Predicting the final records of each NBA team
By Brad Rowland
Atlanta Hawks
It has been a wild off-season for the Atlanta Hawks, and as a result of that turmoil, many people have forgotten that this is a solid and well-coached outfit on the court. The Hawks finished only 38-44 last season, but Atlanta was without its best player (Al Horford) for 53 of the 82 regular season games, and the club still managed to push the top-seeded Indiana Pacers to the brink of elimination in the first round of the 2014 playoffs.
The entire core returns for the Hawks, and that is vitally important. However, the single most important addition should be Horford, as he is one of the best big men in the entire NBA by any measure, and his presence for even 60-70 games would be a huge boost for Atlanta’s chances at home-court advantage in the East. The roster isn’t littered with superstars, but in addition to Horford, Paul Millsap was a deserving All-Star choice last season, and the trio of Jeff Teague, Kyle Korver and DeMarre Carroll all performed as above-average starters last season.
There is no question that the Atlanta Hawks organization “earned” its bad press during the off-season, but with one of the top ten coaches in the NBA in Mike Budenholzer and a roster that legitimately goes 12-deep (or more) with NBA-ready contributors, this could be a fruitful season for the oft-forgotten club.
Projected Record: 48-34, 4th in East