9. Atlanta Hawks
After a surprising run to the Eastern Conferene Finals last season, the Atlanta Hawks are no longer going to sneak up on teams. They’re now going to have a target on their backs every night and will need to prove that last year wasn’t a fluke or an aberration.
And there’s reason to believe that they can. Trae Young and John Collins are only going to get better as individual players and Clint Capela continued to show how important he is to this team in the paint.
Cam Reddish has breakout star potential and Jalen Johnson is a name to keep an eye on toward that latter portion of the season. The Hawks have the talent to make another deep playoff run this season. It will all come down to execution and cohesion.