Atlanta Hawks: 5 reasons they won’t make the playoffs in 2017-18

5. Roster turnover

The 2017-18 rendition of the Atlanta Hawks has little resemblance to its predecessors, as only seven players, and only one in the top four in minutes played a year ago, return.

Part of the reason the Hawks managed to win a franchise-record 60 games, a feat accomplished merely two years ago, was the continuity of the organization. The core group of Atlanta grew together, with Al Horford, Kyle Korver and Jeff Teague, spending four years jelling.

Even with Paul Millsap, Dwight Howard and Korver in the fold last season, the Hawks won 43 games. Of the players from the 60-win squad, only Mike Muscala and Dennis Schroder, both in reserve roles at the time, will play for the Hawks in 2017-18.

Head coach Mike Budenholzer has managed to extract the most out of his teams during his four-year stint in Atlanta. Even if he manages to manipulate the team to play at its absolute best, cracking the top eight in the Eastern Conference will still be a massive challenge.