The fourth part of this six-piece Midseason Report Card series spotlights the Southeast Division.  Normally the doormat of the Eastern Conference, the Southeast has been surprisingly effective this season and is the only Eastern division containing three teams over .500 at the midway point of the season.

Click here to read Part One of the series on the Northwest Division

Click here to read Part Two of the series on the Pacific Division

Click here to read Part Three of the series on the Southwest Division

Atlanta

The Hawks followed up their shocking first round playoff standoff with the Boston Celtics with a very strong first half of the 2008-09 season.  Their continued success has also come despite losing Josh Childress as he left America to play overseas this offseason.

Team MVP: Mike Bibby

While it is true that Joe Johnson is the heart of this team and leads the club in scoring and even assists, Mike Bibby is the missing piece that turned this team into a legit contender last season.  Take away Bibby, and whom do you have running the show for this team at the point?  Acie Law?  Flip Murray?  No question,    Bibby is most valuable to their success.

Needs Improvement: Acie Law

Speaking of which, what has happened to Acie Law?  The heralded first rounder from a season ago has not lived up to the hype.  Law has been mostly invisible in the lineup and has only contributed 3.3 points and 1.5 assists in his 9.8 minutes of action per game this season.  

Best Move: Grabbing Maurice Evans at a discount rate to replace Josh Childress

There?s no debating that Childress has been missed, but Evans has done a nice job filling in this season.  While Evans won?t fill the stat sheet, he does help out on both sides of the floor, much like Childress did, but with a better shot from deep.

Biggest Surprise: Ronald Murray

Boy, has Flip Murray come back from the dead.  After playing well when he joined the Cleveland Cavaliers midseason of 2005-06, he signed with Detroit and was a major bust.  Just when you thought he was on his way out of the league, he joined on with the Pacers and had a strong finish to last season.  This year, the Hawks picked him up at a bargain price, and he?s rewarded them with averages of 9.7 points, 1.5 assists, and 1.0 steals per game.

First Half Grade: A-

For this team to be sitting in second place in the East?s top division, despite losing Childress and missing Josh Smith and Al Horford for generous stretches of the first half, Mike Woodson has his crew playing great ball.

Charlotte

So maybe Larry Brown isn?t finished after all.  The former NBA champion coach of the Detroit Pistons took his ?dream job? with the Knicks and nearly embarrassed himself off into the sunset.  Instead, he came back to coach MJ?s team and has done a respectable job, thus far.

Team MVP: Boris Diaw

The Bobcats started the season 7-16.  Since they got Diaw from the Suns, they are 11-10, and he has been putting up 14.3 points, 7.3 rebounds, and 5.2 assists while shooting 46% from deep.  More importantly he is the perfect complement to Emeka Okafor, and together they form a formidable tandem down low.

Needs Improvement: Mr. Tears

Again, Adam Morrison disappoints.  The former third-overall pick refuses to live up to the lofty expectations that he garnered in college and is barely making a contribution with 4.6 points and 1.7 rebounds per game this season.  Seems like the 'Bobs should just find a taker for the infamous Mr. Tears.

Best Move: Trading JRich for Diaw and Bell

Jason Richardson is a great player, but he didn?t really fit into Larry Brown?s mold.  Instead, the 'Cats got two LB type players who have been on winning teams over the past few years.  LB is especially excited to have Raja Bell back on his club, the guy who he helped break into the league when they went to the 2001 NBA Finals together in Philadelphia.

Biggest Surprise: D.J. Augustin

Many observers were surprised when the Bobcats passed on Stanford?s Brook Lopez in favor of Augustin, but it is starting to look like an excusable decision.  Augustin has flourished under Brown and has been a leading contributor to Charlotte's success this season.

First Half Grade: B

The 'Cats got off to a rough start, but since the roster makeover have been a formidable opponent.  Look for them to challenge for one of the East?s final playoff spots.

Miami

It?s not often that a team comes back from a franchise record-tying worst season and has the opportunity to add one of the best players in the game AND the number-two pick overall in the draft.  Well, that?s what Miami did this offseason and immediately they are tremendously improved.

Team MVP:  Dwyane Wade

D-Wade was a machine in the Olympics, and he has come out with guns blazing this season.  Wade has the Heat back in contention leading the NBA in scoring at 28.7 points per game to go along with his 7.3 assists, 4.9 rebounds, 2.21 steals, and 1.52 blocks.  Wow.

Needs Improvement:  Mark Blount

Blount has only appeared in 14 games this season and can?t even get time over the surprising youngster Joel Anthony.  This may be the final contract for Mr. Blount.

Best Move: Trading for Mario Chalmers

Lucky for the Heat, Kevin McHale was still the GM of the Wolves on Draft Night ? otherwise, they may not have been gift wrapped Chalmers for absolutely nothing.  Chalmers has been one of the best second round rookies in recent memory as he has earned the starting point guard spot and averaged 9.5 points and 4.5 assists per game.

Biggest Surprise: Joel Anthony

As mentioned earlier, Anthony has been a pleasant surprise this season for the Heat.  As a call-up of last year?s Miami ?NBDL All-Stars? Heat, Anthony has remained on the scene in South Beach and even earned the starting center spot.  

First Half Grade:  B+

The Heat have already won more games than last year.  A lot more.  The more Michael Beasley learns, the better they will become.  Watch out in the second half.

Orlando

Once again this season the Magic have stormed out of the gate and appear to be on the elite level of the Boston Celtics and Cleveland Cavaliers.  Dwight Howard has been a beast, and Stan Van Gundy has this team playing some inspired ball.

Team MVP: Dwight Howard

Superman has been off the hook this season.  He leads the team with 20.0 points, 13.9 rebounds, and 3.2 blocks per game.  Wow.  Dwight has been a monster in the paint and is developing into the most feared power big man the game has seen since the early days of Shaq.

Needs Improvement:  Get more time for J.J. Redick

While Redick has been at nearly the same level of disappointment as Adam Morrison, he has shown glimpses of being a real player on this level.  In four consecutive games against Atlanta, Atlanta, San Antonio, and Sacramento, Redick played over 20 minutes in each and averaged 14 points per contest.  In three straight games, he knocked down four three-pointers in each.  Put him on the floor and get him the ball, and he will know where to put it.

Best Move: Drafting Courtney Lee

The sharpshooter from Western Kentucky was a great grab by Orlando at the draft, and he has shown that his abilities fit perfectly with this squad.  In January he is averaging 8.5 points, 3.3 rebounds and his hitting on over 45% of his three-point attempts.

Biggest Surprise:  Improvement of Jameer

Jameer Nelson is finally coming out to play.  Nelson has been much improved this season and has bumped his scoring from 10.9 points per game last season all the way up to 17.1 this year.  He is also putting up career highs in FG% (50.3%), 3pt% (44.5%), FT% (87.8%), and steals (1.2).

First Half Grade:  A+

The Magic have been awesome in the first half.  Let?s see if they can keep it up and make it a three-team race in the East.

Washington

The Wizards spent a ton of money this offseason and let?s just say it hasn?t really paid off?

Team MVP: Caron Butler

Butler continues to improve and is the biggest leader on this struggling team.  He?s been one of the few bright spots this season for Washington, averaging 20 points, 6.1 rebounds, 4.3 assists, and 1.68 steals per game.

Needs Improvement:  Depth and experience

The Wiz have been hit hard with the injuries this season and have had to gut it out with a ton of young guys on the floor.  While the minutes played have been valuable for the development of the franchise?s future, it has been detrimental on the successes of today.

Best Move: Taking a flyer on JaVale

JaVale McGee was all over the RealGM draft board heading into the big night.  While it seemed like any and every team could use a JaVale on their team, Washington surely wanted him the most.  Injuries to Brendan Haywood and Etan Thomas have given McGee ample time to learn the NBA game.

Biggest Surprise: Nick Young

The second year scorer out of USC has been putting on a show as of late.  He went on a five-game tear that saw him set and re-set career highs in scoring all while whistling a tune of 23.2 points per game during the stretch.  His scoring ability has been mesmerizing when he?s on, but the last four games have seen his minutes inexplicably dwindle and his scoring output suffer.  Look for more opportunities for Nick Young to score in the second half.

First Half Grade:  D

The only reason this isn?t an F is because of the future that they have with Young, McGee, Dominic McGuire, Javaris Crittenton, and Andray Blatche.  They have a very strong core of young pieces that should help The Washington Big Three when Gilbert decides to start earning some of his $111M.

Feel free to contact Jason M. Williams with your thoughts. He can be reached at Jason.Williams@RealGM.com for comments or questions.