Friday And-1 Links: The Hawks are playing really good defense

Here is our regular look around the NBA — links to stories worth reading and notes to check out (stuff that did not get its own post here at PBT) — done in bullet point form. Because bloggers love bullet points more than football players like viagra.

• Things we did not expect coming into this season — the Atlanta Hawks have the best defense in the NBA right now. Yes, seriously. They are giving up fewer points per possession than any team in the NBA and the reason is Al Horford and Josh Smith. They are killing it when together. The Hawks still basically switch every pick-and-roll but with really athletic bigs like Horford and Smith they can get away with it.

• Right now the Lakers are not shopping Pau Gasol around (and despite some message board rumors there are no talks with the Knicks) but if they do, this is a more realistic assessment of what they might get.

• Rob Mahoney takes a fantastic look at Sports Illustrated at the NBA rookies not named Davis or Lillard. Great thoughts here on Dion Waiters and the guy I like more each time I watch him, Harrison Barnes. Mahoney makes a point I like about Austin Rivers being to isolation based with his offense — Rivers admitted he grew up idolizing and patterning his game after Kobe Bryant. So there you go. (Kobe can pull that off, kid. You can’t.)

• Warriors GM Bob Myers will not rule out the possibility of Andrew Bogut needing another ankle surgery. Basically, he has no idea how long this could drag out. Nobody really does. He also apologized for the suggestions Bogut could be back sooner rather than later.

• A great video breakdown of why Jimmer Fredette is playing so much better this year.

• The Thunder have sent rookie Jeremy Lamb down to the D-League.

• By the way fans, don’t think of guys like Lamb or Kendall Marshall being sent down to the D-League as a demotion. Guys need seasoning and this is a place they can get on the court and develop. For rookies like these guys, this can be a good thing for their career if they use it properly and work hard.

• Here’s an interesting Q&A with Al Horford of the Hawks.

• The NBA has reached a four-year contract extension to its deal with the National Basketball Retired Players Association (NBRPA), the only Association comprised of NBA, ABA and Harlem Globetrotters alumni. Basically, the NBA is giving them money. Or, to use the words of the press release the NBA will provide “direct financial support to fund new and existing programs and services that uphold the NBRPA’s mission to assist former players as they transition into life after basketball.”

• In case you think plans for a new NBA-friendly arena in Virginia Beach are going well… not so much, it turns out.