This is the next question in a series of roundtable questions I’m asking the staff here at Peachtree Hoops about the Hawks this upcoming season. The previous roundtable can be found here. Today’s question: what is your prediction for record for the Hawks this season? And how far do they go in the playoffs?
Wes: I think the Hawks just crack 50 wins (50-32), get to the second round of the playoffs, and fall to the top-seeded Cleveland Cavaliers in seven games.
Chase: My bet is the Hawks finish at 52-30.
It should be good enough to finish as a top 3 seed in the Eastern Conference.
Graham: While I believe in this team’s ability to be able to go all the way to the Finals, there is an element that may force them to manage/rest players (such as Porzingis) in the regular season to keep them fresh for the playoffs. While that may take away a few wins here and there, it’s always – always – worth remembering the Hawks play in a shite weakened Eastern Conference, and if the Hawks are a properly good team, they will eat up wins against the Eastern Conference if everyone is healthy. Put me down for 52 wins.
I get a lot of similar vibes to the 2015-16 Hawks: a team I believed in their postseason ability even if their regular season wins total didn’t reflect that. While that team won 48 games (and, while I loved that team, I’ll never forgive them for not being able to beat the Wizards’ C-team on that final day of the regular season to break that hectic tiebreaker that doomed them to a second-round matchup against the Cavaliers), I believed they could have gone toe-to-toe with anyone in the conference…other than the Cavs.
The current iteration of the Cavaliers could present a similar dynamic to the Hawks, but I think after last season people aren’t going to take them seriously until they get to the playoffs, even if they win 60+ games again this season.
Malik: I think the Hawks will finish 48-34 and finish as a top 4 seed in the East.
Hassan: 49 wins – good for the 4 or 5 seed in the East. Provided everyone is healthy for the postseason, I think this team can win a first-round playoff series too.
