Halftone season for Hawks who shone brightly during 2020-2021. The Eastern conference being very tight (5 wins difference between the fifth and the ninth), Atlanta therefore ends its play-in season with 43 wins for 39 defeats and must first face the Charlotte Hornets then the Cleveland Cavaliers. In both cases they will triumph and will be opposed by the Miami Heat, first of the conference. The sanction is without appeal, the Florida franchise chokes the leader of Georgia who finds himself totally helpless. The team lacking an offensive solution and depopulated in defense was sent home following six games. The season’s statistics perfectly illustrate this situation: second offensive rating of the league once morest only twenty-sixth defensive rating. This kind of imbalance is never a good sign and changes were clearly much needed to move forward.
- offseason moves
Draft : AJ Griffin
Dparts : Danilo Gallinari, Kevin Huerter, Lou Williams, Delon Wright, Kevin Knox, Gorgui Dieng, Solomon Hill, Timoth Luwawu-Cabarrot
Arrives : Dejounte Murray, Aaron Holiday, Justin Holiday, Frank Kaminsky, Vit Krejci, Tyrese Martin, Trent Forest, Chris Silva
Leaders : Dejounte Murray, Bogdan Bogdanovic, Aaron Holiday
Back : Trae Young, Vit Krejci, Justin Holiday
Wingers : De’Andre Hunter, AJ Griffin, Tyrese Martin
Power wingers : John Collins, Onyeka Okongwu, Jalen Johnson
Pivots : Clint Capela, Frank Kaminsky, Chris Silva
PG : Dejounte Murray SG : Trae Young SF : DeAndre Hunter PF : John Collins C : Clint Capela
It’s hard to really know which of them will really be leading or back, the fact is that they will undoubtedly form the backcourt. Dejounte Murray will have to adapt another greedy player (34.4% of player usage) and share the swelling. All-Star last season (21 points, 8.3 rebounds, 9.2 assists and 2 steals) with an “almost” triple-double average, he proved that he might be in the oven and in the mill on both sides of the field. Trae Young, also All-Star last season for the second time in his career (28.4 points, 3.7 rebounds, 9.7 assists), confirmed what we already knew: he is a maddening offensive weapon and a distributor of genius. However, in addition to being targeted in defense due to its small size, it also does not lavish the minimum efforts on its side. DeAndre Hunter will be the Hawks’ winger and will provide defense and three-pointers. Fourth season in the NBA and last year of his contract. The position 3 of Atlanta has every interest to give the maximum to get the contract he deserves. The position of strong winger will be occupied by John Collins. After having encountered numerous injuries, he will finally have the opportunity to prove that he deserves his extension. A capable and aggressive shooter in the circle, he is a definite offensive asset. Finally, the Swiss pivot Clint Capela closes this major five. He will bring what he has always brought: a few baskets and some rebound.
Bogdan Bogdanovic is the handyman par excellence: whether coming off the bench or replacing an absent starter, he will be very important coming off the bench with a lot of playing time. For his part, Onyeka Okongwu has made great progress in these last seasons. energize, he still needs to refine his range of skills. AJ Griffin is a rookie draft in the sixteenth position, he is among the most NBA ready of the tank. The only big member of the team, Frank Kaminsky will participate due to his size, a few points a and there and will protect the circle.
More than a player, it will obviously be the Murray-Young duo who will be closely watched. Dejounte is used to a collective system, that of the Spurs. Here, the ball certainly circulates well but as said before, Trae Young has the ball enormously in his hands. who of the two will play off-ball ? Will they share the scoring fairly? Added to these questions is another question: will the arrival of “Baby Boy” be enough to breathe a defensive soul into this team? If it is present in his DNA as a player, it is also up to Trae Young as a leader to set an example. This duo will therefore be the thermometer of the team, if the two get along well and manage to work together, the Hawks can accomplish great things.
An unchanged but improved workforce : In the continuity of what had been done in recent seasons, the workforce was not too disturbed but comes to garnish with an All-Star. Is it enough to tickle the top spots in the East? Only the future will tell us.
Trae Young : Leader en nombre de points marqus et en passes performance, “Ice Trae” enters his fifth NBA season. After a masterful run in the playoffs, he will not repeat the feat the following season. post-seasonhe should come back with the desire to do battle and not be knocked out in the first lap.
The bench : the few departures that took place this summer did not upset the workforce but all the same impoverished the bench a little. Apart from Bogdanovic who should enjoy whatever the situation, the rest of the second unit is not very sharp. With a major five injury proneit will be easy enough for the opposing teams to overthrow them.
A little too frail? The Hawks may also lack athleticism and toughness. Not that they’re ridiculous once morest the competition, but the contenders in the East are so rough that the Hawks seem a little soft next to sharp teams like the Heat, Bucks or Sixers.
Difficult to project as the association of star players should vary the results. The talent is real and with a leader like Trae Young, the objective is clear: the playoffs. However, the first year will serve to make the necessary adjustments and instill a defensive soul if all goes well. This should take time and rate matches. They should finish sixth in the East with 44 wins and 38 losses.
