We make a jump one doesn’t feel large enough.
Ahead of Al Horford went with (another) torn pectoral last season, Mike Budenholzer’s birds were 16-13, looking like the third-best team from the East. After dropping its very best player, Atlanta closed the year out with a 22-31 mark.
Of course, because the East was the East, the Hawks still made the playoffs.
This season, Horford is looking just fine in preseason play and healthy with. Plus, Paul Millsap is currently playing for a contract, Jeff Teague remains one of the least appreciated talents of the league and Thabo Sefolosha is now in town to bring some stifling perimeter defense.
Nobody’s saying the Hawks are a lot of world-beaters, however they feel just like postseason locks. And they may finish among the conference’s top four.
At the very least, they’ll jack a ton of threes (only the Houston Rockets attempted more in 2013-14) and also look after the ball (Atlanta’s assist-to-turnover ratio had been next best in the East). That’s a recipe for success.
Do not sleep on the Hawks.