Atlanta Hawks tabbed least watchable team for 2017-18 season

As the Atlanta Hawks begin to rebuild their roster, the team has been selected as the least watchable NBA League Pass team for next season.

Expectations for the Atlanta Hawks have plummeted since a complete purging of talent has commenced in an effort to transform the team into true title contenders.

Since being eliminated by Washington in the opening round of the 2017 NBA Playoffs, the Hawks have traded away Dwight Howard, allowed four-time All-Star Paul Millsap to join Denver without even making an offer in free agency and declined to match a massive offer from New York to Tim Hardaway Jr.

The trio represented three of the top four point scorers from a season ago, turning the franchise over to point guard Dennis Schroder and significantly elevating the burden placed on John Collins, a power forward selected with the 19th overall pick in the 2017 NBA Draft.

Preseason projections from ESPN indicate Atlanta is in line for a significant drop-off from last season. Not only are the Hawks expected to miss the playoffs for the first time in 10 years, predictions from its panel of experts believe they will win 16 fewer games than last year.

Among the 13 teams in the Eastern Conference, Atlanta is slated to finish 13th, with a final record of 27-55.

Not only have early projections slated the Hawks to be a significantly worse team, CBS advises any subscribers to NBA League Pass to avoid watching their games at all costs.

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Major networks apparently agree with the assessment, as zero of Atlanta’s 82 regular season games are going to be broadcast nationally on ESPN, TNT or ABC. 

According to CBS, using a criteria of frequency on national television, ascetically pleasing style of play and possessing a compelling storyline for the 2017-18 campaign, Atlanta ranks last among the 30 teams in the league.

Each of the bottom five teams all come from the Eastern Conference, with Detroit, Indiana, Orlando, Chicago and Atlanta wrapping up the list.

Perhaps the sharpest criticism was reserved for the Hawks: The article describes the Hawks as a 3-point shooting team that can’t shoot.

By losing Millsap and Hardaway Jr., along with a midseason trade of Kyle Korver to the Cavaliers, the team is left searching for long range acumen. Atlanta ranked 20th in the league with 729 made 3-point field goals, but the team lost three of its top five 3-point shooters.

Marco Belinelli, perhaps the most viable long range shooter on the team, isn’t expected to be in the starting lineup and his defensive struggles may prevent head coach Mike Budenholzer from assigning him a major role in the offense.

The roster faces much uncertainty, with Schroder as the only player on the roster to ever average over 15 points per game any season in their career, serving as the most accomplished player on the roster. The other four starters are largely unproven commodities in the NBA .

CBS concludes the article by advising the Hawks should be avoided at all costs.

Only the Atlanta Hawks have the ability to rapidly climb the list as a compelling League Pass team for one simple reason: the selection of Collins.

In five appearances at the NBA Summer League tournament in Las Vegas, Collins transformed from a promising prospect out of Wake Forest into an internet sensation.

Collins averaged 15.4 points on 59.3 percent shooting and 9.2 rebounds per game, enough to earn him a selection to the All-NBA Summer League First Team.

As impressive as his scoring and rebounding figures were, each time Collins stepped onto the court, he submitted a slew of plays garnering plenty of attention on Twitter and YouTube.

The 19-year-old forward was throwing down lob passes, dunking over defenders with authority and showing off his athleticism dashing to the rim on fast breaks.

While most projections for the Atlanta Hawks next season are negative, ESPN believes Collins can become an instant contributor next season. Collins was among six rookies predicted to thrive next season.

Collins will have plenty of opportunities to cut to the rim in pick-and-roll situations and already possesses a potent mid-range jumper, making him an ideal power forward for Atlanta’s system.

Others have even higher expectations for Collins. When NBA 2K18 released its initial ranking of Collins, his profile picture included him dunking on Lakers forward Brandon Ingram.

Ingram immediately issued a response.

Next: Atlanta Hawks - Complete 2017 offseason grades

Of course, Collins needs to display the same explosiveness against true NBA competition, but if he is able to replicate his success above the rim, he can carry the Atlanta Hawks into NBA League Pass relevance next season.