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Atlanta Hawks: The Roster Construction Blueprint No One is Talking About

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Atlanta Hawks: The Roster Construction Blueprint No One is Talking About 

Post#1 » by nabbs » Mon Jun 7, 2021 11:37 am

Every year we hear that isolation scoring is king in the playoffs and that's largely been the case over history. The more superstars you have that can get their own bucket, the better shot you have at winning a title.

Here come the Hawks, who with all caveats applied, have come out looking like a real team despite having no playoff experience and no elite, high-volume isolation scorer. Now granted, Trae is literally a top 5 PnR playmaker at worst in the league, but look at the makeup around him:

Trae (elite primary creator)
Bogdan (primary/secondary creator)
Lou Williams (primary/secondary creator)
Kevin Huerter (secondary creator)
Gallo (secondary creator)

You have multiple creators who can shoot catch and shoot threes and pull up threes. You pair them with guys like Reddish, Hunter, Snell as your wings. The last missing ingredient is a defensive anchor at the 5 and that is exactly what Clint Capela. A cost effective, high defensive caliber starting centre who isnt taking up like 30% of your cap.


All of this is to say that other teams, specifically the Raps, should really look at the Atlanta Hawks as a blueprint on how to construct your team without having elite isolation scorers. Multiple playmakers and a good base defense is a recipe for success.
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Re: Atlanta Hawks: The Roster Construction Blueprint No One is Talking About 

Post#2 » by UnRealGM » Mon Jun 7, 2021 11:43 am

key thing you've mentioned is trae is an elite creator. even if you're not an elite high-volume scorer, you need an elite playmaker / distributor / creator because of the gravity he creates. if you have a team with all primary / secondary creators, with everyone being able to dribble / pass / shoot a bit but the skill is not elite, the roster construction is nowhere near as effective. in that way trae is definitely a superstar because he possesses that elite skill.
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Re: Atlanta Hawks: The Roster Construction Blueprint No One is Talking About 

Post#3 » by ATLTimekeeper » Mon Jun 7, 2021 12:13 pm

What's kind of funny is that they almost arrived at this by accident, because they brought in Rondo and Dunn, who would have destroyed their spacing. And then of course they were overplaying Reddish, who was abhorrent for them, until he was injured.

But, more than anything getting the ball out of Young's hands makes him a better player. This is where Dallas has failed. They've built the entire ecosystem around Luka, and have no one that can create for themselves, and then no one to properly landlord the paint. Like, LeBron has never won without someone that can take the ball from him. If LeBron can't do it, why does Dallas think Luka could?
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Re: Atlanta Hawks: The Roster Construction Blueprint No One is Talking About 

Post#4 » by Lord_Zedd » Mon Jun 7, 2021 1:05 pm

The key ingredient is still that main guy. Trae has shown to be that main guy.

I'm not even sure if our creators are as good as Bogdan tbh. Maybe Lowry in years past but the rest of the team are a bunch of Huerters and Gallos in crunch time. And Huerter almost turned the ball over if not for Bogdan hitting that crazy shot last night.
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Re: Atlanta Hawks: The Roster Construction Blueprint No One is Talking About 

Post#5 » by refshateRaps » Mon Jun 7, 2021 1:14 pm

They are not even sniffing at a title, so the blueprint isnt really that special

They also almost choked a massive lead yesterday too and I still have doubts they get by the Sixers this series
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Re: Atlanta Hawks: The Roster Construction Blueprint No One is Talking About 

Post#6 » by 2019nbachamps » Mon Jun 7, 2021 1:23 pm

Not sure why the Hawks should be a blueprint:

1) They got a grand total of 1 superstar player in the lotto after being a treadmill team for 25 years (with one great regular season in between)
2) Even though Trae is a superstar, they traded away a future league MVP and future all-time great in Luka to get him (in hindsight, the Mavs won the trade)
3) They made the playoffs this season in a very weak conference
4) They advanced to the 2nd round because they went up against probably the weakest first round opponent (certainly the least talented first round opponent in the East)
5) The team they have now is never going to contend for a title

Its nice to see parity in the NBA but there is little inspiration to draw from the Hawks
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Re: Atlanta Hawks: The Roster Construction Blueprint No One is Talking About 

Post#7 » by Psubs » Mon Jun 7, 2021 1:26 pm

Sacramento should've matched on Bogdanovic and traded Hield for whatever.
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Re: Atlanta Hawks: The Roster Construction Blueprint No One is Talking About 

Post#8 » by WuTang_OG » Mon Jun 7, 2021 1:29 pm

Their GM was the Assistant GM in Golden State during their dynasty.

He likely wanted Trae to be his next Steph Curry and then surround the team with shooters which is what he did this off-season with Gallo and Bogdon.

The coaching change definitely helped them but I dont think they are considered a 'contender' by blueprint.

Lets see how they do next season with a back to normal schedule and with Boston/Toronto back in
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Re: Atlanta Hawks: The Roster Construction Blueprint No One is Talking About 

Post#9 » by douggood » Mon Jun 7, 2021 1:44 pm

This was the raptors championship roster, 6/7 shot creators/makers. the difference was the raptors 6/7 players played defense.

that being said, the hawks have been lucky so far. 1st round was a easy matchup, and game 1 was just a fast start imo.
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Re: Atlanta Hawks: The Roster Construction Blueprint No One is Talking About 

Post#10 » by LBJKB24MJ23 » Mon Jun 7, 2021 1:50 pm

lets not get ahead of ourselves here. 76ers could win the next 4 games and this will be a quiet thread afterwards.
raf1995 wrote:I just don’t think he has that kind of potential. I think we will regret not trading him for a haul in a few years when he’s a mid-tier starter with nice playmaking and defense and a shaky jumper.
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Re: Atlanta Hawks: The Roster Construction Blueprint No One is Talking About 

Post#11 » by wtcantfw » Mon Jun 7, 2021 2:11 pm

Why would we follow a blueprint for a roster that has not (and likely will not) win anything of significance?
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Re: Atlanta Hawks: The Roster Construction Blueprint No One is Talking About 

Post#12 » by Zeno » Mon Jun 7, 2021 2:16 pm

LBJKB24MJ23 wrote:lets not get ahead of ourselves here. 76ers could win the next 4 games and this will be a quiet thread afterwards.

They key to that series is the Hawks need a loose whistle. I know Embiid went to the line a ton in game 1 but I just picture the Sixers absolutely owning the Hawks if they get a tight whistle and then 3s dry up. The Sixers should physically dominte this series.
When will we just change the name of 25 of the 30 teams to the Washington Generals?

Please advise….

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Re: Atlanta Hawks: The Roster Construction Blueprint No One is Talking About 

Post#13 » by Cael » Mon Jun 7, 2021 2:17 pm

Let's revisit this hot take a week from now. Lol.
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Re: Atlanta Hawks: The Roster Construction Blueprint No One is Talking About 

Post#14 » by Psubs » Mon Jun 7, 2021 2:36 pm

Hot take, need high FT% so Trae (88.6%) > Doncic (73%)!

Luka shot 52.9% FT this series and shot 65.6% FT last year in the playoff series loss. When Lebron shoots 70% he gets roasted.

Double-team + HackaLuka = Win
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Re: Atlanta Hawks: The Roster Construction Blueprint No One is Talking About 

Post#15 » by Kevin Willis » Mon Jun 7, 2021 2:51 pm

I like our blueprint of 3+D in every position a lot more. However your observations on Atlanta as a team is spot on. Plus Atlanta got lucky playing a Knick team that can't score with them and a Philly team whose superstars can't really shoot and is not as good as the Jimmy Butler 76ers. Still expect Atlanta to lose though.
Ska needs to make a comeback.
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Re: Atlanta Hawks: The Roster Construction Blueprint No One is Talking About 

Post#16 » by vulture » Mon Jun 7, 2021 2:53 pm

trae has played 6 playoff games and he's faced 2 teams who don't have scoring wings who can hunt him on the defensive end.
However he's been unbelievable offensively.
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Re: Atlanta Hawks: The Roster Construction Blueprint No One is Talking About 

Post#17 » by Pooh_Jeter » Mon Jun 7, 2021 4:13 pm

There is no point in trying to copy a blueprint of another team, every team has a unique path to how they can build out their team. It's become readily apparent that teams require that star shot creator surrounded by secondary ball handlers, floor spacers and switchable defenders.

The bigger thing is that this is another team in the East that is clearly ahead of where the Raptors are. You had a lot of people laughing at the thought of the Hawks being better than the Raptors earlier in the season and now it's clear the teams aren't even close.
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Re: Atlanta Hawks: The Roster Construction Blueprint No One is Talking About 

Post#18 » by Psubs » Mon Jun 7, 2021 4:20 pm

vulture wrote:trae has played 6 playoff games and he's faced 2 teams who don't have scoring wings who can hunt him on the defensive end.
However he's been unbelievable offensively.


Put FVV on Trae!!!! NY has no such PG and neither does Philly.
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Re: Atlanta Hawks: The Roster Construction Blueprint No One is Talking About 

Post#19 » by SoulJah » Mon Jun 7, 2021 4:27 pm

The day NBA players get full of Trae and start playing physical with him or referees stop giving him phantom calls, Atlanta will be back to where they've been for last two decades. That is not a blueprint to follow.
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Re: Atlanta Hawks: The Roster Construction Blueprint No One is Talking About 

Post#20 » by Son Goku 25 » Mon Jun 7, 2021 4:37 pm

NBA is successful for a reason, they've found their Curry replacement and have been developing him for years except he isnt that personality that Curry is.

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