The 2016-2017 Atlanta Hawks Met Preseason Expectations
The Atlanta Hawks had their share of ups and downs this season. But the year itself looked like many expected it to.
The Atlanta Hawks had a mediocre year by most NBA expectations.
They finished 43-39, were the fifth seed in the Eastern Conference and were eliminated in six games in the first round of the NBA playoffs. After the 2014-2015 season that saw the Hawks make a trip to the Eastern Conference Finals, the Hawks have been expected to build off of that. But it has not happened.
While some fans may have deemed this season a failure for the Hawks, the outcome was the most realistic outcome given the state of the team.
The Hawks went through a good bit of roster turnover last summer. And some of those moves addressed the team’s weaknesses, while others hurt the balance of the roster.
Center of Attention
The most notable move was losing Al Horford to the Boston Celtics in free agency. And also signing Dwight Howard to be the team’s center. This turnover at the center spot will be a topic of discussion for years to come among fans and produced its pros and cons.
Rebounding was the most glaring weakness for the Hawks during the Horford Era and Howard certainly helped fix that. The Hawks finished in the top 10 in the NBA in rebounds per game, while finishing in the bottom 10 last season. His addition gave the team a bruising presence on the interior that was not present before.
But there was a price to his addition.
Howard is not nearly the offensive player that Horford is and that showed. The Hawks were not an elite offensive team in Horford’s final season in Atlanta. And losing him would definitely make the team take a step back. Horford is an excellent shooter, passer, and can score on the interior. His versatility to play on the inside, and outside, unlocked a part of Atlanta’s offense that was not present this season.
The Hawks finished 22nd in the league in points per game and struggled all year long to put the ball in the basket.
Point Guard Turnover
While the change at center was crucial, the point guard situation might’ve had a greater impact.
The trade of Jeff Teague to the Pacers and insertion of Dennis Schroder into the starting lineup made its mark. Schroder is the more electric scorer but Teague’s attributes were missed on this Hawks team.
Teague’s poise and passing ability is something that Schroder does not live up to. At times this season, the Hawks looked out of sorts on offense. Teague’s calming presence was something that the Hawks leaned on for many years and while Schroder is talented, he played frantically in many situations. Bad turnovers in crucial moments hurt the Hawks in many games and it was not until the playoffs until Schroder appeared to turn a corner.
The depth behind Schroder also hurt. When Teague was dealt, the Hawks did not bring in a steady backup to help Schroder, putting all of the pressure on him.
Schroder had a very promising season and appears to be the guy for the future. But the growing pains were hurtful, yet expected.
In Conclusion
Those two changes thrust the Hawks into an odd transition phase.
The departure of two longtime Hawks forced the team to adapt to a situation without the reliability that they had leaned on for so long. The new pieces needed time to learn to fit together and that is exactly what happened. There were growing pains for this year’s Hawks. But there were also flashes of brilliance.
At the end of the day, this team was solid. They played good defense, shared the ball, and provided some tough matchups for good teams. But the team did struggle to put the ball in the basket and that was to be expected given the moves made.
The Hawks face another summer that could result in large amounts of turnover. Not many things are certain. But one thing that is certain is that this year’s team was not a failure.
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They just weren’t a raging success either.