Let’s Overreact: Analyzing The NBA’s Biggest Offseason Overreactions

Oct 14, 2015; Atlanta, GA, USA; Atlanta Hawks head coach Mike Budenholzer talks with guard Jeff Teague (0) in the third quarter of their game against the San Antonio Spurs at Philips Arena. The Hawks won 100-86. Mandatory Credit: Jason Getz-USA TODAY Sports

The Atlanta Hawks will not contend in the East

The Atlanta Hawks emerged out of nowhere last season to win 60 games and clinch the No. 1 seed in the East. After being a 39-win team in the 2013-14 season, Mike Budenholzer got this squad on track and turned them into one of the more aesthetically appealing teams in the NBA. Spurs East, they called them.

It was easy to say during that incredible 19-game win streak that they were either legit contenders or too good to be true. You could say, by season’s end, they were both. That Spurs-like style, under a Gregg Popovich disciple, was good enough to contend in the East but not good enough to win it. They made it to the East Finals, going through a tough eighth-seeded Nets, and a Wizards team, led by Paul Pierce, that just didn’t want to die.

Then, once the Cavs came along, it was over before it even started. Atlanta was competitive in just one of the four games in a series; they eventually got swept. Just making it to the ECF was a major accomplishment, especially seeing where they were a year earlier. But they, of course, wanted to and thought they could’ve made it all the way.

Now, with DeMarre Carroll making the move to our North, making the Finals is a pipe dream. But that doesn’t mean they won’t contend again.

To help fill the void at wing, Atlanta added Tim Hardaway Jr. and will now have Thabo Sefolosha back after missing the playoffs last year. That won’t be enough to replace what Carroll brought, but adding Tiago Splitter to the frontcourt will fix one weakness from last year in big man depth.

The talent currently there might not scare anyone but, under Bud, this team will still be good. And with Al Horford in a contract year, a major piece in this puzzle, maybe they make a run again this season.

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