2017-2018 Atlanta Hawks Preview: That Long Playoff Streak Will Be No More


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2016-17 Record: 43-39 (No. 5 seed, lost first round)

Players Added: Luke Babbitt (FA), Marco Belinelli (Trade with CHA), Nicolas Brussino (Waivers), John Collins (Draft), Quinn Cook (FA), Dewayne Dedmon (FA), Tyler Dorsey (Draft), Miles Plumlee (Trade with CHA)

Players Lost: Jose Calderon (FA), Mike Dunleavy Jr. (FA), Tim Hardaway Jr. (FA), Dwight Howard (Trade to CHA), Kris Humphries (FA), Ryan Kelly (FA), Paul Millsap (FA), Thabo Sefolosha (FA)

Projected Team MVP: Dennis Schröder

The jury is (still) out on whether Schröder is a legitimate building block for an upper-tier team in the future. With that said, the young point guard will be asked to shoulder a massive workload for a rebuilding Hawks team this season and he is the best combination of talent and proven production available.

After a season in which he averaged 17.9 points and 6.3 assists before taking another step forward in the playoffs, it will be interesting to see how Schröder builds on that production. On one hand, he will be freed from the offense-clogging shadow of Dwight Howard and the Hawks will deploy more shooting than they did in a post-Kyle Korver world down the stretch of last season. On the flip side, Paul Millsap’s unique talents are out the door and Atlanta’s secondary creation is virtually non-existent.

Dennis Schröder will almost certainly put up big-time counting stats in 2017-2018 and he’ll be Atlanta’s most indispensable offensive piece. Whether that translates into more than that remains to be seen.

Team X-Factor: Taurean Prince

The 2017-2018 season isn’t the primary focus for the Hawks or, at the very least, it shouldn’t be the primary focus. Atlanta might overachieve when compared to its roster under Mike Budenholzer but, considering its lack of talent, looking to the future is the best bet and that is where Taurean Prince comes in to the picture.

Prince, who was one of the team’s first round draft picks a year ago, was thrust into a prominent role on a playoff-bound team in year one. The former Baylor forward wasn’t featured much early in the season but, by playoff time, Prince was firmly entrenched as the starting small forward and the Hawks undoubtedly believe he’ll remain in that role for a long time.

The 23-year-old doesn’t possess tremendous offensive upside but his potential as a two-way wing is tantalizing. In the current NBA, teams can never have too many players who can function at even average levels on both ends and Prince could go a long way toward proving that he can do just that in a relatively low-pressure situation this year. If he can do that, the Hawks will have one of their questions answered for the next half-decade or more. If he can’t, we can add another point of uncertainty to a team with plenty of it.

Best Case Scenario:

Dennis Schröder takes the next step, Taurean Prince proves to be a starting-caliber wing, rookie John Collins flashes some of the potential (and highlight capability) that fans are excited about…. and the Hawks lose a lot. Yes, the Eastern Conference is wide open and that means that most (if not all) teams in the conference believe the playoffs are a possibility. However, Atlanta’s choice to rebuild was based, at least in part, on the never-ending treadmill that comes with landing in the middle and reaching the postseason wouldn’t help that.

Finishing in the bottom tier, or even the full-blown basement, is the best case scenario and that means being in position to grab Marvin Bagley, Michael Porter or Luka Doncic in June.

Worst Case Scenario:

The Hawks signed solid veterans to reasonable contracts in the frontcourt, adding Dewayne Dedmon while bringing back Mike Muscala and Ersan Ilyasova. That, when combined with the addition of Miles Plumlee and Marco Belinelli in the Dwight Howard trade gives Mike Budenholzer plenty of ammunition to try and win games in the early going at the expense of his young talent.

That, though, would be a doomsday scenario. The Hawks moving away from players like Collins, second-year wing DeAndre’ Bembry and even Prince in an attempt to “win now” would be a major mess. For many teams, the worst case scenario will be everything going wrong and the end result of a berth in the lottery. For Travis Schlenk and company, it would be winning 35 games while deploying veterans over young pieces and refusing to accept the inevitability of at least one down season during a rebuild.

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