Atlanta Hawks: 5 Predictions for the 2015-2016 Season
Apr 15, 2015; Chicago, IL, USA; Atlanta Hawks guard Kyle Korver (26) and Chicago Bulls forward Mike Dunleavy (34) play for the ball during the first quarter at the United Center. Mandatory Credit: Dennis Wierzbicki-USA TODAY Sports
The Hawks will be the 2 seed in the Eastern Conference.
If the Cleveland Cavaliers are relatively healthy, then they are the best team in the Eastern Conference. I’m not even sure if that’s debatable. They have LeBron James, Kyrie Irving and Kevin Love in their starting five.
Timofey Mozgov developed into a reliable rim protector and their bench is surprisingly deep after an active offseason. Unless Irving, Love or James miss significant time they are most likely going to nab the 1 seed in the East. But, after the Cavs? The Eastern Conference is improved, but who is better than the Hawks?
The Bulls? They’re old and Derrick Rose has a tough time staying healthy. Even when he is healthy he hasn’t been MVP-Rose since tearing his ACL the first time. It will also take time to adjust to a brand new coach in Fred Hoiberg. Don’t get me wrong, they’re still a very good team, and a contender in the Eastern Conference, but there are too many variables to consider them a sure thing. If they’re healthy in the postseason they’ll be difficult to deal with
The Wizards are a sexy pick to make a regular season leap, but I just don’t see it. What did they do this offseason? They replaced Paul Pierce with a currently injured Jared Dudley, acquired Kelly Oubre Jr. on draft night and signed Gary Neal. Fine, that may have improved their outlook slightly. They are a good team, but are those moves that puts you over the top? John Wall and Bradley Beal are a formidable backcourt that could even be the best in the NBA, their combination of passage and shooting complement each other perfectly. The frontcourt is a different story. Nene took a huge step back last season and Marcin Gortat can’t do it alone down low.
Let’s see, who else is there? The Miami Heat? They have a very talented starting five, but they’re older and have yet to play together. As the LeBron era Heat and Cavs taught us it takes a while to gel as a team. The Toronto Raptors are enticing, but they have those same issue. There are plenty of new faces up North and who knows how well they will fit together.
The Eastern Conference is much better than it was last season, but I just can’t imagine any team other than Cleveland having a better record than the Hawks in the regular season. They have their core returning, a talented young bench piece ready to break out (Dennis Schroder), a new center off the bench that will improve their defense and rebounding and a culture in place that breeds winning. That may not lead to postseason success, but when the rest of the conference has a bit of uncertainty it makes you a much more reliable bet over the long haul that is an NBA regular season.
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