ATLANTA HAWKS



The Atlanta Hawks are the 5th seed in the eastern conference playoffs after finishing second in their division. This rising team has a chance to beat the Boston Celtics in the first round if Boston doesn’t stay healthy or loses any key players. They are a young team who can outrun and out hustle any team in the playoffs. They are a dangerous team with Josh Smith running the power forward position. If they happen to beat the Celtics (which I doubt will happen) they would face the Miami Heat in the second round and I can't see them advancing past Miami especially when Miami is in their same division. Atlanta doesn't have a coach I feel confident in and I can see the team making mistakes that will carry over to fast break points and easy baskets for the Celtics. Don’t count Atlanta out though they have the pieces to make a deep run if they play like a team and don't make crucial turnovers. Atlanta is a contender but I think their lack of depth will ultimately make them loose to the deep Boston Celtics. Atlanta’s starting five are young and can play a lot of minutes but it will be important for each of the 5 starters to score double figures or for any of them to be able to score 30+ points if they need too. I don’t see much leadership with this team but the raw talent and athleticism could be a potential problem for any opponent they might face.