<div class="quote_poster">Quote:</div><div class="quote_post">Now, for Blog-Z?s Monday version of the five things we already know (and if you didn?t, now you do): 1. Barring a surprise, Speedy Claxton will return to action by this time next week, if not sooner. His sore knee is what?s kept him out of action, not any of the conspiracy theories that have been floated here and elsewhere. That said, I recognize that the skepticism will be rampant when Speedy and injury are mentioned in the same sentence, mostly because of his history of injury. But how about the job Cedric Bozeman has done in his absence? 2. Don?t think for a minute Josh Smith doesn?t hear it from the coaching staff when he opts for 3-pointers instead of driving to the basket for easier shots and ultimately free throws. A perfect example came in practice today, when Matt Freije closed out on Smith during a drill and Smith hoisted a 3-pointer that bounced off the rim. Hawks coach Mike Woodson drove home the point that there?s nothing wrong with a pump fake from the 3-point line and then a drive to get a better shot. Smith concurred. And the very next time they ran the drill, which was all done live, Smith pump faked and drove to the basket where he drew contact, rebounded his own miss and dunked over two players to finish the play. 3. The All-Star ballots are out and the Hawks have three players on the list. Joe Johnson, Speedy Claxton and Zaza Pachulia made it. Now, before you go screaming about Smith not being on there, understand that the league determines which names will go on the ballots and the way guys are playing (or if they are playing) in the first week of the season isn?t factored in. It?s safe to assume that these things are printed up weeks, if not months, in advance. 4. It?s apparently going take more than a cast to keep Marvin Williams from certain drills. Williams ran through an extended shooting drill at practice today with one hand. Yup. He went through the entire drill, which consists of players running full court and finishing with either dunks, layups or jumpers, using just his right hand. Woodson yelled at him once or twice to ?get out of there? but Williams kept on. It?s not anything that will harm his recovery from his broken finger. It?s not a contact drill. But I think it shows just how eager Williams is to get back to action. And despite all these worries to the contrary, his return will do nothing but help the Hawks. Anyone that thinks another quality player will disrupt a team?s chemistry hasn?t paid attention to what?s been going on around here. 5. Joe Johnson?s Eastern Conference Player of the Week nod will be the first of many accolades to come his way this season. I?m going to go ahead and state the obvious right now: If the dude keeps this (or anything close to it) up, he?s headed for Las Vegas in February. And not for a spot in the 3-point shooting contest. His first All-Star nod will depend largely on how the Hawks are playing as the season goes on. But his early buzz is strong and most people who know the game realize that this guy?s got a complete basketball package that few other players in the league have. It?ll be interesting to follow this saga and see where it goes this season.</div> Source
