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While there has been some change to the roster, the Atlanta Hawks are still going to be the tough, athletic team that they’ve been for the last four years. Jamaal Crawford’s scoring and clutch-play making abilities will be missed, but the emergence of Jeff Teague should help offset his inevitable departure. Teague really played well during the playoffs when given an opportunity due to Kirk Hinrich’s injury after not playing a significant role for most of the year. Larry Drew proved to be a solid hire in year one and someone who is fit to lead this team moving forward. The Southeast belongs to the Miami HEAT, but the Hawks won’t let them run away with it.

2nd Place, Southeast Division

– Yannis Koutroupis

The Hawks have two huge issues looming over them as we prepare for 2011-12, which are the point guard position and Josh Smith’s situation. Kirk Hinrich is injured, meaning there is a lot of pressure on Jeff Teague to grow up very quickly. He handled himself well in the playoffs, but can he do it for an entire season? Also, Smith is tired of being blamed for every loss, and he’s too good to continue to take that heat. The Hawks need to address both of these situations, at least before playoff time.

2nd Place, Southeast Division

- Bill Ingram

The Hawks are now, as they have been for the last few years, in a weird place as a team. Joe Johnson’s gigantic contract has sort of put a hamper on what the team is able to do to improve itself, and so far this season all the “upgrades” have really equated to is the signing of Tracy McGrady. We know he’s got a little gas still left in the tank, but assuming the team loses Jamal Crawford, you’re still looking at what equates to a downgrade. With Kirk Hinrich hurt to start the season and no really influential rookies to inspire hope that this season will be different, it’s hard to see them doing much better than they did last season, losing in the second round of the playoffs. They won’t win the division in which the Miami HEAT play, but they’ll win a reasonable amount of games. They just can’t win a championship.

2nd Place, Southeast Division

- Joel Brigham

The Atlanta Hawks made their fourth consecutive playoff appearance in 2011 but endured their third straight disappointing postseason elimination – in the second round. Behind the solid core of shooting guard Joe Johnson, center Al Horford and power forward Josh Smith the Hawks will undoubtedly be playoff fixtures in 2012 for a fifth straight time barring any major injuries. However, for the Hawks to eventually break into the league’s elite class the franchise may have to take the personnel risk of shaking up their beloved core. The club enters the 2012 campaign facing the potential loss of former Sixth Man of the Year and free agent Jamal Crawford, but without the necessary salary cap room to be active participants in free agency.

2nd Place, Southeast Division

- Lang Greene

The Atlanta Hawks find themselves in the same position nearly every season. They’re good enough to make the playoffs, but not talented enough to contend. After several years of being just one tier below the elite teams in the Eastern Conference, the Hawks may experience a slight drop off this season. They’ll likely lose Jamal Crawford to free agency and have already been hit by the injury bug with Kirk Hinrich sidelined for at least the first month of the season after shoulder surgery. Atlanta has spent so much money on their core group of players – Joe Johnson, Josh Smith and Al Horford – that they were forced to fill out their roster with veterans who were willing to sign minimum contracts such as Tracy McGrady, Jerry Stackhouse and Vladimir Radmanovic. The Hawks will need internal improvement from players like Horford and Jeff Teague if they want to compete at a high level. While many other teams in the East have improved in recent months, Atlanta hasn’t added much help at all.

3rd Place, Southeast Division

- Alex Kennedy

Top Offensive Player:  Regardless of how you may feel about his long term contract situation, Joe Johnson is arguably the third best shooting guard in the game today trailing only Kobe Bryant and Dwyane Wade. Johnson is on a streak of five consecutive All-Star appearances and has been remarkably durable, failing to play in 70 games only once during his ten year career. With a healthy Johnson in the lineup, the Hawks have a legitimate top tier scorer capable of exploding for twenty points each night while shooting an efficient percentage from the floor, free throw line and three-point range.

Top Defensive Player:  At power forward, the Hawks have a legitimate Defensive Player of the Year candidate in Josh Smith. The seven year veteran has career averages of 2.2 blocks and 1.3 steals per game and was the runner-up in Defensive Player of the Year voting in 2010. Smith is one of the best weak-side shot-blockers in the league and the youngest player in NBA history to reach 1,000 career blocked shots.

Top Playmaker:  For the past three seasons Johnson has led the Hawks in assists per game averaging 5.8, 4.9 and 4.7 respectively. The Hawks lack a high volume assist generating point guard and rely on the decision making of Johnson on the perimeter to create offensive opportunities for his teammates. Little should change in this category entering 2012. However Johnson performs offensively, positive or negative, so do the Hawks typically.

Top Clutch Player:  When the game is on the line or the Hawks are looking for a clutch basket the hands of Johnson will be the guy head coach Larry Drew entrusts to deliver.

The Unheralded Player:  Quick, name a role player on a perennial playoff team who has averaged double-digit scoring each season the last five years, averages five rebounds per night, shoots over 45 percent from the floor and over 80 percent from the free throw line. You guessed it, none other than the much maligned Marvin Williams. The forward, entering his seventh season, is known around Atlanta as the player drafted instead of All-Star point guard Chris Paul in 2005 but he’s been the ultimate glue guy for the Hawks allowing their trio to take center stage.

Best New Addition:  If the Tracy McGrady of circa 2003 were joining the Hawks this season the team would have immediately become title contenders based on his addition alone. Unfortunately for Hawks fans McGrady is just a shell of his former self. But at the league’s veteran minimum the Hawks may have stumbled on one of the season’s best low risk high reward free agency pickups. McGrady is an upgrade over the departed Damien Wilkins at the backup small forward slot and will be expected to pick up some of the offense slack lost by Crawford’s imminent departure.

- Lang Greene

1.  Al Horford – At 25 years old Horford is already a two-time All-Star selection at center. It also must be noted that Horford is playing out of position and is naturally a power forward. Regardless of the position it cannot be debated that Horford is oozing with the potential to develop into a 20/10 nightly threat. On a roster expected to lose the high scoring ability of Crawford, the stage is clearly set for Horford to take a more prominent role in the Hawks’ offense in 2012.

2.  Josh Smith – There is a bit of uncertainty surrounding Smith entering the 2012 campaign. Reports are swirling Smith has become frustrated with being the Hawks’ scapegoat for their repeated postseason failures by the media and the team’s fans. But when the Hawks practice facilities were reopened in early December Smith was the first Atlanta player in the gym. Smith possesses All-Star caliber talent and is a force defensively; the only question is whether he attains the distinction with the Hawks or in another uniform

3.  Joe Johnson – The 2011 season was a tough one for Johnson. After signing the most lucrative free agency deal last summer Johnson hurt his shooting elbow early in the season and struggled tremendously with his shot averaging his least points per game since the 2005 season. Now fully healthy and with an emerging Horford set to take additional pressure off him offensively Johnson is poised for a bounce back season and reestablishing himself as one of the league’s top scorers.

4.  Larry Drew – A longtime assistant under former Hawks leader Mike Woodson, Drew was promoted to head coach and had a successful rookie season leading the team. Although the Hawks suffered another disappointing second round playoff ouster, the team did manage to dispatch of their nemesis, the Orlando Magic, in the first round of the playoffs. The year prior saw the Magic deal the Hawks one of the most embarrassing postseason exits in NBA history.

5.  Jeff Teague – The Hawks have been searching for a bona fide floor general since Mookie Blaylock left town in 1999. Teague, the No. 19 overall selection of the 2009 draft, may be the answer the Hawks have been searching for the past decade. With an injured Kirk Hinrich out of the lineup, Teague went toe-to-toe versus league MVP Derrick Rose in the second round of the playoffs averaging 14.8 points and 4.2 assists in the series. If the Hawks get continued growth out of Teague at the point guard position it will reduce the pressure to look outside the organization for additional talent.

- Lang Greene

The Hawks’ familiarity with each other is one of their greatest strengths. The team chemistry coupled with Atlanta’s unquestioned talent has catapulted the squad from an eighth playoff seed in 2008 to arguably being one of the Eastern Conference’s top five teams since that time. Johnson can score from anywhere on the floor and Horford ranks amongst the top five at center. If Smith puts it all together this season the team could boast three All-Stars in February.

- Lang Greene

While the franchise made great strides offensively in Drew’s first season calling the shots, the fact is the Hawks are still a perimeter oriented team that remains somewhat predictable. Without a true penetrating point guard in recent years Atlanta has struggled to come up with a way to get guys easy buckets and as a result the amount of ill-advised perimeter jumpers continue to mount up. Via free agency, the Hawks have added McGrady and Vladimir Radmanovic to the fold, two veterans who are mostly perimeter oriented these days. If Teague doesn’t show the expected growth as floor leader in year three the offense has the potential to sputter.

- Lang Greene

Consistency is the theme for the year, men. Last season, we simply lacked the consistency to put together a streak of wins, and instead we rode a roller coaster. Our goal has to be getting better every day, and build toward the postseason. We can’t let ourselves fall off a cliff this season: the schedule is too short and the dangers are too numerous. So much of our season is predicated on the performance of one player: Al, we need you to produce more. You have improved in every season, and this has to be the year you enter the top level of players in the league. Joe, Josh, it really is all about consistency: your effort and mentality every day will be the difference in our season.

- Anthony Macri

Is Jeff Teague Truly The Answer At Point Guard?
 

Over the past few seasons the Hawks have made it a habit to play their younger untested players sparingly. However, the team won’t have a choice this season as Teague enters training camp as the only healthy true point guard on the roster. Drew’s safety blanket for Teague, Kirk Hinrich, is out until at least February after undergoing shoulder surgery. That leaves second year guard Pape Sy expected to handle the backup point guard duties to start the season. Sy played a total of 21 minutes as a rookie in 2011 so asking him to play a meaningful role while out of position off the bench on a playoff contender is a stretch. That leaves the responsibility of leading the team on the shoulders of Teague. There were some whispers around the team that Teague plays better when he knows his minutes are guaranteed as opposed to spot duty off the bench. He’ll get a chance this season to prove he’s a full-time starter and the Hawks need him to be every bit as good as he showed in the Chicago series – on a consistent basis.

- Lang Greene