Former Hawks All-Star Point Guard Has Bold Prediction for this Season

The Atlanta Hawks are going to be a team to watch this NBA season. While it feels like their Eastern Conference Finals appearance from a few years ago is long behind them, they have retooled this offseason to try to make another deep playoff run.

The Hawks' offseason moves have widely been considered a great success. Two different trades landed them Nickeil Alexander-Walker and Kristaps Porziņģis without giving up too many assets. They also signed Luke Kennard to a nice contract.

Next season, their team has a mix of proven veterans like Porziņģis and Trae Young, young defensive aces like Alexander-Walker and Dyson Daniels, and a budding star in Jalen Johnson.

Jeff Teague, who played eight seasons in Atlanta, made a bold prediction about the Hawks' chances next season. He said on his podcast Club 520:

“The Hawks are going to make the playoffs, conference finals without a doubt... Have Porzingis spread, pause. He about to be lining up half-court shooting threes. Trae Young going to have all this room to operate… Porziņģis? Bro, he in contract year, you know how this go. He ‘bout to play 70 games.”

Teague might be right. If Porziņģis can stay healthy, you know he will be giving it his all in a contract year. He has the ability to transform a team’s offense and defense. The only problem is that he rarely stays healthy. In fact, he’s only played over 70 games once in his entire career, his rookie season. So Teague’s prediction of 70 games is a long shot.

What the Hawks do have going for them is that the Eastern Conference seems wide open. With the two powerhouses dealing with major injuries, the Hawks will have an opportunity to fight the Knicks, Bucks, Cavaliers, and Magic for the Eastern Conference crown.