NBA 30-Team Preview #26: Atlanta Hawks

Well.. here we are again...

ROSTER

C - Al Horford, Zaza Pachulia, Jason Collins, Etan Thomas

PF - Josh Smith, Josh Powell

SF - Marvin Williams, Mo Evans, Pape Sy

SG - Joe Johnson, Jamal Crawford, Jordan Crawford

PG - Mike Bibby, Jeff Teague

ANALYSIS

Brad: Kind of in my wheelhouse here, huh?... I toyed with the idea of separating the Hawks into their own preview... but na, we'll leave it here.... you know the story... the entire core of players returns here... the majority of the offseason coverage centered on Joe Johnson's entirely ludicrous 6 year, 119 million dollar contract... we won't center on that... simply because it has zero impact on the on-court product for 2010-11... Johnson should be similar to the player we saw last year, and looks rejuvenated a bit in this new offense... speaking of the new offense, Larry Drew takes the helm from Mike Woodson, with promises to 1) Not switch every screen (Thank the Lord), and 2) Get away from the Iso-Joe offense... two bold statements.... and 2 statements that he knows diehard Hawks fans will eat up... the jury is out... the prime beneficiary of the new motion offense figures to be Marvin Williams... his best offensive traits are filling lanes and knocking down 18 footers... he's a terrible iso-player and he needs the ball in good offensive situations... it can't hurt him... Horford is a stalwart inside, and he'll be a year better... Smith had his "breakout" last year (i.e. he quit shooting 3's), and is still making progress... we forget he's 24 years old still... that's insanity... anyway, the key for me? The point guard spot... Bibby is still the default starter, but if that continues, that means Teague isn't doing ANY-thing... and that's an issue... they want to unseat Bibby... the only other wild card I can see is the Jamal Crawford-contract battle... he wants an extension... the Hawks will never give him one (I think), and he seems to be unhappy... meh... Okay, I have to stop talking...

Ryan: Lol I thought you were going to keep going..um..well I think talent-wise this team is what it is..Joe,Josh,Jamal are all at the point of their careers to me where you can expect numbers from them and get pretty close to them. Horford,Teague and Marvin to me are the real barometers of how good this team can be. Teague has the speed to be dangerous in this league but you don't really know at this point if he's able to play meaningful minutes just yet..the need is pressing because Mike Bibby is getting slower by the day. Marvin hasn't really been involved in the "offense" the past few years because of the Iso-Joe/Jamal thing..he stands to gain the most out of the new coach..the lack of a real bench is a real souring point to me though...

Brad: You mean a bench of Jamal/Zaza/Mo Evans and Teague (or Bibby) doesn't inspire championship aspirations!!?!? How dare you!.... Okay, I'm done lol... anyway, we agree on Teague... all we have are the "hopes" and the knowledge that his physical skills are absolutely there... but if he can't unseat Bibby, it'll be a frustrating year... one thing we haven't mentioned... Jordan Crawford... the rook has gotten some PG minutes in the preseason, and in a perfect world, it'd be Teague and him handling the PG duties (if he can handle it, I don't know), just so I don't have to watch Mike Bibby "defend" ever again... I'm looking forward to seeing if Drew will play Zaza and Horford together at all... over the last 3 years, 2 of our best 4 5-man lineups have been with those 2 playing together (in points per possession, etc.), and yet, Woodson wouldn't trot them out... I could go for days here, but I have a feeling (or a certainty) that the readers will get plenty of Hawks ranting in the coming months... Prediction: 5th in the East

Ryan: You mean Jordan Crawford...the shooting guard....getting minutes at the point guard spot?....uh oh...and Zaza/Al together?....uh..I guess....so?...I mean I guess because you have no one else but wow..these don't really move me..the lack of depth for this team is scary..because if Josh or Horford get hurt..not good...I look forward to seeing you rant on these things... in due time but i'm not really seeing it this year.. Prediction: 6th in the East