Atlanta Hawks 2014-15 Season Preview

May 3, 2014; Indianapolis, IN, USA; Atlanta Hawks bench at the end of the fourth quarter against the Indiana Pacers in game seven of the first round of the 2014 NBA Playoffs at Bankers Life Fieldhouse. Indiana won 92-80. Mandatory Credit: Pat Lovell-USA TODAY Sports

The Not-So-Ideal Scenario

Everyone gets injured.

That would be terrible. Again.

OK, so “everyone” didn’t get injured last year, but a good number did. The loss of Al Horford dramatically changed the make-up and expectations of last year’s team, and while Budenholzer did a nice job working with what he had, there’s a huge difference in Horford and Pero Antic/Elton Brand. In addition to that, Atlanta’s second-half swoon was aided by ill-timed losses to players like DeMarre Carroll and Paul Millsap, and a repeat would be ugly.

Given the added depth of the Eastern Conference with players coming back from injury and teams generally improving (hey there, Hornets), it’s certainly possible that the Hawks miss the playoffs altogether with the right amount of injuries to the team. It would take a whole lot for that to happen in my opinion, but it’s definitely a possibility.