the boards, 44-27.

Now, to temper the happy happy joy joy, the Nuggets were exhausted on a back-to-back East coast trip after polishing off the Knicks on Sunday. But the "Chauncey Billups will put the lockdown on Joe Johnson" train got stuck at the station and caught fire. Johnson shot 46% from the field, added 25 points and seven assists, and got the job done while not getting to the stripe once. He even got one of the signature Johnson specials, crossing over Kenyon Martin, pulling the second defender up, fading away, and knocking down a monster leaner. Vintage JJ. If JJ had vintage. If anyone knew who he is outside of NBA diehards and Marvin Williams.

While the Nuggets get a pass given their recent upswing and the circumstances surrounding the Atlanta game, this serves as just another indicator that the Hawks are finally ready to join the big boys in the Eastern Conference. What a world.