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For the better part of the past two years, Hawks point guard Mike Bibby played his role to perfection.

When his team needed a clutch basket or the right pass, he was there. He ran things in a way that not only put Hawks coach Mike Woodson and his teammates at ease, he did it in ways the Hawks hadn't seen before his arrival.

"We didn’t put it all together until he showed up," Josh Smith said. "Once he got here it all came together. To me, you couldn't ask a guy to do any more than he's done for this team."

But that's exactly what the Hawks did when they re-signed Bibby as a free agent this past summer.

The returnees are a year older and wiser. And the new additions, mainly Jamal Crawford and rookie point guard, are offensive talents that will help alleviate the scoring load.

In short, Bibby won't have to spend the majority of his minutes this season as Johnson's safety valve on offense.

"I'm not looking to score as much," Bibby said. "I'm here to lead, because we've got more guys that are established now. My job is to knock down the open shot, get the guys into the offense and lead the team. And that's what I'm going to do. I'm not going to try and score 20 points a night.

"My job is to make things happen, make sure everybody gets their shots where they want them and make sure everybody is happy."

http://www.ajc.com/sports/atlanta-hawks ... 67683.html