James Bradbury of isportsweb: “The Atlanta Hawks made a sneaky, somewhat under the radar acquisition in the summer of 2013 by signing veteran forward Paul Millsap to a two-year, $19 million contract. Millsap spent the first seven years of his productive career with the Utah Jazz, but had become expendable to the struggling franchise looking to clear cap space. The Hawks jumped at the opportunity to sign Millsap to a short, reasonable contract that he has since vastly outperformed, rather than retain the services of Atlanta native Josh Smith, who later agreed to a $54 million, four-year contract with the Detroit Pistons. In retrospect, it was clearly the correct decision. Millsap was named an All-Star in his first year with the team, while Smith struggled to find his role in the crowded Pistons frontcourt.”
Bo Churney of Hawks Hoop: “The season is young, but the next four games represent a critical part of the Hawks’ schedule. The Hawks will face two assured playoff teams (Washington and Toronto), another playoff contender who happens to have the best player in basketball so far this season (New Orleans and Anthony Davis), and a divisional rival that the Hawks have already played this season and lost to on fluke circumstances. (Charlotte, a terrible offensive foul call, and a banked-in Lance Stephenson 30-footer) Luckily for the Hawks, they will host three of these four games in Philips Arena. In short, they need to capitalize on that.”
Matt Gorry of Hornets.com: “North Carolina product Marvin Williams has been solid in his first season in purple and teal, particularly on the defensive end of the floor. Williams, who is averaging 6.7 points, 3.2 rebounds and 1.1 assists through the opening 15 games, has consistently guarded opposing teams’ bigs and limited their effectiveness… Williams will have his work cut out for him against his former teammate Atlanta’s Paul Millsap. The former Jazz standout is averaging 17.7 points, 8.4 boards and 3.1 assists in his second year in Atlanta and has emerged as one of the Hawks’ most reliable scorers.”
