Atlanta Hawks: 5 big goals for the 2018-19 season

2. Get more physical in the frontcourt

If we look at this team from a traditional standpoint with a true big man to anchor the defense, there isn’t one that presents itself right away.

The Hawks had the eighth fewest blocks in the NBA last year with just 348. Mike Muscala, Miles Plumlee and Dewayne Dedmon combined for 108 of them while rookie John Collins blocked 80 shots himself, though Plumlee and Muscala played in just 55 and 53 games, respectively.

Still, the Hawks got pushed around a lot around the rim. They didn’t block a lot of shots and were one of the worst rebounding teams as well. Collins is more suited to be a stretch-4 but since Muscala got traded and Dedmon is day-to-day with his injury, we could see Collins get more minutes at the 5 at the start of the season.

The Hawks do have another option to play center in Alex Len. While he may a reclamation project for the Hawks, he is still young and has shown flashes of potential. Len has also blocked 344 shots in his career while Dedmon and Plumlee have blocked 230 and 252 shots, respectively.

When all are healthy, Lloyd Pierce will have options to protect the rim. Not having Muscala should help him in that department too as he was never battled for rebounds or blocked many shots per game. However, Pierce needs more aggressiveness from his frontcourt to help set the tone for this team defensively no matter what his frontcourt rotation looks like.