Atlanta Hawks 2010 Draft Preview

Basketball Betting Lines

06/21/2010 - (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The winds of change are blowing in Dixie but the weather brewing might be a bit chaotic.

Mike Woodson built the Atlanta Hawks from a 13-win team to a 53-win club but a poor performance in the playoffs against Southeast Division rival Orlando was enough for the team's front office to decide change was needed. The Hawks certainly didn't pull a 180, however, and went with Woodson's lead assistant Larry Drew as the new mentor.

Drew inherits a solid, youthful core to build upon but will likely be without All-Star shooting guard Joe Johnson, who is an unrestricted free agent and expected to move on.

Forward Josh Smith and center Al Horford are the stars, while veteran point guard Mike Bibby is still a steady quarterback and Jamal Crawford is coming off a season in which he was named the NBA's Sixth Man of the Year.

Forwards Marvin Williams and Maurice Evans, along with center Zaza Pachulia and second-year guard Jeff Teague are all solid rotational players.

Horford is the type of banger every team needs and does a yeoman job in the paint but limiting his minutes in the pivot should be a plus. Meanwhile, Bibby is getting a bit long in the tooth and Teague seems more well-suited as a two- way guard coming off the bench.

The depth is this draft is up front but Atlanta could very well use the 24th pick to round out its backcourt and find the heir apparent to Bibby. Nevada guard Armon Johnson, a lefty with decent size, seems like a nice fit. Johnson should be a 10-to-15 minute guy to give Bibby a blow early on with the ability to turn into a starter down the line.

"Realistically, at that area in the draft, you are looking at the best available player," Drew said.

Players under contract: F Josh Smith; C Al Horford; F Marvin Williams; C Zaza Pachulia; G Jamal Crawford; G Mike Bibby; G Maurice Evans; G Jeff Teague

Free agents: G Joe Johnson (unrestricted); F Joe Smith (unrestricted); C Jason Collins (unrestricted); F Randolph Morris (unrestricted)

Draft picks: 1st round (24th overall), 2nd round (53rd overall)

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Brandon Roy Favorite to Win 2007 NBA Rookie of the Year

Portland TrailBlazer’s guard, Brandon Roy, is MySportsbook.com’s overwhelming favorite to win the NBA Rookie of the Year odds.

Despite missing 20 games due to an injury earlier this season, Roy has definitely put up the best numbers of his 1st year peers. In 32 games, Roy is averaging 15.3 PPG, 4.2 boards and 3.5 assists in over 33 minutes of play per game. While most rookies breakdown as the season progresses (see Morrison), Roy is only getting stronger as his playing time and scoring average has increased each month.

With 30 or so games left in the regular season, Roy isn’t a lock for the award by any means. Other rookies are putting together some pretty impressive campaigns and a few could give Roy a run for the award with increased playing time. Heading the list is first pick, Andrea Bargnani of the Toronto Raptors. Even though he has started only two games all season, Bargnani is averaging 10.3 PPPG while shooting 35% from deep.

Randy Foye of the Minnesota Timberwolves could be set to give Roy the best competition NBA Rookie of the Year betting lines. With the benching of Mike James, Foye looks like he could be the starter in the T-Wolves backcourt for the rest of the season. So far, Foye has averaged 9 PPG and 2.4 assists in just under 21 minutes per game. With his new role of starter, Foye’s numbers will definitely increase. In his first game as the new starting guard this past Sunday, Foye had 10 points; five rebounds and 8 assists. More importantly, he logged 34 minutes of playing time; his third highest run of the season.

Adam Morrison, of the Charlotte Bobcats, was the favorite early on in the season after averaging 15+ PPG through the first month of the season. Ever since his torrid start, Morrison’s point production has declined each month. This really isn’t surprising, considering at 6’8” he only weighs 205 lbs. Obviously he will need to hit the weights big time during the off-season in order to keep from breaking down in the future.

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