I really like this squad for 2024-25

[JayBirdHawk]

Good health is going to be critical this season.

Last season, 5 players played in at least 75% of the game (62+ games):

Bey - 63 (just barely)
GMat - 66
CC- 73
DJ -78
Bogi - 79

Bogi was our iron man.

The previous year, 9 players played in 62+ games.

[bleachkit]

I'm skeptical about DD being our starting small forward. He is going to have to take a huge leap forward offensively. It is possible, but it's asking a lot. 

[AHF]

2 hours ago, bleachkit said:

I'm skeptical about DD being our starting small forward. He is going to have to take a huge leap forward offensively. It is possible, but it's asking a lot. 

All of our wings have some asks to earn their spots.  Dyson’s is definitely offense.  Hunter needs to be healthier and show the same productivity as a starter s he did last year off the bench.  Bogi needs to keep up the health.  ZR is a big unknown on both ends of the floor and obviously the least experienced.  All have some exciting ceilings but work to be done.

[RedDawg#8]

33 minutes ago, AHF said:

All of our wings have some asks to earn their spots.  Dyson’s is definitely offense.  Hunter needs to be healthier and show the same productivity as a starter s he did last year off the bench.  Bogi needs to keep up the health.  ZR is a big unknown on both ends of the floor and obviously the least experienced.  All have some exciting ceilings but work to be done.

Agreed, I don’t think we have any options that are flawless on paper. It’s going to come down to fit and on court results. Injuries aside, you would have to assume each will get a fair share of minutes to make an impact and earn their role.

[JayBirdHawk]

On 8/5/2024 at 1:04 PM, JayBirdHawk said:

I'm usually on the optimistic side in years past. This year, not so much. Maybe this is just me reverse jinxing myself.

I think we've addressed overall fit, size, depth and defense but not necessarily the overall talent. 

Too many things have to go exactly right, expectations of a young squad to be exceeded and in the end, the burden of the offense still depends on Trae to drag everyone up.

I hope I'm wrong in how I 'feel' about this team. After preseason, I'll have a better feel and set my expectations accordingly.

A month later, still 'feel' the same. Though I will say, whenever the Hawks have high expectations, (regarding W/L record) they always fall short and the reverse is also true when it's low expectations, they exceed. So we shall see.

[bleachkit]

1 hour ago, JayBirdHawk said:

A month later, still 'feel' the same. Though I will say, whenever the Hawks have high expectations, (regarding W/L record) they always fall short and the reverse is also true when it's low expectations, they exceed. So we shall see.

Yea well at least since our pick is going to San Antonio we won't have to hear how we are "soft tanking," or other similar excuses. 

[AHF]

12 hours ago, bleachkit said:

Yea well at least since our pick is going to San Antonio we won't have to hear how we are "soft tanking," or other similar excuses. 

I expect to still hear that if we struggle - not that we are directly tanking but that we passed on talent for picks and thus a soft tank rather than an outright one.

[warcore]

20 hours ago, bleachkit said:

Yea well at least since our pick is going to San Antonio we won't have to hear how we are "soft tanking," or other similar excuses. 

No we still hear that all the time because the talking heads don't actually know what's going on. They aren't aware we don't have our picks. They're not paid to think -- just talk. 

[AHF]

37 minutes ago, warcore said:

No we still hear that all the time because the talking heads don't actually know what's going on. They aren't aware we don't have our picks. They're not paid to think -- just talk. 

I don’t think it is completely out of line to at least say a soft rebuild.  We had two chances to prioritize veteran talent over draft talent and arguably went with draft talent both times.  First, there was the possibility of trading our draft pick for established talent.  We obviously went with youth and kept Zacc.  Second, when we traded DM the Lakers pick was a huge part of that return and we got a double protected first round pick to boot meaning a lot of the return value is found in those future picks.  So we have no incentive to lose but we also don’t seem to have put a top priority on winning in the immediate future either.   Some people might call that soft tanking if they define tanking as taking a path that could produce fewer wins in exchange for more draft talent.

I wouldn’t do that myself but I also wouldn’t describe anything as a “soft” tank.  For me, tanking is losing on purpose to improve your draft pick period. We didn’t tank the full season but we did at the end by deliberately not fielding a full playoff roster so we could try to ensure we lost and were in the lottery. For me, a team either tanks or doesn’t.  There is no “soft” version by my definition but others may have a different take on that because “tanking” isn’t exactly a term with a clear consensus meaning.

[macdaddy]

Last year I was really angry that we didn't do anything or improve the team in the offseason.  It was pretty sad but through some miracle it landed us the #1 pick.   This was a crazy, improbable stroke of luck.   

I'd be more mad this year, because we really haven't done much this off-season either, but I'm actually optimistic because DJ is gone and I have faith that Dyson, JJ, and Zacc are legit.  So rolling the dice on those guys showing out is ok with me right now.  I wish we had another go to scorer on the bench but I think we're ok. 

 

[JayBirdHawk]

Expectations are low for the Hawks’ new-look roster, but Young believes that could be the perfect setup for him to restore his name to a place he believes it belongs: at the top.

“I want to get back to where I've been,” Young said on the “Million Dollars Worth of Game” podcast episode that aired on September 8. “A lot of people look at our roster and don't have a lot of high expectations, so that's sometimes good for a player like me who's been built on beating expectations his whole life. So I'm just ready to play and beat expectations and whatever that ends up being, I'm going to be ready for it and excited for it.”

Young has not pushed for a change of scenery, but rather a change in trajectory. So far, the peak of his Hawks tenure is the Hawks’ run to the Eastern Conference Finals. 

Young previously expressed dissatisfaction with that being his pinnacle so far.

“Whenever you’re in this position, you never feel like it’s enough,” Young said on his “From The Point” podcast in June 2023. “You always feel like you want more – like there’s more out there. I mean obviously, I haven’t won everything. I haven’t won really anything, to be honest with you.

“I’ve gone into the Conference Finals which is cool. But, in my eyes, if you don’t win the championship, that ain’t enough.”

[PSSSHHHRRR87]

It's just the virus us Atlanta fans catch every year... hope-itis. I liked the Falcons roster, thought we finally had a QB with Cousins that could get the most out of our skill players, felt the division was wide open... until Cousins had three turnovers and we got beat by a kicker. Yeah, yeah... it's just week 1 and there is still a lot of football to play, right?

Will Trae play defense? Who is the second and third option? How is our bench going to be competitively? What are the realistic expectations for Risacher? Who is DeAndre Hunter? Is interior defense still a glaring issue?

Realistically, Miami still owns the division and we'll be towards the bottom of the standings. I put us 35-40 wins this year.

[macdaddy]

17 hours ago, PSSSHHHRRR87 said:

It's just the virus us Atlanta fans catch every year... hope-itis. I liked the Falcons roster, thought we finally had a QB with Cousins that could get the most out of our skill players, felt the division was wide open... until Cousins had three turnovers and we got beat by a kicker. Yeah, yeah... it's just week 1 and there is still a lot of football to play, right?

Will Trae play defense? Who is the second and third option? How is our bench going to be competitively? What are the realistic expectations for Risacher? Who is DeAndre Hunter? Is interior defense still a glaring issue?

Realistically, Miami still owns the division and we'll be towards the bottom of the standings. I put us 35-40 wins this year.

I agree with everything but the last sentence.  Miami has more question marks than we do.  Jimmy is 35 years old.   Last year could not have gone any worse for the Hawks.  No depth, losing JJ, losing Trae, losing Bey and we still won 36.   

So the hope-itis answers to your questions

Trae - improves every year.  last year it was D.  He's not going to stop play D as best he can

JJ is second option.  This is the big ? though.  If he can do it.   All the shooters are third.  

Zacc i think will contribute because he has size to defend and a really good set of offensive skills

No idea who Hunter is or will be but i think worst case he's a really expensive 3&D sixth man.

Defense i think will be much improved with DJ gone, DD in and better overall chemistry.  But another big ? for sure

[Packfill]

I think the obvious top dog in the division right now is Orlando.  They won last year and their roster will only be better due to increased experience of their extremely young core plus the addition of KCP.

[Wretch]

20 hours ago, PSSSHHHRRR87 said:

It's just the virus us Atlanta fans catch every year... hope-itis. I liked the Falcons roster, thought we finally had a QB with Cousins that could get the most out of our skill players, felt the division was wide open... until Cousins had three turnovers and we got beat by a kicker. Yeah, yeah... it's just week 1 and there is still a lot of football to play, right?

Will Trae play defense? Who is the second and third option? How is our bench going to be competitively? What are the realistic expectations for Risacher? Who is DeAndre Hunter? Is interior defense still a glaring issue?

Realistically, Miami still owns the division and we'll be towards the bottom of the standings. I put us 35-40 wins this year.

I usually catch the fever too, as I'm generally just an optimistic person and I always see the best in players.  This year is different.  It's not that I don't believe in the team, it's just a whole bunch of question marks...literally those questions in bold.

Plot twist though...I had a dream about the Hawks last night!  It was the only Hawks related dream I've ever had and 1 of 2 basketball related dreams total.  We dominated the preseason and went undefeated.

...if anyone is wondering, the other basketball dream I had sometime after watching The 6th Man.  I was a college basketball star walking out on the court...and that's about all I remember.

[AHF]

1 hour ago, Wretch said:

It's not that I don't believe in the team, it's just a whole bunch of question marks...literally those questions in bold.

Plenty more questions beyond that!

Can OO grab the starting role?

How much can DD contribute offensively?

Are we still looking to move CC, Nance, or DH (or anyone else)?

Can Vit sustain the shooting gains he made last year?

Can Mathews sustain the elite shooting he showed last year and add volume to his current low volume, 3pt specialist role?

Is Bufkin ready to hold down the backup PG spot?  Is he long enough to handle wings defensively?

Are any of our 2nd round picks going to contribute anything?

And a dozen more.

1 hour ago, Packfill said:

I think the obvious top dog in the division right now is Orlando.  They won last year and their roster will only be better due to increased experience of their extremely young core plus the addition of KCP.

Agree.  They have to be the favorites coming in.

[Wretch]

29 minutes ago, AHF said:

Plenty more questions beyond that!

Can OO grab the starting role?

How much can DD contribute offensively?

Are we still looking to move CC, Nance, or DH (or anyone else)?

Can Vit sustain the shooting gains he made last year?

Can Mathews sustain the elite shooting he showed last year and add volume to his current low volume, 3pt specialist role?

Is Bufkin ready to hold down the backup PG spot?  Is he long enough to handle wings defensively?

Are any of our 2nd round picks going to contribute anything?

And a dozen more.

Agree.  They have to be the favorites coming in.

Oh for SURE.  There are so many questions about this team that I have put my expectations completely in check for the first time in...probably ever.

[JeffS17]

We have a 45 win team imo.  We could certainly be worse than that with material injuries.  Our division runs through Orlando now imo, not Miami.  Will be pleased with a playoff appearance this year to get some valuable experience for the younger guys.

[Packfill]

4 hours ago, JeffS17 said:

We have a 45 win team imo.  We could certainly be worse than that with material injuries.  Our division runs through Orlando now imo, not Miami.  Will be pleased with a playoff appearance this year to get some valuable experience for the younger guys.

The front office, coaching staff and Trae all really need a 45 win season.  Another losing season and I think we are all in for some bigger changes.

[Gray Mule]

Hawks do have questions.  A lot of 'em.  The nice thing is, with so many, some of them will have a very positive answer.  I believe that it would be impossible for each and every question be answered "failure."  

Think of all the questions we face.  Many are listed in this topic.  I like to think positive thoughts.  We face a 82 game season.  Can we win over half of them?  You bet!