The Atlanta Hawks are a model of maturation and development in the last few years, as their progress is evident and unquestionable. When Mike Woodson arrived in Atlanta in the 2004/2005 season, the Hawks finished the season with a 13-69 record - a 15% winning rate! Then, the Hawks progressed year after year: 26-56; 30-52; 37-45 and finally, last season, 47-35! Last season I predicted the Hawks to have a successful season - a positive record - and they accomplished that with some style by grabbing a first round home court advantage. They defeated the Heat in a 7-game series, but with a banged frontcourt, they couldn't handle the Cavaliers and ended up being swept after 4 games.

When we think about the best teams in the East, the Cavs, the Celtics and the Magic come first in our minds. The goal for the Hawks is to shorten the gap between them and those 3 powerhouse clubs. They return with the same core of players of last season and added some pieces to their bench. We are talking about a young team and the Hawks organization expect that those young players can develop even more for this season. Reach 50 wins on a season is tough to accomplish in a competitive division like the Southeast division, but if the Hawks real want to improve, they better start thinking in that number.

Joe Johnson is the uncontested leader and best player of this team. He is playing on the final year of his contract and so, we can expect him to be at his best. He has been pretty durable during his career and last season, he logged 38.5 minutes per game! He averaged 21.4 points, 5.8 assists and 4.4 rebounds per game and also he was the prime target for the Hawks down the stretch and he corresponded well to that by making big shots and assisting his team mates. Now as a 28 years old player, Johnson is on his prime and he is the key piece of this organization. Last season in the Playoffs, Johnson looked a bit tired so, Mike Woodson needs to find a way to decrease his minutes in order to have a healthy and fresh Johnson when it matters the most.

Behind Johnson, the Hawks have in Josh Smith a potential all star player, however Smith didn't have a great season last year. Although he helped his team to reach their best record in years, the fact is that Smith took a step backwards in terms of his personal numbers. He saw his scoring (15.6 ppg), rebounding (7.2 rpg), assists (2.4 apg) and blocking (1.6) numbers decreaseing when compared to the previous season and he even shot a miserable mark of 58.5 % from the charity stripe. Those numbers are after all still good numbers, however Smith has already done better in the past and he didn't develop as expected. The good news is that he is only 23-years old and inconsistency is still a common word for him. If the Hawks want to be a top team, they need Josh Smith to be an all star caliber player and this will be the challenge for him this season.

The playmaker of this team is still Mike Bibby and despite the fact that he isn't the same player he once was in Sacramento, the truth is that since his arrival, the Hawks went to the playoffs. He averaged 15.9 points per game and dished 5.0 assists per game last season and he is a good complement to Joe Johnson. He also has the ability to be a great shooter down the stretch due to his range on the perimeter and the Hawks need him for this season. In the last two seasons, the Hawks didn't have a good backup for Bibby, but for this season they drafted Jeff Teague and he has been impressive since the summer league. He has good offensive skills; he is a great shooter from the charity stripe and has a good vision on the court. He can develop behind Mike Bibby and at the same time giving some precious rest to Bibby.

The biggest addition for the Hawks this season was Jamal Crawford from the Warriors. The Hawks basically didn't give anything substantial to the Warriors and received a streaky shooter in Crawford. He will likely be their 6th man and he can change the dynamic of a game. Granted we can't expect him to repeat his numbers from the past because he will play less minutes this season. Another curiosity is that now with 29-years old, this will be his first experience in the NBA playing for a #winning team" and let's see how he will adapt to this new adventure.

Al Horford despite his youth is the leader of the frontcourt and the best and most consistent defender down low for the Hawks. Although he is relatively undersized for the center position, his resiliency and hustle compensates such size disadvantage. Last season he led the team in rebounding with 9.3 per game, while blocking 1.42 blocks per game. Unfortunately, he dealt with some injuries during the season which caused him to miss 15 games and the Hawks didn't have the proper depth in the frontcourt. Offensively, he averaged 11.5 points per game, while shooting 52.5% from the field and in this department if he is able to be more aggressive, he will be able to reach the 15-points per game mark. He brings leadership to the court, despite being just 23-years old and the Hawks absolutely need him.

Meanwhile, Marvin Williams didn't enjoy a good season last year, however he battled back and wrist injuries through the season and despite playing 61 games, he wasn't at his best physically and this was pretty evident during the playoffs. This will be a decisive season for him because the Hawks had high expectations on him when they drafted him and Williams is yet to show that he can be an above average player. He averaged 13.9 points per game last season, while shooting 45.8 % from the field and the Hawks expected him to bring better numbers to the court. After all, we are talking about the No. 2 overall pick in the 2005 draft.

The Hawks have a nice backup duo for the frontcourt in Zaza Pachulia and Joe Smith. Both players bring hustle and passion to the floor and add some depth in this unit, which lacked options last season. Smith is more skilled offensively than Pachulia, but both players can form an interesting duo coming off the bench for Atlanta. They also have Maurice Evans coming off the bench and he is a serviceable player as well. Last season, he started 25 games during Josh Smith's or Marvin Williams's absence and this shows how valuable he is for the team.

The Hawks are almost a secure lock for the playoffs this season, but they want more. Last season, they wanted to win a round in the playoffs and they accomplished that, so the expectations for this season are even higher. However, there is a significant gap between them and the elite and they need a good development from Josh Smith and Marvin Williams. Joe Johnson will be in the All Star game and the Hawks have depth and quality on their bench for a long season and we really must count on them to have a solid season.