Atlanta Hawks By Rob Peterson, NBA.com HEAD COACH Lon Kruger (Third year) 2001-02 RESULTS 33-49 (12th in East) SEASON OUTLOOK: The Hawks are going to the playoffs. They guarantee it or your money back. No, really. If you don't believe me, just pop on over to their team page. What in the name of Joe Namath is going on here? Isn't such a pronouncement a great risk for a potential embarrassment? Head coach Lon Kruger, who made the refund suggestion, doesn't think so. "That's what it's all about," Kruger told the Atlanta Journal Constitution. "We like our team. We expect to make the playoffs." And Kruger said this in June, before the Hawks pulled off a trade with Milwaukee for Glenn Robinson in August. The addition of Big Dog's career 21.1 points per game should provide an offensive threat from the small forward position to a team that was 19th in the league with 94.0 points per game. By giving up Toni Kukoc, Leon Smith and a 2003 first-round draft choice, the Hawks didn't need to break up their core. Shareef Abdur-Rahim led the Hawks with 21.2 points per game and Jason Terry added 19.3 points. With Robinson on board, the Hawks now have three players about whom opponents must worry. Atlanta will also get a big boost defensively when Theo Ratliff returns. His defensive presence will be needed, as the Hawks were 25th in the league in points allowed with 98.3 points per game and Terry, Robinson and Abdur-Rahim are adequate defenders at best. Ratliff, who has played in 53 games in two years, is ready to return to his active, shot blocking ways. "Been too long, much too long," Ratliff told the Atlanta Journal Constitution. "It's time for me to get back on the court and play some basketball." And with Ratliff in the lineup, the Hawks brass may be able to keep their guarantee. VIDEO FLASHBACK: GREAT CALL OF 2001-02 Shareef Abdur-Rahim to Nazr Mohammed: "Abdur-Rahim with nice pass behind his head. Beautiful play inside, Abdur-Rahim to Mohammed." 1001k avi | QuickTime WHO'S IN: Robinson, first-round draft pick Dickau and free agent Darvin Ham. The 6-foot-6 Ham won't bring you size, but he will bring energy, toughness and about four points and four boards a game. WHO'S OUT: Kukoc, who was injured most of last season, veteran point guard Jacque Vaughn, which takes away some experience at guard and forward Hanno Mottola, who chose to play overseas. BENCH: Atlanta's bench, not strong last year, received a big blow when DerMarr Johnson was severely injured in a car accident. Atlanta will rely heavily on untested players as Vaughn and Mottola, key bench players last season, have moved on. If Dion Glover is healthy, he should add some depth. THE HAWKS MAKE THE PLAYOFFS IF ... : Robinson, Abdur-Rahim and Terry average 20 points per game, Ratliff comes back healthy and plays 70 games and Dickau grows up quickly. THE HAWKS MISS THE PLAYOFFS IF ... : Any of the above are injured for a significant amount of time.		Glenn Robinson is all smiles after meeting the Atlanta media. The former No. 1 overall draft pick hopes this season will be a new beginning. Scott Cunningham/NBAE/Getty Images P R O J E C T E D   S T A R T E R S POS PLAYER SCHOOL YRS PG Dan Dickau Gonzaga R SG Jason Terry Arizona 3 SF Glenn Robinson Purdue 8 PF Shareef Abdur-Rahim California 6 C Theo Ratliff Wyoming 7 S C O U T ' S   T A K E “They've probably improved as much as any team in the Central Division. ... With the addition of Glenn Robinson, they get a legitimate 20-point scorer and proven All-Star. ... The key in Atlanta is how healthy are they going to be? Will Alan Henderson and Theo Ratliff be on the floor playing with the big guns they have? Losing DerMarr Johnson will be a big factor, but they brought in Darvin Ham to provide some energy. They have the ability to go seven or eight deep. ... They have aspirations to become a playoff club, but can three guys -- Jason Terry, Shareef Abdur-Rahim and Robinson -- share the ball. It'll be about ball movement and sharing. ... Terry likes to push the ball, but it'll be interesting to see how Dan Dickau will fit in or if he'll get the opportunity to start, which will free up Terry to be the two guard. With Robinson and Shareef, they'll give problems to teams every night, and if he's healthy, Ratliff's length is always a factor.” -- Eastern Conference assistant coach 2 0 0 1 - 0 2   L E A D E R S PPG Shareef Abdur-Rahim 21.2 RPG Shareef Abdur-Rahim 9.0 APG Jason Terry 5.7 SPG Jason Terry 1.85 BPG Shareef Abdur-Rahim 1.05 G A M E S   T O   W A T C H 12/5 Milwaukee 7:30 ET, TNT F A N T A S Y   S L E E P E R Dan Dickau - Guard If the rookie does get the nod to start the point, he should average more than the 4.7 assists he did as a senior at Gonzaga. Then again, he also averaged 21.0 points per game his senior season. Many compare him to another Gonazaga guard who has made a name for himself, John Stockton. If Dickau can match Stockton's rookie output, 5.6 points and 5.1 assists, he could be a nice guard off the bench. T H E   S T A T 125 Number of dollars the Hawks brass will return to every season ticket holder for every season ticket if the Hawks fail to make the postseason. Cha-ching!
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