Atlanta is hot, but the Hawks are not.
In the last two games, the Hawks have been 1-1. In the last 14 games, the Hawks have been 7-7. In the last 26 games, the Hawks have been 13-13.
The addition of Dejounte Murray in the off-season made the Hawks look like a force to be reckoned with heading into the NBA season. In fact, they ranked as the seventh-best team in the league at the start of the season. Only two Eastern Conference teams ranked ahead of them, the Boston Celtics and the Brooklyn Nets.
Where it stands now, the Hawks are currently the 8th seed in the Eastern Conference, making them a play-in hopeful team, which is exactly where they finished a season ago, before they were eliminated from playoff contention by the Miami Heat in the first round.
So, what went wrong? Just two seasons ago, this team was good enough to make the Eastern Conference Finals. Well, there are multiple reasons.
First, let’s look at a more recent issue, Dejounte Murray. Murray, in the last ten games, has had horrible shooting splits. Averaging 38.3% from the field and 20.7% from deep. In comparison, Murray has been shooting 45.8% and 34.9% on the season.
While this is a short-term issue, it’s a contributing factor to the team’s record. Having the player you mortgaged essentially four future first-round picks away for needing 25 shot attempts to score 20 points against a rebuilding Spurs team and still lose is quite disappointing.
The acquisition of Murray, while on paper, should have benefited the team. It led to one of their unsung heroes, Kevin Huerter, being traded to the Sacramento Kings over the off-season.
Huerter, this season, has been one of the deadliest 3-point shooters, averaging 40.9% from deep on 6.8 attempts a game.
Huerter wasn’t brought back due to Antony Wessler, the team’s owner, not wanting to reach back into the luxury tax. This will be a future concern to look out for, as the Hawks are already around 34 million dollars over the salary cap this season.
When it comes time to pay for players like Saddiq Bey, De’Andre Hunter and Onyeka Okongwu, Wessler will have to realize that the team will have to dip into the luxury tax. Or they will likely lose these players to free agency for nothing in return.
Dejounte Murray’s playstyle also clashes with Trae Young’s, Murray’s other half in the backcourt and the leading player on the Hawks. Young is averaging 26.5 points, ten assists, three rebounds, and 1.1 steals this season for the Hawks.
Both being ball-dominant guards, there are times when Young and Murray don’t look fluid on the basketball court. Both players are used to playing the point-guard position, but Murray has been the primary shooting guard this season.
While Young has been nothing short of outstanding on the stat sheet for the Hawks this season, his leadership over the team as a player has been weak. There’s time for this trait to develop. Still, it’s a quality that Young critically needs to lead this Hawks team deeper into the playoffs more consistently.
Next, there’s forward John Collins. Collins has been somewhat disappointing for the Hawks this season. During the 2019-20 NBA season, Collins averaged 21.6 points, 10.1 rebounds and 1.6 blocks on 58.3% shooting and 40.1% from deep.
This season, Collins is averaging 13 points, 6.6 rebounds and 1.1 blocks on 51.1% shooting and 27.9% from deep. A noticeable dip from his campaign from the 2019-20 NBA season.
This can be explained due to Collins’ diminishing role during his time in Atlanta. When the team acquired center Clint Capela during the 2019-20 regular season via trade, Collins’ numbers declined lower every season.
The situation doesn’t improve when Collins is involved in trade discussions nearly every NBA season. For example, Collins was connected to the Golden State Warriors and the Utah Jazz in trade talks this season alone.
On the topic of Capela, while he has had a part in diminishing Collins’s role, he has been an essential part of this Hawks team. Capela is averaging 12.1 points, 11.2 rebounds and 1.3 blocks on 65.1% shooting this season.
The Hawks are 6-10 when Capela doesn’t play. In fact, in a stretch where Capela was injured from late December to mid-January, the Hawks went on their longest losing streak of the season, losing four straight games.
Another notable player is A.J. Griffin, the Hawk’s first-round selection this past NBA draft. So far this season, Griffin is averaging 8.8 points, 2.1 rebounds and one assist on 46.7% shooting and 38.1% from deep, which are excellent shooting splits for a rookie forward, especially one who is only 19.
Unfortunately for Griffin, despite it being his rookie season in the NBA, his role is already diminishing on the Hawks. At the trade deadline, the Hawks added forward Saddiq Bey from the Detroit Pistons in a four-team trade.
Before Bey was on the team, Griffin was averaging 21.5 minutes of play. Since Bey’s arrival, Griffin now averages 14.6 minutes on the court.
Griffin will need to see more time on the court next season. With Bey and De’Andre Hunter ahead of him in the rotation, this won’t be easy. Still, Griffin will not develop into his maximum potential as a basketball player at this current rate.
On the bright side, it’s surprising there is one, right? The Hawks fired head coach Nate McMillian mid-way through the season and inked their new head coach, Quin Snyder, to a five-year deal.
McMillian was one of the biggest things holding the Hawks down this season. It’s been even more apparent with how Snyder has led the team so far. The Hawks have been 15-7 under Snyder this season, as opposed to McMillian, who carried a 29-30 record coaching the Hawks this year.
Snyder has a long coaching tenure, dating back to being an assistant coach for the Los Angeles Clippers during the 1992-93 NBA season. Snyder’s last coaching job in the NBA was for the Utah Jazz, where he served as the head coach.
During Snyder’s time on the Jazz, he led the team to the playoffs for six of eight years under his coaching. Additionally, Snyder maintained an overall winning record for the Jazz, winning 56% of the 636 total games he coached.
To recap, the Hawks need to do a lot to improve from this current situation.
Young and Murray need to learn how to co-exist better in the backcourt; hopefully, this will be possible under Snyder next season. Collins needs a set role on the team; since he’s underutilized, it would not be surprising if the Hawks tear off the band-aid for good this time and trade him during the off-season.
Next, Wessler needs to realize to keep this team together, the Hawks will have to reach into the luxury tax. Owning an NBA team is not cheap, but neither are the concessions at State Farm Arena.
Lastly, Capela needs to stay on the court as much as possible. The same goes for Griffin; he has all the tools necessary to become a solid NBA player, but Griffin needs more minutes on the court.
While this is a laundry list of things that need to happen. The Hawks core is still on the younger side, and under new head coach Quin Snyder, there’s a reason to remain optimistic.
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