2009-10 NBA Preview: Atlanta Hawks

Atlanta Hawks

2008-09 Record: 47/35

Anticipated Starting Five

PG- Mike Bibby
SG- Joe Johnson
SF- Marvin Williams
PF- Josh Smith
C-   Al Horford

Key Reserves: Jeff Teague, Jamal Crawford, Zaza Pachulia, Joe Smith, Maurice Evans

Biggest Strength: Talent at every position

It’s pretty rare that a team has solid talent at every position.  This season they will also have quality depth especially if Jeff  Teague proves to be a real player and Crawford plays his role along with Pachulia, Smith and Evans.

My biggest question is what will they get out of a 31 year-old Mike Bibby going into his 12th season.  Joe Johnson will do his thing.  Marvin Williams and Al Horford I believe are still on the upswing of their development and Josh Smith has all the physical ability in the world, he just needs to figure out how to maximize it.

Biggest Weakness: Rebounding

This may come as bit of a surprise but the Hawks are below average in rebounding on both ends of the floor.  They ranked 19th in offensive rebounding rate and 24th in defensive rebounding rate.  It’s a surprise because they you’d think with Smith, Horford and Pachulia off the bench they would be pretty good on the boards.They don’t have one player pulling down 10+ boards per game.  And in my opinion Josh Smith is under producing in this area considering this ability.

They are decent in offensive and defensive efficiency but not getting extra opportunities to score and not finishing off defensive possessions, combined with their 28th ranked free throw shooting is a big reason they haven’t gone further.

Key Player: Josh Smith

I will keep this pretty simply.  Josh Smith needs to finally take that gigantic step in the right direction in terms of his development, production, maturity and impact on the overall success of the Hawks.  This team was already pretty talented and they went ahead and added a veteran big, a high potential rookie guard and a wild card player in Jamal Crawford while keeping the core intact.  They should be better this season.  If Josh Smith lives up to all the talent and potential he has they will and could really challenge the Celtics, Magic and Cavs in the East.

Biggest Question: Was ‘08 as good as they can get?

The Hawks are in an interesting place right now. Exactly how good can this team be? They won 47 games last year with a roster full of young talent like Josh Smith, Marvin Williams and Al Horford. However, they also have older pieces like Joe Johnson and Mike Bibby who are what they are at this point. Can this team, as constructed, take the next step and get up into Boston, Orlando, Cleveland territory? Or are they going to be stuck as a #4 seed type team for awhile? This is kind of how I felt about the Sixers before last season. I thought we were good, but I didn’t see a team that could one day win a championship. The Hawks can certainly improve this year with the maturation of some young players and the solid additions of Teague and Joe Smith, but the question for Hawks’ fans will be can they improve to the point that has them thinking title?

Best Individual Season of All-Time: Bob Pettit, 1960-61

27.9 ppg, 20.3 rpg, 3.4 apg

Only Wilt and Pettit have put up seasons of 27 and 20 in NBA history. And both did it while dishing out over 3 assists per game as well. The funny thing about Pettit’s season though is that despite being a Center, he shot an guard-esque 44.7% from the field. He did play excellent defense though, as he finished this season behind only Wilt and Russell in defensive win shares.

Pete’s 2010 Outlook: 2nd place, Southest division /   4th place, Eastern conference /  11th place, NBA

This would be a fun team to be a fan of right now. As I said above, you don’t know how good this team can get, but at least you know you’ll be watching exciting basketball along the way. 4 of their key players (Williams, Smith, Horford and Teague) are super-athletic and 23 or younger. And their veteran players have some flash too. One thing I didn’t like about their off-season was the acquisition of Jamal Crawford, quite possibly the least efficient player in the NBA. He’s the definition of a me-first player who can fill up the scoreboard some nights, but will more than likely be on the losing side. Hopefully for the Hawks, he doesn’t take shots away from better players.

Dannie’s 2010 Outlook: 2nd place, Southest division /   4th place, Eastern conference / 8th place, NBA

I like this Hawks team.  I think Joe Johnson is a killer on offense and a solid defender and leader.  Mike Bibby while aging and can’t defend is battle tested and brings stability at the point.  You know what you are going to get from Bibby and Johnson.  But this team’s progress all hinges on Al Horford, Marvin Williams and especially Josh Smith’s improvement.  These guys need to raise their level of play for the Hawks to be a legit contender in the East.

The wild card as I mentioned will be Jamal Crawford and to a lesser degree Joe Smith.  Crawford can be a better version of Flip Murray and provide some point guard help if Teague isn’t ready.  Joe Smith is the quality veteran big they haven’t had and he was brought in mainly for the playoffs.

If everything comes to together this team could surprise the crap out of a lot of people and screw up all the experts predictions.

See all 2010 NBA team previews

September 15, 2009