17. Atlanta Hawks
At least in my opinion, the Atlanta Hawks are one of the most intriguing teams in the Eastern Conference. Through the first 12 games of the season, they’re 6-6 and pretty much where most expected this team to be. However, there’s an argument to be made that the Hawks have been able to remain afloat to start the year even with Trae Young still trying to find his footing this season.
That could be viewed as good and bad. Let’s be optimistic for a minute. It could be considered good on the merit that Young will eventually start playing at a high level and shake off this cold start to the season and it will help the Hawks take another step forward. If they do that, they could easily finish as a top 8 seed in the East.
On the flip side, what if Young never shakes off this cold start? What if, for one reason or another, he is either checked out on the team or simply no longer fits? These are all questions that have to be swirling in the minds of the team’s front office at the moment. Quite frankly, I’m not sure if they even know what’s going on.