Atlanta Hawks: 5 reasons to be excited for 2018-19 NBA season

2. Weakened Eastern Conference

The Eastern Conference has seen the departure of a good amount of star power the past few seasons. To add to that, LeBron James left the Cleveland Cavaliers in favor of the Los Angeles Lakers this summer. That has caused many people to automatically discount the Cavs because they struggled so much, even with LeBron.

There are really only three clear-cut leaders in the East: the Toronto Raptors (now with Kawhi Leonard), Boston Celtics and Philadelphia 76ers. There are other teams on the cusp of putting it together like the Milwaukee Bucks and Indiana Pacers, but they’re not quite the threats the top three are.

Atlanta plays significantly more games against the Eastern Conference than the West. The West is absolutely stacked with talent just about from top to bottom. Having more games against weaker competition has the possibility to inflate the Hawks’ win total, which has the potential to eclipse 30.

The Hawks more than likely do not have a shot at the postseason, but keep an eye on the win total as they likely will not have the worst record in 2018-19 either.