Raptors coach believes in Hawks’ hot start

While he stopped short of a Dennis Green-like rant, Raptors coach Sam Mitchell believes that the Hawks’ hot start is indicative of the them being exactly who and what he thought they were. “Their starting lineup is all first-round picks,” Mitchell said. “Have y’all ever thought about that? There is a reason they’ve got talent. It’s a unique formula. You look around the league now and the teams that get better, guys have to develop. And if you look at the starting lineup, you just see talent. The key to that is giving it a chance to mature, giving those guys a chance to learn how to play in the NBA and giving them a chance to learn how to play together. Once that happens, they’ve got a chance to be pretty good.”

Bibby goes off

Anyone wondering if Mike Bibby still had some of the explosive shooting ability he showed earlier in his career got their answer in the second quarter Friday night. Bibby scored 12 of the Hawks’ 31 points in the quarter during a six-minute stretch that saw him drain four of five shots from beyond the 3-point line. He finished the first half with 19 points, on 7-for-9 shooting from the floor and 5-for-7 on 3-pointers, and six assists.