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2017-18 Atlanta Hawks Predictions and NBA Futures Odds Picks


by - 10/13/2017

Dennis Schroder Atlanta Hawks

In the 2014-15 season the Atlanta Hawks won 60 games, Mike Budenholzer was named coach of the year, and they made it to the conference finals before being swept by the Cavs. It felt like the team was really accomplishing something - that the future was bright. And they have been on a downhill plane ever since. They won 48 games and lost in the second round in 2016. Then the won 43 and lost in the first round last year. The progression would suggest that they won't even make the playoffs this year, and they really seem to have focused on that goal this season. They have been inching backwards the last two years, and now it feels like they have taken a giant step back. What I'm saying is that this team has a real chance to be bad. Real bad.

2017 Atlanta Hawks Betting Storylines

The Warriors are a bunch of superstars. Houston has two megastars. Oklahoma City has three. Boston has two or three. So does Cleveland. And Atlanta has… Dennis Schroder. He's the star. And that's not ideal. Don't get me wrong, I like the guy, and he was the lone bright light in the playoffs last year. But when the German point guard is the guy your team is built around and relying upon then, well, you aren't very good. And to make matters worse, Schroder was arrested on misdemeanor battery charges late in September, so a suspension is certainly possible. With Schroder in the lineup they aren't very good. Without him they are in real trouble.

The team got rid of Dwight Howard after just one year, and I would guess that the locker room was full of guys who would happily have driven him to the airport. It just didn't work. To replace Howard's rebounds, they drafted John Collins, the rebound machine from Wake Forest, and he was a bit of a bargain as the 19th pick. Collins is a work in progress on the offensive end, but he has shown in the preseason that he can provide plenty of rebounds. The problem, though, is that the team is really going to need a lot out of him, and that means he will face much more pressure than a 19th pick typically gets or needs. This team needs Collins to be a superstar if they want to shine. Ugh.

When a team has taken the obvious steps back that this one has you have to question their motivation. They aren't going to win anything this year, and it's a pretty strong draft class next year - and potentially a great one. If you are going to lose you might as well really lose, so it would be far from surprising if the game plan going into this season is to make losing as easy as possible to put the most ping pong balls possible into the hopper for the lottery. I'm not saying that they are tanking. Yes, actually I am. That isn't always easy for bettors to deal with, though. A tanking team isn't necessarily one that doesn't play hard - just one that doesn't have the talent to win consistently regardless of how they play. And even a tanking team can win games against good teams from time to time. In short, this terrible team is going to be a tough one for bettors to deal with, and we will have to be patient when considering them.

2017 Atlanta Hawks Additions and Departures

All you really need to know here is that the biggest free agent addition was Dewayne Dedmon, who left San Antonio to sign a two-year, $14 million deal in Atlanta. And he will likely start games at center. That's not good if you are trying to be a good team. Also at center will be MIles Plumlee, who came back from Charlotte in the Howard trade. Marco Belinelli was also part of that deal, and he will eat minutes at shooting guard.

Howard wasn't the only guy who was moved out. Tim Hardaway Jr. has returned to the Knicks on a fat free agent deal. Jose Calderon is old, which made him a perfect fit in Cleveland. Thabo Sefolosha went to Utah. Ryan Kelly was traded to Houston for cash. Mike Dunleavy Jr. was waived. They replaced those players with such inspiring names as Luke Babbitt and Quinn Cook. No wonder there will be so much pressure on John Collins.

2017 Atlanta Hawks Futures Odds and Trends

Atlanta Hawks Futures Odds

NBA title odds ( from BetOnline ) : +50000

Eastern Conference title odds : +20000

John Collins ROY Odds ( from Bovada ) : +4000

Season win total (from BetOnline): 26.5

There wasn't much money to be made last year betting the sides for the Hawks - they were 39-43 ATS, so there were no profits to be had on either side in the long term. The serious profits for the Hawks, though, were in the total - they went "over" just 32 times and "under" 48.

2017 Atlanta Hawks Predictions and Futures Odds Picks

I love watching train wrecks, and this team has a chance to be a train wreck. They are just plain bad. The problem, though, is that the East is one large dumpster fire this year, so there are going to be too many manageable games for the team. Still, I have faith they can lose most. I like the under on the season win total. A lot. I mean honestly - Dennis Schroder is their only good player, and he's still Dennis Schroder.

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