It’s that time of year.
Another NBA season is about to begin. There is optimism around the league. Rosters have been set. Every team is 0-0. There are championship hopes - even for teams not named the Warriors or Cavaliers.
The Hawks are no different. Management, coaches and players are pleased with the assembled roster that will open the 2016-17 regular season on Thursday at home against the Wizards. Even with the Eastern Conference’s longest streak of playoff appearances at nine, the Hawks had an off-season of changes. Most notably to the starting lineup, Dwight Howard was signed at center and Dennis Schroder was promoted at point guard.
But what are the concerns of those in the organization? What has to go right for a successful season? We asked. Here is a sampling of the answers:
Dwight Howard
“Health. That’s the only thing I want. There are no egos on this team. There are only a couple things that can mess up a team’s chemistry and that’s egos and injuries. Fortunately, we have no injuries and we no egos. All of us are on the same page. That’s the great thing. We have to make sure we keep going.”
Paul Millsap
“I think we want to be better, at a better place, clicking on all cylinders right now. We’re not. We still have work to do. We’ll continue to build and build.”
Mike Budenholzer
“Those are secrets I keep to myself. I’m full of optimism. It’s just how we can come together and stay together. There is a ton of continuity and we’ve harped on how many guys we’ve got back. The changes that we are making, can those take place. Even if they don’t, can we stay the course, stay together, at any time if you stumble out of the gates or have a couple bad games or bad weeks. You always have to stay the course and have belief in everything you are doing. I think we will but until a group has been together and done that, that’s always the hardest.”
Wes Wilcox
“In this role, you are always looking ahead and trying to get ahead of whatever the challenge might be of the season and opportunities there might be to add to the team. One of the keys for everybody is health. That is the great equalizer, especially in the NBA. One of the benefits of having Bud is he does such an incredible job of, not only building a system, creating a culture, but managing careers and managing minutes and understanding that it’s a long season and we want to be best at the end of the season and into the playoffs. We are also very fortunate with an incredible athletic performance team and the incredible group at Emory working with us. Managing the season, managing minutes, managing health is probably one of the things that keeps me up at night. The good news, is we’ve been pretty healthy even though we’ve had some little stuff.
“The other one is trying to balance a team with great depth. All players want to play. We have a lot of players who deserve to play. We are fortunate to have a lot of depth. Just understanding that that can be a challenge and that it’s hard is something we think a lot about. Again, we are fortunate to have Bud who is constantly in communication with our guys and being open and honest with them. But that’s hard because we too want them to play and be fulfilled. Sometimes roles, they may not be the role at the time. Looking at it certainly you are wondering how the team is going to come together and maybe is there an opportunity to add to your team. You are always thinking at that.”
