NBA Tankapalooza 2019: Who will land the No. 1 pick in the Draft?
By Jacob Doole
Atlanta Hawks (19-39, fifth worst in NBA)
Current talent: Relative to their overall record, the Atlanta Hawks have been on a hot streak of late – they’re 13-17 over the last 30 games. That’s largely due to strong play over that stretch from Trae Young (18.2 points, 8.1 assists, 38.2 3P%) and the continuation of an excellent season from John Collins.
Add in sharpshooting rookie Kevin Huerter and continual improvements from Taurean Prince, and the Hawks are already starting to look a little more dangerous than the team that started 6-23. 10/20
Team needs: The Hawks already have young pillars in Young and Collins, and developing role players in Huerter and Prince. Outside of that, though, their depth of talent drops off steeply.
The remaining players are either veterans on their way out the door or fringe prospects who may or may not stick in the league. The starpower might be in place, but another high-end draft prospect would give them another shot at a complimentary piece at least, or a third star to build around at best. 14/20
Injuries/resting potential: None of the young Hawks have much of an injury history, but Young and Huerter may get some “rookie wall” rest towards the end of the season. Collins too might see some time on the bench, as his first full season as a starter may cause some late fatigue, real or fabricated.
Atlanta will surely also sit veterans Kent Bazemore, Vince Carter and Dewayne Dedmon more frequently. They don’t play huge roles as it stands, but funnelling their minutes to unproven prospects will cause a collapse or two that could be crucial. 12/20
Dell Demps Desperation Factor: Since taking over as GM and president of basketball operations in the 2016-17 season, Travis Schlenk has dived headfirst into the rebuild. That would have been his directive when hired, and there’s no way he’ll be easing up now.
The young Hawks have taken steps to develop some semblance of a winning culture in recent months; now, Schlenk will be looking to maintain that mentality while losing as many games as possible. 15/20
Strength of schedule: Atlanta’s remaining schedule is almost perfectly average. 11 of their 24 remaining games are against teams below .500, with three against league’s top five and three against the league’s bottom five.
In between is a slew of games against fringe playoff teams and not-quite-tanking stragglers. Ranked 11th in Tankathon’s remaining schedule strength, their finish to the season could go either way. 11/20