After a surprise run to the Eastern Conference finals, the Atlanta Hawks, to some, were a prime candidate for a slight regression this season. I wasn’t one of them. I picked the Hawks to finish third in the East and saw them as an honest conference-title contender. I still feel that way.
They’ve been hit hard by injuries/illness. I want to see what they look like when De’Andre Hunter, who plugs lots of Trae Young holes as their best perimeter defender, gets back. I believe in Clint Capela as a backline anchor when the perimeter isn’t being besieged in perpetuity. Onyeka Okongwu missed the first two months of the season and has played in just four games, and he was a big part of last season’s defensive success in the postseason.
Problem is, how long can the Hawks wait for all this to come around? Entering play on Tuesday, they have the fourth-worst record in the Eastern Conference, 16-20, and sit outside the…
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