30 reasons to be excited for the 2017-18 NBA season

29. Can Bud save the Hawks?

The Atlanta Hawks‘ best player in 2017-18 will be Dennis Schroder. Let that sink in for a second.

Not that Schroder’s a bad player, but he’s not a franchise guy, and he’s the only one on the entire roster who’s ever averaged 15 points per game in a single season. At this point, the only possible way the Hawks will be competitive this year is if head coach Mike Budenholzer submits the finest performance of his career.

The Hawks have been the Spurs-lite of the East ever since he took over. With such a talent-starved roster, watching this group try and employ that same playing style is really the only thing Atlanta fans have to be excited about (and the rookie John Collins, but we’ll come back to him later).