Point Guards
Joe Johnson / Tyronn Lue / Salim Stoudamire / Tony Delk
Joe Johnson / Tyronn Lue / Salim Stoudamire / Tony Delk
Shooting Guards
Josh Childress / Royal Ivey
Small Forwards
Josh Smith / Donta Smith
Power Forwards
Al Harrington / Marvin Williams
Josh Childress / Royal Ivey
Small Forwards
Josh Smith / Donta Smith
Power Forwards
Al Harrington / Marvin Williams
Centers
Jason Collier / Zaza Pachulia
Jason Collier / Zaza Pachulia
Other Roster Players : John Edwards (C), Esteban Batista (PF/C)
2004/05 : 13-69, 5th in Southeast
Coach : Mike Woodson
Key Additions : Joe Johnson, Marvin Williams, Zaza Pachulia
Strengths : The Hawks have great depth and talent at the swingmen positions. New signing Joe Johnson teams with rookie Marvin Williams along with Josh Childress, Al Harrington and the explosive Josh Smith. With the Hawks in a rebuilding period, these young guys will be given ample opportunity to grow and give the Hawks a solid base to solidify their roster around. Young big man Zaza Pachulia, signed from the Bucks, has showed signs of being a solid NBA big, whilst rookie guard Salim Stoudamire is an exciting scorer.
Weaknesses : Atlanta have a long way to go before they are a playoff contender. Upfront the hawks are very weak defensively with nobody capable of making stops. Collier and Pachulia are offensive minded centers, whilst Williams and Harrington who will share time at the 4 are tweeners for that position. At the point, Atlanta are likely to trial big signing Joe Johnson. This experiment is unlikely to have the required results as it does take away from Johnson's natural game. The Hawks do have Lue as a backup plan, but he is not a NBA starting quality guard with this roster.
Key Player : Joe Johnson got his payday, after getting his wish to leave the Phoenix Suns. This is a terrible move for him if he was seriously looking at a title, but that obviously was not a thought. Johnson was after responsibilty, and he'll have all that and more with the Hawks with no Steve Nash and Amare Stoudamire deverting attention. Joe will log minutes at all perimeter positions and will need to be effective at the point to help this team lift from the basement.
Overview : The Hawks have had a productive off season bringing in multi talented guard Joe Johnson, whilst drafting the athletic Marvin Williams with the 2nd pick. They certainly are an improved squad from last season, just through the experience players such as Childress and Josh Smith received. However this is still a very young squad, with alot of development required to be successful NBA players. The Joe Johnson trial at point guard will be interesting along with William's transition to the pro game. Look for the Hawks to be a dangerous team at home, but badly suffer from the road blues. Plenty of excitement from this bunch, but that will be from the highlight reals on ESPN, rather then in the standings.
Win Range : 22-27 wins