The Hawks

[Lamrock]

Somehow, they are several games about .500 and fourth in the East halfway through the season. They have experience a slip as of late, but still maintain their position. Why is this, and are they a fluke? Will Benji be eating crow with his other major prediction going into the season?

Discuss.

[bowdown]

i dont think they are a fluke. They have talented players and are also very athletic. Josh smith and Joe Johnson are studs. I think they can give a major upset this year in playoffs

[Doobie]

I don't think they are a fluke, but I don't think they are going anywhere at all either. The team they have now will be a middle of the pack team, and Bibby is an expiring contract this season so they have to work something out with him. They sure have a lot of youth, but I think they are one good big man away from being considered a contender.

[el badman]

They're gonna crash and burn after the ASG, I don't see them going anywhere. Williams, Smith, Horford,...they get injured one after the other, and should that happen to Joe Johnson too, or to 2 or 3 of them at the same time, and they're toast.

[Andrew]

I wouldn't say they're a fluke, I don't like their chances of an upset this year and they're clearly behind the Cavs, Magic and Celtics in the East but I'd say they're legit. They've played well at home and their road record is respectable despite missing some players through injury here or there. If they'd crashed and burned after their strong start much like the Jazz did a few years ago when they were undefeated through the first week or so then I'd be more inclined to call them a fluke but they've maintained a respectable standard up until now.

[erik_twism]

The Hawks have a young and strong core with horford, smith, williams, johnson but they have no bench and lack another quality big, so I see them making the playoffs for the next years. But I also don´t think that they will become a title contender in the next years.

[Kenny]

I think last year they proved they can give the playoffs a good shake up. Even thought the 7th game was a blowout, the Celtics were awfully close to being a first round casualty. They have a mix of potential like Marvin Williams, Al Horford and Josh Smith, a star in Joe Johnson and the experience of Mike Bibby at the point.

I will agree about them lacking a dominant bigman, also I think Josh Childress added a lot off the bench for them, so it's a shame he ended up leaving. Still, they're far from a fluke in my opinion, if anything, they may be underachievers.

[NovU]

I remember the Hawks considering to trade Bibby early in the season but their strong start made them to keep him. I wonder if he'll be gone after this year. He was a big part of recent Hawks' success I assume.

They sure have a lot of youth, but I think they are one good big man away from being considered a contender.

I second that, with a good big man, they'll be likely to become a contender. Pity Phillies didn't turn out to be great with Elton though. Hope he can be a good player once again after recovering from the injury.

[Andrew]

Bibby is a free agent so if the right offer comes along perhaps he will leave the Hawks after this season but if the money is right and the Hawks don't fizzle out then he'll certainly have incentive to stay. Assuming no deadline deal is made after all, at this point my guess is that he'll be back next year.

[[Q]]

early on in the season they had one of the best defenses in the league. as of late, it can easily be explained by the injury to Al Horford, which forces them to replace him in the lineup with Zaza Pachulia. I believe Horford's first game out was when they got shit on by the Magic by 30 points or so.

[benji]

Will Benji be eating crow with his other major prediction going into the season?

Nope, since I wrote "I won't be right, and it's not a prediction." And hey, I told all of you about those Clippers.

And I can't ever account for entire teams somehow learning to shoot over the summer, look at those Hawks shooting percentages. Jeez. At least Josh Smith is still a loser. (Now at five times the salary.)