41-31, 5th in the Eastern Conference.
Absolutely no one expected them at this level. After a mixed start to the regular season, the Hawks are making a push allowing them to finish at the top of the ranking. For his first playoff game, Bring Young (28.8 points and 9.5 assists in 16 campaign games) will score 32 points while assuming his leadership status. They’ll make one mouthful of the New York Knicks in five games. In the second round, it was the Philadelphia Sixers, the East’s first record. Going blow for blow, the outcome will be decided in 7 games. Despite a large series of Joel Embiid, Seth Curry and Tobia Harris, it is indeed the collective of Georgia which will be essential. On the roof of the Eastern Conference now stand the fierce Milwaukee Bucks. Author of 48 points in the first game once morest the future champions, Young will make the whole franchise hope that the finals are not so far away. However, the illusion will be short-lived and the well-established collective of Giannis Antetokounmpo will overcome the Falcons in 6 games.
- The movements of the off-season
Arrives : Gorgui Deng, Delon Wright, Jalen Johnson, Sharife Cooper
Dparts : Kris Dunn, Tony Snell, Bruno Fernando
PG : Trae Young, Delon Wright, Lou Williams, Sharife Cooper
SG : Bogdan Bogdanovic, Kevin Huerter, Timothe Luwawu-Cabarrot
SF : De’Andre Hunter, Cam Reddish, Solomon Hill
PF : John Collins, Danilo Gallinari, Onyeka Okongwu, Jalen Johnson
C : Clint Capela, Gorgui Dieng, Jahlil Okafor
PG : Bring Young SG : Bogdan Bogdanovic SF : De’Andre Hunter PF : John Collins C : Clint Capela
Franchise player from Atlanta, Young signed a gargantuan contract this summer and intends to fulfill it. Entering his fourth season aged 22, he is the go-to-guy of this squad as old as him. Not All-Star last season, he will surely continue in his spear by scoring more than reason and distributing plenty. More clumsy but more judicious in his three-point shots, he will nevertheless have to work on it. Bogdan Bogdanovic does everything and does it well. A skilful shooter, he also knows how to be present in other areas of the game. An essential asset, he forms a perfect backcourt with Young. De’Andre Hunter only played 23 games last season but showed some promise. His third season, if he manages to stay in good health, should allow him to close more. John Collins will be back and will always go well with Young. An ideal complement, it works perfectly as a right arm. Clint Capela was top rebounder last season (14.3 pickings). Also with 2 blocks on average, he was and will be an essential deterrent. Adding that a bit of scoring, he will surely occupy the position of starting pivot.
In addition to having a solid major 5, Atlanta enjoys a very interesting bench depth. At the end, Delon Wright will be Young’s back-up. Decent defender and correct shooter, he will do the trick in the second rotation. There is also the vtran scorer Lou Williams who will always return his shots when necessary. Kevin Huerter and Cam Reddish are capable of both ends of the court and will be very useful second unit to keep the team in the game during the starters’ exit. Likewise for Danilo Gallinari, effective everywhere and on whom you can count. Finally, Gorgui Dieng and Jalhil Okafor will take care of the dirty work under the circles wonderfully.
- Player to watch: bogdan bogdanovic
A real Swiss army knife, the Serbian has so far only played one season in the Hawks jersey. Still young and with a flamboyant international track record, he will have to step-up this season as more regular. In the 2020-2021 financial year, he started only 27 games. This season, he will really have to establish his place as starter indisputable. Bringing his shot but also his versatility, he will have to oil the gears as he knows how to do so well.
La : After a run like this, the only thing to do is take the same and start over to try to do better. That’s the goal here: all the important players are under contract, the workforce is young and steeped in talent and all of this is headed by a new coach in the person of Nate McMillan.
The depth of the workforce : As mentioned above, all positions are almost doubled or even tripled by decent players. With a major 5 too injury-prone, it is rather reassuring.
The wounds : Recurring problem for all NBA teams of course, however here the average age is very low. Being so injured at such a young age never bodes well for the rest of the careers of any of these athletes. Not to mention load-management, it will be necessary to intelligently manage everyone’s glitches throughout the season.
Exit le ct underdog : Real surprise last season, the whole NBA is now warned. The defenses will be tightened and the grips on the 185 cm point guard will be legion. It is up to the coach and the players to adapt and find new solutions in order to avoid being overwhelmed.
It certainly looks like the Hawks are back at the top of the conference, or at least that is their aspiration. The top 5 alongside the other leaders of the conference seems quite accessible. The elements are united to achieve a good regular season and why not fight their way into the playoff.
47 wins and 35 losses.
