Saturday Slam: Can the Denver Nuggets recover from Friday?

                                         (Credit: AP-Craig Mitchelldyer) 

On Friday, the Portland Trail Blazers defeated the Denver Nuggets 140-137 in an epic quadruple-overtime thriller to go up 2-1. It was the second quadruple-overtime game in NBA playoff history and the first since 1953. While it was an absolutely surreal win for the Trail Blazers, it was an equally stinging loss for the Nuggets, who despite battling valiantly found themselves on the short end of the stick.

History tells us that the Trail Blazers will build on this emotional win and carry that into Sunday, likely resulting in a 3-1 series lead. It's very tough for teams in the Nuggets' position to shift things back in their favor. When you lose a game like they did on Friday, it's very hard to put it behind you and focus on the next game.

That all said, I'm not here to write about why the Nuggets are toast or why this series is over. It's not. I'm actually here to write about the exact opposite. Why the Nuggets can still win this series.

First off, I felt like there were good odds of this series going seven games when it began. Both teams are pretty evenly matched and while the Trail Blazers have more playoff experience than the Nuggets, it's not like they've been making deep runs over the years. They've typically been a team that maybe wins a series before getting eliminated in the second round, so for both teams, a trip to the Western Conference Finals would be entering uncharted territory.

Secondly, as good as the Trail Blazers played on Friday, the Nuggets were right there with them. Nikola Jokic, Paul Millsap, and Jamal Murray have all shown that they're ready to shine on the big stage. They're not afraid to take big shots and have done an admirable job of leading their team. They seem like a pretty resilient bunch that is more than capable of bouncing back from a tough loss.

Third, all the Nuggets need is one win in Portland to reclaim home court. With how this series has gone, it's hard to see the Trail Blazers winning all three games at home to close this series out in six games. The law of averages seems to be on the Nuggets' side that if you give them three games in Portland, they're bound to get at least one win. If the Nuggets are able to reclaim home court advantage and force a game seven in Denver, I think odds are good they'll win.

As much as momentum is in favor of the Trail Blazers right now, it would be foolish to rule out this Nuggets team. They're too talented to discount and it wouldn't be surprising at all for them to win on Sunday to tie things up 2-2 or even win a game six in Portland to force a game seven. This series still projects to have more twists and turns, giving the Nuggets ample opportunity to reach the Western Conference Finals.

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Tomahawk Tuesday: Can the Denver Nuggets weather the storm?

The Denver Nuggets have had a really impressive 18-9 start to the season and for the first time all year they are about to face some serious adversity. Last Friday at Charlotte, their star power forward Paul Millsap went down with fractured right big toe that is expected to sideline him for the next four-to-six weeks. Millsap has been averaging 13.6 points, 7.0 rebounds, 1.4 steals, and 1.1 blocks per game, doing a little bit of everything for this Nuggets team. On top of his absence, the Nuggets are also dealing with the absence of their star shooting guard Gary Harris, Jr., who has been diagnosed with a strained right hip, keeping him out for the next three-to-four weeks. Harris is putting up 16.6 points per game, carrying a good chunk of their scoring load.

It would be bad enough if it was just Millsap and Harris that were out. But there's more: Will Barton is considered week-to-week with a sore hip; Isaiah Thomas is still out indefinitely as he recovers from right hip surgery; rookie small forward Jarred Vanderbilt is yet to play a game as he recovers from right foot surgery; and rookie small forward Michael Porter, Jr. is also yet to play a game due to back surgery.  Things have gotten so bad for the Nuggets that they've had to use their hardship exception to sign guard Nick Young to a non-guaranteed contract.

As good as the Nuggets have been playing, it's tough to see them staying afloat in such a tight Western Conference amid all of these injuries. The good news for them is they still have guard Jamal Murray (17.4 points, 4.2 rebounds, and 4.9 assists) and center Nikola Jokic (17.1 points, 9.8 rebounds, and 7.6 assists) healthy. Both of those guys are having fantastic seasons and are certainly capable of shouldering more of the load. The only question is how much of the load can they carry?

During the next three-to-four weeks, the fate of this promising Nuggets team will likely be decided given how competitive the Western Conference is. If Murray and Jokic can keep their team playing above .500 ball, odds are good they'll be able to gain some ground back in February and March. If on the flip side, they play below .500 ball, we're probably looking at a team that finishes 7th or 8th in the Western Conference with the possibility of missing the playoffs altogether.

The NBA can be a cruel world and the Denver Nuggets are finding that out right now. Hopefully for them they'll be able to weather the storm and keep themselves in contention. They've been one of the feel good stories of the league this year and it would be a real shame to see their season go down the tubes due to injury so early on.

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NBALord.com Podcast: Kyrie Irving is still in Cleveland; Paul Millsap is a great fit in Denver

On this week's episode of the NBALord.com Podcast, I address the very latest in the Kyrie Irving saga, Paul Millsap's future with the Nuggets, and more. Click here to listen to the podcast.





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Tomahawk Tuesday: What does Paul Millsap bring to the Denver Nuggets?

                                            (Credit: David Zalubowski, The Associated Press) 

This summer, the Denver Nuggets made a splash of their own in signing Paul Millsap to a three-year, $90M deal. Millsap spent the past four seasons with the Atlanta Hawks after playing his first seven seasons with the Utah Jazz. Millsap was an All-Star in each of his four seasons with the Hawks, averaging 17.4 points, 8.3 rebounds, and 1.7 steals per game. Despite his success, the Hawks didn't feel they could contend with Millsap as a cornerstone of their franchise, ultimately deciding to let him walk in free agency.

The Hawks' decision shouldn't diminish what Millsap has accomplished during these past four years. He's established himself as one of the best players in the NBA, earning every bit of praise that he has received. They've been in need of a legitimate go-to option and Millsap certainly fits the bill.

The first thing that Millsap brings to this Nuggets team is toughness. Outside of Kenneth Faried, the Nuggets haven't had a lot of toughness on their team. Millsap is a guy who will battle for loose balls and never give up on a play. He plays with tremendous heart and gives it his all every time he steps on the floor.

Millsap also brings lots of experience. He's been an All-Star four straight seasons and has played in 87 playoff games, reaching the conference finals twice ('07 with Utah and '15 with Atlanta). The Nuggets haven't even sniffed a conference finals appearance since Carmelo Anthony left. To have a guy with that kind of experience and leadership will be huge.

In terms of his on the court abilities, Millsap brings versatility. At 6'8", 245 pounds, he can play both the small forward and power forward positions due to his combination of size, quickness, and all-around skill. He can shoot from the perimeter and take opponents off the dribble, creating a lot of mismatches on the floor. He'd be a really nice complimentary player for a guy like Kenneth Faried, who is more comfortable playing as a power forward.

The big question surrounding this Denver Nuggets team is whether or not they'll make the playoffs. Given the depth of the Western Conference, it's no guarantee that they do, but they definitely got a shot. While the Nuggets still need a lot more pieces to become a serious contender, adding Paul Millsap is a solid start. We've seen him anchor a very good Atlanta Hawks team and with the addition of a couple more pieces, there's no reason to doubt the Nuggets' ability to put a similar type of squad around him.

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Wednesday Windmill: The Atlanta Hawks are tanking and I don't know why

The Atlanta Hawks are tanking and I don't know why. To be clear, I know why teams tank. They tank to get higher draft picks so that they can be better for the long term. The Atlanta Hawks, however, are a team who seemed to tank for no good reason. They went 43-39 last season, which was good enough for 5th place in the Eastern Conference. The year before that, they were 48-34, which was good enough for 3rd place in the Eastern Conference, though they fell to 4th place due to a tiebreaker. In the 2014-15 season, the Hawks finished with the best record in the Eastern Conference at 60-22 with Paul Millsap, Al Horford, Jeff Teague, and Kyle Korver as their core, all of whom are no longer with the team.

Since the 2014-15 season, the Hawks have gone downhill, wholesaling their best players to other teams without wanting anything good in return. Rather than trying build around a core that won 60 games, the Hawks decided to blow the whole thing up and start anew, believing that what they had wasn't going to produce a championship no matter what moves they made.

While I understand the tanking philosophy and acknowledge that it has its place, the Hawks were not a team in need of embracing it. They should have instead embraced the quality roster that they had in the 2014-15 season and done all they could to enhance it for the purposes of better positioning themselves for a championship run.

By embracing the "If you're not first, you're last" mantra of Ricky Bobby, the Hawks have robbed their fans of witnessing deep playoff runs year in and year out. While it is true that the ultimate goal is to win a championship, it's not like the only successful seasons are the ones that result in a championship. Reaching the conference finals is a successful season that gets your fans excited. Winning a playoff series can also be considered a successful season, especially if you are a young and up and coming team.

My point is that if your ceiling is to reach the conference finals for a few years in a row, ride that ship out and see where that takes you. You never know, maybe someone gets hurt and you find yourself in the NBA Finals. If you are positioned to make those kind of runs year in and year out, tanking is not the solution to getting over the hump.

With most teams that tank, I understand why they are doing it. They're far from winning a championship and are in need of replenishing with young talent. The Hawks however were not in either of those camps. They were close to winning a championship and had a talented core that had plenty of years left. Taking a nosedive like this is very perplexing and difficult to understand.

Wednesday Windmill is a weekly piece that focuses on the Eastern Conference 

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Eastern Conference Playoffs Preview: Washington Wizards vs. Atlanta Hawks

In the first round of the Eastern Conference playoffs, the #4 seeded Washington Wizards (49-33) will take on the #5 seeded Atlanta Hawks (43-39). The Wizards won the regular season series 3-1. Game 1 tips off on Sunday at 1:00 PM EST on TNT.

The Washington Wizards no doubt wish that they had a higher seed than what they got. The Eastern Conference has an upper tier consisting of the Celtics, Cavaliers, Raptors, and Wizards with the Wizards bringing up the rear as the #4 seed. The Wizards finished the regular season 4 games back of the top seeded Celtics and 2 games back of both the Cavaliers and Raptors. Had they not gone 5-5 in their last 10 games, they may be looking at having the #2 seed in the Eastern Conference playoffs instead of the #4 seed.

As disappointed as the Wizards should feel for not getting a better seed, they should also feel encouraged by the fact that they are hanging with the best teams in the Eastern Conference. The emergence of Otto Porter, Jr. and the addition of Bojan Bogdanovic has given John Wall and Bradley Beal a lot more help than they've had in years past. As a result, the Wizards are closing the gap with the top teams in the conference.

The biggest key for the Wizards in this series is to rely on all the weapons and balance that they have. John Wall (23.1 points and 10.7 assists per game) is perhaps the best point guard in the NBA right now and right by his side in the backcourt is Bradley Beal, who is also averaging 23.1 points per game. The Wizards' backcourt is scary good and then when you combine that with the other guys I just mentioned, you have a team that has the capability of doing a lot of damage in the playoffs. The Wizards can beat you on the perimeter, they can beat you down low, they do a good job on the boards, etc. Their balance is really impressive.

As for the Hawks, to a large extent it's a miracle they've done as well as they have. When they traded Kyle Korver before the trade deadline, there was also chatter that they might trade Paul Millsap or even Dwight Howard. The Hawks appeared to be a franchise that was tanking and entering in rebuilding mode. Instead, they finished as the #5 seed in the Eastern Conference and have positioned themselves to win a first round playoff series.

If the Hawks want to pull off the upset, they need to have a big series from Paul Millsap and rely on the balance that they also have. Millsap is averaging 18.1 points and 7.7 rebounds per game while Dennis Schröder is averaging 17.9 points and 6.3 assists per game. In addition to those two guys, the Hawks also have Tim Hardaway, Jr., Kent Bazemore, and Dwight Howard scoring in double figures. The Hawks have a lot of guys that they can go to as well and they'll need every one of them to step up.

Probably the guy who the Hawks could use the biggest boost from is Dwight Howard, who is averaging 13.5 points and 12.7 rebounds per game. Howard is a guy who has a lot of playoff experience and has even played in the NBA Finals. He knows what it takes to go deep in the playoffs and came to Atlanta with the hopes of helping them make a playoff run of their own. If he is able to have a big series and produce above his season averages, the Hawks will really give themselves a great shot at winning this series. Especially if Paul Millsap and Dennis Schröder play up to the levels that they have been playing at.

This is a series that could go either way, but I have the Wizards coming out on top in six games. John Wall is the best player in the series and should be able to slow down Dennis Schröder in the backcourt. Wall is not only a maestro on offense, he is also a fantastic defender, averaging 2.1 steals per game. I see Wall making life hard on Schröder and really owning that matchup.

Bradley Beal might even be the second best player in the series ahead of Paul Millsap, which is just another reason to pick the Wizards. The bottom line is the Wizards are the better team and as a result they should come out on top. The Hawks definitely have the pieces to win this series, especially if Dwight Howard comes up big, but I really don't see the Hawks having an answer for John Wall. Dennis Schröder is a very nice point guard, but he will not win his matchup with Wall. Wall's ability to dominate that matchup will have a huge impact on this series and make things very tough for the Hawks.

My official prediction is Wizards in six games. The Hawks will stretch them a bit, but will not be able to pull off the upset. Unlike the Hawks, the Wizards have a real shot at coming out of the Eastern Conference and making it to the NBA Finals. The Wizards are at a different level and it will show in this series.





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Wednesday Windmill: The Atlanta Hawks would be crazy to trade Paul Millsap

                                          (Credit: Ketih Allison. Click here for source) 

At 18-16, the Atlanta Hawks are 5^th in the Eastern Conference, battling for a top-four seed and home court advantage in the playoffs. They’ve won 3 straight games and are coming off of a 114-112 win over the San Antonio Spurs in overtime at home. In short, things are looking good for the Hawks at the moment.

At the same time, their leading scorer Paul Millsap (17.8 points and 8.2 rebounds per game) is frequently being mentioned in trade rumors. It’s not like there’ve been a few whispers of him possibly being moved. This is out in the open. On New Year’s Day, Marc Stein and Brian Windhorst of ESPN both reported that Paul Millsap could be traded in advance of the trade deadline due to the impending player option on his contract, which he’ll be able to exercise this summer.

Due to this player option, Paul Millsap could theoretically be an unrestricted free agent in the summer, but it’s no guarantee that he’ll exercise his option. Even if he does exercise his option, he could do so as a means to re-upping with the Hawks for more cash. So, the possibility of him hitting the free agent market doesn’t necessarily indicate that he’ll choose to leave Atlanta.

If there’s any indication that he won’t choose to bail on Atlanta, his words to Chris Vivlamore of the Atlanta Journal Constitution seem to be pretty solid proof that he wants to remain a member of the Atlanta Hawks: “Everybody knows where my heart is and where I want to be. That would be here [Atlanta], yes.”  

Unless the Atlanta Hawks are utterly convinced that Paul Millsap would hop on the first steamboat out of Atlanta if given the chance, they need to seriously think about whether or not they want to really trade him. Paul Millsap is one of the top forwards in the NBA and by trading him, they’ll essentially be heading for rebuilding mode. I could understand making such a move if the Hawks were below .500 and struggling to make the playoffs, but as a team that could get home court advantage in the first round of the playoffs, looking to pull the plug and rebuild feels a bit premature.

The Hawks brought in Dwight Howard as a complimentary piece to Paul Millsap down low and they also have a quality young point guard in Dennis Schröder, who is averaging 17.5 points and 6.3 assists per game. In addition to Howard and Schröder, the Hawks have other quality pieces around Paul Millsap as well like Tim Hardaway, Jr., Kyle Korver, and Tiago Splitter, who is currently sidelined with a calf injury.

The bottom line is that the Hawks have a quality team with Paul Millsap as their centerpiece, which means there’s really no reason to blow the whole team off the map. While they aren’t a championship contending team, they are still a competitive team that is growing and getting better. I understand that sometimes you need to have a championship or bust type of approach as an NBA franchise, but I see no reason to have such an attitude when you are in the mix to get home court advantage in an opening round playoff series.

With that all being said, it sounds like the Atlanta Hawks are determined to find a home for Paul Millsap, which means that there will be a lot of teams bidding for his services at the trade deadline.

As far as possible trade partners go, the Boston Celtics are an obvious team that could be willing to make a move. If you read my blog last week, you’d know that I think the Boston Celtics are in need of a trade to really threaten the Cleveland Cavaliers. If the Boston Celtics added Paul Millsap to the fold and reunited him with Al Horford, they could really be cooking with gas.

Other teams that come to mind are the Philadelphia 76ers, who might be shopping Nerlens Noel, the Phoenix Suns, who might be shopping Eric Bledsoe, and maybe even the Utah Jazz, who Paul Millsap had great success with for many years. The Utah Jazz made the mistake of letting Paul Millsap go and so they could right that wrong by maybe trading away Derrick Favors to get him.

The only issue with making a move for Paul Millsap for the Utah Jazz (22-14) is that they are playing really good ball with their current roster and in order to get him, they would have to part with some pieces that they probably don’t want to part with. All the same, given Paul Millsap’s success in Utah and how much he liked the area, the Utah Jazz wouldn’t be crazy to at least entertain the possibility of bringing him back into the fold. 

If I can be totally honest, I don’t like the idea of Paul Millsap having to once again move on to a new city. He’s a really good dude and has played worthy of being a franchise player in both Utah and Atlanta, two teams that historically don’t contend for championships very often. The Jazz and Hawks are lucky they’ve had Paul Millsap both as a basketball player and as a citizen in their community.

Like I said, the Hawks would be crazy to trade Paul Millsap since they won’t get that same level of production in return and in addition, they’ll be heading in the direction of the NBA Draft Lottery. It makes no sense to me why you would trade a guy like Paul Millsap when he’s got your team in the thick of a playoff race, but perhaps that’s why I’m a sports journalist and not an NBA general manager.

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Eastern Conference Playoffs Preview: Atlanta Hawks vs. Boston Celtics

                                (4) Atlanta Hawks (48-34) vs. (5) Boston Celtics (48-34) 
   
     Predicting the outcome of a 4-5 matchup is like taking a stroll through Central Park in the middle of the night. You have no idea what will happen. The possibilities are endless. You might meet the friendly lady from Home Alone 2 that spends all of her time with pigeons because she's too afraid to have her heart broken again, you might meet a murderer, or you might meet a troll.

     While I don't see this series involving pigeons, a murderer, or a troll, I'm perfectly honest when I say that I could see this series going in any number of directions. The Hawks might pummel the Celtics due to their experience, Isaiah Thomas might have a breakout series and lead the Celtics to victory, or this series could go back and forth with it coming down to a seventh game in Atlanta.

     To help make sense of this toss up series, I will quickly explain what each team needs to do in order to win this series. In regards to the Hawks, what they need to do is defend their home floor. Atlanta isn't known for being a tough road environment. If there's any place in the NBA to choose to go on the road in a playoff game, Atlanta might be atop the list. Al Horford and Paul Millsap need to set the tone in Game 1 of this series and make sure their team defends their home floor. If the Hawks come out and have a dominant performance on their home floor to start the series, odds are good they win the series. They have home court advantage and they better take advantage.

     As for the Celtics, what they need is for Isaiah Thomas to step up and take control in the playoffs. Isaiah Thomas is averaging 22.2 points per game and is clearly the star of this team. The question that the Celtics are yet to have answered is whether or not Isaiah Thomas has what it takes to lead them to a playoff series victory. If Isaiah Thomas proves to be the best player in this series and takes control, odds are good the Celtics win the series in six or seven games.

      Given that this series is really hard to predict, I'm going to pick the Hawks to win in seven games.  The Hawks have home court advantage and they have more experience. The trio of Paul Millsap, Al Horford, and Jeff Teague will come up big in Game 7 and find a way to get their team to the second round.
   
     Note: Game 1 of this series is Saturday at 7:00 PM EST on ESPN.

Eastern Conference Playoffs Preview: Atlanta Hawks vs. Brooklyn Nets

     #1 Atlanta Hawks (60-22) vs. #8 Brooklyn Nets (38-44): 

     The Atlanta Hawks won the regular season series 4-0 against the Brooklyn Nets, indicating that this series shouldn't be much of a battle. Despite not having a true "superstar" the Hawks have been tremendously successful due to their unselfish play and remarkable consistency. Jeff Teague, Kyle Korver, Paul Millsap, and Al Horford, who are the leaders of this Hawks team, have been really consistent all season.

     It's very common for all four of them to play well in the same game even though maybe only one of them has a huge night. What has made this possible is that the Hawks really share the basketball, averaging 25.7 assists per game, which is second in the league behind only the Golden State Warriors. The Hawks all trust each other and as a result find themselves playing some of the best basketball in the league.

     The Nets on the other hand average only 20.9 assists per game, which ranks in the lower-third of the league. The Nets have some bigger names on their roster like Deron Williams, Joe Johnson, and Brook Lopez, but collectively they are very inconsistent. On some nights those guys play really well and they look like a team that could do some damage in the playoffs. On other nights, they look very erratic and too inconsistent to do any damage.

     The Nets also suffer from the problem of having some pieces that don't quite work well together. Joe Johnson is a guy who really needs the ball in his hands a lot and tends to take a lot of ill-advised shots. Deron Williams as a point guard needs to be touching the ball a lot as well. As for Thaddeus Young and Brook Lopez, these guys too need their touches. The fact that the Nets have a ton of guys who want to be the "go-to option" explains why they rank so poorly in assists. They don't move the ball very well and it gets stuck in somebody else's hand for too long.

     The only guy on the Nets who the Hawks should really worry about is Brook Lopez, the Nets' starting center. Lopez has averaged 17.2 points and 7.4 rebounds per game. He is a very talented center offensively and a guy who can give a lot of teams trouble due to his size (7'0, 260 lbs.). The Nets have to make him a priority and hope he can have some big games inside. If they can really get him going, they might be able to scare the Hawks a bit.

     However, I don't think any dosage of Brook Lopez will solve the Nets' problems of being too inconsistent. The Nets are still going to be up and down during this entire series and assuming the Hawks maintain their consistent play, that will ultimately make the difference. I expect the Hawks to win this series in four games.

---Ben Parker: follow me on twitter @nba_lord for NBA news 

Wednesday Windmill: With the Eastern Conference wide open, don't sleep on the Atlanta Hawks

In a matter of a few weeks, the landscape of the Eastern Conference has dramatically shifted from being a two horse race between the Heat and Pacers to a wide open derby with as much as seven contenders. Of course, this is primarily due to LeBron James' decision to head back to Cleveland to join the Cavaliers, but other factors such as Lance Stephenson going to the Hornets and Pau Gasol going to the Bulls have also contributed to this shift. While everybody is all abuzz about the Cavaliers, Bulls, Wizards, and Hornets, nobody is paying one iota of attention to the Atlanta Hawks and the potential they have to make a run for the Eastern Conference crown.

The reason why they aren't getting any attention is equally obvious as it is incoherent: They haven't added any major free agents to their team this summer. What makes this incoherent is that their star center Al Horford missed almost the entire season with a torn pectoral muscle, and yet they found themselves taking the #1 seeded Indiana Pacers to a Game 7 in the first round of the Eastern Conference playoffs.  

                                          (credit: soaringsouth.com)

With Al Horford now healthy, the Hawks will finally be able to see how much damage they can do with a frontcourt that features Al Horford and Paul Millsap, two guys who are both all-stars. In my opinion, the damage that they can do is severe enough to come out of the Eastern Conference and stun everybody who follows the NBA. 

Before he went down with his pectoral injury last season, Al Horford was having the best season of his career, averaging 18.6 points, 8.4 rebounds, and 1.5 blocks per contest. As for Paul Millsap, what earned him all-star honors was his season average of 17.9 points, 8.5 rebounds, 1.7 steals, and 1.1 blocks per game. Those aren't numbers to ignore in today's NBA, especially for big men. With Pacers center Roy Hibbert going all coo coo in the head, the door is now open for the Hawks to have the best front court in the Eastern Conference even with the Bulls having Joakim Noah and the Cavaliers potentially landing Kevin Love.

In addition to their fantastic frontcourt which also features the very dangerous stretch-big man Pero Antic, the Hawks have a very dangerous backcourt which features Jeff Teague and also Thabo Sefolosha who they signed this summer in free agency. Like Horford and Millsap, Teague has gotten better every season with this past season being his best, averaging 16.5 points, 6.7 assists, and 1.1 steals per game. 

Teague is not only a playmaker offensively, but he is also a playmaker defensively. By adding Thabo Sefolosha to their backcourt, the Hawks now have a very dangerous defensive team on the perimeter that can give the best backcourts in the NBA serious trouble. In addition, the Hawks also have Kyle Korver knocking down threes at the small forward position, which makes up for Sefolosha's lack of offense. 

As for the role players on the Hawks, I like the pieces that their head coach Mike Budenholzer has to work with. Kent Bazemore, who had a breakout season of sorts with the Lakers last season should be able to provide scoring off the bench, DeMarre Carrol is effective at providing energy and hustle, and Dennis Schroeder is looking like he may become a quality backup point guard. Plus, both rookie Adreian Payne and veteran Gustavo Ayon should be able to provide quality relief in the paint for Al Horford and Paul Millsap. 

The only knock on the Hawks is that they don't have a big name player who will put them on ESPN and TNT every week. They will once again fly under the radar as a result, but don't allow that to make you forget that Hawks still exist as a viable contender in the East. They can beat you in the paint and on the perimeter and they also have quality role players. In addition, they learned that without Al Hoford they can still make some noise in the playoffs. Now that they are getting Horford back, I don't see any reason to think that they can't run the table and come out of the East. 

---Ben Parker: follow me on twitter @nba_lord