Team page/schedule | Stats: Preseason | Roster
Last year: 25-57, seventh in Central, 13th in conference
Coach/GM: Lon Kruger/Pete Babcock
Arena, first game: Philips Arena (19,445); Nov. 4, 1999
All-time franchise record/NBA titles: 2,074-2,018/1
Notable: Hawks had 22 rebs in Nov. game, league low

THE ROTATION
Pos	Player	Key Stat	Skinny
PG	Jacque Vaughn	6.1 ppg	Stockton's replacement gets shot here
SG	Jason Terry	19.7 ppg	Small for a SG, but nice scorer and passer
SF	S. Abdur-Rahim	20.5 ppg	Get ready for one All-Star berths
PF	Nazr Mohammed	.477 FG	With Hawks: 12.3 ppg, 9 rpg
C	Theo Ratliff	187 blocks	Great shotblocker, average rebounder, scorer
6th	Toni Kukoc	.473 FG	Thrived after trade; 6th man honors?
7th	Emanual Davis	50 threes	Point guard with range, key role here
8th	DerMarr Johnson	.374 FG	Too early to write off last year's top pick

		The Hawks should improve a great deal. They have a strong starting lineup, with a front line of Shareef Abdur-Rahim, Theo Ratliff in the middle and either Toni Kukoc or Alan Henderson at the other forward, with a backcourt of Jason Terry and Jacque Vaughn at the point. They are well fortified up front with Nazr Mohammed to back up Ratliff, or even play together against bigger teams. They have depth in the backcourt with Emanual Davis at the point. Vaughn will be the biggest factor. He has made a lot of progress over his career at Utah behind John Stockton. He is a playmaker who is quick and good with the ball and can shoot from outside. He is what the Hawks need.

By Jeffrey Denberg
Special to ESPN.com

He traded Steve Smith for J.R. Rider and Jim Jackson, dealt Mookie Blaylock for a pick in the draft and was declared a fool on sports talk radio and by guys who had license to give an opinion in print.

That was two years ago. Eight months ago, Pete Babcock shipped Dikembe Mutombo to Philadelphia with more wailing and gnashing of teeth.

Suddenly, the yelling and screaming stopped. Babcock woke up one morning and learned they no longer want to fit him for a dunce cap, but with a mortarboard.

Dramatically, Babcock has transformed the Hawks, who were an old, tired and beaten up team when they were routed by the Knicks in a second-round sweep in 1999. Ennui at the box office told the story. What fans the Hawks had were no longer interested in seeing them play.

They ran Rider and Jackson through the locker room and dumped Lenny Wilkens after making him one of the highest-paid coaches in the league, giving him his money while they pushed him out the door. They hired a college coach and went through a dizzying series of deals that have transformed this team into one that could win about as many games (53) as did in the last two seasons combined.

Who's Who
The big news came draft day when Babcock dealt center-forward Lorenzen Wright, injury-prone point guard Brevin Knight and the No. 3 pick of the draft to Memphis for Shareef Abdur-Rahim and the No. 27 pick. One of the best kept secrets in the league (Doc Rivers said that), Abdur-Rahim averaged 20.8 points, 8.2 rebounds, shooting .472 as a swing forward in Vancouver. Six weeks shy of his 25th birthday and a local high school hero, he gives the Hawks the focal point they so badly needed in the community and on the court. The Hawks also brought in a pair of competent but unspectacular point guards, Emanual Davis and Jacque Vaughn, to get them into their offense. But bigger news is the return of Theo Ratliff. Although the Hawks acquired him with Toni Kukoc and Nazr Mohammed in the Feb. 22 Mutombo deal, Ratliff did not play in a game for the Hawks while a broken scaphoid bone healed in his right wrist. He made it back to the court for an exhibition game Oct. 20 and 14 points, nine rebounds, five blocks suggested he had not missed a beat.

FANTASY SLEEPER

Nazr Mohammed, C/PF -- Atlanta head coach Lon Kruger likes the idea of going big, teaming the 6-10 Mohammed with 6-10 center Theo Ratliff and 6-9 small forward Shareef Abdur-Rahim. This would open things up in the middle for Mohammed, as the other two would likely garner more of the opponents' attention. Whether Kruger decides to start Mohammed or Toni Kukoc, Mohammed will play a bigger role after averaging 17 points, 10.8 rebounds and 1.6 blocks to close out last season's final eight games.

The Big Question
Can Kukoc stay healthy all season and give the Hawks the slick passing and heady offensive play they are gambling on? He averaged 6.2 assists, 19.7 points in 17 games last season in Atlanta. Babcock turned away from expensive trades for better known point guards, preferring to retain his solid front line and taking a good gamble that Lon Kruger could run his offense through Kukoc as well as Abdur-Rahim and Jason Terry. Kukoc had two procedures to repair plantar fasciaitis in his right foot. He has less pain now, but the Hawks won't know how well he recovers until he deals with the rigors of the season.

Best/Worst Case Scenario
At best the Hawks can win 48 games, at worst 38. The front line is among the deepest in the league and is certainly the most versatile in the East, allowing Kruger to go big by playing vastly improved Mohammed, Ratliff and Abdur-Rahim together with Kukoc in the backcourt. The Hawks should have no trouble scoring with Terry coming off a 19.7 ppg. season. But there are questions beyond the point guard position. Kruger worries about his team's ability to rebound and defense could be an issue although Ratliff's knack for reacting to an offensive threat is truly uncanny. This is one team that will rely on zone defense tendencies.

OVERRATED	UNDERRATED	TEAM MVP
Alan Henderson. Scored 10.5 a game last year, but doesn't board and gets hurt.	Shareef Abdur-Rahim. Nobody watched in Vancouver, but now they are. A 20-10 guy?	Jason Terry. Went from failed PG to All-Star caliber SG in same season.