Season Preview #2- ATL (Reke_DMC)

Prediction- Record: 46-36 (4th place in the Eastern Conference)

Overview:

The Atlanta Hawks have been Eastern Conference contenders for the past three years, but have been have stopped short in the playoffs each year. One of the main weaknesses I have seen in their team each year is their lack of depth in the front-court. Even though Al Horford and Josh Smith are all-star calibar players, they cannot maintain their excellent playing for the whole 48 minutes. Even though resigning Jason Collins and signing Etan Thomas, Tibor Pleiss, and Josh Powell were a good start to creating a formittable front-court, they simply did not get the impact bigman from free-agency they were so longing for. Over the off-season, the one upgrade the Hawks made was in the backcourt with former Xavier guard Jordan Crawford. Arguably one of the best shooters in the draft at creating his own shot will fit in well with Teague, Crawford, and Bibby. With these three long-range experts, defenses are going to be stretched to the arch hopefully opening up more opportunities for the big men in the paint. This year I see the Atlanta Hawks having once again a great season ending up as the 4th seed in the Eastern Conference.

Offense:

While having less turnovers per game than any other team in the league last year, the Hawks are definitely good at taking care of the ball on the offensive side while still being aggresive. Over the past few years, the Atlanta Hawks have perfected the inside-outside game. Having a team average of 36% from behind the arc last year mixed in with the sundry of post-moves displayed by Horford and Smith, the Atlanta Hawks were tied for 3rd last year for beating their oppenents by the widest margin(4.7). With time passing by, Mike Bibby is no longer the sharp-shooter he used to be for the Hawks. In the 2010 season, look for Teague or Crawford to step up and maybe take the starting position. I believe that the Hawks should keep Crawford as the 6th man to create energy off the bench again this year. Teague may have had a tough time last year earning minutes, but his driving and play-making ability will be highly valued this year by Coach Woodson. Obviously, with a 120 million contract for the Atlanta Hawks, the main offense will be driven through SG Joe Johnson. I feel that his career has plateaued, but we may see him score more efficiently and include his teamates more. The main weakness for the Hawks on offese is definitely the SF position. Marvin Williams may be a solid player, but shouldn’t be the starter on a potential championship team. One opportunity I think the Hawks may have passed up on was by trading draft pick Damion James for Jordan Crawford and Tibor Pleiss. Damion Jamesis an NBA ready player who can create on the offensive end and also get boards. In Horford and Smith, I see the same playing style as last year. The Hawks may push the ball to Horford more to draw fouls and create plays through his post moves more often, but overall I think their production will be about the same.

Defense:

The defence in Atlanta is mainly focused on bigmen Al Horford and Josh Smith. Since these two bigmen are both athletic and have huge wingspans, they are both huge threats for the opposing team’s offense. Averaging about 2.5 blocks and a steal last season, Josh Smith once again was beat out of becoming the definsive player of the year by Dwight Howard. Josh Smith is so valuable to the Hawks because he is so quick and is able to help on the weakside to block shots while getting back to his own man if necessary. Also, with Al Horford, who I believe is one of the most underated players in the NBA, the Hawks have a Bigman who can shut down virtually any big man put on him. Though he is labeled undersized at C because of being 6’10, his huge wingspan and athleticism do more than make up more it. At the guard positions, the Hawks have been somewhat weak on the defensive end. Through Bibby, many guards have been able to overpower him and blast by him to score at the basket.  With Teague hoping to breakout this year, one wonders how he will fare on the defensive end against bigger guards such as Deron or Billups. One main weakness in the Hawks lineup is their lack of defensefrom the bench with subpar Josh Powell and Etan Thomas. Neither of these bigmen are going to make a huge impact on the Hawks team, but they are definitely an improvement over Jarron Collins or Solomon Jones. Considered front-runners in the race to claim Erick Dampier, I feel that Dampier would be a great fit in Atlanta where his big bruising body on both ends of the floor would be heavily appreciated. The Hawks starting defense is very solid, but through the bench’s lack of production on the defensive end, they may once again fall short in what may be their last shot at being a title contender.

Created by Reke_DMC