ImageImage

2019 Hawks Season Previews

Moderators: dms269, HMFFL, Jamaaliver

User avatar
Jamaaliver
Forum Mod - Hawks
Forum Mod - Hawks
Posts: 45,150
And1: 17,178
Joined: Sep 22, 2005
Location: Officially a citizen of the World...
Contact:
     

Re: 2019 Hawks Season Previews 

Post#41 » by Jamaaliver » Fri Oct 12, 2018 12:47 pm

2018-19 NBA Division Previews: Zach Harper’s Southeast Division outlook

Image

Atlanta Hawks

What does this team have going for them? Early on, they’ve hitched their wagon to the potential of Trae Young. At times, he looks like an inefficient chucker doing a horrendous Steph Curry impersonation. At other times, he can remind you quite a bit of Damian Lillard in the early years finding ways to wow you with his shooting and attack off the dribble. Maybe Young isn’t the franchise guy they need for the future, but he still projects to be a difference-maker at a saturated point guard position.

How could this team fall apart?

Oddly enough, this thing could fall apart by this team surprisingly winning games...Lloyd Pierce could absolutely coach this team into unexpected victories. They have goals of developing their young talent while putting themselves in position to secure another big-time draft pick.

  • winning 25 games and ending up with sixth or seventh pick would qualify as this team falling apart
  • Trae Young struggling to make shots would qualify as the team falling apart
  • John Collins looking like the next Stromile Swift would qualify as the team falling apart
  • Taurean Prince not really asserting himself on offense would qualify as the team falling apart

Ulitmately, As long as they can be competitive in their losses, it’ll be a great season for rebuilding in Atlanta.


X-Factor for the Hawks:

Lloyd Pierce’s resolve. Lloyd Pierce learned under Brett Brown, who knows all about taking the lumps of coaching a rebuilding franchise. Player development becomes far more important than any regular season victories in the moment. Because of that, you end up putting your team in a disadvantageous situation with certain lineups designed to build the future. Maximizing the present doesn’t become about team record. But that’s also a very tough pill to swallow, especially for a brand new head coach.

The more Pierce connects with Young, the better the future of the Hawks will be. He has to trust Young through the pitfalls of a rookie figuring things out on the fly. Both coach and point guard will be baptized by NBA fire. It’s a tough road to take, but it ends up being the best road when you maximize development. Pierce has the makeup to do this. It’s a big reason so many people around the league thought his hiring was a no-brainer.


Ceiling/Floor:

I would be shocked if this team wins 25 games, but I expect them to be naively in a lot more games than they should be. They can take their lumps, pile up the losses, and give Hawks fans the best of both worlds in a rebuild. Keep losing in fun, competitive ways. As for the floor? I don’t think this team dips below 18 wins and they should secure the top lottery odds.


Hawks footnote:

How easily can Trae Young be the best Hawks rookie in franchise history? This doesn’t mean Young will end up the best player in franchise history, but he could absolutely have the best or most dynamic rookie season of any Hawks player. Young will be on a team pretty starved for scoring. The Hawks will trust him with high usage and allow him to make mistakes. That means some nights he’ll be in way over his head and some nights he’ll destroy the players in front of him.

We may see Young end up with the greatest rookie season this franchise has ever seen.
The Athletic
User avatar
Jamaaliver
Forum Mod - Hawks
Forum Mod - Hawks
Posts: 45,150
And1: 17,178
Joined: Sep 22, 2005
Location: Officially a citizen of the World...
Contact:
     

Re: 2019 Hawks Season Previews 

Post#42 » by Jamaaliver » Mon Oct 15, 2018 3:32 pm

Southeast Division Preview

Atlanta Hawks

Key Additions
- Trae Young (draft), Kevin Huerter (draft), Vince Carter (free agent), Justin Anderson (trade), Jeremy Lin (trade)

Key Losses
- Dennis Schröder (Thunder - trade), Mike Muscala (76ers - trade)

The Hawks enter 2018-19 after finishing with the worst record in the Eastern Conference in 2017-18. Atlanta hired Lloyd Pierce, who formerly served as an assistant coach with the Philadelphia 76ers, to replace the departing Mike Budenholzer.

Atlanta traded its most consistent offensive presence, Dennis Schröder, to the Oklahoma City Thunder, which creates a void on offense. The Hawks are hoping their rookie guard Trae Young, whom they acquired in a draft night trade with the Dallas Mavericks, can help stabilize the offense. Young, who led the NCAA in both points and assists per game, figures to be the team’s main source of offensive firepower.

In addition to Young, Atlanta added sharp-shooting guard Kevin Huerter, as well as Omari Spellman via the 2018 NBA Draft.

Atlanta returns key players Kent Bazemore, Dewayne Dedmon, Taurean Waller-Prince, and John Collins. Bazemore finished 2017-18 with a career-best in 3-point shooting, connecting from deep at a 39.4% clip. The second-year man Collins continues to build upon his rookie campaign, in which he totaled 10.5 points per game. Prince took a big leap in his second year, starting all 82 games and totaling 14.1 points and 4.7 rebounds per game.

Joining the fray are veterans Vince Carter, Jeremy Lin, and Justin Anderson. The additions of Carter and Lin will add significant leadership, while Anderson should provide spark and energy off the bench.

Atlanta will look for their veteran players to help develop the young pieces during what figures to be another rebuilding season.

Projected Starters


G – Young, G – Bazemore, F – Waller-Prince, F – Collins, C – Dedmon

Hawks vs. Wizards

2017-18 season:
Wizards split the regular season series 2-2

2018-19 season:
Dec. 5 @ ATL, Dec. 18 @ ATL, Jan. 2 vs. ATL, Feb. 4 vs. ATL
Wizards -- NBA Site
User avatar
Jamaaliver
Forum Mod - Hawks
Forum Mod - Hawks
Posts: 45,150
And1: 17,178
Joined: Sep 22, 2005
Location: Officially a citizen of the World...
Contact:
     

Re: 2019 Hawks Season Previews 

Post#43 » by Jamaaliver » Mon Oct 15, 2018 3:37 pm

2018 NBA Offseason Review: Southeast Division

Atlanta Hawks

Analysis: The Hawks enter the second year of their rebuild, having almost completely scrapped all remnants of the team’s 10-year playoff run. Only Kent Bazemore and DeAndre Bembry [and Taurean Prince] remain from their last postseason team as Atlanta continues to get younger, a trend that was emphasized at the 2018 NBA Draft.

In both Summer League and preseason, Young showed the offensive game that led the Hawks to believe he can be their franchise player. Atlanta also drafted Kevin Huerter and Omari Spellman. Huerter is the kind of wing shooter the Hawks have had a lot of success with in the past. He’ll take some time to get there, but the team can afford to let him develop.

The Hawks aren’t in a position in their rebuild to use their cap space to add cornerstone free agents, so they made the smart move and ate some money from other teams in exchange for future assets.

Atlanta filled the backup center spot with Alex Len. Len’s market as a free agent was barren the last two years, but the Hawks hope they can develop him as a stretch-five option. The team hit with DeWayne Dedmon and hopes to have similar luck with Len, who signed a two-year deal for less than the Room Exception.

The Hawks also signed Vince Carter to come in and be a veteran influence for the young roster.

Leading the youthful Hawks will be new head coach Lloyd Pierce. Pierce was a highly-respected assistant for years and is finally getting his shot at the top job. Much like where Philadelphia (where Pierce came from) once was, winning isn’t really the priority right out of the gate. Developing the young players is the goal. Atlanta won’t win much this year, but if Young, Collins and burgeoning potential All-Star Taurean Prince come along as hoped for, the wins will soon follow.
RealGM
User avatar
Jamaaliver
Forum Mod - Hawks
Forum Mod - Hawks
Posts: 45,150
And1: 17,178
Joined: Sep 22, 2005
Location: Officially a citizen of the World...
Contact:
     

Re: 2019 Hawks Season Previews 

Post#44 » by Jamaaliver » Tue Oct 16, 2018 4:56 pm

Read on Twitter


There’s Only One Way to Go Now

The latest NBA Preseason Power Rankings have the Hawks listed at 29th, which is next to last in the entire league. Expectations for the team are at an all-time low and coming off an abysmal year, it really can’t get any worse.

Yes, it is possible the Hawks finish the year as bad, or worse than they did last season, but that may not be as likely as some people think. The team is focused on a rebuild, that’s obvious, but the combination of young talent alongside new and experienced vets may prove to be a small recipe for a bit of success this season.


A Youthful Core

Beyond the new vets on the roster lies the secret to the Hawks rebuild, a budding young core. Trae Young may be the new, flashy headliner everyone is focused on, but he’s just one of the many Hawks to be excited about.

The aforementioned veterans can work alongside the up and comers like second-year big man John Collins, who might be the best player on the team this season. Collins, along with Taurean Prince, showed bits and pieces of their potential last season and will be expected to produce a lot more as leaders on the starting unit. Off the bench, you have guys like Tyler Dorsey and De’Andre Bembry itching to take the next step as they see an increased role.


A Potential Star

It was a risky move, but selecting Trae Young early in the 2018 NBA Draft was a chance the Hawks needed to take. The franchise simply hasn’t had one standout, superstar player on its roster in quite some time, and Young has the potential to change that.

Fans have expressed their disgruntled opinions on the move, especially with Young’s early struggles in Summer League, but the kid is still 20 years old and has shown glimpses of superstar potential.


New Coach, New Look, and New Opportunity

After one of the worst seasons in franchise history, the Hawks had to part ways with Mike Budenholzer, who coached the team for five years. After an extensive search, the team hired former Philadelphia Assistant Coach Lloyd Pierce.

Pierce felt like an optimal fit for the job in Atlanta, largely because of his role in the rebuilding of the 76ers franchise. Bringing the Hawks back into the picture won’t be an easy task, and frankly, it may take longer than some people like. It’s going to take a coach with the right amount of patience to make this work, something Pierce has exemplified throughout his young coaching career.
User avatar
Jamaaliver
Forum Mod - Hawks
Forum Mod - Hawks
Posts: 45,150
And1: 17,178
Joined: Sep 22, 2005
Location: Officially a citizen of the World...
Contact:
     

Re: 2019 Hawks Season Previews 

Post#45 » by Jamaaliver » Thu Oct 18, 2018 2:20 pm

Hawks season preview: Atlanta placed a big bet on Trae Young

Image

GM Travis Schlenk’s decision to trade Luka Doncic to the Mavericks for Trae Young and a 2019 first-round pick will likely define his tenure in Atlanta, for better or worse.

Young’s transition to the NBA 3-point line won’t be a problem, but competing against NBA-caliber athletes might be a different story. Listed at 6’2” and 180 pounds, Young is going to be a liability on defense. He’s not an elite athlete and his wingspan (6’3”) doesn’t help matters either. He will need to become a solid team defender and hope that his offensive skills outweigh his defensive shortcomings.

During the preseason, Young (15.0 points, 5.4 assists) asserted himself as the focal point of the offense, attempting four more shots per game than any of his teammates. While he did nail 37 percent of his 3s, Young shot just 39.5 percent from the field. Without the size to finish at the rim, Young will have to use his bag of tricks to finish in the paint.

Young’s rookie season, and the entirety of his career for that matter, will be compared to Doncic. At 6’7” and 218 pounds, Doncic has the size that Young lacks. Playing for a championship-caliber coach and alongside several veterans, Doncic will be in a perfect situation for his development and should make a run at Rookie of the Year. Young, meanwhile, finds himself playing for a rookie coach on a team filled with young players. Schlenk will catch grief for the trade throughout the year, but the deal can’t be properly evaluated until the protected first-round pick conveys in the coming years.

X-Factor

While Young will be the face of the team on a local and national basis, he won’t be the team’s best player as a rookie. Taurean Prince broke out following the All-Star break last season and is poised to take another leap in his third season. In his final 16 games last season, Prince averaged 20.9 points, 4.9 rebounds and 4.1 assists while shooting 45.9 percent from the field and 39.4 percent on 3-pointers. At 6’8”, 220 pounds, Prince has ideal size for a modern NBA wing. As the league continues to move toward a pace and space approach, Prince’s developing offensive game and solid defense make him a building block piece for Atlanta moving forward.


Outlook

The Hawks are in the middle of their rebuild and will likely end up with a high lottery pick again next season barring an even greater jump from Prince or Young replicating his freshman season success. First-year head coach Lloyd Pierce’s background is in player development, which will be the focus of this season. Pierce follows in the footsteps of Brooklyn’s Kenny Atkinson as player development coaches who have earned a chance at a head-coaching job.

The Hawks are playing the long game in their rebuild as seen by the Young-Doncic trade and emphasizing internal player growth with their coaching hire. Depending on the growth of their three core players, it’s not hard to see the Hawks becoming an attractive destination for free agents next summer, when they project to have more than $50 million in cap room. Before then, however, this season will see the young kids taking their lumps.
Yahoo Sports
User avatar
Jamaaliver
Forum Mod - Hawks
Forum Mod - Hawks
Posts: 45,150
And1: 17,178
Joined: Sep 22, 2005
Location: Officially a citizen of the World...
Contact:
     

Re: 2019 Hawks Season Previews 

Post#46 » by Jamaaliver » Fri Oct 19, 2018 11:45 am

A ton of content on Atlanta and the rest of the NBA:

Complete 2018-19 NBA season preview

Return to Atlanta Hawks