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Atlanta Hawks
Overall: 30
Title track: 102
Ownership: 71
Coaching: 30
Players: 60
Fan relations: 49
Affordability: 17
Stadium experience: 69
Bang for the buck: 16
Change from last year: -1
Coach Mike Budenholzer, a Gregg Popovich disciple, has remade Atlanta on the court. Now the Hawks' new ownership group, led by Anthony Ressler and including Grant Hill, is attempting to rebrand the franchise off the floor. Poor attendance and organizational unrest have been staples, but with an arena renovation set in the center of the city's downtown renaissance, the Hawks are hoping to maintain all-around excellence. You know, just like the Spurs.
What's good
Say what you want about Atlanta's laissez-faire fan base, but Philips Arena remains an affordable place to enjoy some good basketball. The Hawks have made the playoffs in each of the past nine seasons, and the average ticket price ($36.82) is still nearly $20 less than the NBA average. That's a steal, and it has helped the team's rankings in affordability (17th) and bang for the buck (16th). Atlanta has been ranked no worse than 37th in the former and 56th in the latter since 2012. In fact, the Hawks average nearly $1,000 less than the NBA average in cost per season. But with Budenholzer landing Atlanta as close as it has been to an NBA title since 1970, expect prices to rise relative to expectations.
What's bad
The Spurs East model will now have to account for dysfunctional Dwight Howard, who effectively replaces Al Horford, a two-way star and locker room leader. On the court, Howard does not resemble the three-time Defensive Player of the Year that he was in Orlando. He was unable to get along with Kobe Bryant in Los Angeles or James Harden in Houston, and now the Atlanta native is joining his third team in five seasons, a team that won 12 fewer games in 2015-16, after 60 wins and a conference finals appearance two seasons ago. With the questions surrounding Howard -- and the losses of Horford and point guard Jeff Teague, which contributed to Atlanta's 60th-place ranking in players, down 42 spots from last year -- the Hawks are further from capturing what Popovich's Spurs have achieved so many times: a title.
What's new
For all the good Budenholzer has done, his coaching rank dropped 18 spots as the wins decreased last season. Of course, the 2014-15 Coach of the Year also assumed president of basketball operations duties prior to last season, so he's also responsible for the drop-off in players. But in reality, most of Atlanta's roster carried over from the previous campaign. The real change will come this season, with Dennis Schroder, who takes over for Teague, an All-Star, and Howard, who won't be able to replicate Horford's outside shooting (1.1 3PM per game). As such, that free-flowing, Spurs-style offense will likely be more pedestrian.
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