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Atlanta Hawks: No. 20 in NBA Watchability Rankings

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A racism controversy in the upper ranks of the organization complicates the season for the Hawks, but they should be Eastern Conference playoff contenders and they come in at No. 20 in our NBA Watchability Rankings.
 
2013-14 record: 38-44, lost in first round of Eastern Conference playoffs
 
2014-15 projected record: 41-41, No. 7 seed in Eastern Conference playoffs
 
What's new? Aside from the potential ownership and front-office overhaul, the Hawks made low-key moves in the offseason. They signed shooting guards Thabo Sefolosha and Kent Bazemore and drafted power forward Adreian Payne 15th overall.
 
How good will they be? Al Horford's return from a torn chest muscle means the Hawks could be back to where they were for the early part of last season -- one of the four best teams in the East. But the East's top tier is better this year, and the Hawks' weak wings could cost them a few spots.
 
What's the goal? It'd be nice to figure out who is running the franchise. On the court, the team has reached the playoffs in seven consecutive seasons yet never made the East finals.
 
WHY YOU CAN'T MISS THEM
 
The fallout and the good guys: In short, an ownership power play exposed racist comments that led to majority owner Bruce Levenson agreeing to sell his shares of the team and general manager Danny Ferry's future to be jeopardized. The Hawks' players, coaches and fans (along with Miami Heat forward Luol Deng) were undeserving victims. How will they respond to the adversity?
 
Paul and Al: The Hawks' starting big men may be the most underrated pair in the NBA. Horford was on pace for his best season when he went down last year, and Millsap stepped right into his role as the top option. Both are versatile, tough and a little undersized. Put them together for a full season, and few can match.
 
A new streak? Kyle Korver had made a three-pointer in 127 consecutive games before the streak ended in March. But that doesn't change Korver's status as the best catch-and-shoot marksman in the NBA, as he led the league in shooting 47.2% beyond the arc last year. He also doesn't get enough credit for his defense.
 
PROJECTED STARTERS (with 2013-14 statistics)

  • PG: Jeff Teague — 16.5 points, 2.6 rebounds, 6.7 assists a game
  • SG: Kyle Korver — 12.0 points, 4.0 rebounds, 2.9 assists a game
  • SF: DeMarre Carroll — 11.1 points, 5.5 rebounds, 1.5 steals a game
  • PF: Paul Millsap — 17.9 points, 8.5 rebounds, 3.1 assists a game
  • C: Al Horford — 18.6 points, 8.4 rebounds, 2.6 assists a game

http://www.usatoday.com/story/sports/nba/hawks/2014/09/18/atlanta-season-preview-watchability-rankings/15814223/

Edited by Dolfan23
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lethalweapon3 Grand Master

lethalweapon3

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I'm trying to guess the Bottom Ten without peeking.

 

Sixers? Bucks? Jazz? Magic? Celtics? Pacers? Pistons?

 

Okay, now my head is starting to hurt.

 

Lakers? Knicks? Kings?

 

(PEEKS: Ah, I was close. I had the wrong NYC borough in mind!)

 

~lw3

Edited by lethalweapon3
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7th in east at 41-41? Hell no.. We are a top 4 team in the east with at least 45 wins. Our players are underrated. We have a veteran group that will do well this year. Why do they underestimate us year after year. Smh.

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I'm trying to guess the Bottom Ten without peeking.

Sixers? Bucks? Jazz? Magic? Celtics? Pacers? Pistons?

Okay, now my head is starting to hurt.

Lakers? Knicks? Kings?

(PEEKS: Ah, I was close. I had the wrong NYC borough in mind!)

~lw3

Nets

Pacers

Sixers

Bobcats

Kings

Jazz

Those are my choices. No really exciting players, as well as a boring style of ball. Lol

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7th in east at 41-41? Hell no.. We are a top 4 team in the east with at least 45 wins. Our players are underrated. We have a veteran group that will do well this year. Why do they underestimate us year after year. Smh.

 

Ha 41-41 probably gets you a top 4 seed in the East. 

 

I would expect that we'll exceed this record, barring a major injury. We've got too much depth and young players deep on the team who are getting better and better. 

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Ha 41-41 probably gets you a top 4 seed in the East. 

 

I would expect that we'll exceed this record, barring a major injury. We've got too much depth and young players deep on the team who are getting better and better. 

 

I agree a healthy Hawks should exceed that record.  However, I'm not sure .500 gets you 4 this year with all the teams that supposedly improved this offseason.

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I agree a healthy Hawks should exceed that record.  However, I'm not sure .500 gets you 4 this year with all the teams that supposedly improved this offseason.

 

I agree the East should be better, but that's said every single year and every single year we're shocked at how bad the East is. So until the Washington's, Toronto's, Charlottes, Atlanta's, etc. start winning 50 games on the regular I'm going to believe they're in the .500 neighborhood. 

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I agree the East should be better, but that's said every single year and every single year we're shocked at how bad the East is. So until the Washington's, Toronto's, Charlottes, Atlanta's, etc. start winning 50 games on the regular I'm going to believe they're in the .500 neighborhood. 

 

Eh, I guess you're close to right.  However, at least the East has moved on from being Miami and the 7 dwarfs now.

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AHF Grand Master

AHF

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I hope vegas feels the same way. I will be putting a large sum of money on us if our total wins line is at 41. Were winning around 50 this year. Stay very injury free and im confident we can win 50+

 

I'm not confident on the 50+ but I would definitely go in with an "over" on 41 wins.  We are going to be a winning team this season absent major injuries.  I feel the roughly the same way about this team as I did last year's squad.  They should finish around that 4-5 seed mark in the East.

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Randy Newbie

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I think this Hawks franchise would have made a really good bad reality show over the past five -ten years or so.  The Belkin saga, the Josh Smith rumors, the failed sale attempt, and the latest round of nonsense.  Oh, and there was some basketball too.  That would have been high on the watchability scale for fans of Basketball Wives, Dog the Bounty Hunter, Operation Repo, Bering Sea Gold and the like.  They could have made those drunks that go diving for gold under the ice in the Bearing Sea look pretty boring. 

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I hope vegas feels the same way. I will be putting a large sum of money on us if our total wins line is at 41. Were winning around 50 this year. Stay very injury free and im confident we can win 50+

I'm guessing Vegas sets our win total at 42.5 o/u.

If its between 42-44 I might go all in as well. Although I hate putting $ on my teams.

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JETSET Newbie

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I'm guessing Vegas sets our win total at 42.5 o/u.

If its between 42-44 I might go all in as well. Although I hate putting $ on my teams.

I expect 42-44 as well. Im going to be on it if its under 45. Will be all in if its 42 or less. This team can win 42 even if Al goes down after 29 games again. We had an insane amount of injuries last year and have better depth this year.

I prefer to bet on the hawks since I am following them religiously and watch just about every game. I know them far better than any other team. Might as well take advantage of that.

Edited by JETSET
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