12. Atlanta Hawks
When the Atlanta Hawks acquired Dejounte Murray from the San Antonio Spurs two offseasons ago, the belief was that this team’s young core was going to raise the ceiling for the franchise. However, the experiment didn’t exactly go as planned last season. And so far this season, they appear to be well on that inconsistent path once again.
The Hawks have had some bright moments this season even with Trae Young still playing pretty below average for his standards. If he can hit his stride and find his rhythm as a player, there’s a chance the Hawks could sneak in as one of the top 6 teams in the Eastern Conference. However, considering how much Young has struggled over the last year-plus, that’s far from a guarantee.
Add in the fact that there’s still an outside chance that the Hawks end up making an in-season trade, keeping an eye on the Pascal Siakam situation, and it’s easy to see why they could quickly emerge as one of the more interesting teams to watch.