Lang Whitaker is many things - executive editor of Slam Magazine, a columnist for SI.com, and most importantly, a die-hard Hawks fan. For 2007-08 , Lang will be sharing his thoughts on the team in an exclusive column for Hawks.com. Check back every Wednesday throughout the season to read his latest musings, and read him every day at www.SLAMonline.com

"Horford For ROY"
by Lang Whitaker

Those words were not spoken after last night's loss to the Pistons, or the Houston or Cleveland losses over the weekend. No, those words were spoken back in February of 2004 by a member of the Atlanta Hawks. Which member?

Rasheed Wallace. That’s right, the man played one game with the Hawks and after that game - a loss to the Nets in Jersey - Sheed made that proclamation. Of course, after that one game, Rasheed went to Detroit in exchange for a collection of expiring contracts and a draft pick that would eventually become Josh Smith.

This weekend, Rasheed is going to New Orleans as a member of the Eastern Conference All-Star team. There will be two Hawks participating this weekend, Joe Johnson and Al Horford. JJ was voted to be a reserve on the All-Star team by all of the coaches in the Eastern Conference, while a mysterious panel at the NBA offices here in New York City selected Al to play in the Rookie/Sophomore game.

I've read a lot from people who think Josh Smith should've made the All-Star team instead of Joe, but I disagree. If anything, Josh and Joe both should've made the team, although I understand why a team six games under .500 probably doesn't deserve two of the twelve roster spots. Still, Joe definitely deserves to be there. He leads the Hawks in minutes per game, points per game and assists per game, despite being constantly double-teamed and not getting any rest.

Making a case for Josh Smith to be an All-Star is a little trickier. His numbers are impressive (18.1 ppg, 7.9 rpg, 3.3 bpg) and, yes, he's made some stupendous plays this season, on both ends of the court. But I can't tell you how many times I've seen Josh bringing the ball up the court on a break and I started yelling "Pass it! Pass it!" at the flatscreen. For all of Josh's numerous gifts, being accused of being a ball-handling playmaker is not one of them. That's part of Josh's blessing and his curse -- plenty of highlights, but still too many turnovers. Josh will definitely be an All-Star, perhaps as soon as next season, but at least to me, right now he still lacks the consistency it takes to be an NBA All-Star. At least until the rosters expand to 15.

This brings us to Al Horford. During the Hawks/Pistons game last night, my SLAM colleague Khalid and I were texting back and forth, and after that play where Horford tossed Antonio McDyess into the A-Town Dancers, I texted Khalid and said, "Tell me Al Horford doesn't deserve to be Rookie Of The Year."

"I'm not mad," Khalid replied.

Horford is nearly averaging a double-double; the only reason he isn't in double figures in points per game is because his offensive game is still developing. But as that improves (and it is) and as Horford starts earning some respect from the officials (crew chief Danny Crawford should be ashamed of himself for some of the calls the Pistons got last night), Horford's numbers should continue to rise up. In turn, I hope the media gets on the Horford bandwagon and realizes that, even with his boundless potential and constant green light, Kevin Durant should not be the Rookie of the Year. Not this year, anyway.

That trophy has Al Horford's name written all over it.

MAILING IT IN…

This week we hear from reader AKW, who writes…

I agree with your conclusion that our problem is not just at point guard, it is really 3 point shooting. Sure it would be great to have an all-star point guard, but our spacing on the floor is so bad because we have no 3-point threat. Teams simply collapse their defense in and keep us from slashing to the basket. They dare us to shoot 3's. I think Billy Knight can dramatically improve this team by simply bringing in a guy like Kareem Rush or Bostjan Nachbar. Not big names, but they can flat out shoot the ball. This will dramatically open up the inside lanes for our arsenal of forwards. I am also waiting anxiously for Billy Knight's move. If nothing happens by the trade deadline I will be convinced that the Hawks are not truly interested in playoffs.

Thanks, AKW. And I remain certain that the Hawks need to make a move, too. The Hawks get plenty of three-point opportunities -- about 11 per game -- but they only make 32 percent of those attempts, second-worse in the NBA.

The way I see it, one of these young Hawks (Marv?) might eventually develop into a consistent three-point shooter, but it's going to take at least a year or two. So, while we wait for that to happen, we have two options: 1) Keep losing sixty percent of our games until the young guys get better, or 2) Bring in someone who can make us a better team immediately.

Seems like an easy choice to me.

Lang Whitaker is the executive editor of SLAM magazine and writes daily at SLAMonline.com. He can be reached at lang@harris-pub.com. The best email he receives each week will run in this column.