<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE </div><div class='quotemain'><span class="template"><span class="body"> The Joe Johnson-at-the-point experiment was supposed to be over.</p> But with three of his four regular point guards in street clothes or not even in the building Tuesday night, Hawks coach Mike Woodson was forced to revisit the game plan from two seasons ago that called for Johnson to man the point and everyone else to fall in line.</p> The strategy worked perfectly as the Hawks routed Minnesota 103-77 at Philips Arena, improving their exhibition record to 4-1.</p> With Johnson at point guard, Marvin Williams moving into his slot at shooting guard and Josh Smith sliding over to small forward, the Hawks were able to push the pace at will and at times toy with the Timberwolves.</p> It's a lineup with intriguing possibilities and one that Woodson said he won't be afraid to employ later this season, when needed.</p> "It just depends on our situation with our point guards," Woodson said. "We're a little undermanned right now. But I wanted to go to that big lineup early with <a class="iAs" classname="iAs" style="border-bottom: 0.075em solid darkgreen; font-weight: normal; font-size: 100%; text-decoration: underline; color: darkgreen; background-color: transparent; padding-bottom: 1px;" href="http://www.ajc.com/sports/content/sports/hawks/stories/2007/10/16/hawks_1017.html?COXnetJSessionIDbuild58_prod=jpbyHVfN7VG5yLSmL5rN2CZCJJM7Wk3fN501TxGzDtZmZndFFGg T%21-1726264330&UrAuth=aNaNUObN%5BUbTTUWUXUVUZT%5BU%5DUWU%5DUaUZU%5DU%5EUcTYWYWZV&urcm=y#" target="_blank" itxtdid="4194355">Al Horford</a> and Zaza [Pachulia] inside, give them a different look, and I thought it seemed to work pretty good.</p> "I know Joe doesn't like running the [point] anymore because it's a lot of extra work for him. We rebounded the ball a lot better in the second quarter when we rolled that lineup, but it's not something I'd want to live on. We need Acie [Law IV], Speedy [Claxton] and [Tyronn] Lue back."</p> Claxton is not with the team for personal reasons, and Lue (knee) and Law (wrist) sat out with injuries. That left Anthony Johnson and rookie free agent Jamaal Tatum, who has battled a tender hamstring the past two weeks, as the only other available point guards.</p> That forced Joe Johnson into some spot duty at the position, which he played during his first season with the Hawks (2005-06) and averaged 20.2 points, 6.5 assists and 4.1 rebounds.</div></p> The Atlanta Journal-Constitution</p> </span></span></p>
