25-year old Al Horford provides the muscle for the Atlanta Hawks.  He played in 77 games (all starts) for the Hawks last year and he averaged 35.1 minutes, 15.3 points, 9.3 rebounds, 3.5 assists and 1.0 blocked shot per game.  Horford has now played in 306 games (302 starts) in his first four years and he is averaging 33.8 minutes, 12.8 points, 9.6 rebounds, 2.4 assists and 1.1 blocked shots per game.  Horford could also spend some time at power forward when 27-year old center Zaza Pachulia is in the game.  Pachulia played in 79 games (7 starts) for the Hawks last year and he averaged 15.7 minutes, 4.4 points, 4.2 rebounds and 0.7 assists per game.  He has now played in 579 games (170 starts) so far in his NBA career and he is averaging 19.5 minutes, 6.8 points, 5.1 rebounds and 0.9 assists per game.  The Hawks took 23-year old center Keith Benson in the second round of the NBA Draft last June.  He plays a big man’s game as rebounding and shot blocking are his best assets.

25-year old power forward Josh Smith really fills up the stat sheet every night for the Hawks.  He played in 77 games (all starts) for the Hawks last year and he averaged 34.4 minutes, 16.5 points, 8.5 rebounds, 3.3 assists, 1.3 steals and 1.6 blocked shots per game.  Smith has now played in 534 games (512 starts) in his first seven years with the Hawks and he is averaging 33.8 minutes, 14.6 points, 7.7 rebounds, 3.0 assists, 1.3 steals and 2.2 blocked shots per game.  25-year old Magnum Rolle might get a shot to back up Smith this year.  He didn’t get into any games for the Hawks last year.  Rolle did played in 15 games (7 starts) for the Maine Red Claws of the NBADL and he averaged 26.0 minutes, 14.1 points, 5.5 rebounds, 1.3 assists. 1.5 steals and 1.2 blocked shots per game.

25-year old small forward Marvin Williams needs to step up this year for the Hawks.  He played in 65 games (52 starts) for the Hawks last year and he averaged 28.7 minutes, 10.4 points, 4.8 rebounds and 1.4 assists per game.  Williams has now played in 430 games (342 starts) in his first six years with the Hawks and he is averaging 31.0 minutes, 11.7 points, 5.3 rebounds and 1.4 assists per game.  Williams will need to step up because the Hawks only have 23-year old Pape Sy behind him as of right now at small forward.  Sy played in 3 games (0 starts) for the Hawks as a rookie last year and he averaged 7.0 minutes, 2.3 points, 1.0 rebound and 0.7 assists per game.

Something just didn’t seem right about 30-year old shooting guard Joe Johnson last year for the Hawks.  He played in 72 games (all starts) for the Hawks last year and he averaged 35.5 minutes, 18.2 points, 4.0 rebounds and 4.7 assists per game.  Johnson has now played in 771 games (701 starts) in his NBA career so far and he is averaging 36.8 minutes, 17.7 points, 4.2 rebounds, 4.5 assists and 1.0 steal per game.  The Hawks would probably be happy with Johnson if he averaged around 20 points per game again in 2011-12.

23-year old point guard Jeff Teague is on the verge of getting his first shot at a starting job in the NBA in 2011-2012.  Teague played in 70 games (7 starts) for the Hawks last year and he averaged 13.8 minutes, 5.2 points, 1.5 rebounds and 2.0 assists per game.  He has now played in 141 games (10 starts) in his first two years in the NBA and he is averaging 11.9 minutes, 4.2 points, 1.2 rebounds and 1.8 assists per game.

30-year old Kirk Hinrich will likely be the Hawks’ #3 guard this year, essentially replacing Jamal Crawford.  Hinrich played in 72 games (51 starts) for the Hawks & Wizards last year and he averaged 30.0 minutes, 10.2 points, 2.5 rebounds, 4.0 assists and 1.0 steal.  He has now played in 586 games (484 starts) in his NBA career so far and he is averaging 33.5 minutes, 13.0 points, 3.3 rebounds, 5.6 assists and 1.2 steals per game.

The Hawks are in great shape at center heading into the season. 23-year old Al Horford really stepped up last season and his game is still growing which should scare the hell out of the Hawks’ opponents. Horford played in 67 games for the Hawks last season and he averaged 33.5 minutes, 11.5 points, 9.3 rebounds, 2.4 assists and 1.4 blocked shots per game. He will have to work hard on the boards to improve his scoring as the Hawks don’t run many plays on offense for him. But his defense and rebounding will always be solid. 25-year old Zaza Pachulia was re-signed to back up Horford. Pachulia played in 77 games for the Hawks last season and he averaged 19.1 minutes, 6.2 points, 5.7 rebounds and 0.7 assists per game. He could step right back into the starting lineup if anything were to happen to either Horford or Josh Smith at power forward. 30-year old Jason Collins will serve as the #3 center on the Hawks this season. He played in 31 games for the T-Wolves last season and he averaged 13.6 minutes, 1.8 points, 2.3 rebounds and 0.4 assists per game. 23-year old center Randolph Morris will have a hard time making the Hawks’ final roster. He played in 23 games for the Hawks last season and he averaged 3.9 minutes, 0.8 points, 0.9 rebounds and 0.1 assists per game.

PROJECTED GRADE FOR THE CENTERS IN 2009-2010: A-

23-year old Marvin Williams will be the starting small forward for the Hawks this season and for the future. He played in 61 games for the Hawks last season and he averaged 34.3 minutes, 13.9 points, 5.5 rebounds and 1.4 assists per game. Williams has the potential to score more for the Hawks but he is often the #4 option when they have the basketball. 30-year old Maurice Evans will back up Williams once again this season. He played in 80 games for the Hawks last season and he averaged 23.0 minutes, 7.2 points, 3.0 rebounds and 0.7 assists per game. Evans is a really good back up player for the Hawks.

PROJECTED GRADE FOR THE SMALL FORWARDS IN 2009-2010: B