ROTATION: Starters -- Point guard Mike Bibby, Shooting guard Joe Johnson, Small forward Marvin Williams, Power forward Josh Smith, Center Al Horford. Bench -- Guard Flip Murray, Guard Acie Law IV, Guard Mario West, Guard Mo Evans, Guard Speedy Claxton, Forward Thomas Gardner, Forward Othello Hunter, Forward Solomon Jones, Forward/center Zaza Pachulia, Center Randolph Morris.
PLAYER NOTES: --G Joe Johnson turned in another valiant effort with 31 points and five assists. But he didn't have a partner in crime, and he, like his teammates, struggled defensively. "One-on-one, we haven't been really guarding our man particularly well. And I'll take a lot of heat for that. But at the same time, we haven't been man-ing up and guarding our guys. Guys are flying by and getting to the hole and then breaking our defense down," he said.
--G Flip Murray is as stout a one-on-one offensive player as you'll find off the bench in the NBA, but he's not exactly the type of defender most teams are looking for. Nowhere was that more evident than against Devin Harris and the Nets. Harris manhandled the Hawks in back-to-back games, particularly picking on Murray and Mike Bibby.
--C Randolph Morris is on the roster, but you'd barely notice with the way he is used -- sparingly. The Hawks could benefit from a contribution from one of their biggest players, and also one of their most skilled big men. Morris will have to be more forceful in practice to warrant more minutes in the games, especially in his first year under a coach like Mike Woodson.
MEDICAL WATCH:
--F Josh Smith is out for two to four weeks (high ankle sprain) and could miss as many as 15 games.
