Hawks Shine Without Any Stars Atlanta Ranks With Best Teams In Nba’s Eastern Conference

The Atlanta Hawks are one of only two NBA teams with a winning record that won’t be represented at Sunday’s All-Star Game in San Antonio. Somehow, that seems appropriate.

The Hawks are truly a team without any stars. Sure, point guard Mookie Blaylock is one of the league’s top defenders, and was an Eastern Conference all-star in 1993. But it’s hard to find a spot for him on this year’s team.

Shooting guard Steve Smith is the Hawks’ leading scorer, but at 17.8 points per game he doesn’t even rank among the top 30 in the league.

“I’m a little disappointed that no one made the all-star team,” Smith said after a 98-92 victory over Washington gave the Hawks a 26-21 record at the break. “I think somebody should have made it, the way we’re playing.”

The Los Angeles Lakers are the only other winning team without an all-star. Of course, if Magic Johnson had started his comeback at the beginning of the season, that likely would not have been the case.

As for Atlanta, there’s no one with Magic’s clout.

Do you pick Smith over Chicago’s Michael Jordan (30.8 average), Indiana’s Reggie Miller (20.6) or Charlotte’s Glen Rice (22.7)? Of course not.

Blaylock is second in the league in steals, but he doesn’t appear to be more deserving than Orlando’s Anferee Hardaway and Cleveland’s Terrell Brandon, the Eastern point guards. Hardaway is averaging 23.4 points and 7.0 assists, Brandon 19.5 and 6.9, Blaylock 15.2 and 5.7

No one on the Hawks’ nondescript front line - Andrew Lang, Grant Long and Stacey Augmon - had any hope of making the All-Star Game. In fact, the closest thing to an all-star in Atlanta is coach Lenny Wilkens.

Six wins shy of reaching 1,000 in his career, Wilkens has done an incredible job pushing the Hawks to the sixth-best record in the conference.

“We’d like to believe a lot of our players are all-stars,” he said. “Some politics go on, but we aren’t going to worry about it because we know how well we’re playing and we just want to continue to improve.”

Actually, the Hawks have slumped the past two weeks, losing four of six after a 10-game winning streak.

“Over the break, we’ll have a chance to rejuvenate,” Wilkens said. “I told the guys we want to be able to come back a lot more energized.