Atlanta Hawks Season Preview – NBA Predictions
The Atlanta Hawks have been winning a decent team for quite a while, but they have never been able to take the next step. The Hawks continually get knocked out in the first or second round of the NBA playoffs, and they win about 43-45 games each year. Atlanta decided to change things up in the offseason.
Did it help the team get better?
2013/14 Atlanta Hawks
Eastern Conference
2012-2013 Record: 44-38 (25-16 @ home) .537
Odds to win Title: 150/1
Odds to win Conference: 66/1
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Atlanta Hawks
Key Losses
Josh Smith- spent nine years in Atlanta, but “J-Smoove” is now a member of the Detroit Pistons. Smith did a lot of good for the Hawks, but I like the move of trying someone different. Smith settled for far too many long-range jump shots rather than trying to create or getting in the paint.
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He is a career 28.3% three-point shooter.
Top Newcomers
Paul Millsap- Essentially, the team is plugging in Paul Millsap in the spot of Josh Smith. Millsap came at a very affordable price. The Hawks signed him to a 2 year $19 million deal, which is a bargain when you consider how expensive solid big men are in the NBA right now. Millsap isn’t as good of a defender as Smith, but he’ll get more rebounds and score more in the paint.
Gustavo Ayon- Ayon definitely has the ability to be a starting center in the league. He should be good on both ends of the floor, and he might surprise a lot of people this season.
Top Players
Al Horford- The Hawks haven’t missed the playoffs since Al Horford came to town. Horford is underrated in many NBA circles, but he does a lot of things very well. He is a team player who battles all the way to the end. [ad-6571516]
Lou Williams- Williams missed almost all of last year with a torn ACL. He is recovering nicely and his return this year could be a major boost for this offense.
Strengths
The Hawks obvious strength is in the frontcourt with their physicality. There aren’t going to be many teams who will shove around Horford and Millsap. Look for Alanta to get the ball inside more often this season.
Atlanta brought in a new head coach this year, and I think that will be good for the franchise. Mike Budenholzer learned a lot under Gregg Poppovich, and he was solid hire.
Weaknesses
What about the backcourt? Are Jeff Teague and John Jenkins good enough? These two were pretty good college players, but they haven’t proven anything in the NBA. The Hawks need better backcourt play this season.
Who will guard the other team’s best player? Atlanta doesn’t have a stopper at all on the perimeter, which will make it difficult to guard guys like LeBron James, Carmelo Anthony, and others in the Eastern Conference.
Prediction:
The Hawks will be right back in the same spot they were in last year. Atlanta will be battling for the fifth or sixth spot in the Eastern Conference playoff standings. Once they get into the playoffs, they won’t be good enough to get past the first round.
You can’t fault them for trying, but the Hawks just need some more elite players (especially in the backcourt) to be contenders.
