NBA Southeast: Youth movement paying off in Atlanta

Basketball Betting Lines

11/14/2008 - (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Baby-faced NFL quarterback Matt Ryan has led the local Falcons to a winning record so far this season, as have most of the members of the Atlanta Hawks.

Led by shooting guard Joe Johnson, small forward Marvin Williams, injured power forward Josh Smith and center Al Horford, the Hawks are off to a 6-1 start and sit first in the Southeast Division. Smith, though, is expected to miss the next two to four weeks with a high ankle sprain and is averaging 12.0 points and 8.0 rebounds per game this season. He suffered the injury last Friday against Toronto and swelling has subsided since then.

Johnson is leading the team in scoring with 24.4 ppg in seven contests this season for the Hawks, who have the second-best record in the East behind the 8-1 Boston Celtics. Atlanta's success can be attributed to a tough defense that has allowed 91.4 points per games, good enough for fifth in the NBA.

Horford has been a big difference on the defensive end with 13 blocks over his last three games. He had 27 points, 17 rebounds and six blocks in a win against the Chicago Bulls on November 11.

The Hawks will wrap up a four-game road trip on Friday at New Jersey, just two days after suffering a heart-breaking 103-102 loss to the defending champion Boston Celtics. Atlanta pushed Boston to seven games in the opening round of the playoffs a year ago before bowing out.

DOUBLE YOUR PLEASURE, DOUBLE YOUR FUN

Orlando Magic All-Star center Dwight Howard is a massive kid and one of the top big men in the NBA. He even earned a gold medal in the 2008 Summer Olympics and has led the Magic in scoring five times and in rebounding eight times this season.

Howard has recorded six double-doubles this season and now has 227 double- doubles during his career. Howard, who had an NBA-best 69 double-doubles last season, posted the first triple-double of his career in a recent win over Oklahoma City with 30 points, 19 rebounds and career-high 10 blocks.

A big reason why Orlando has outrebounded its opponents six times this season is because of the relentless play of Howard, who led the NBA in boards last season. The 22-year-old just needs to polish his free throw skills.

The Magic are 5-3 on the season and have won five of six games. It opened a three-game road trip with a big win over the Thunder at the Ford Center.

Orlando will also visit Dallas and Charlotte on the trek.

MIAMI'S BEAS(T)LEY ENJOYING ROOKIE CAMPAIGN

Miami Heat rookie forward Michael Beasley has scored in double figures in seven straight games and has been serving as a nice compliment to Dwyane Wade.

Beasley, who was drafted No. 2 overall in the summer, has scored at least 17 points in five of eight contests this year. The former Kansas State star had 14 points in Wednesday's loss to Portland, and is averaging 16.4 points and 5.9 rebounds this season.

Wade, though, leads the team with 28.2 points while dishing out 7.6 assists per game for the Heat, who are 4-4 on the young season. Wade and Miami will wrap up a three-game homestand Friday versus the Washington Wizards.

Rookie Mario Chalmers has been impressive on the defensive end and recorded a franchise and rookie record with nine steals versus the Philadelphia 76ers on November 5.

Miami is in the midst of playing six of its eight games at home.

HOW LONG WILL BROWN STAY WITH BOBCATS?

Charlotte Bobcats head coach Larry Brown wanted to blow up the team even before the season started, and currently sits with a 2-5 record this season.

The nomadic and bespectacled Brown may run out of patience with this team by Christmas. Charlotte has lost two straight and four of five games, and is 1-2 on a six-game homestand.

Brown may have lost some more hair on his head when he learned that leading scorer Jason Richardson is expected to miss some time. In an 88-80 loss to the Denver Nuggets, Richardson had 23 points. However, he is expected to miss a week of action after undergoing arthroscopic knee surgery Wednesday.

Richardson is averaging a team-high 17.6 points this season.

Charlotte will also host Utah, Orlando and Dallas on the residency.

WIZARDS FINALLY CRACK WIN COLUMN

The Washington Wizards are banged up and it wasn't a surprise they lost their first five games for the second straight year.

Head coach Eddie Jordan coaxed a win out of his squad in Wednesday's 95-87 victory over the mighty Utah Jazz at the Verizon Center. Caron Butler, the only healthy star on the team, had a game-high 27 points and grabbed nine rebounds. Butler is trying to rip off a similar streak last year when the Wizards won six in a row following an 0-5 start.

Team captain Antawn Jamison finished with 21 points and eight boards against the Jazz. He has been vehement lately on the attitude in the locker room.

"The makeup of this locker room, the environment of this locker room needs to change," said Jamison, whose team had given up more than 106 points in their last four games before holding Utah to 87. "I'm not saying that it's almost like unacceptable, but guys are not upset. Guys are not hurting. This is your job. It's all about representing what's on your chest and doing it the right way."

Jamison and Company will hit the road to South Beach on Friday to take on the Miami Heat at AmericanAirlines Arena. Butler, meanwhile, is nursing a cut above his eye and has been wearing protective goggles.

Washington swept a season series against the Heat last season for the first time since the 1988-89 season, when Washington captured the first-ever season series between the teams. In that year, the teams met two times with the Wizards winning both encounters.