Hawks Mid Season Report Cards

[Robo_Claw]

I thought in the beginning of the season right now i'd only give an F. But tell you the truth i'm becoming pleasantly surprised with this season. I've been pretty critical of Schlenk and Coach Pierce early on but i think you guys were right and I needed to give it some time. The past month or so I've even found myself enjoying watching hawks games instead of using them for an excuse to drink during the week. That alone is worth a solid B-.

[azuresou1]

Here's how I'd grade the team. Everything is relative to expectations and draft value/salary:

Travis Schlenk: B+. The current roster is young, has potential, and is well set up in regards to cap, so the future is bright. However, it is impossible to grade him without taking into account the Luka/Trae trade and would be foolhardy to try. That trade will be the defining moment of his GM career, good or bad. Luka obviously looks much better at the moment - the real question is how Luka and Trae develop over the next few years, as well as who we are able to get from the Mavs pick. For that reason, his grade in retrospect might fluctuate anywhere from an A+ to a C+.

Lloyd Pierce: A-. Gets his guys to play hard every night and be positive despite the losses. Team also appears to have some semblance of an offensive and defensive plan, primarily lacking the talent to execute. Don't love the encouragement to jack long 3s, but overall a good start to a head coaching career.

Players:

John Collins: A. Hard to expect much more in rookie-sophomore development for a young big man. At the same time, you look at his frame and current defensive abilities, and I think it's fair to assume that he caps out as a secondary star - like a Shawn Kemp or an Amare. I honestly wouldn't be surprised or upset if he plateaus at this level for his career.

Dewayne Dedmon: A. He is everything you would want in a modern NBA starting center. It's a shame he's already 29 and doesn't fit into our timeline. I thank him for his time here and wish him the best when we trade him at the deadline.

Kevin Huerter: A-. Great outside shooting as advertised, but also reasonably capable defender and facilitator. Needs to work on his inside scoring, perhaps by adding a pullup or floater, but overall far outperforming his draft slot.

Jeremy Lin: B+. See Dewayne Dedmon.

Kent Bazemore: B+. Positive leadership and energy, combined with reasonable on-court production.

Vince Carter: B+. It's hilarious to me that he still gets minutes on court, with less success than Bazemore. Great leadership though.

Alex Len: B. Len does his job as a discount Steven Adams well, so it's hard to complain. Good on court presence.

DeAndre Bembry: B. He played wildly out of control last season, and often still plays herky-jerky, like someone randomly laced his Gatorade with amphetamines. That said, this season he's had a much better ratio of Good DeAndre::Bad DeAndre, which is encouraging. Think he will have Manu/Lance syndrome for his career. The shooting does need to improve regardless.

Trae Young: B-. The passing is great; the shooting and defense are real concerns. If the shooting in particular doesn't come back, I don't think long term he can be a starting PG on a contender, which is a terrible return for a #5 pick.

Omari Spellman: C+. Not sold on him yet - had some okay games, but slow, fat, and value is dependent on hitting 3s. The whole thing about being regularly late to practice is not encouraging for a rookie. The defense is terrible too. The only reason he's not lower is due to low draft slot.

Taurean Prince: C. I am not on the trade Taurean bandwagon yet like many Hawks fans, but between his injuries and stagnation this has not been a good season for him. I don't think he was set up for success; my hope is that he settles into a role as a jack-of-all-trades glue guy.

Overall: B+. Well-positioned rebuilding team, with enough young talent and draft assets to inspire hope, and a good cap/contract sheet to be flexible in acquiring more assets. Still looking for a definitive superstar to build around.

[Jamaaliver]

Ummm...

Atlanta Hawks (19-39)

Through the first three quarters of the season, I don’t think anyone would be surprised with how the Atlanta Hawks have performed this season. Before the season started, no one expected the Hawks to compete for a playoff spot in the East. Even though it is clearly the weaker conference, the Hawks simply don’t have the talent to perform at that level yet. And that’s OK.

But the great thing that the Hawks did do this season is find a few players that will help in their rebuild. Trae Young is a player. As is John Collins. I’m sure both of those were assumed coming into the season. However, one player that was a pleasant surprise for Atlanta this season was Kevin Huerter.

Huerter, a late first-round pick by the Hawks in the 2018 NBA Draft, is averaging 10 points, three rebounds and three assists on 43 percent shooting from the field and 40 percent shooting from 3-point range during his rookie season. Atlanta coming away with three building blocks, with another to come with an expected top 5 pick in the 2019 draft, is a huge victory.

Grade: C+

Sir Charles in Charge