Acie Law should improve with a year of experience under his belt.

The young and improving Atlanta Hawks surprised everyone by making the playoffs for the first time since the strike-shortened 1998-99 campaign last season. Atlanta managed to fend off perennial playoff contenders, Indiana and New Jersey, to finish with its best record in 10 years, before falling in seven games to the eventual world champion Boston Celtics in the Eastern Conference quarterfinals.

Joe Smith is on the verge of stardom and joined Hall of Fame Centers Hakeem Olajuwon, David Robinson, Patrick Ewing, and Kareem Abdul-Jabaar as the only players in NBA history to average at least 17 points, 8 rebounds, 1.5 steals and 2.5 blocks per game in a single season last year. He was a restricted free agent and flirted with both Philadelphia and Memphis. The Sixers decided Elton Brand was a better fit but the Grizzlies made a move, forcing the Hawks to match a $58 million dollar deal. Smith relies on his extraordinary athleticism and must improve his fundamentals to get to the next level. He will always be a tough matchup, however, since it is so difficult to handle his pure athletic skills.

Marvin Williams came to Atlanta with lofty expectations and is finally starting to bloom into an upper echelon power forward, Since the Hawks selected Williams over stud point guards Chris Paul and Deron Williams in the 2005 draft, the pressure to develop into an All-Star level player is never going away. But Williams is quietly coming off his best season as a pro, averaging 14.8 points and 5.7 rebounds per game. 

Al Horford is a natural power forward but will spend a ton of time at the five spot so Woodson can get his best players on the floor. One of the reasons Williams' rebound numbers are less than impressive is because Horford is an absolute beast on the glass. The Florida product also has the skills and mentality to be a top-tier interior defender. Like most young bigs these days, Horford must develop a go-to move on the blocks to become a dominant player this season, put the Hawks over the hump and really solidify them as a playoff contender.

Joe Johnson is one of the NBA's best pure scorers and gave the Celtics fits with his offensive skills. Johnson can score from anywhere on the floor and can break down even the best defenders off the dribble. Few teams have a better option down the stretch of a game than Atlanta.

Depth is clearly the weakness of the Hawks and the team will have a very difficult time replacing Josh Childress, who signed with the Greek powerhouse Olympiakos Piraeus in the offseason. Swingman Maurice Evans was a nice little acquisition and will be able to help but does not bring the same athleticism that Childress did to the table.

Acie Law, the heir apparent to Bibby, should improve in his second NBA season, giving Woodson a nice three-man rotation in the backcourt. Speedy Claxton, who has struggled with a hamstring problem in the preseason, can still run the point for 10 or so minutes a night but his size will always be a detriment on the defensive end.   

The Hawks starting five is loaded but they lack depth and consistency and their effort can be questioned at times. When motivated, the Hawks can play with anyone but their energy level can vary greatly from game-to-game as evidenced by the 44-point blowout in Game 7 against Boston.