The Hawks are starting this season as the most unpredictable team in the league. If everything works well for them, Atlanta has the potential to be one of the best teams in the Eastern conference this season, however it won’t be a surprise if the Hawks continue to be a mediocre team just like in previous years either.
Last season, Jalen Johnson was the team’s biggest surprise. In his fourth season in the NBA, Johnson showed to be a good all-around player by posting solid numbers: 18.9 ppg, 10.0 rpg and 5.0 apg. His impact on the team right next to Trae Young was evident:
Johnson & Young on Court: 2001 Possessions | +6.1 Net Rating
Only Young on Court: 3873 Possessions | -2.2 Net Rating
The problem for Atlanta last season was that Johnson got injured and was declared out for the season in late January.
Another good surprise that the Hawks had last season was with the acquisition of Dyson Daniels, who showed to be one of the best perimeter defensive players in the league while also improving his numbers on offense in both volume and efficiency.
Zaccharie Risacher was Atlanta’s #1 draft pick in a class that was deemed as mediocre but he didn’t show enough to be rookie of the year. However, his performance during the second half of the season was much better than in first months in the league (49.8% FG | 40.7% 3pts) and his shooting ability will be very important for the team’s future.
Trae Young continued to have a lot of volume on offense, but his efficiency was again subpar. Thanks to that, Atlanta wasn’t a top 10 offense for the second year in a row.
In this offseason, Atlanta made some interesting moves that should add quality to their roster. Their frontcourt in the last few seasons have been a unit without great perimeter shooting ability, but that will change with the arrival of Kristaps Porzingis. Naturally, his availability due to recurrent physical issues may become an issue during the season, as he only played 42 games last season while dealing with a mysterious illness. Still, in a down year, he shot +41% 3pts. The team’s offensive space with Porzingis will dramatically improve while at the same time the Latvian is one of the best rim protectors in the league.
Trae Young’s problems on defense have been well evident during his career. However, with the arrival of Daniels last season, Atlanta has stopped being one of the 10 worst defenses in the league. Their defense indeed improved, but they were still only ranked #19. In order to help Daniels to defend in the perimeter, Atlanta added Nickeil Alexander-Walker to their roster from Minnesota, a player who was a solid 3&D role player with the Wolves. At the same time, the Hawks also acquired Luke Kennard who has been one of the best shooters in the league since his 2017-18 rookie season.
Improving the perimeter defense and the perimeter shooting of a team is always a great net positive and this Hawks team has a group of players with a lot of potential in key areas where they have struggled in the past. It will now be up to coach Quin Snyder to find the best lineup and rotation to maximize that potential. If he manages to do that, then he will be a strong contender for coach of the year this season.