But don't take his word for it. Just watch his team in action.

Friday night, Marvin Williams erupted for a season-high and game-high 29 points and nine rebounds in their seventh straight win, a buzzer-beating 105-103 escape from the Houston Rockets.

Williams hadn't so much as shown up on the radar before Friday.

"Phenomenal," Woodson said of Williams' breakout effort. "It was good to see Marvin break out into a big time game. I thought he was solid from beginning to end."

That the Hawks hadn't needed much from him before that to pile up the league's best record heading into Saturday night's game against New Orleans is the greatest testimonial to their increased depth.

And when you have a 20-point scorer like Jamal Crawford coming off the bench, you can live with one of your starters underperforming the way Williams did early on this season.

"I feel good about our bench," Woodson said. "There's times I'm playing five guys off the bench at one time, a whole new lineup."

HAWKS 105, ROCKETS 103: Seven and counting.

That's where the Hawks' win streak stands after Josh Smith's last-second put-back dunk saved them in a win over Houston on Friday night at Philips Arena.

Smith sat most of the fourth quarter in foul trouble but found his way to the basket after Mike Bibby missed a jumper that could have won the game for the Hawks. Smith finished with just nine points and eight rebounds but had the biggest of both for a Hawks team that left for New Orleans late Friday night with the best record in the league (11-2).

Jamal Crawford was huge off the bench for the Hawks, scoring 21 points and helping Marvin Williams (game-high and season-high 29 points and nine rebounds) keep the Hawks in the game while a scrappy Rockets team ravaged them for 29 second-chance points.

Joe Johnson added 19 and Al Horford 17 and six rebounds as the Hawks won their seven straight home game.