Atlanta Hawks: Best-Case Scenarios For 2016-17

A Much-Needed Revitalization

Dwight Howard will take over as the starting center in place of Al Horford. Finally, Howard lands in a stable organization after stops in Los Angeles and Houston, both of which were lose/lose situations for a player like himself.

He and Kobe just didn’t get along in his lone year as a Laker. And in Houston, James Harden‘s ball-dominance meant that Howard would be less involved within the offense.

If you are even an average basketball fan, you know that getting the big guys involved are a must because it forces them to protect the rim and grab rebounds.

If they don’t feel a part of the offensive game, it usually frustrates them to the point where their defensive impact is negatively affected.

Under Budenholzer, the Hawks have been used to running a 5-out motion offense that requires both bigs to play out on the perimeter.

Howard has by no means done so throughout his 12-year career, but has put a real focus into forming a mid-range jumper this summer and becoming more comfortable away from the hoop.

With the dominant force that he is around the rim, improving his mid-range jumpshot to the point that the defense has to respect it even a tad would make him such a tough matchup.

He and Millsap should gel perfectly together even if Howard plays the majority of his possessions in the post. Millsap has become more perimeter-oriented as seen last season and could develop a dangerous high-low connection with Howard.

Budenholzer will be sure to involve Howard within sets even if that means in simple handoff actions.

That means Howard will be more engaged defensively. He brings another dynamic to this team that was missing in that he has elite rim-protecting ability.

He may not average 2.9 blocks like he did back in 2008-09, but it’s expected to drastically improve from his 1.6 last season with Houston. Anywhere from 2-2.5 blocks per game would help this team tremendously.

Not to mention the Hawks were already a top defense last year–they finished second in defensive rating (101.4). Howard will be the anchor that the Hawks have needed against teams such as the Celtics who love to attack the basket as much as possible.

He may not be as dominant as his days in Orlando, but he’ll remind everyone why he still is one of the top centers in the NBA.

Next: Bench Lives Up To Expectations