Ahead of the regular season tipping off on Tuesday night, TSN.ca looks at a burning question facing every NBA team.

In the Southeast, the Washington Wizards look to cement themselves as one of the East's elite with their dynamic backcourt, Kelly Olynyk and the Miami Heat try to ride last season's strong second half into a playoff spot and the Charlotte Hornets are the latest team to turn to Dwight Howard?

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With their core gone, how will the Hawks reestablish an identity?

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Dennis Schroder

Very quietly, the Atlanta Hawks were one of the NBA’s most consistent teams for a decade, making the playoffs in each of the past 10 seasons with an average of 45.4 wins a season over that period.

One of the reasons why this sustained success went largely unnoticed was that the Hawks were able to win without flashy stars. There weren’t many highlight-reel plays or must-see moments, just efficient basketball.

Virtually every single player responsible for those teams is gone now. Over the past 18 months, the Hawks have said goodbye to Al Horford, Paul Millsap, Kyle Korver, Jeff Teague and more. Even Dwight Howard – who nobody is going to miss, apparently – is gone, too. Left is a Hawks team short on talent and one likely to take a big step back in the Eastern Conference.

At the very least, the Hawks still have one of the best coaches in the NBA in Mike Budenholzer. Coach Bud is popular with his charges for being able to be the best of both worlds – he’s a tactician who breaks down X’s and O’s, but he’s also a players’ coach, big on mutual respect – something that he learned as a Pop disciple after more than a decade and a half as an assistant with the San Antonio Spurs. If Budenholzer can make these Hawks respectable, it will be the biggest accomplishment with Atlanta, heading into his fifth year there.

After addressing who’s gone, let’s look at who’s still around. Dennis Schroder is still manning the point. One of the better young point guards in the NBA, the Hawks committed to him as their point guard of the future when they moved Teague to the Indiana Pacers last summer and inked the German to a four-year, $70 million extension. Schroder averaged a career-high 17.9 PPG a season ago and was even better in the playoffs.

Schroder will likely be asked to even carry more of the offensive load this season because, to be blunt, it’s incredibly difficult to discern from where scoring is going to come from this season for the Hawks. Millsap, Howard and Tim Hardaway accounted for 46.1 points a night last season and, while Marco Belinelli will help out from long range and hopes are high for rookie forward John Collins, it’s not obvious how the team will offset those losses.

There just isn’t enough NBA talent here for the Hawks to be anything close to a good team, but this is the Eastern Conference. You don’t have to be good to make the playoffs and that’s why Atlanta finds themselves in a bit of a no-win scenario. Nobody likes the idea of teams flat-out tanking. It does a disservice to the players and the team and it adversely affects the league’s integrity. Still, there’s more value to the Hawks in bottoming out and gaining a lottery pick because of it than there is competing for one of the final playoff spots in the East where they will be blown out in four games by a Cleveland or Washington. Worse yet would be finishing just short of a postseason berth with poorer lottery odds.

A blessing in disguise might be that this roster is so devoid of quality that the decision will be already made for the coaching staff.

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What can D12 bring to the Hornets?

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Dwight Howard

It’s 2017 and NBA teams still think Dwight Howard is the answer to their prayers.

Well, one team does and they’re the Charlotte Hornets. I’m not a sports psychologist or anything, but it probably doesn’t speak too well of a player’s character when his former teammates literally had a party upon hearing the news of his trade. The former Superman fizzled out in Houston and was a bust with the Hawks. If Rich Cho thinks he’s found himself a reclamation project in a guy who led the league in rebounds four times before he was 27, we’ll see if Steve Clifford agrees.

Now 31, it would be foolish to assume that Howard can still handle the rigours of a full NBA season. He’s missed a combined 58 games over the past four seasons and that fits in with a troubling trend with this Hornets frontcourt – it’s not exactly durable. Cody Zeller, now relegated to a bench role with Howard’s arrival, missed 20 games last season. Michael Kidd-Gilchrist – maybe the team’s best all-around defender - only missed one game a year ago, but that was his first full campaign in four seasons, having missed a combined 118 games in the previous three years. For the Hornets to stay buoyant in the Eastern Conference, they’re going to need healthy bodies.

The injury issues have crept into the backcourt with starting two-guard Nicolas Batum. The Frenchman is out with a torn ligament in his left elbow. Initial estimates had him missing the entire season, but a revised timetable has back within six to eight weeks. While Batum is crucial to the Hornets’ success this season, the team should be able to weather the storm until he returns thanks in large part to his backcourt partner, Kemba Walker.

While John Wall, Kyle Lowry and Kyrie Irving are considered among the Eastern Conference’s elite point guards, Walker’s name should be right there among them. The UCONN product had the best season of his six-year pro career, averaging 23.2 points on .444 shooting and 5.6 assists a night. Look for Walker to build on his career-high 18.3 field-goal attempts a night, too.

It’s too early to say what kind of chemistry Walker will build with Howard and how open the lane is going to be, but with Batum on the shelf and Dwight’s integration into the team a question mark, Walker’s shot is probably the safest bet for offence at least to start the season.

The Hornets are hopeful that first-round pick, Malik Monk out of Kentucky, will be a quick study and get involved in the offence, but an ankle injury kept him out of Summer League and hindered his progress. Michael Carter-Williams, somehow on his fourth team in five seasons, has never been able to recapture the form that won him Rookie of the Year in 2014, though still remains a low-risk addition to back up Walker.

The Hornets have enough talent to return to the playoffs after regressing a year ago and missing out, but it’s all a matter of whether or not a litany of health concerns will preclude that from happening.

And if it doesn’t, hey, there was at least this:

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 How will Olynyk adjust to life in South Beach?

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Kelly Olynyk

Kelly Olynyk didn’t expect to be a member of the Miami Heat this season.

The 26-year-old Toronto native thought that he would be a part of the Boston Celtics’ push to dethrone the Cleveland Cavaliers in the Eastern Conference, but things changed quickly in the course of several hours in July.

In order to free up money to sign Gordon Hayward, the Celtics renounced Olynyk’s rights on July 4. By July 7, Olynyk was a member of the Heat on a four-year deal worth $50 million.

“It was definitely a whirlwind,” Olynyk told TSN.ca about his experience. “Boston was obviously trying to go after Gordon Hayward and shed the cap space to sign him, so they relinquished my rights and it was just kind of a flurry from there with the phone calls and teams. Miami made a call and an offer and I was really interested and intrigued by it. I love the team they have and the coach and the culture down here. Everything I’ve heard about it has been amazing, so it was a great opportunity that I couldn’t pass up.”

Olynyk now finds himself on a Heat team that missed out on the playoffs a season ago thanks to a tiebreaker. Both the Heat and Chicago Bulls finished with a 41-41 record, but the Bulls got the nod as the eighth and final seed in the East thanks to a 2-1 season series record over Miami. What torpedoed the Heat’s playoff chances was the slow start from which the team just couldn’t bounce back. After starting the season 10-22, the Heat were reborn in 2017, going 32-17 from January on.

It’s no surprise then, that the team that went on that impressive run returns mostly intact with Olynyk and first-round pick Bam Adebayo joining what is now a fairly deep frontcourt mix that includes Hassan Whiteside, James Johnson, Justise Winslow and Rodney McGruder (who will begin the season on injured reserve with a leg stress fracture).

Olynyk says his decision to join the Heat was an easy one after talking to its staff and management.

“I talked to Coach [Erik] Spo[elstra] about how he envisioned me with the team and [Heat president] Pat [Riley], as well, about just how they utilize their guys and try to get the most out of their players and how big Miami is on player development – individual development and growing as a player, on and off the court,” Olynyk said.

But before he embarked on the next leg of his career, Olynyk felt the need to close the chapter on his Celtics days by sticking up for an ex-teammate. As news broke of the Celtics’ deal with the Cleveland Cavaliers for Kyrie Irving with Isaiah Thomas going the other way, a report emerged that certain Celtics players were happy to see the diminutive point guard leave town.

Olynyk was quick to jump on Twitter to refute the report.

“Isaiah is an unbelievable person and unbelievable teammate,” Olynyk said. “All he ever did was want to win and come to practice and games every single day and put him body, heart, soul and mind on the line for that team, that city and that organization. It was preposterous when they came out and said that we didn’t like him and he was a bad teammate. It was a lie. Everybody on that team loved him. He was the head of our snake and for everything he went through for that organization, that city and for all of us, it wasn’t something that I felt I could just let go without letting people know that’s not how it was. Isaiah, like I said, was an unbelievable person, unbelievable teammate and I would go to war with him every single day.”

Like his rapport with Thomas, Olynyk enjoys a similarly close-knit relationship with other Canadian players in the Association. In fact, Olynyk got an assist from a fellow Canucks with the onset of Hurricane Irma in August.

“When the hurricane hit Miami, I was trying to get a flight back to Boston or New York – somewhere close to Boston – and I couldn’t get any flights,” Olynyk said. “I ended up flying to Dallas. I hit [Mavericks forward and Toronto native] Dwight Powell up right away and I meant to stay overnight and fly to Boston the next day, but I ended up spending four or five days there hanging out with Dwight. It’s definitely a close group when you’re a Canadian in this league. It’s an inner circle.”

It’s in the aftermath of Irma that the Heat begin their season. With recovery costs estimated to rise to up to $65 billion and thousands left homeless, Olynyk understands that Miami is a city still mourning and healing and hopes the Heat can play their part in the city’s recuperation.

“It’s our initiative to support the city because that’s the place that supports you,” Olynyk said. “Although I’ve only been here for not even a month, seeing it hit and how it affects people’s lives is pretty drastic. So anything we can do to help. I know the organization, the Heat, have done a lot to give back and help with aid in any way they can, so any way we can be a part of that, we try to.”

On the court, the Heat – led by their backcourt of Goran Dragic and a resurgent Dion Waiters – find themselves in the thick of the Eastern Conference playoff hopefuls. Even after missing the postseason last year, pushing for home-court in this season’s playoffs is a realistic aim for the club.

“We’re trying to be the best team we can and I think the sky is the limit for us,” Olynyk said. “With the way they finished in the second half of the season last year, we’re hoping we can take that momentum and hit the ground running when the season starts.”

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 Is this put up or shut up time for the young Magic?

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Evan Fournier

 The Orlando Magic are a cautionary tale for teams who believe that accruing youth through the draft is a means to salvation. As the Philadelphia 76ers have trusted the process and appear to be headed back to prominence, a lack of growth in Orlando cost former wonderboy general manager Rob Hennigan – only 30 when hired in 2012 – his job.

The Magic have missed the playoffs every season since 2012 and much of that has to do with swings and misses at draft time. Since the Magic took Dwight Howard first overall in 2004, Orlando has failed to hit a home run with any draft pick since and has very little to show for those years. In the 11 drafts following the D12 selection (not including this past June’s), J.J. Redick (11th overall in 2006) is arguably the best of the Magic’s draft picks and he hasn’t played with the club since 2013.

In terms of sheer talent level, the Magic are unlikely to compete for a playoff spot, but for the likes of Aaron Gordon (fourth overall in 2014), Mario Hezonja (fifth overall in 2015) and Elfrid Payton (10th overall in 2014 and acquired in a draft-night trade), it’s a matter of pride to keep their NBA careers on track.

With Hennigan gone, former Toronto Raptors general manager Jeff Weltman comes over as president of basketball operations, while former Milwaukee Bucks GM John Hammond steps into the same role for the Magic. In Weltman and Hammond, the Magic have a pair of highly regarded talent evaluators who will ideally mesh well with the type of team coach Frank Vogel intends to build.

Weltman and Hammond’s summer work was building up some veteran depth for their young club with the likes of Mo Speights, the returning Arron Afflalo and Shelvin Mack. The most intriguing new addition is Jonathon Simmons, made a free agent by the San Antonio Spurs when they rescinded his rights. A terrific wing defender, increased minutes for Simmons should up his offensive production, something that the Magic sorely need.

Like Simmons, Gordon is a fine defender whose highlight-reel dunks and performances at the Slam Dunk Contest have made him a known commodity league-wide. Ideally, Gordon won’t have to shoulder as much of the defensive load as he did last year – last summer’s big signing, Bismack Biyombo, did not live up to his big contract – and he can focus upping his offensive numbers. While his move to power forward late in the season resulted in an uptick in offence, the Magic need more from Gordon than the 10.8 field-goal attempts he averaged a night last season.

Gordon’s move to the four came after the trade of Serge Ibaka to the Raptors that brought Terrence Ross to Orlando to slot in at the three. With the likes of Gordon, Ross and Evan Fournier, the Magic can put an incredibly athletic lineup on the court who can attack the rim. In this smaller lineup, Fournier’s game picked up and the club hopes that he continues where he left off following the All-Star break.

As for Payton, the smaller lineup is a boon, as well, as it allows him to pick up the pace as a distributer in a way he couldn’t with, say, Ibaka. Like with Gordon, the Magic failed to reach an extension with their point guard prior to the October 16 deadline and Payton will head to restricted free agency. It goes without saying that this year is a pivotal one for the scion of CFL royalty.

Of interest to Canadian NBA fans is the arrival of Khem Birch. The Montreal native’s story is one of perseverance. After going undrafted out of UNLV in 2014, the 25-year-old power forward played one year in the D-League and then two in Europe (with Turkish club Usak Sportif and Greek giants, Olympiacos) before returning to North America to sign with the Magic in late July. After impressing in camp and the preseason, Birch has cracked the Magic’s opening night roster.

The dearth of quality in the bottom half of the East will keep the Magic in the playoff conversation longer than a club of this calibre normally would be. It’s important not to read into that anything beyond the fact that the Eastern Conference is just really poor.

A successful season for the Magic won’t necessarily mean a playoff berth, but simply their young core cementing their NBA credentials and building towards contention over the long haul.

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Will dynamic backcourt duo get enough support to help the Wizards take the next step?

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John Wall

When it comes to sheer talent, few teams in the Eastern Conference possess what the Washington Wizards have to offer, led by one the league’s truly elite guard combos. John Wall and Bradley Beal combined for 46.1 points a night last season, staking their claim alongside the likes of the Splash Bros., Lowry & DeRozan and Dame & CJ for the best tandem in the NBA. But if the Wizards are to cement their status as an Eastern Conference contender, they’re going to need more from the rest of the team.

With Wall and Beal, you can’t ask more much more. Wall is the total package at point and every bit the player the Wizards thought they were drafting with the first overall pick out of Kentucky in 2010. His speed makes the Wizards probably the deadliest team in transition in the entire NBA. A crazy aside – with the trade of Paul George to the Oklahoma City Thunder and Gordon Hayward’s signing with the Boston Celtics, Wall is now the only player in the entirety of the 2010 NBA Draft to still be a member of the team that drafted him.

Wall’s partner-in-crime, Beal, stayed healthy for nearly an entire season for the first time in his five-year career and posted All-Star-calibre numbers. Beal’s ball-handling was elevated as well, even supplanting Wall as the king of pick-and-roll efficiency on the club. If there was anything worrying about Beal’s performance was the pronounced dip in his outside shot during the playoffs. A .404 shooter in the regular season, Beal’s mark fell to just .287 in the postseason.

The team’s best outside shooter, Otto Porter, is back and locked in for the long term, but not, perhaps, in the manner the Wizards had intended. Like they did the summer before with Allen Crabbe and Tyler Johnson, the Brooklyn Nets signed Porter to a hefty four-year, $106.5 million offer sheet that the Wizards matched. An efficient shooter (Porter shot .434 from beyond the arc and .516 for the field), Porter offers a solid scoring presence from the wing, even if he’s not exactly the most explosive player on the NBA.

If Kelly Oubre can develop any kind of offensive touch to go along with his above-average defence, the Wizards are set on the wing on both sides of the ball. With Marcin Gortat and a healthy Ian Mahinmi – he missed 51 games last season – splitting time in the middle and bodying the paint, the room for perimeter shooting should be there. A healthy Mahinmi will go a long way in improving a pedestrian 20th overall defensive efficiency mark.

But it again comes down to improving team defence and bench depth pulling their weight. New signing Jodie Meeks and Markieff Morris could help with both, yet there are issues with both of them, as well. Meeks has only appeared in 99 games over the past three seasons, while Morris just can’t seem to stay out of needless foul trouble. Tim Frazier is a nice low-key addition at point for when Wall needs a rest.

In a best-case scenario, the Wiz reach the Eastern Conference Finals where all bets are off. If the bottom falls out, it’s because one of Wall or Beal goes down and nobody elsewhere picks up the load. I’d bet on the former before the latter, but that only happens if the Wizards are more than a two-man team.