(My Sportsbook) - One year after ending a lengthy playoff drought, the Atlanta Hawks are back in the postseason with a winning record, their best since recording 50 victories in the 1997-98 season.

The Hawks captured the eighth seed in East with a less-than-stellar 37-45 mark a year ago and faced the conference-champion Boston Celtics in the opening round of the playoffs. They took the eventual NBA champions to seven games in that opening round series, and will now square off with the fifth-seeded Miami Heat in the first stage of the 2008-09 postseason. The Hawks will have homecourt advantage in this series for the first time since winning a best-of- five set against Detroit in 1999.

Atlanta reached the postseason in 2007-08 for the first time since the strike- shortened 1998-99 campaign, and got some much-needed respect from around the league with its effort against the top-seeded Celtics. Hawks head coach Mike Woodson, in his fifth season, did a fantastic job matching up against Boston's big three of Paul Pierce, Kevin Garnett and Ray Allen, but the Celtics solved the strategy with a Game 7 win to advance in the playoffs.

Woodson's young squad is a year older this time around and was led once again by talented shooting guard Joe Johnson. Johnson led the Hawks in points (21.4), assists (5.8) and free throw shooting (82.6), while young stars Josh Smith and Al Horford contributed their skills to the improvement of the franchise. Veteran point guard Mike Bibby just enjoyed a full season with Atlanta after he was acquired from Sacramento in February 2008. Bibby helped the squad capture a playoff spot, but couldn't get the Hawks over the Boston hump in the postseason. Bibby will try again against a formidable foe in Miami.

The Heat haven't done much postseason-wise since winning their first NBA title in 2006. They were swept in four games in the first round the following year by the Chicago Bulls, then missed out last season after a lowly 15-67 campaign which was marred by injuries to star Dwyane Wade.

Wade is back at full strength and began his journey to glory by winning a Gold medal in the 2008 Summer Olympics. Wade led the NBA in scoring this past season with 30.2 points per game and out of the Southwest Division basement. If Orlando wasn't so tough this season, the Heat would have most likely won their fourth division title in five years.

Heat rookies Michael Beasley and Mario Chalmers will get their first taste of the postseason and had a strong first year in the NBA. Beasley averaged 13.9 points and 5.4 rebounds per game this season. Miami traded for veteran center Jermaine O'Neal in February, but the team can't expect much from the oft- injured player.

Chalmers will take the load off of Wade and is an excellent defender, as evidenced by his Heat rookie record for steals.

Atlanta went 3-1 against Miami in the regular season for a second straight year and has won six of the last eight matchups in the series. The Hawks defeated Miami, 3-2, in the first round of the 1993-94 playoffs.

POINT GUARD

Bibby is one of the most experienced point guards in the East and is very familiar with the postseason. A vital piece of Sacramento's tough teams a few years back, Bibby has been arguably the best floor general in Atlanta since Mookie Blalock ran the point for the Hawks. Bibby has appeared in 58 career playoff games, averaging 17.0 points, 5.3 assists and 1.4 steals. The former Arizona standout, who started all seven games for the Hawks against Boston in the first round last year, has the edge in this matchup with Miami.

The Heat will have a rookie controlling the ball, as Chalmers gets his feet wet in the playoffs. Chalmers is no stranger to big events and pressure situations since he helped Kansas win the national championship in 2007-08. Chalmers appeared in all 82 games this season and averaged 10.0 points, 4.9 assists and 2.0 steals for the Hawks, but his impressive rookie run will come to a halt this series.

EDGE: HAWKS

SHOOTING GUARD

There is no question who has the best shooting guard in this matchup, and that distinction easily goes to Wade. Wade was the NBA's leading scorer this season and returned after back-to-back campaigns in which he played just 51 games. Wade suffered through one of his worst seasons in the pros in 2007-08 despite averaging 24.6 points, 6.9 assists, 4.2 rebounds and 1.7 steals. The Marquette product was hampered by shoulder and knee injuries, and the flu. Wade rebounded in a big way this season and helped the Heat capture the fifth seed in the Eastern Conference on the final week of the season. The NBA Finals MVP of 2006 last appeared in the postseason in 2007, averaging 23.5 points, 6.3 assists and 1.25 steals in the four-game sweep by Chicago. In 54 career playoff games, Wade is averaging 25.3 points, 6.0 assists and 1.76 steals.

Johnson is no slouch, but is clearly overmatched by Wade at his position. He is one of the NBA's best talents and led the Hawks in every major offensive category this season. Johnson has been in the league since entering the NBA with Boston back in the 2001-02 season, then was traded to Phoenix the following year. He has spent the previous four years with Atlanta and started all seven games against the Celtics in the first round last year, averaging 20.0 points, 4.0 assists and 3.9 rebounds over the seven-game series. He had a playoff career-high 35 points in a game four win. Johnson has appeared in 22 career postseason games (16 starts), posting 15.5 points, 4.2 boards and 3.0o assists over that stretch.

EDGE: HEAT

CENTER

Woodson has to admire what center Horford adds to the team with his athleticism and spry activity on the floor. Horford, who is fully recovered from a mid-season knee problem, brings a healthy mix of scoring, rebounding and shot-blocking ability into the postseason. Horford is one of the vital pieces to Atlanta's turnaround the past few years and is wrapping up his sophomore campaign in the league. In last year's first-round exit to Boston, Horford averaged 12.6 points, 10.4 boards and 3.6 assists. Woodson hopes that Horford's performance was just a preview for the upcoming years.

If opposing center O'Neal can stay healthy the Heat may have a shot at winning a few games in this series. But realistically O'Neal is injury prone and will not be a factor in this series. Even though the playoffs bring out the talent in most players, O'Neal is considered more of a reliability than an asset for head coach Erik Spoelstra. Acquired from Toronto at mid-season, O'Neal is still in search of that elusive NBA title and has appeared in 70 career postseason games with Portland and Indiana, averaging 13.3 points, 7.3 rebounds and 1.8 blocks.

EDGE: HAWKS

SMALL FORWARD

The small forward matchup in this series doesn't bring the type of allure and grandeur the guard spot does. But Atlanta's Maurice Evans holds the advantage over Yakhouba Diawara of the Heat. Evans, a 6-5, 220-pound veteran, averaged 7.2 points and 3.0 rebounds in 80 games this season and helped Miami's inside game alongside Beasley and O'Neal. Evans is more experienced in the playoffs, having appeared in 34 games (10 starts). He started all of Orlando's 10 postseason contests a year ago and averaged 9.0 points and 2.5 boards.

Diawara played sporadically this season and has more size and power than Evans. However, the third-year pro out of Pepperdine posted just 3.4 points and 1.3 boards in 63 contests this season. Diawara played in three playoff games for Denver in 2008, averaging only 1.3 points, 0.3 rebounds and 2.7 minutes. He did not score in his only playoff appearance in 2007.

EDGE: EVEN

POWER FORWARD

High-flying dunk master Josh Smith said the Hawks deserve a lot more respect than they have already gotten. And who wouldn't agree? Smith is one of the main reasons why Woodson is still employed and is bound to erupt this postseason. Smith got his first taste of the playoffs a year ago, starting all seven games against Boston. He averaged 15.7 points, 6.4 rebounds and 2.9 blocks per game, and set a new franchise record with seven blocks in a game against the Celtics. The athletic Smith will make his mark this postseason.

The Heat are expected to have power forward Udonis Haslem back in action for the playoffs after he was shelved for the last few games of the regular season with a thumb injury. Haslem is a veteran of the NBA and is in his sixth season with the club. The former Florida standout started all four games in Miami's series with Chicago in 2007 and posted 7.5 points and 5.3 rebounds per game. In 54 career playoff games (41 starts) Haslem has averaged 7.5 points and 7.0 rebounds an outing.

EDGE: HAWKS

BENCH:

Reserve players can make a name for themselves in the playoffs and also leave opposing head coaches scratching their heads with wonder. There aren't many of those types of players on either roster in this series, but the Heat have the edge with a myriad of talented, starting with Beasley. The rookie emerged as a beast this season off the bench and also saw time as a starter, but was mainly relegated to bench duty for most of the campaign. Beasley is an able-bodied forward and will join fellow big men Jamaal Magloire, Joel Anthony and James Jones off the pine. Guards Daequan Cook, Dorell Wright and Jamario Moon. Moon was hampered with a groin injury, but should be ready for postseason action.

Atlanta is not short on talent on the bench, but does not have as much firepower as the Heat. The main reserves for the Hawks are forwards Marvin Williams, Zaza Pachulia and Solomon Jones, and guard Flip Murray. Murray is in his first year with Atlanta and has the most playoff experience of the bunch, having appeared in 29 postseason games (five starts) with Seattle, Cleveland and Detroit. Murray has averaged 5.1 points and 2.0 boards over 20.6 minutes.

EDGE: HEAT

PREDICTION:

Atlanta has been a team on the rise since the All-Star break of last season, and Woodson will utilize all of his talent in the playoffs. Miami on the other hand needs more contributions from anyone not named Wade since it has been relying too much on the All-Star guard. Wade will do his damage and unfortunately for the Heat it won't be enough with his surrounding cast unable to pull their own weight. With Heat rookies Beasley and Chalmers set to see a lot of action, the more experienced Hawks will have any easier time pecking at their young prey. Expect to see Atlanta stars Johnson, Smith and Horford, coupled with floor commander Bibby, filling up the stat sheets en route to the first second-round appearance for the franchise since the 1998-99 campaign.

HAWKS in 6