HAWKS RUMORS & GOSSIP

Here is my AJC story on the Hawks signing Erick Dampier to a 10-day contract. Here is my other AJC story on Joe Johnson making the All-Star team and Josh Smith being left off. AJC wise guy weighed in on the Smoove Snub. Now I will take a stab at figuring out if ‘Damp’ can help the Hawks. Dampier is a big dude. Maybe he’s too big. He was last listed at 265 but, based...

The Atlanta Hawks, short-handed at center following injuries to Al Horford and Jason Collins, signed 15-year veteran center Erick Dampier to a 10-day contract on Thursday. Dampier, 36, bolsters the team's roster for a tough stretch that begins with a game against Dwight Howard and the Magic on Friday night. The challenges continue with a game against the Miami Heat on Sunday...

ATLANTA With their depth at center whittled down to almost nothing, the Atlanta Hawks ran smack into a three-game losing streak recently. They dug their way out of that with a 97-87 win over Indiana on Wednesday, but entering Friday's key Southeast Division game on Friday at Orlando and one of the game's best big men in Dwight Howard, the Hawks knew they could not continue...

The Atlanta Hawks are in need of some frontcourt help and because of that need to fill, they gave free agent center Erick Dampier a 10-day contract to see if he can fill the void that is left in the Hawks lineup. Dampier has averaged 7.5 points, 7.2 rebounds and 1.4 blocks per game over his 14-year NBA career. He ranks seventh on the all-time rebounds list among active players.

Getting eliminated from the postseason sucks. It sucks for the players. It sucks for the fans. It sucks period. Especially the way Orlando bowed out last year. The Magic and Hawks were relatively even teams in that series (or maybe I am deluding myself). Atlanta made plays down the stretch in Games Three and Four to take control of the series. The final wound was watching a still...

You have to wonder if Josh Smith's big game came just a little too late to sway the voters. A 28-point, 12-rebound, 5-steal, 3-assist, 3-block night in any of the Hawks' three previous games, all of which came before the deadline for coaches to submit their All-Star reserves to the league office, might have helped his cause. But that big game came the night before the reserves...

Josh Smith scored 28 points and grabbed 12 rebounds, leading the Hawks to a 97-87 victory over the Indiana Pacers on Wednesday night that snapped Atlanta's three-game home losing streak. The Hawks, who had fallen behind by big margins in each game on the homestand, finally got off to a good start. Atlanta built a 21-point lead in the first half and withstood repeated runs by...

ATLANTA Kirk Hinrich has the unenviable task of trying to catch up on the fly. Its not just that the Hawks guard hadnt played basketball in about nine months a combination of the NBA lockout and shoulder surgery last November its also that the compressed NBA schedule hardly leaves any time for practices. All of it is leaving Hinrich somewhat frustrated. In seven games back,...

ATLANTA Kirk Hinrich has the unenviable task of trying to catch up on the fly. Its not just that the Hawks guard hadnt played basketball in about nine months a combination of the NBA lockout and shoulder surgery last November its also that the compressed NBA schedule hardly leaves any time for practices. All of it is leaving Hinrich somewhat frustrated. In seven games back,...

Brand out, Spencer & Voose in, Sixers ...on.Sixers (17-7, .708) welcomed back their big guys to escape from Atlanta with a nice 87-98 W on the second night of a back-to-back, playing their fourth game in six days.Brand sat out with a right thumb strain, but Hawes returned after a 10 game absence and he was hot from start to finish. Spencer immediately knocked down his first shot...

The Hawks plan to sign a center and it almost certainly will be a guy on a 10-day contract rather than a permanent addition. They’ve discussed Kyrylo Fesenko, Erick Dampier and Dan Gadzuric but, as far as I know, they haven’t inquired with those guys yet to gauge their interest in a short-term gig in Atlanta. I’ve always thought Fesenko, the massive 7-foot Ukranian...

Atlanta Hawks center Jason Collins is expected to be sidelined for at least two weeks with a sprained left elbow. Collins was injured while diving for a loose ball in Thursday's loss to the Memphis Grizzlies. Although he is averaging only 1.0 points and 1.6 rebounds per game, Collins provided depth at a position where the Hawks are lacking. Center Al Horford could be lost...

At the start of the season, the Atlanta Hawks boasted decent depth at the center position. Start with All-Star Al Horford. Next in line was Zaza Pachulia, who could provide some scoring, toughness and rebounding off the bench. Third on the depth chart was 7-footer Jason Collins, whose defense on Orlandos Dwight Howard proved instrumental in the Hawks playoff victory over their Southeast...

Hours before Atlanta's game against Memphis, Yahoo! Sports reported that free agent Kenyon Martin was visiting with the Hawks. The veteran big man last seen stateside scowling and prowling the paint for the Denver Nuggets before a short stint in China during the NBA lockout is said to be intrigued with the significant role he could play with the Hawks. The Hawks could always...

The Atlanta Hawks are returning from an impressive road trip, and playing back home might only increase their confidence. The Hawks go for their fourth straight win overall and seventh in a row at home Thursday night when they meet the Memphis Grizzlies. Atlanta closed an impressive January with a 4-1 road swing - its best five-game trip since December 1968. The Hawks (16-6) won...