We might be closer than we all think....

[DavidSomerset]

Today I was driving back from Athens and all I could do was think about how much I CANNOT WAIT for the Hawks to return to the post-season, and how much energy there is going to be at that first home post-season game.

Sure, it will be mostly bandwagoners, but I guarantee yall the city will be BUZZING with excitement...Atlanta fans might be as fair weather as they come, but when you give them an exciting team that hasn't been good in a while...they bring the noise (just look at the Falcons from about 2001-2004...1998 as well).

Phillips arena is going to be WILD, and I'd be willing to bet it will be almost as loud as the 1998 49ers-Falcons playoff game I was at (loudest sporting event I've ever been to)...This city is a sleeping giant for basketball fans...Most people here need to see the team prove something first before they give it there support (I don't agree with that, but it's just the way it is).

I do think that we will be around the 7th or 8th best team in the East this next year, and when the playoffs roll around, we might be the 5th or 6th best...I think because of our youth, we will have a better 2nd half of the season...More time to mature.

Either way, I am about as sure as can be we make the playoffs in '08...That should be a great year for us.

Back to this year...I am confident AJ can hold down PG for us until Acie Law gets a handle on things, which I honestly don't expect to take too long...The guy has such great drive and competitiveness, I just can't see us keeping him off the court too long.

Not to mention, our front court is SO deep, we will really be able to take advantage of other teams with our depth there...I mean we just added the 3rd best player in the draft to this team...He will ABSOLUTELY contribute no matter what some people on here say.

We already have a pretty good idea of what JJ, Smoove, Zaza, and Chillz are going to give us...The 2 keys for our success next year are Marvin and Acie in my mind...We just can't be sure what they are going to do.

Is Marvin finally going to take off and become that superstar that we all know he can be? Will Law be able to take his offense into his own hands and run it adequately? While knocking down those clutch shots in the process??

If the answer to those questions are "yes" or close to "yes"...This team is going to start looking a heckuva lot more like a 4 seed than a 7 seed, IMO.

Sorry for the rant, but I am jacked for '07 guys!

[AnnArborHawk]

I look at this team a lot like the '04-'05 Bulls. Their first year back to the playoffs after Jordan's retirement featured 2 highly drafted rookies (Gordon and Deng) pulling down about 25 min a game as part of a deep rotation of young guys. 3rd best record in the East that year. Not expecting this team to be that good, but there's good reason to hope they'll make the playoffs.

[BusBoyIsBack]

I think we will be shockingly good as well for three reasons.

#1)I don't think we were nearly as bad as our record last year talent wise. Our key players missed SIGNIFICANT time due to injury. That and all those teams we lost to because we came out flat.

#2)People are underestimating the leap forward that our young nucleus can make next year. Imagine Josh Smith playing at the beginning of the season how he finished the year. And imagine this Josh Smith playing alongside Joe Johnson. And imagine a Marvin Williams having a breakout year showing signs of life like Smoove did last year and how Marvin did himself at the end of the season.

#3)I think people are underestimating the immediate impact these rookies can make. We're talking about guys who were in school for 3-4 years that shouldn't take 3-4 years to develop in the league. Not to say they will come in and be in their prime, but they should def not be as raw as people think. I think both are ready to log significant minutes right away

Will all these factors combined I say we could easily win 15 more games this season.

[TheDude]

well i think the biggest reasons for me is the potential development of Marvin, but more importantly the players themselves I think are excited about it....seems like they feel like us in that they are just a step away...you got Josh working with Hakeem for pete's sake...

i just want to hear one bit of news...has anyone heard anything whatsoever about Marvin and what he's doing in the offseason? i've heard about jsmith and speedy recovering...but havent heard anything about marvin working on something or shelden and solomon trying to get stronger...

[sick_five]

I've read that Soloman has gotten stronger... up to 231 lbs. and his arms are noticably bigger...

[Gray Mule]

Don't you just hate "potential" being thrown around so much.

However, with such a young team and none of our players

we are counting on having reached their peak years,

this has to be our thoughts.

All our players need to improve their game. If this

really happens, and we have no reason to believe it won't,

great things are ahead for our Hawks.

Older players slowly go down hill, heading toward the end

of their career. Younger players improve, reaching for

their peak years. That's the Hawks.

Atlanta is two deep in young players. If they all can

improve, great things are in store for Hawks fans!!

[pound4pound]

The word potential is accurately thrown around this board becuase that is what we have. We also have a roster with four point guards all that should be classified as back ups. We have a coach that has won 72 games in three seasosn - and that is the best he has ever done as a head coach. We have a starting center rotation of Sheldon Williams and ZaZa Pachulia, underwhelming to say the least. And we drafted two players who should be stars of their class however a rookies' impact on a team's record is usually not on the wins side of the column.

Because of these circumstances, the Hawks will improve on their 30 wins - maybe 36/38 wins. A healthy Joe Johnson who plays a full season and doesn't go through a mid-year shooting slump and Josh Smith playing a full year like he finished will give us that.