News - Atlanta Hawks - Bulldog63
Season Review
There is still a week left in the season, but the hawks place in the standings is pretty much set in stone, so now is as good a time as any to look back and observe what went right and what went wrong this season.
The Record: at least 28 wins
28 wins is still a bad team, but it still represents the highest total during Bulldog's tenure over this team, since taking over and undertaking a complete rebuild. If they get to 30, that will double their win total from last season, and their finishing spot of 12th is better than the "no better than 14th each of the past 4 seasons" they had previously. The Hawks were never expected to compete this season, and more important than the W/L column was the competitiveness they showed against teams much better than them. Just in the past couple of weeks they defeated a luka-led Pelicans team, and kept things close against tough Spurs and Nuggets teams. While they don't have a superstar, they have guys who can lift the team to a win on a hot night, and we had several of those this season.
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The Positives:
Breakouts for Desmond Bane, Coby White, and Payton Pritchard - these 3 players took decent jumps in the NBA this season, with Bane shaking off a cold start to reclaim his #2 option place, Pritchard vaulting to the top of 6MOY consideration, and Coby White averaging 30 PPG over the final month of the season. White and Pritchard in particular are on extremely high value contracts right now, while bane is under a rookie extension that will be paltry compared to equivalent players in a season or two.
Development for Brandin Podziemski, Alex Sarr, and Donovan Clingan - Podz made 1st team all rookie last year, but spent the first month ice cold, just over 20% from 3. However, he greatly turned it around on the back stretch, averaging 45% from 3 on over 6 attempts per game. On the whole, his counting stats maintained across the board on increased volume, and most promising is his FT% went way up to 76%, up from 63%. This suggests his form is showing improvement and not just subject to a hot streak. Meanwhile, Sarr and Clingan, while they'll be unable to share the floor next season, delivered exactly what was expected of them, with Clingan in particular being in talks for NSL RotY honors. Both players remain a work in progress offensively, but the upside is there, and both players receive passing grades for their rookie season.
Getting under the luxury tax - Yes, the Hawks were just a couple mil over to start the season; however, they were able to offload Jay Huff and get them just under the tax by under [insert Dr. Evil] ONE MILLION DOLLARS!
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The Negatives:
Disappointment from other sophs - The rest of the Hawks development did not go as planned, unfortunately. Taylor Hendricks kicked things off with a gruesome leg injury that ruined his season, putting his future into question after losing a crucial season of development. Jarace Walker failed to find meaningful NBA minutes and was traded along with serious draft capital for a bite at this year's lottery. Gradey Dick started off the year strong with all of his teammates out but wore down as the season went on, and missed the last bit with injury; he was one of the worst finishers in the NBA this year and needs to add strength to improve that area, so his 3 point shooting can flourish. Lastly, Jaime Jaquez had a brutal season, as he missed frequent time with injuries and illness from the get-go and could never really catch a rhythm. He shot poorly, and although he had a couple of breakout performances (a triple double early in the season and a 41-point outing in the final game), he found himself out of the rotation, which was the opposite of what was expected after Jimmy Butler was traded. It's clear he has some work to do if he wants to carve out a meaningful NBA career, and it's disappointing given his 1st team all rookie honors last season.
Quickley misses tons of time - Quickley was brought in to be the point guard of the future, and although he showed flashes of what made him so coveted in the Hawks FO, he suffered a freak hip injury that robbed much of his season, and then was deactivated for most of the final month due to tanking purposes. As a result, we still can't really say exactly what quickley is. He clearly is a good shooter and a good passer, but how good? He will be under heavy evaluation if he remains on the roster, as will all the guards.
Hawks play out of a decent lottery shot - The Hawks as mentioned earlier traded a lot to get their unprotected pick back this season (it was originally top 2 protected); they did so with the intention of being one of the 4 worst teams in the league. However, improvements across the roster denied them this payoff, along with injuries and selling actions by other teams in the league, while the hawks themselves were unable to find offers to their satisfaction of the players they did shop as part of this plan. As a result, the Hawks find themselves able to get 7th at best, 8th at worst. These provide about a 25-32% chance of moving into the top 4, not great odds. They do possess another late 1st this season as well, but it's likely that if the balls don't fall their way, it will be exceedingly difficult to trade into that top 4-5 zone this year, given the quality of the draft prospects there.
The Plan:
Well, to be honest, the Hawks have several directions they could go. They no longer own their 1st next season, which means it's time to really try and win some games and put a good product on the floor. There won't be much to do with regard to development except see how much their upcoming 2nd and 3rd year players continue to develop, as well as what kind of draft pick they end up with. However, there is a ton of uncertainty around their guard rotation; they have 7 guards on the roster for next season, 4 of whom will be able to play SF as well. Coby White will be due a new contract soon, so this may be his last chance to be traded while his salary figure is affordable. There also needs to be close attention paid to the 4 spot, as per the last team news. The Hawks will for sure need to bring someone in to play that spot, the question is what do they trade to get it? Do they try and dangle quickley or even bane for a true stud at that spot, risking redundancy if Sarr ends up becoming PF eligible down the line? Or do they try and trade white or pritchard for a shorter term measure and risk being in the same position again if sarr DOESN'T become PF eligible? Do the hawks cut bait on jaquez or even dick, even though their value is not as high as it was last season? It's a veritable smorgasbord of directions available, but the Hawks will have to settle for one sooner or later. Of course, the playoffs come first, so they will have time.
The Projected Rotation:
Starters:
PG - Quickley
SG - White
SF - Bane
PF - Hendricks
C - Clingan
Bench:
PG - Pritchard
SG - Podziemski
SF - Dick
PF - Stewart
C - Sarr
Podziemski is a borderline starter rating wise, so there wouldn't be much issue with him sliding into the 2/3 slots if one of quickley/white/bane is traded this offseason. Ultimately, the Hawks did arguably too good this season, but next season it's time for the rubber to hit the road. So until the playoffs are over and the lottery happens, it's time to go find a nest and hole up for the summer. Good season everyone!
| | | Comments (1) | |
laddas
04/24 01:45 am | QN, Qtr. 4, #1 | |
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