2005-06 Good Call Hawks

POUYA DIANAT / PDIANAT@AJC.COM

Sorry for the brief hiatus. I was on vacation last week, but let's get back to the Good Call Hawks. After the 2005 NBA draft and the following offseason, here is the final roster going into the 2005-06 campaign:

PG - Chris Paul, Chris Duhon

SG - Joe Johnson, Tony Delk, Monta ellis
SF - Andre Iguodala, Trevor Ariza, Damien Wilkins
PF - Al Harrington, Josh Smith
C - Zaza Pachulia, Joel Przybilla, Chuck Hayes

We're only two drafts into this exercise, and there is already little resemblance to the actual Hawks team. The SF position is just as deep, but with completely different players. The only position that is exactly the same is the PF position. Well I say exactly the same, but we're moving Josh over to PF early knowing that he can't shoot enough to stay on the wing. In comparing to the actual 05-06 Hawks team, there is an upgrade at SF, a major upgrade at PG, and better depth at C. Long-term, Monta will be a terrific 6th man, but now he's just a guard fresh out of high school.

While there wasn't much change in record for the 04-05 Good Call Hawks, this season sees a significant jump. Instead of going 26-56, tied for last in the Southeast division, the Good Call Hawks blow through the eastern conference in the simulation and end up with a 45-37 record, good for the 5th seed.

This pits the Good Call Hawks against another rising team in the Cleveland Cavaliers in the first round of the playoffs. The home team wins the first four games leaving the series tied at 2-2. The Good Call Hawks finally break serve in the 5th game, pulling out a thrilling victory in Cleveland before finishing off the Cavs in the 6th game to take the series 4-2.

The Good Call Hawks then take on the reigning champions in the Detroit Pistons, who have the best record in the league. While the young Good Call Hawks put up a fight, the Pistons eventually take the series 4-2.

So instead of going 26-56 and ending up back in the lottery again, the Good Call Hawks have a 19 win improvement and actually push last year's champions in the second round. Not back for only two offseasons.

The next post will try to keep the momentum going with the 2006 NBA Draft.