Atlanta Hawks Season Preview – NBA Predictions
The Hawks made a few decent pick-ups in the off-season, but lost 6th man scorer Jamal Crawford and his loss may really hurt.
Odds to win NBA title: +6000
Odds to win Eastern Conference: +3500
Odds to win Southeast Division: +2000
Joe Johnson saw his numbers dip last season after signing a huge contract and even though he made the All Star team he needs to play better this season. One key for the Hawks may be the play of 3rd year PG Jeff Teague, as after sitting the bench for the last 2 seasons he came up big in the post-season last year and has to run the team well for Atlanta to go far in the East.
The Hawks are not only the oldest team in the league, but they are also the smallest team in the league. Al Horford did a great job at C last season, but they needed some help down low and did not do anything in the off-season to address that need. F Marvin Williams is another question mark for the team and while he has the talent he struggled at times last season and when that happened Crawford came in to help out the team. That will not be the case this season and Williams must help out Johnson and Josh Smith on offense.
Kirk Hinrich is a solid veteran PG coming off the bench and he will get a lot of playing time if Teague is not the answer at the point. Does Tracy McGrady have any gas left in his tank? He may be a good pickup if he can give the Hawks some scoring and he will not be counted on for much else.[soliloquy id=”82219″]
Horford will definitely need help on the boards this season since the Hawks only ranked 28th in the league in rebounds per game. Williams and Smith need to step up and hit the glass this season and not loaf on the defensive end of the court. If that does not happen Johnson and company will have to shoot lights out for the Hawks to go far in the playoffs.
Josh Smith lost some weight in the off-season and even though he is not a true PF he will be counted on for offense and rebounds this season. Can he and Johnson lead the Hawks to the promised land? Tough question, but the team did not change that much besides losing a great scorer in Crawford. OK, so how is Atlanta supposed to improve when losing scoring and not picking up anything but question marks in free agency and a late 2nd round pick?
Atlanta Hawks Projected Starting 5
PG Jeff Teague 5.2 ppg 2 apg
SG Joe Johnson 18.2 ppg 6.5 rpg
SF Marvin Williams 10.4 ppg 4.8 rpg
PF Josh Smith 16.5 ppg 8.5 rpg
C Al Horford 15.3 ppg 9.3 rpg
Who’s In
Keith Benson (Draft No. 48)
Tracy McGrady (from Pistons)
Vladimir Radmanovic (from Warriors)
Jason Collins (re-signed)
Who’s Out
Jamal Crawford (to Blazers)
Damien Wilkins (to Pistons)
Outlook: I think the Hawks will make the playoffs, but they will not make noise once they get there and, just like last season, I do not see them making it past the 2nd round.
Projected Win Total – 40 (out of 66 games)
