Which Hawks players are you the most excited about for the upcoming season?

[Sothron]

My list:

1. Al Horford. DA BOSS. We are simply an entirely different level of team with him on the court. He was on his way to posting career numbers last season before the injury. I want to see if Boss can bring it like he was doing last year before the injury. Will he play any bit skittish after two freak injuries and missing two out of the last three seasons? Or will we see the same gutsy guy we've loved since his rookie year out of Fla?

2. Dennis the Menace: I saw a lot I loved in SL play. I want to see him get consistent minutes. I want him to push Teague out the door and replace him as the starter. Dennis has all the tools and great court vision. Do we see more growth out of him this year? Or will he get lost in the shuffle like last season with Mack playing well enough as backup point guard that Dennis simply did not get a fair chance at minutes?

3. Kent Bazemore: I'm not sure how the hell we got lucky enough to get this guy on the cheap but I will take it. Good young wing player with explosiveness and the ability to hit a J? And all this on the cheap? Yes, please, can I have another? This young cat is in a PRIME position to get a ton of minutes at SG/SF. I'm kinda hoping he pushes Korver into a sixth man role by midseason if not earlier.

4. DMC: There will always be a soft spot in my heart for a SF that rests almost his entire credentials as a 3&D hustle player. It makes me remember one of the best basketball arguments I ever had in my life with none other than my own father. A former basketball coach who calmly and then not so calmly told me why I was utterly and completely wrong when during one Hawks game I just couldn't stand watching Tyrone Corbin any longer and started viciously attacking him for being half the player Nique was at the three. What followed next was an argument that is still remembered in my family today. My dad showed me tapes of Hawks games and carefully pointed out all the small things Corbin did. How his rotations were almost always on point. How his team defense IQ and defensive awareness were the best on the Hawks (including Deke and Mookie). How his offense was limited but he still could stretch a defense somewhat by moving to the outside. I will add that looking back at this time in the NBA history it was when the whole concept of a 3 and D wing player was really starting to become an official label for a player. My dad told me that while Corbin could never be a Nique he was never SUPPOSED to be a Nique and it really made me aware that you can't be a winning team without a starter willing to sacrifice personal stats for a team success.

I mention this to bring up DMC. This cat is Corbin 2.0. I raved about him last year and I stand ready to do it again. We don't need all five starters to be 20 point a game players. We NEED someone that can be a great wing defender and hustle his ass off. That is something DMC can do. Watching him play last year with my dad for a few games brought back our old fight about Corbin and how much DMC had the same look to his game. Needless to say he's my dad's second favorite guy on the team (after Horford) in just one season.

5. Paul Millsap: I am not the biggest fan of Paul but I'd be lying if I said I didn't appreciate what he brought last year esp. when Horford went down. The guy has no fear to him. He does not wilt under the pressure and keeps plugging away. I want to see what he and Horford can do together. I want to see more of their interior passing between themselves to get each other better shots. I definitely want to see what they can do together defensively to help each out. Paul is probably the highest level of player we can sign at this point and this year is his extended try out for an extension with us.

So that's my Fab Five, who do you guys got?

[PSSSHHHRRR87]

1. Adreian Payne
2. Kent Bazemore
3. Mike Muscala
4. Thabo Sefolosha
5. Al Horford

[ATLHawks3]

1. DeMarre Carroll- He's been working hard this off-season to become the "African American Kyle Korver". If he becomes 75% of the shooter that Kyle Korver is, this makes our team even more scarier.

2. Jeff Teague- I want to see if he can keep up his performance in the playoffs going into this season. He literally holds the keys to where the Hawks may go this season, and I want to see and all-around improved game from him this year.

3. Kent Bazemore- He showed his potential when he got minutes last year after being traded to the Lakers. He's a long athletic wing that takes pride in his defense, and is also working hard on the offensive end as well. Sixth Man of the Year Canidate?

4. Al Horford- Al is back. We basically added an All-Star Center to our squad with him coming back. He showed that he was perfect fit in Coach Bud's system before the injury, and I can't wait to see him put on an Atlanta jersey again.

5.Mike Scott- I hope he's been working on that 3 point shot this offseason! He showed last year he could be a threat from deep, but he was so inconsistent from outside, you never knew when he was going to get hot. I'm looking for another good year from him as well.

6. The Rest of our Players- I hope as a team, everyone used this off-season wisely to improve their games. I hope that the series against the Pacers made them even more hungrier to show the world that Atlanta can no longer be overlooked. We finally have a good coach, and hard working players that can execute his system very well. I'm looking forward to a good season for our Hawks. 

[capstone21]

This team with Al back

[DrReality]

What's really amazing is the top 5 could easily expand to 8-10. We've never been so deep and versatile. Amazing options and rotations to challenge every lineup in the league. And I think we have the chance for it to be someone different every night to step up and make the big plays. That's exciting!

[Guest]

1. Al

2. Millsap

3. Teague

4. Schröder

5. Payne

Honorable mention: Baze, Thabo

[MrMeltdown]

Teague/Al

Scott

Korver/Sap

[JTB]

Here's my list:

1. Teague

Dude is head of the snake on our team and that hasn't changed. I hope we see playoff Teague all season long cause if we do don't be surprise to see the media suddenly become bandwagon hoppers. Playoff Teague in my opinion is the difference between a 50 plus win season and good playoff run vs non playoff Teague which will result in 42 win season at highest and first round exit....Teague makes this team go!

2. Bazemore

Usually sap or horford comes after Teague for me but they are who they are and that's good ass players so as long as they keep doing what they always have I never worry about them. On to Bazemore....this guy has turned out to be my favorite signing (there weren't many lol), but the way I see Bazemore is a possible future starter who is good & disciplined on the defense end and can be very effective on the offense end at driving and shooting.

I'm looking for him to take over korvers spot at SG at some point. I'm not calling the guy an all star, I'm calling him a mikel peitrus from the Orlando magic or a Matt Barnes in his prime type player....just a really good solid starter that probably can have a couple of over achieving seasons.

3. DMC

I don't have much to say about DMC but if he come back with an even better 3pt shot he will be known in the nba guranteed. But as long as he plays like he did last year he will continue to hold down the SF position. Personally I would like to see him avg 7-8 boards a game not just because we need it but because I honestly believe he can avg that many boards!

4. Payne

I want to see if our rookie can step it up and play center in this league. I would love for him to have an al horford rookie year 12pts 10 boards but he won't get that kind of pt but if he can show signs of being able to hold down the center position it will change a lot of off season pre plans.

5. Scott & Dennis/Moose

I just want to see Dennis worthy of pt and that's about it with him. Scott I want to see that killer instinct as 3pt shooter...that would make the bench deadly.

As for moose I just want to see if he can be primary backup pf cause he's looking great and he has size!

Honorable mention:

John Jenkins

I wish Jenkins could turn into Kyle Korver or show the ability to be like a Kyle Korver. If he shows that it will keep him around cause Korver is getting up there in age.

Edited October 9, 2014 by JTB

[frosgrim]

1. The return of Al. I think he's tailor made for coach Bud so let's hope Al gets a full season of healthy ball

2. Payne: I'm very curious about how his game translates into the NBA. If he can contribute, Paul Milsap can be traded to get us a better wing

3. Bazemore as the Hawks haven't had a guy like him in a while. Slashes who play defense are rare and, I think, we have a good one.

4. The (hopeful) development of Denis. I really want him to turn into a starting quality pg. It won't happen this year but I hope we see a big step forward

5. Budenholzer he seems like a very good coach. Now let's see if he can get a top 5 playoff seed and get out of the first round.

[Gray Mule]

I'm excited about the 15 players that make up the entire squad of the Hawks!

 

We're going to be a "Push the tempo!" type team with a lot of fast breaks and

a defensive team that is capable of moving fast and giving our opponent a

really big headache.

 

In order to do this, we must have more capable players than the starting five.

This season, I don't expect things to drop of a lot if we find all five starters

on the bench for a short rest.  I believe that our bench is that good and I find

this extremely exciting.

 

I believe we have a very good coach and I believe that we have the players who

are both mentally and physically able to carry out his instructions and plans

which will end up being slightly different for each opponent.

 

I expect the team to be able to make adjustments to their game plan at half time

and execute those changes when they return to the floor.  Heck, I expect great

things from this season's Hawks!

 

GO ATL!

[frosgrim]

I'm excited about the 15 players that make up the entire squad of the Hawks!

 

We're going to be a "Push the tempo!" type team with a lot of fast breaks and

a defensive team that is capable of moving fast and giving our opponent a

really big headache.

 

In order to do this, we must have more capable players than the starting five.

This season, I don't expect things to drop of a lot if we find all five starters

on the bench for a short rest.  I believe that our bench is that good and I find

this extremely exciting.

 

I believe we have a very good coach and I believe that we have the players who

are both mentally and physically able to carry out his instructions and plans

which will end up being slightly different for each opponent.

 

I expect the team to be able to make adjustments to their game plan at half time

and execute those changes when they return to the floor.  Heck, I expect great

things from this season's Hawks!

 

GO ATL!

Yeah GM

We could really run a 48 minutes of hell ala the late 80 s and early 90s Arkansas teams. It could be great fun to watch

[macdaddy]

Bazemore, Payne and Jenkins are the ones I'm most excited to see how they are progressing.   But I'm excited about the whole team

[ATLSmith]

Excited to see Horf back on the floor and to see how Teague progresses even further this year now that he has more experience in Bud's system.

I'm also just excited to see the new guys; Bazemore, Payne, Thabo.

 

Heck, I'm just excited.

[Guest]

1. Al - a full healthy season

2. Bazemore and Payne - can they be the new high flyers to bring back the High Light Factory.

3. The Point Guards - will Teague be running the team instinctually instead of thinking it now that this is the 2nd go round in Bud's offense. Will Dennis get it together and beat out Mack?

4. Will Dennis, Moose and Payne see enough minutes and be effective to get consideration for Rookie/Sophmore game?

5. The return of JJ - can he be relied on to be Kyle's replacement eventually.

Honorable mention: Thabo Sefalosha - can he surprise us on offense like DMC did last year?

[BrazilianHawk]

1. Horford & Millsap together

 

Then, far behind, the rest of our guys.

[Guest]

1. Horford & Millsap together

Then, far behind, the rest of our guys.

An interesting matchup I'm looking forward to is the duo of Sap and Horford against Gasol and Noah. They seem to have length on us but I think we have muscle. Horford always seems to get the better of Noah in head to head matchups, he treats Noah like his younger brother on the playground lol. But it'll be interesting to see which duo compliments one another better. I'm hoping its us since Sap and Horford have 1/4 season played together already and Noah and Gasol have 0 chemistry but I will admit I'm scared of them building chemistry quickly.

[AHF]

 1 - Al Horford.  He is our best player when healthy and this team will be a marginal playoff squad without him.  I am very excited to see him back on the court and matching up with Sap.

 

2 - John Jenkins.  He won't have nearly the impact of Al under any circumstances but there is no one more on the knife's edge this season than Jenkins.  In short - it is do or die time for him with the Hawks and maybe for his NBA career.  Will he go the way of the Gary Neal, Danny Green, etc. type of valuable perimeter shooters for the Spurs or the way of Salim Stoudamire?  I am very interested to see.

 

3 - Kent Bazemore (Seph).  We desperately needed more perimeter defense after last season and picked up two potential impact defenders in Bazemore and Sephalosha.  I put more emphasis on Bazemore here because he has the higher ceiling (and lower floor) and could potentially become a two-way contributor.  Seph will never be a real contributor on offense due to his limited skill set and de minimus number of shots.  At best he will hit a high % of a low # of 3's.  Bazemore could be something more and that would fill a huge hole on the perimeter.  That potential adds a bit more sizzle so I am listing Kent.

 

4 - Adreian Payne.  A high flying, sweet shooting big man?  I am excited.  I did not watch more than 12 games during his college career and Michigan State is rarely a place where people pile up big numbers so I don't have a great sense of what he will bring.  Will we see him jamming, spreading the floor, hitting the boards, etc?  Hopefully all of the above.  There is additional intrigue here since there were a lot of other good players on the board when he was selected so there will be inevitable comparisons to what could have been good (Horford over Yi), bad (Shelden over Roy), or otherwise.  Should be a highly discussed player this season.

 

5 - Dennis Schröder.  We are 4 first round picks into Ferry's time in Atlanta and Schröder remains one of our best bets to emerge as an impact player but he has the risk of the same low floor that was his 2013-14 season.  He brings a passing element and defensive potential that Teague and Mack haven't shown and could be an electrifying player off the bench this year if he adds consistency to his shooting and TOs.  I can't wait to see what comes next for Dennis because it could be anywhere from him showing out as a burgeoning star to him being a marginalized and rarely played insurance policy on the bench.  Really wide range here.

 

I guess the biggest theme for the players who are on the top of my list for interest is the range of potential outcomes.  These guys all have huge ranges unless Sap, Shelden, Korver, DMC, etc. who are significantly better than most of these guys but are fairly predictable during their time on the floor.  It is the guys who could be studs or duds that will probably determine whether we are playing with aspirations of greatness or treading water for an early round exit.  I can't wait!

[JTB]

I'm a bit shocked that some people have horford listed as number one.

I mean I'm excited to see horford return but are we really going to be shock when Al avg 18-20 pts and 10 boards?....not at all we are just going to say we missed that last year.

It's way more exciting to know if Teague will be able to lead the team and play as playoff Teague. (Not to put horfords return down but we know what he's capable of and what he will do, I don't expect any less than that from horford....he tore a titty not an arm)

Edited October 9, 2014 by JTB

[AHF]

I'm a bit shocked that some people have horford listed as number one.

I mean I'm excited to see horford return but are we really going to be shock when Al avg 18-20 pts and 10 boards?....not at all we are just going to say we missed that last year.

It's way more exciting to know if Teague will be able to lead the team and play as playoff Teague. (Not to put horfords return down but we know what he's capable of and what he will do, I don't expect any less than that from horford....he tore a titty not an arm)

 

Horford has to show he can stay healthy to a lot of people.  

 

Your post is right that I should have had Teague on my list.  I have already said he is the most important guy for determining how far we go this year.  I'm not sure if it was because I have already written on that so many times but Teague should have been my #1.  Horford is on my list, though.   Too many games missed and still not back at 100% for me to feel comfortable.

[Guest]

I'm a bit shocked that some people have horford listed as number one.

I mean I'm excited to see horford return but are we really going to be shock when Al avg 18-20 pts and 10 boards?....not at all we are just going to say we missed that last year.

It's way more exciting to know if Teague will be able to lead the team and play as playoff Teague. (Not to put horfords return down but we know what he's capable of and what he will do, I don't expect any less than that from horford....he tore a titty not an arm)

I'm excited to see Al because he has been missed.