RealGM

On the eve of media day, here goes:


1. Trae - Increased efficiency, consistent effort on defense and a more vocal leader, full buy in under Quin

2. DJ - Increased defensive effort (his 2021 effort), tighten the dribble (too high), be better at PG duties in the non-Trae minutes

3. Hunter - Healthy. Minimum 75 games. Consistency across the board, be decisive, create havoc on defense: deflections and steals. Hopefully he is fully past his knee injury and get some burst back, full buy in under Quin. (Rumor is he was a bit perturbed that Quin wanted him to be more of a team defender vs just solely focusing on his man defense). Can he get into the top wing defender conversation?

4. JJ - Be the day 1 starter at PF (this is me hoping he beats out Bey, I think he offers more versatily to the front court) which means his 3pt shooting looks like something in training camp. Fix his freethrow shooting - 62.8% last season

5. CC - Healthy, better defense, 65% from the freethrow line (60.3% last season

6. Bogi - Minimum 70 games, HotBogi from FIBA, be in the running for 6MOY

7. OO - Get some nasty in him, surpass Clint as the starter or at least play more minutes than him and finish games. Stop fouling so much. More shot attempts: PnP and increased 3pt shot attempts. Be in the running for 6MOY

8. Bey - keep the hustle and improve the defense

9. AJ - I'll take what he gave us last year with improved defense.

10. Patty - Can we get FIBA Patty? Show your Experience and vet leadership.

11. Bruno - It's time to show us something, make Quin find minutes for you.

12. Kobe - I anticipate he will be GLeague bound - he has to dominate there.  If he is playing with the Big squad, I want to see him make positive contributions in whatever minutes he gets.

13. MoGee - GLeague bound - be dominant.

14. Matthews - Break glass in case of emergency player.   Can he be our 'Solo'

15. Mathews - I'm hoping we have enought winning blow out games so he can play

If I'm reading this right, this random Twitter user is predicting a 50/40/90 season from Trae and for AJ Griffin to avg a franchise best 32 ppg.



A bit optimistic...

Trae- cut down on your turnovers. I get more usage will you TO's but can't lead the league and have around 30 more or whatever than the 2nd place person.

We got Webster at 2 guard...

I would like to see JJ become an integral piece and AJ be more of a spark off the bench.

Bogi be in the 6MOY talks all year.

Hunter possibly taking a step into being a better defender.

OO not only expanding his range, but maybe playing next to Clint more often.

Trae looking more like his 2021-2022 self.

DJ maybe spending less time with Trae on the floor.

jayu70 wrote:
10. Patty - Can we get FIBA Patty? Show your Experience and vet leadership.


14. Matthews - Break glass in case of emergency player.   Can he be our 'Solo'

Some much needed good vet presence

?s=20

Over the years, I've consistently been pretty critical of the Hawks. In my opinion, they've been a poorly run franchise for most of the past 3 decades. And most of the players have been pretty mediocre and forgettable. (Jeff Teague, Josh Smith, Paul Millsap )

But this year feels different. We've had a star offensive engine for years now, and now we finally have an elite offensive coach running a modern attack that can take advantage of it.

I foresee a career year efficiency wise from Trae. His scoring is likely to increase while his assist totals take a step back. (Natural given that he'll play off ball more)

I can see not only a top-5 offense this season, but perhaps a top 10 offense of all time...

Quin + Trae seems like a perfect union.

The question comes down to team defense. If the Hawks are middle of the pack, they have a shot at 50 wins and another Conf Finals run.

If they rank 20-30 for defensive rating, it severely caps their ceiling.

Jalen looks good. But he still isn't a natural fit next to Capela. His secondary playmaking and full court finishing can make a huge difference.

Okongwu has shown flashes (and pairs well with Jalen), but Capela is still the superior interior defender and rebounder.

Saddiq Bey might play his way into a fat contract next season if he gives us a true Bojan Bogdan impression in this offense.

DeAndre Hunter is dealing with another knee issue. I have no idea what to think.

Bogdan will get burn and shots ahead of AJ Griffin, and rightfully so.