Can Joe Johnson Lead the Atlanta Hawks to Another Playoff Birth?
The Atlanta Hawks were one of the more efficient teams in the NBA Eastern Conference during the 08-09 basketball season. Having built upon the modest success of the season before, the Hawks were a solid regular season team that showed potential to break through in the playoffs.
The Hawks finished second in the Southeast division behind the Orlando Magic with a 47-35 record and were swept in the second round of the playoffs. The first round win against the Miami Heat wasn’t that impressive either – every win and loss was in the double digits.
The Hawks have a very young team and looking to build even further in the 09′-10′ season. The Hawks were lead by Joe Johnson who averaged nearly 22 points per game in 79 games played.
The Hawks also have veteran point guard in Mike Bibby who averaged 15 points per game and 5 assists. Al Horford is one of the best rebounders and shot blockers in the NBA and he will need to have an outstanding season for the Hawks to have more success this year.
Horford has great rebounding and shot-blocking ability, and moves up and down the basketball court with great speed. A work in progress, he’s expected to improve steadily during the next few seasons. If Horford can develop into what they think he can be, Johnson will have some really nice help around him.
When you can’t score you must prevent the other team from scoring, the Hawks defense must improve because their opponent’s average for the season was 97 points per game – championship quality teams do not give up that many points.
The only concern I see is the lack of scoring for this team. They must improve on putting up bigger points if they want to make some noise.
Look for the Hawks to build on their success from the last two years. This is a talented, young team that can’t be slept on looking forward. Hawks fans have many reasons to be excited.
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