Andrew Kasmarek, Mitch Pratt and Charlie Tritschler are getting you ready for the NBA season. The previews feature all sorts of information to get you ready for the start of the season.
What I know…
- A very sound frontcourt. If you are going to beat the Heat, many teams think the formula to do it is down low (see; Pacers, Grizzlies, Brooklyn). Atlanta, will look to do just that
- Mike Budenholzer is the new coach of the Hawks. Other then his cool last name, here are some other facts about Budenholzer that you might want to know in case your friends ask you: He played one season of professional basketball in Denmark (A basketball hotbed[1]). He was the video coordinator for a couple seasons in San Antonio (a la Erik Spoelstra), before being brought on as an assistant under Gregg Popovich. He was charged with a DUI this summer and more than likely will sit out some time early on this year.
- The Hawks projected starting small forward and shooting guard (Kyle Kover and John Jenkins) combined to score 16 ppg last year. I’m willing to bet most anything[2] that 16 combined points is the lowest output of any starting SG/SF in the entire league.
Additions/Subtractions…
They brought in Paul Millsap, by and large the biggest splash they made. Millsap has been thriving in Utah for the last couple years, and will immediately help this team. They also brought in Elton Brand, who is old, but still solid. As I mentioned earlier, the combination of Brand, Millsap and Al Horford this will be very tough down low.
They brought in Paul Millsap, by and large the biggest splash they made. Millsap has been thriving in Utah for the last couple years, and will immediately help this team. They also brought in Elton Brand, who is old, but still solid. As I mentioned earlier, the combination of Brand, Millsap and Al Horford this will be very tough down low.
They drafted a rookie PG out of Germany named Dennis Schroeder and probably catch a few people off guard this season as he does not look like the other German-born player. I see a lot of Damian Lillard in this kid, especially with his shooting and passing ability (Probably could throw his defensive ability[3] in there too, but time will tell...). And if you had time to watch the video, he has a take to the rim at the 1:35 where he it takes him two steps from the three-point line to finishing at the basket. I like this kid.
What I have been pondering…
When I look at this roster, I do not like it. I am sketched out by how much scoring they are going to be looking for out of Korver and Jenkins. Korver is great role player, but usually there is a dominant playmaker that gets him his points. I do not really trust Jeff Teague to make him that much better. Lou Williams is not even cleared to play yet, and even if he were, he is not making that much of a difference. This is all before saying that John Jenkins is still really an unknown. A college stroker at Vanderbilt, he only logged 15 minutes per game a season ago in his rookie campaign. He has the ability, but his lack of playing time last year makes me think that there is something (Whether that his bball IQ, defense, passing) that was kept him off the floor. It will be interesting to see what he can bring to the table.
On the other hand, Utah used the formula off an overly sturdy front court to compete in the West last year, and the East is notoriously easier to compete in, so I cannot rule them completely out. They will bang with the best of them.
What I have been pondering…
When I look at this roster, I do not like it. I am sketched out by how much scoring they are going to be looking for out of Korver and Jenkins. Korver is great role player, but usually there is a dominant playmaker that gets him his points. I do not really trust Jeff Teague to make him that much better. Lou Williams is not even cleared to play yet, and even if he were, he is not making that much of a difference. This is all before saying that John Jenkins is still really an unknown. A college stroker at Vanderbilt, he only logged 15 minutes per game a season ago in his rookie campaign. He has the ability, but his lack of playing time last year makes me think that there is something (Whether that his bball IQ, defense, passing) that was kept him off the floor. It will be interesting to see what he can bring to the table.
On the other hand, Utah used the formula off an overly sturdy front court to compete in the West last year, and the East is notoriously easier to compete in, so I cannot rule them completely out. They will bang with the best of them.
What I really can’t believe about Atlanta is how they never really seemed to have a chance, even with the cap space they had, to sign hometown kids Josh Smith and Dwight Howard. That would frustrate me if I were a Hawks fan right now.
Prediction...
I do not know if the backcourt will be able to keep up with the frontcourt and it will kill Atlanta in the end. It is tough to trust Jeff Teague to win a bunch of games plus you can never rely on Brand’s knees to hold up, or Millsap’s jumper. Basically if Atlanta were the other sex, we would have a ton of trust issues to work out before moving forward in the relationship.
Prediction...
I do not know if the backcourt will be able to keep up with the frontcourt and it will kill Atlanta in the end. It is tough to trust Jeff Teague to win a bunch of games plus you can never rely on Brand’s knees to hold up, or Millsap’s jumper. Basically if Atlanta were the other sex, we would have a ton of trust issues to work out before moving forward in the relationship.
In the end all this mistrust will lead me to putting this guys near the bottom of the league. This might not be a bad thing, because add one of the top wing rookies to this frontcourt and things could be competitive in Atlanta again in no time.
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