On a roll, Hawks take on Portland

By Ken Sugiura

The Atlanta Journal-Constitution

A year after recording their first winning season since 1998-99, the Hawks entered the season bent on improvement.

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Don Ryan, AP During their meeting earlier this month at Porland, the Hawks' Josh Smith had 12 points, while the Hawks held the Blazers' Greg Oden to eight points and nine rebounds.

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But could they have imagined this? Ten games into the season, the 8-2 Hawks have the best record in the Eastern Conference and were tied with Phoenix for the best record in the NBA as the Suns went into Sunday night's game against Toronto. Among the team's conquests are road wins at Boston, Portland and Sacramento and a home win over Denver.

The start marks the team's best record after 10 games since 1997-98, when the team started 11-0.

"I think we can do something special," said forward Joe Smith, the 14-year veteran who has contributed key minutes off the bench. "We have to continue to get better as a group and continue to understand where we can go. The sky's pretty much the limit for us if we believe in each other and believe in what we bring to the table."

Monday's game against Portland Trail Blazers will offer another insight into how much the Hawks have improved since last season, when they went 47-35 and reached the second round of the playoffs. Both teams will play on a day's rest and the Blazers will come to Philips Arena with a score to settle; the Hawks already beat last season's Northwest Division co-champions 97-91 in Portland Nov. 3.

In the midst of a four-game homestand, the Hawks follow up with a Wednesday visit from the Miami Heat, a half-game behind the Hawks in the Southeast at 7-2.

"It's not the team that it was three, four years ago," coach Mike Woodson said following the team's 121-98 Saturday night demolition of New Orleans. "It's not. We're a deeper team and we've got guys that have been together and they're growing up."