NBA Atlanta Hawks

2015 NBA All-Star Game: Early Predictions For Atlanta Hawks

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By @b2brennan

Atlanta Hawks

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The Atlanta Hawks might be the most surprising team in the NBA right now. A perennial No. 4-6 seed with a first-round playoff exit in the NBA Eastern Conference, the Hawks look like they could be a team in contention to win the East this year. At 18-7, the Hawks are only one and half games back of first in the East and are playing some of their best ball in a while. But do the surprising Hawks have any players who are All-Star worthy?

The three names that come to mind when discussing the Hawks are Al Horford, Paul Millsap and Jeff Teague. Now they may not be household names, but this might be the most underrated “big three” in the league.

Horford is finally healthy this season, and his numbers show it, averaging 14.2 PPG, 6.2 RPG and 2.7 APG — good for fourth, 10th and second in the East, respectively. Unfortunately for Horford, he’s behind a few of the most popular and best frontcourt players in the league, such as Chris Bosh, Pau Gasol and Kevin Love, so I don’t think he quite makes it.

Millsap is arguably the best player on the Hawks and might be the most consistently underrated player in the league. You never hear his name when discussing superstars, but Millsap almost always finds his way to the top in scoring and rebounding. Averaging 16.4 PPG and 7.8 RPG, Millsap is having a typical productive season. Adding a three-point shot to his arsenal, Millsap is now a pretty complete player. I think he gets in the All-Star Game this year over his buddy Horford for the final spot on the team.

The last player in the Hawks’ All-Star debate is Teague. Another underrated player, like almost every member of the Hawks, Teague is performing way better than he gets credit for. Among Eastern Conference point guards, Teague is top five in scoring, field goal and free throw percentage, assists, steals and blocks. Most of the time a player with that on his resume makes the All-Star team, but in a guard-heavy Eastern Conference, Teague sits this one out.

I think all three of these Hawks are All-Star worthy, and I never like to leave players on good teams out of the All-Star Game. But the talent pool in the East is vast, so don’t expect to see multiple representatives from Atlanta.

Prediction: Paul Millsap in, Jeff Teague and Al Horford out.

Brian Brennan is a Portland Trail Blazers writer for www.Rantsports.com. Follow him on Twitter @b2brennan.

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