2009-10 NBA preview: Atlanta Hawks
After years of stockpiling high first round draft picks, the Atlanta Hawks were able to get themselves off the endangered NBA team list last year winning 47 games. Their marketing department came up with the Now you Know slogan for the 2008-09 season, and now the questions seems to be now what? This is a team with many young talented players who have been strengthened by the additions of Joe Johnson and Mike Bibby. Ever since Head Coach Mike Woodson came to town in 2004 this has been a team on the rise.
This is a team that reached the second round of the playoffs a year ago, and who is returning each and every single key piece. They have made a few key additions, and their upward trajectory through the NBA team rankings should continue. The main key here is their young players need to continue to improve and soon enough the Hawks will be pushing themselves into the elite of the Eastern Conference.
The Hawks have improved their win total in each of the last four years, and after their first round playoff victory over the Miami Heat, second year General Manager Rick Sund got no time off as eight of his players were set to become free agents. Sund spent the summer keeping the biggest birds in their home nest, and was able to land versatile combo guard Jamal Crawford. Crawford is a proven commodity and makes this team a whole lot better.
The biggest questions for this team seem to be the size of their interior players, and the depth of their bench. These questions become more critical given, the fact that Shaquille O’Neil is now in the east with them. The Celtics and the Magic have also added size upfront.
