7. Atlanta Hawks
Projected Starting Lineup: Dennis Schroder, Kyle Korver, Kent Bazemore, Paul Millsap, Dwight Howard
In the end, I don’t believe the Atlanta Hawks will be better with Dennis Schroder and Dwight Howard instead of Jeff Teague and Al Horford. I could be wrong, and for the Hawks’ sake I hope I am, but I just don’t see it.
While I don’t believe they’ll be as good as they were last season, I still believe that this team has enough talent – and the right coaching – to still finish in the top 8 of the Eastern Conference. I don’t think they’ll finish in the top 4 or 5, as some are projecting, but I have them finishing in the 7th slot.
This is subject to change depending on how the injury bug travels through the Eastern Conference, but I feel pretty good about the Hawks still making the playoffs this season.
Next: No. 6