Friday, October 31, 2014

Atlanta Hawks Season Preview

The Atlanta Hawks started their season against the Toronto Raptors in the Air Canada Center. They lost 109-102. This is the type of game you should expect from the Hawks. In my opinion they have a very offensive minded team. If they can work on their defense then I think they can be an elite team in the Eastern Conference. My prediction for the Hawks this year: 4th in their conference. 

With weapons like Al Horford and Paul Millsap, the Hawks will score points by the bunches. They are not the biggest team, but these two can drive to the rim and also score mid-range shots. If Horford gets to the rim efficiently I believe that Millsap can get to the three point line and he can also be a weapon from out there. When you talk about three pointers you can't not talk about Kyle Korver. Korver is currently the record holder for most consecutive games with a made three. His record was snapped at 127 games. That streak spanned 1 full NBA season, and 75 percent of another. That is insane. Besides that Korver is still an elite NBA three point shooter. In the game against the Raptors he went 6 for 7 from downtown in that game. If Korver puts up big numbers this year it could be a very successful season for the Hawks. The last person I want to talk about is Jeff Teague, Teague is an up and coming point guard in this league. I believe that this is the year is his coming out party. In my opinion he can put up 20-25 points every game. I believe that his athleticism and speed can help make up for his lack of size even at the point guard position. Oh and he can shoot a couple threes.

Jeff Teague with a ridiculous crossover on Evan Turner in the 2014 NBA Playoffs.
The three pointer is just icing on the cake 
Now lets talk about the defense. The biggest weakness by far for the Hawks on defense is their lack of size. Neither Horford nor Millsap is tall enough to defend a Pau Gasol or a Brook Lopez. If the Hawks want to have a good defense they have to make teams stretch the floor and defend the three ball well. I believe that they key to a good defense for the Hawks is rebounding. Against the Raptors the Hawks allowed way too many offensive rebounds. If they can limit opponents to a few second chance points a game and they get some offensive rebounds themselves. Their defense can be good enough to power this team through. The last key is for the defense to force turnovers. I believe that if the Hawks can force turnovers they can get on the fast break and get 10 - 12 fast break points a game, that will be enough.

The Hawks are looking forward to a great year if they can play good fundamental basketball.

*Look out for my article about my predictions of the Eastern Conference. 

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