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

"We Need JJ"
by Lang Whitaker

I must confess that I was startled to hear the news early Tuesday morning: Billy Knight had been fired. The Hawks GM has taken some heat for his maneuvers through the years, sure, but the Hawks have steadily improved, even if it was at a pace generously described as cautious. But if the 836 surviving members of Atlanta Spirit were ready to shake things up, to make a grab for a golden ring, then perhaps it really was time for a change.

To say that I was surprised, however, would be…

What? It was Billy KING that was fired, not Billy KNIGHT? The 76ers GM, not the Hawks GM?

Whoops! Well, that's kind of embarrassing for me. Sorry about that mix-up there. Totally my fault. I guess I just assumed, and you know, when you assume you make…yadda yadda yadda. Billy Knight is still large and in charge in The A! And we Hawks fans wouldn't have it any other way!

Anyway, the other day (OK, that's it with the rhyming), someone here at the SLAM offices asked me a question: "The Hawks aren't very good this year, are they?"

As I prepared to launch into a long-winded explanation of the Hawks' slow start, chalking it up to the injuries we've endured and the transition to the new up-tempo offense (a transition that will almost certainly begin any day now), I thought again. Because the truth is, the Hawks aren't bad this year. But they aren't a great team either. They are a good team that's getting better. Slowly.

One positive I took away from the last week of action is that the Hawks are finally starting to win the games they're supposed to win. Sorry if it sounds like I'm channeling Denny Green, but the Hawks went 2-2 since my last column, and that included wins over Philly and Milwaukee, two teams that we're supposed to be able to beat. Those are the games we have to win. New Orleans and Detroit, our two losses this week, were both supposed to beat the Hawks. And they did.

So perhaps we have finally reached the point where we're winning the games we're supposed to win. Now that we're starting to get guys healthy, we have to find consistency, which starts at the top of our roster. I don't know what's going on with Joe Johnson, but we can't have him moping around on the floor, and we need Josh Smith to post more of those 18-8-8-5 nights and less of those 13-4-2 nights (like last night against Detroit).

But the key to all of this is Joe Johnson. During the Pistons game, the SportSouth crew showed a clip of JJ during a game against Detroit from a year ago, and it was startling: Joe was speeding around picks, driving to the rim. He looked like a different person. This year he seems almost like his legs are too heavy to get around the court. Last year, when Joe wasn't initially picked for the All-Star team, Hawks fans had a legitimate beef. This year, if Joe doesn't make the team, I won't be surprised. We weren't a very good team last year, but Joe carried us, especially early in the year, as best as he could. I know he's averaging more points and assists per game than anyone else on the team, and that's tremendous. But we need more, and Joe can provide more.

Enough of the average Joe we've seen this year. We need the real Joe Johnson to rise up if the Hawks are finally going to turn that corner and go from being bad to good to very good.

MAILING IT IN:

This week's letter comes from reader Elizabeth, who writes…

Dear Lang,
I am really enjoying your column on Hawks.com. I like your thoughts and share many of them. I am finding your musings to be somewhat therapeutic. In short you are a blessing to us. Keep up the good work and make sure there's no mess in the Nest (ha ha)

Signed,
A Mom Who is a Proud Hawks Fan, and is raising one baby Hawks fan (9 yr. old) in our family's nest, we have two sons, but teenagers are real hard to impress, he is a closet fan for now and as a Mom I keep hoping he will come out of the closet.
Elizabeth

Very bold of you, Elizabeth. Bring 'em out, bring 'em out, bring 'em out, bring 'em out! And if there's anything we can do to help, please, let us know. There's nothing wrong with being a Hawks fan. (At least, nothing a few years of solid counseling won't fix.) I know that sometimes teenagers can be moody and inconsistent, but so can the Hawks. If that's not a perfect match, I don't know what is.

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.