NBA profile -- Atlanta Hawks

Atlanta Hawks

Last season the Hawks finished 5th in the East with a 40-26 record.  First round exit last season against the Celtics with an injured Horford.  Experience will continue to lead this team to be competitive year in and year out.  The centerpieces of their teams are proven veterans now.  Josh Smith is in his 8th year and Al Horford is in his 5th.  Losing Joe Johnson and Marvin Williams maybe become a challenge towards the end of the season.  

9 new faces on the team including Jeff Teague, Lou Williams & Devin Harris were added during the offseason.  Kyle Korver is expected to be their top sharp shooter.  There will be a different tempo to their offense but the defense of the Hawks will be their strong point of the team.  

The Atlanta Hawks are a work in progress with players that know how to win.  Their division includes the world champs so if they are expecting to win a championship this team will have to gel fast and compete with the Heat.  So far the Hawks are 8-4 on the season.  Al Horford earned the player of the week for the Eastern Conference this week  They have the pieces in place to be successful just have to keep feeding Horford and keep him healthy.  I see a Eastern Conference final in this team's future if they are all healthy by that time.

Top 5 BCS rundown

Shakeup in the NCAA Football Top 5

1.  Notre Dame @ USC -- Huge game is an under statement.  This game is make or break for the Irish.  The Irish have won some big games this season which makes them deserve the number 1 spot.  With the back up QB in for USC and these dominate WR.  Really I don't know what to expect other than a great game.     

2.  Alabama Host Auburn -- Auburn has not been playing well.  Auburn is 3-8 going against a team that can probably beat the K.C Chiefs right now. Tide should be able to roll on to the SEC ship game.

3.  Georgia Host Georgia Tech -- This could be a disastrous trap game for the Bulldogs.  With a chance at a national championship game appearance the Yellow Jackets look to put all the hype to rest

4.    Florida @ Florida State -- WOW! What a way to close out the season for both teams.  The Seminoles should be in the top 3 but the close loss to NC State was too much of a blow for them.  They will look to prove themselves this weekend against a struggling Gator Defense.  My eyes will be glued to this game.

5.   Oregon @ Oregon State -- The Ducks are now on the outside looking in with a huge upset handed to them by Stanford.  The Civil War won't be an easy game for them.  If they escape this game then they will have a chance to the national championship game if the above teams all screw up.

NBA team by team analysis

NBA Team by Team analysis

With 3 weeks in the books on the 2012 NBA season, we have seen some excitement from some teams and some players.  The defending champs Miami Heat have started out where they left off from last year.  

I didn't know how I wanted to breakdown and analyze the basketball season.  Came to the conclusion to do a team by team breakdown of how the season has gone and will be for the respective teams.  Will start out with the champs and go through their division.

To start out check out some of the leaders in the NBA so far.

Best teams by record: East--Knicks     West--Grizzlies

Scoring:  1. Kobe Bryant--27.3pts    2. Kevin Durant--25.4pts    3. LeBron James--24.8pts

Rebounds:  1. Zach Randolph-13.8reb   2. Anderson Varejao--13.7reb    3. Al Jefferson--12reb

Assists: 1. Rajon Rondo--13.3ast  2. Chris Paul--9.9ast  3. Jrue Holliday--8.6 

Miami Heat

In a 68 game season the Heat won the NBA championship behind a strong team performance through the playoffs.  It took them all 7 games to escape a banged up Celtic team and a very young Pacer team before running through the Thunder.

LeBron has won a gold medal and is looking to get his 2nd ring.  The question is can they hold up for an entire 82 game season.  So far they are 9-3 with losses coming from the Knicks, Clippers, and Grizzlies.  All 3 are top teams in the league thus far.  In a 7 game series Miami will dominate any one of these teams.  

They added Ray Allen and Rashard Lewis to an already dominate lineup that can help carry the load.  Basically all the Heat have to do is stay healthy, keep improving their bench and they will be wearing their 2nd ring this time next year but the target is on their back.

NFL Week 12 predictions

Week 12 NFL Picks, top WR's, and analysis

After starting off mediocre, I was an astonishing 13-1 in last week's picks.  The Panthers are the only team that let me down.  Tampa Bay are proving to me every week that they are a team not to be under estimated. Playoff picture is starting to clear up for a few teams but not for many.  This season will go down to the wire with some good teams not making the playoffs.  Week 12 will be the week that will make or break some of these teams.

  

• Andre Johnson is my player of the week for Week 11
• Patriots were the team of the week scoring 59pts
• Texans, Falcons and Packers escaped let down losses
• Peyton's Broncos continue to shine
• RG3 put up superstar numbers against the failing Eagles 
• 49'ers made Bears look like a High School team
• Ravens get a win on the road in a great game against a banged up Steelers team

Without further ado here are my Thanksgiving Picks:

Date	Away	Matchup	Home	Result	TV
Thu, Nov 22 4:15 PM		Washington at Dallas		Cowboys 29-22
		Cowboys struggle at home but will find a way to contain RG3
Thu, Nov 22 8:20 PM		New England at New York		Patriots 38 - 13
		Patriots are playing like a Super Bowl team if they didn't have injuries. Jets need help
Fri, Nov 23 12:30 AM		Houston at Detroit		Texans 24-20
		2 great receivers play but Lions only play 1 quarter per game so Houston prevails with a strong defense
Sun, Nov 25 1:00 PM		Buffalo at Indianapolis		Colts 23-21
		Indy bounce back after get mollywhopped last week by Patriots
Sun, Nov 25 1:00 PM		Minnesota at Chicago		Vikings 27-20
		Should be an exciting game.  AP had a week to rest now its back to destroying defenses.  Bears O-Line got heavily exposed against 49'ers will be under pressure a lot
Sun, Nov 25 1:00 PM		Atlanta at Tampa Bay		Bucs 30-27
		NFC south teams are tough to beat at home I said this when ATL lost their 1st game
Sun, Nov 25 1:00 PM		Oakland at Cincinnati		Bengals 31-20
		Raiders on the road tough to get a win.  Bengals A.J Green and Andy Dalton are a great combo.
Sun, Nov 25 1:00 PM		Denver at Kansas City		Broncos 40-17
		Peyton stays healthy his team wins again.  KC should start getting ready for draft day 2013
Sun, Nov 25 1:00 PM		Pittsburgh at Cleveland		Steelers 20-10
		Banged up Pitt team still has a good defense and now they have Plaxico 'shootyaself' Burress.  Should be enough to beat turnover happy Cleveland
Sun, Nov 25 1:00 PM		Seattle at Miami		Seahawks 26-17
		Dolphins have lost their swag and have no one on the team that has any.  Seattle is 2nd in the league in sacks.  Will get to the QB early and often
Sun, Nov 25 1:00 PM		Tennessee at Jacksonville		Jaguars 23-20
		This one is a toss up.  Chad Henne stepping up but its hard to go against Chris Johnson going against the 29th ranked defense against the run.  Jacksonville plays tough at home
Sun, Nov 25 4:05 PM		Baltimore at San Diego		Ravens 31-29
		Chargers need to start all over again.  Ravens continue their road to the Super Bowl
Sun, Nov 25 4:25 PM		St. Louis at Arizona		Cardinals 23-20
		Cardinals will finally get another win behind their 3rd starting QB this season.  When will they realize that they have the best WR in the game?
Sun, Nov 25 4:25 PM		San Francisco at New Orleans		Saints 33-30
		2 tough teams but once again NFC South at home is hard to beat
Sun, Nov 25 8:20 PM		Green Bay at New York		34-31
		Giants get back in stride with a big win at home
Mon, Nov 26 8:30 PM		Carolina at Philadelphia Vick still out and O-Line for the Eagles is horrendous.  Cam can you get a win on the road?		Panthers 29-27

Top 5 Wide Receivers

1. Calvin Johnson
2. Reggie Wayne
3. Andre Johnson
4. Roddy White
5. A.J Green

Week 11 NFL and Top 5 QB's so far

Week 11 NFL

Date	Away	Matchup	Home	Result	TV
Thu, Nov 15 8:20 PM		Miami at Buffalo		Bills 17-13
		Dolphins are building to be mediocre
Sun, Nov 18 1:00 PM		Arizona at Atlanta		Falcons 30-14
		Falcons seek revenge after their first loss
Sun, Nov 18 1:00 PM		Jacksonville at Houston		Texans 37-10
		Jaguars ranked dead last in Offense should be a cakewalk
Sun, Nov 18 1:00 PM		Cincinnati at Kansas City		Bengals 27-13
		Bengals build off their win from last week against the worst team in the league
Sun, Nov 18 1:00 PM		Philadelphia at Washington		Redskins 21-15
		Redskins are the better struggling team especially with Vick out
Sun, Nov 18 1:00 PM		Cleveland at Dallas		Cowboys 33-24
		Cowboys @ home is suspect but Romo can pull this one off
Sun, Nov 18 1:00 PM		Tampa Bay at Carolina		Panthers 22-20
		NFC south teams at home are hard to beat. Cam steps it up I think in this game
Sun, Nov 18 1:00 PM		Green Bay at Detroit		Gmen 42-27
		Lions 2nd in Total yards per game and 1st in passing, Aaron Rodgers is in stride now. Should be a shootout
Sun, Nov 18 1:00 PM		New York at St. Louis		Jets 27-24
		A loss for either one of these teams will mean no playoffs
Sun, Nov 18 1:00 PM		Indianapolis at New England		Patriots 26-23
		Should be a great game but Brady will thread this defense
Sun, Nov 18 4:05 PM		New Orleans at Oakland		Saints 30-18
		2 Words: Drew Brees
Sun, Nov 18 4:25 PM		San Diego at Denver		Broncos 31-20
		Chargers on the road against a phenomenal Peyton.
Sun, Nov 18 8:20 PM		Baltimore at Pittsburgh		Ravens 24-14
		No Ben, No Win
Mon, Nov 19 8:30 PM		Chicago at San Francisco The battle of the concussed Qb's San Fran's defense against this Bears defense should be a battle.	49'ers21-18

Top 5 QB's 

1. Aaron Rodgers--25 TD 5 INT  
2. Peyton Manning--21 TD 6 INT
3. Matt Ryan--20 TD 7 INT
4. Tom Brady--18 TD 3 INT
5. Drew Brees--25 TD 9 INT