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

"A Holiday Poem"
by Lang Whitaker

'Twas the night after Christmas and deep in The A,
the Hawks and the Pacers were preparing to play.

Shelden's placed his red gators in his locker with care,
in hopes that Al Horford wouldn't notice them there.

The Hawks were nestled all snug in second place,
while visions of a haircut danced across Josh Childress's face.

Rathbun and Holman, sitting behind the mics,
had just settled down to call the game tonight.

When all of a sudden there arose such a clatter,
I sprang to the internet to see what was the matter.

Away to the standings I clicked like a flash,
scrolled to the Southeast and emptied my cache.

The Hawks were in second for the first time in years,
14-12 as I nearly shed tears.

When what to my wondering eyes should appear,
but a chance to go 15-12, right now, right here.

Against a veteran coach, his hair winged with white,
I thought for a moment Paulie Walnuts was coaching Indy tonight.

More rapid than ever to life the Hawks came,
as Woody whistled and shouted and called them by name:

"Shoot Marvin! Drive Smoove! Dish it Tyronn and AJ!
On Mario, on Shelden, on Zaza and JJ!"

"Get past the Pacers, to the top of the Division,
show the people of Atlanta just what they've been missing!"

Then in a twinkling the Magic could hear,
the sound of loud footsteps as the Hawks were drawing near.

And just as I was shutting my computer down,
Joe Johnson was presented with the player of the week crown.

The whole Hawks franchise he'd been carrying on his back,
but now the other guys were adding to the attack.

J-Smoove, how he twinkled! Marvin, how merry!
And with the way AJ was going, who needed J-Terry?

Things were so good that everyone was jacked,
and from Ryan Cameron to Arthur Triche, press row was packed.

After the Hawks beat the Pacers I spied Billy Knight,
who smiled like a Cheshire cat as Hawks fans saw the light.

He spoke not a word, but went straight to his work,
for the five straight wins made his critics look like jerks.

The season is still young but things sure look bright,
could the Playoff drought be over, an end to the blight?

I hold out hope, for there are many games left,
but these young Hawks look lively and deft.

Let's take nothing for granted, until the season ends,
there are picks left to defend and goals for Smoove to tend.

But hear me exclaim, as I log off the site,
"Merry Christmas to all, and to all a good night. Rise up!"

MAILING IT IN:
Enough of that. A valiant effort, I feel, although now you probably see why I'm not a rapper. The Hawks hire me, and everything turns around! I'm not talking, I'm just saying. Not even the behind-the-scenes of the A-Town Dancers Swimsuit Calendar Special on FSN should distract us from our Playoff ambitions. (OK, well maybe that could.)

Anyway, thought we'd double up on mail this week. Let's start with Lonny in Atlanta, who writes…

Its obvious the Hawks are paying you to say all the right things about this team. I am definitely a fan of this team through thick and thin, but lets be real here, Mike Woodson has underutilized the talent on this team. You have much more potential and upside to Solomon Jones, who I think would be a better fit with more athletic ability and can run the floor better than La La Pachulia. I will admit we have played a lot better lately, and hope we continue to improve. To make a crazy observation that you would prefer Woodson over Karl is completely ludicrous. Karl is a winning coach that has been to the NBA Finals.

And how did that Finals appearance work out for Coach Karl, Lonny?

Look, Karl has won many more games than Woody, but he's also left almost every franchise he's coached on terrible terms. To me, it's not worth the hassle. Now, if you're asking me if I prefer Phil Jackson over Woody, that's a different story. There have been times when I didn't know what the heck Woody was doing, but I think it's important to remember that he's been learning how to be a head coach, just like all the young guys were learning how to play in the NBA. And things suddenly look like they might finally be falling into place.

(And believe me, the Hawks don't pay me near enough to say all the right things.)

Finally, Chris Toland writes from Chicago…

First of all I wanted to say that I love your articles on Hawks.com and in SLAM. Anyways, I was wondering what's your opinion of Anthony Johnson? I live in Chicago and I'm always getting picked on for being a Hawks fan. When we picked up Anthony Johnson, it was obvious that we needed a point guard. Everybody just laughed at me and my commitment to the Hawks. They figured that Billy Knight was an idiot for even offering league minimum for such a low caliber player. However, it seems that they were wrong. AJ has really started to pick up his game. Most importantly, he had his best game against Deron Williams! One of the two point guards that Billy Knight is constantly criticized for passing up. Do you see AJ continuing this streak of great play? When Acie comes back we should be in a much better situation.

Also, I think its ridiculous that Joe gets so many minutes every game. Woodson needs to let him sit, before he gets hurt. I know he is reliable, but he seems frustrated. I don't want his body to wear down and get injured. If Joe leaves I'll be really disappointed. He doesn't need to play almost 50 minutes every game, its gonna shorten his career. I mean if we need him in, then let him play; but it seems that Woodson plays him even when we are up by a significant amount and at the end of the fourth quarter. Let Childress play, Childress plays hard and smart. We will be fine with Joe resting and Chills on the court.

Working backward, Chris, don't forget that Joe logged a ton of minutes the last few weeks while we were decimated by injuries (including to Chills). But yes, I completely agree that Woody has to figure out a way to shorten Joe's minutes, maybe even by 30 seconds here and there before timeouts or the end of a quarter, because as Joe goes, so go the Hawks.

And as for AJ—or as the AJC's Sekou Smith calls him, Kimbo Slice—he's been playing terrific basketball lately. Would I like to have Deron Williams? Yes. Would I like to have Chris Paul? More than you know. But AJ has become our most important veteran, our leader, our coach on the floor. I hope he stays in that groove for a while.

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.