Playoffs? Check out the AJC staff predictions on the Hawks’ season
Lauren Williams, Hawks beat writer: The Hawks will certainly be a fun team to watch this season, especially with the amount of scoring options guard Trae Young can lean on. But with the addition of Kristaps Porzingis and Nickeil Alexander-Walker, as well as the return of Jalen Johnson to the rotation, the Hawks have a much stouter defensive unit that will allow them to use their transition game the way they envision.
The Hawks could finish the season 49-33 as the fourth seed. Fully healthy, they could make a push all the way to the Eastern Conference finals because the NBA playoffs are so unpredictable and they have so much more playoff experience on the roster. But their ceiling may just be the second round of the playoffs.
Michael Cunningham, columnist: With the new additions, they are no worse than the fourth-best team in the Eastern Conference.
They’ll win 49 games — and even more, with some good injury luck.
Finally, they’ll get out of playoff purgatory and get into the playoffs, where they’ll lose in the East finals to the Knicks.
Ken Sugiura, columnist: It certainly looks like the roster is deeper and better. Kristaps Porzingis is the best big man who Trae Young has had as a teammate and seems like an ideal pick-and-pop pair; he just has to stay healthy.
The core of Young, Porzingis, Johnson, Zaccharie Risacher and Onyeka Okongwu should be competitive, especially in a weakened Eastern Conference. Let’s go with 47 wins, which would be a seven-win improvement from last year. That gets them out of the Play-In Tournament and into the actual bracket. I think they can make it into the second round.
Rod Beard, senior editor, pro sports: My first thought was the iconic meme with former Colts coach Jim Mora questioning, “Playoffs!?!??” But that’s where we are with the Hawks now. They’ve revamped and upgraded the roster enough that the question isn’t whether they’ll make the playoffs; rather, it’s “how far in the playoffs?”
The roster has a good balance of still-developing young talent and skilled veterans, and that will lead to some bumps along the way as they jell. But their depth and the additions of Porzingis, Alexander-Walker and Luke Kennard, plus the return of Johnson, will make this look like a much different team than seasons past.
Predictions are supposed to be fun, so I’ll go out on a limb and predict the Hawks make the Eastern Conference finals, losing to the Cavs in six.
Wait, how far?
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