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Final Report Card Grades for Every NBA Team

Atlanta Hawks: C



Some may have expected the Atlanta Hawks to stave off bottom-10 status on defense, but their offense was never going to be good. Their best playmaker, Dennis Schroder, is equal parts exhilarating and stomach-churning, and they don't have a go-to creator beyond him.

That lack of depth kept the Hawks in a weirdly awesome beta-test mode all year. Head coach Mike Budenholzer tried out a smorgasbord of half-court facilitators, particularly toward the end of the season following Kent Bazemore's season-ending right knee injury.

Losing Bazemore opened the door for sophomore Taurean Prince. While he posted an effective field-goal percentage south of 41 and coughed up possessions more than 28 percent of the time in pick-and-rolls, he looks more comfortable working the on the ball overall.

Heading into Tuesday, Prince averaged 20.5 points and 3.9 points over his last 15 games while slashing 47.4/40.0/92.0. The Hawks were 4-11 during that stretch, and he didn't spearhead some stark offensive reformation. But he also didn't need to be a partial-season savior.

Atlanta is likely on track for a top-five pick, so it needs to see which of its young players are keepers. Prince added entertainment and developmental value amid all the losing.

The same holds true for rookie John Collins, who's a shoo-in for All-Rookie honors. The Hawks don't yet know how to function defensively when he plays the 5, but that'll come with time and better personnel. Despite standing 6'10", he can already rebound and finish around the rim among centers.

Plus, Collins has flashed enough offensive tricks to work at the 4. He shot north of 35 percent on corner threes and busted out straight-line handles off the catch that would've turned Serge Ibaka into an All-NBA candidate five years ago.

Had Hawks not waited so long to kick up Collins' playing time, their grade would be more favorable. Their capacity to remain somewhat watchable while tanking their hearts out is worth a passing mark.

ATL Boy wrote:What a season... I can't wait to completely erase it from my memory.


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Michael Cunningham wrote:Hawks take solace in ‘bright spots’ from losing season

While waiting for questions from members of the media Wednesday, Hawks veteran Kent Bazemore offered his unsolicited assessment of the season.

“Great year,” Bazemore said cheerfully.

That drew laughter from reporters who assumed he was being sarcastic.

“No, seriously,” Bazemore said. “There’s a ton of positives.”

the context is that the Hawks weren’t expected to be good this season by design. First-year general manager Travis Schlenk stripped the roster of high-priced talent and signed short-term veterans and young players.

Young players who figure to be a big part of the future, including rookie John Collins, showed promise. The Hawks recovered from a dreadful start to the season to string together some competitive stretches, with quality victories sprinkled throughout. Injuries left the Hawks undermanned over the final two weeks of the season, yet on the final weekend they won road games against playoff-bound teams Washington and Boston.

“I thought our guys brought it every night,” Budenholzer said. “They competed every night. We’ve talked for five years about the most important thing for us is we want to have competitors. They competed and competed.

“Sometimes the game or the results isn’t what you want, but if you are competing for 48 minutes and laying it on the line, we’ve always said we can live with the result.”

The Hawks likely will take their lumps again in 2018-19, when they could be an even younger team.

Any improvement for the Hawks in 2018-19 is likely to come from young players getting better. That happened this season and, though it didn’t translate to many victories, it’s a big reason why Bazemore wasn’t joking when he said the Hawks had a great year.

Paul Newberry wrote:Hawks stumble through Year 1 of a painful rebuilding process

In the final game of a forgettable season, the Atlanta Hawks got a glimpse of what the future might hold.

It's going to take a while to get there.

"We've been in the playoffs every time," point guard Dennis Schroder said. "To have a season like that, it was kind of tough for everyone."

Just two years removed from a 10-72 debacle, the Sixers are a 50-plus-win team headed to the playoffs with one of the NBA's most exciting young rosters .

"That's definitely something we're going to try to model after in a sense, just having that young talent, building and getting better every year, and getting into the playoffs," said Hawks forward John Collins, who had a promising rookie season.

All that losing can make it difficult to come to work each day. But coach Mike Budenholzer got pretty much the most he could out of his limited roster, sending out a team that competed hard every night and rarely got blown out.

The Hawks lost 21 games by less than 10 points, while only seven defeats were decided by 20 or more.
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Some takeaways from the Hawks' season:

SCHRODER'S STUMBLES: Presumably the centerpiece of the Atlanta's rebuild, Schroder is still dealing with his arrest on a misdemeanor battery arrest just before the start of the season and continues to show signs of immaturity despite this being his fifth year in the league.

"To be the leader of any NBA team, it's a blessing," Schroder said. "But it's tough to get up in the morning, go to practice and see 12, 13 guys looking up to you."

COLLINS EMERGES: Schlenk's first draft pick was a winner. After being selected at No. 19, Collins quickly claimed a prominent role with his enormous athleticism and confident presence. Only 20, he should have plenty of upside as he improves his overall game.

Prince, the top pick in 2016, also had a solid season. He averaged 14 points a game, improved greatly from beyond the 3-point arc and can expect an even bigger role in the years to come.

BUDENHOLZER'S FUTURE: The Hawks coach seemed willing to go along with Schenk's plan, even though it surely guarantees several dismal seasons before there's any tangible signs of improvement.

Now the question is: Will Budenholzer stick around for the long haul?

Already, there have been reports that he might be interested in another job with a team that has a better chance of winning right away. Considering the dynamics in Atlanta — Budenholzer guided the Hawks to a franchise-record 60 wins just three years ago, only to be stripped of his power over personnel matters after a several questionable moves — it's not hard to envision him moving on.

Coach Bud was once THE man in Atlanta. Now, he answers to Schlenk, who has full authority to strip this team down before he builds it back up again.

"I love what I do. I love this team. I'm focused on what we just did and how we can get better going forward," Budenholzer said Wednesday, without necessarily denying that he might be willing to look at other options.

Read more here: http://www.macon.com/sports/nba/article208619479.html#storylink=cpy

For most of this year, the Atlanta Hawks disappointed on the court. But, they often shined in another arena — social media.

“It was a very good year for marketing," Hawks CEO Steve Koonin told Atlanta Business Chronicle.

Much like the Braves fell into a hit with RaceTrac's "Beat The Freeze" marketing gimmick in 2017, the Hawks found buzz by crossing over to streetball with Atlanta hoops legend Philip Champion, better known as Hot Sauce.

jayu70 wrote:Seriously:
If we didn't have injuries to Dedmon, Collins, Ersan, Moose and Bembry, If we didn't buy out Illy and Beli, if we weren't tanking, if we didn't rest Baze and Dennis - If Bud was hell bent on winning evety game -:How many wins would we have?

jayu70 wrote:

ATL Boy wrote:What a season... I can't wait to completely erase it from my memory.


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Agreed, I can't do this again.

Jamaaliver wrote:Man, this assessment was pretty brutal.

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Spud2nique wrote:

jayu70 wrote:Seriously:
If we didn't have injuries to Dedmon, Collins, Ersan, Moose and Bembry, If we didn't buy out Illy and Beli, if we weren't tanking, if we didn't rest Baze and Dennis - If Bud was hell bent on winning evety game -:How many wins would we have?

35 maybe?

jayu70 wrote:Re-fractured wrist in last game, smh. Now he starts the offseason hurt.

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