Why the Atlanta Hawks will make the playoffs this season

Atlanta Hawks are making it to the NBA playoffs this year. That simple. As long as no one sustains a major injury, the Atlanta Hawks have what it takes to crack into the 8th seed at least. Honestly, with their off-season pickups, they could finish as high as the 6th seed. Let me explain.

So, let’s talk about some of these additions that Atlanta made. They added Bogdan Bogdanović, Danilo Gallinari and Rajon Rondo. Danilo and Bogdan are the easiest ones to talk about as they will both be fulfilling the same role.

If you know anything about Danilo and Bogdan, you know that these guys are sharpshooters. Danilo shot 41% from the three point line in the regular season, while Bogdan shot 37% from the three point line. Both players offer great spacing for guys like Trae Young and John Collins to operate and allow their offensive abilities to shine. Danilo also offers a third scoring option as he averaged 19 points during the regular season with OKC.

Now, Rajon Rondo brings great value in a different way. Rondo is battle tested and brings championship intangibles to this young Hawks team. He’s not the shooter that Danilo and Bogdan are, but he’s a great passer with high basketball I.Q. He’s a great facilitator to have off the bench and has the ability to relieve Trae Young of his on-ball duties. To top it all off, “Playoff” Rondo is real and very much alive.

Now that we’ve talked about the key additions Atlanta made, let’s move onto the two heavy hitters. First, John Collins. John Collins finished the regular season averaging 22 points, 10 rebounds while having a true shooting percentage of 66%. Each season, he has statistically gotten better and better. While he may not have better numbers this upcoming season, he should still maintain his level of effectiveness around his semi-new group of teammates. He’s a good shooter and finisher, and he works well in the screen game. John Collins is in his 4th year in the league and has shown signs of only improving from this point forward. I wouldn’t be too surprised if he joins his teammate (Trae) as an all-star this year.

Trae Young is the biggest and most important piece to them getting to the playoffs. He had a monster year, statistically averaging 30 points and 9 assists in 2020. I believe it’s unrealistic to think that he will average the same amount of points. He should, however, become a little more efficient as he does not have to carry such an offensive load. Those 5 turnovers a game should come down as a result of having another year of experience and a reduced load. Don’t be surprised if he averages around 24 points and around 10 assists a game. He’s only in his 3rd year, so he has a lot of time to improve and put everything together. Plus, having Rondo on the team will definitely be a good source of wisdom.

The biggest problem I can see with this squad is that some of their young players may not get a chance to improve or get a lot of play time. Guys like Kevin Huerter, Cameron Reddish, De’Andre Hunter and new rookie Onyeka Okongwu may have their growth stunted as they may not have a big role on the team. I wouldn’t be surprised if they trade a few of these young players to get more experienced and seasoned players (like an Al Horford for example) as they try to make a run to the playoffs. If they keep all their young players, it might have been counterproductive to pickup Danilo and Rondo unless it was for mentorship purposes.

With the NBA regular season starting December 22nd, the Hawks have gotten off to a good start as they went 3-1 in the preseason. With the star power of Trae Young, and the rising star power of John Collins I believe the Atlanta Hawks have a bright future for not only this season, but for years to come as well.

(All statistics used in this article can be found in Basketball-reference.com)