Atlanta Hawks
The 2022-23 Atlanta Hawks can be defined by a mid-season coaching change, taking down the Heat in the first play-in game and pushing the Celtics to 6 games in the first round.
What did we learn?
More turmoil within the Hawks organization made it clear a systematic change was needed.
Before the calendar flipped to March, both the Hawks GM and head coach were gone.
Travis Schlenk stepped down in December and Nate Mac was fired two months later, two years after the Hawks run to the Eastern Conference Finals in which they were two games away from the NBA Finals.
It’s all about getting Trae Young to buy in. Quin Snyder was hired in February, and that relationship by all accounts appears to have started well.
Ice Trae was not an All-Star this season, putting up some smoke-and-mirrors numbers: 26 points and 10 assists, but 42.9 percent from the field and 33.5 percent from 3. He was aided by a constant bevy of free throws on a nightly basis. He could still get hot from long-range distance by all means. Ice Trae bombs away was still a bit. But this was Trae’s lowest 3-point percentage since his rookie season.
The Trae Young and Dejounte Murray fit was not the best on the court, better on paper. Too much of the your-turn, my-turn offense that can be so predictable. Murray’s numbers dropped from his All-Star breakout season last year in San Antonio with fewer rebounds and assists. He still got his points, though.
John Collins, forever on the block, did not get traded. But he did shoot a paltry 29 percent from 3, by far the worst mark of his career. His numbers have unfortunately been trending down for years.
De’Andre Hunter has not shown much progression after being the No. 4 pick in the draft. He’s a good but not great player about to be making $20 million a year.
Bogdan Bogdanovic got signed to an extension in March, but he has continuously dealt with knee issues. He’s missed an average of 25 games over the last three seasons. People forget he’s 30. But Bogey helps out the Hawks’ bench unit tremendously and gives them much-needed shooting when he’s available.
Speaking of shooting, getting rid of Kevin Huerter last summer was a bad look. However, we love the trade for Saddiq Bey at the deadline, especially considering the inexpensive price they paid. So far, Bey is a dependable and durable player. Those don’t grow on trees and that is exactly what Atlanta needs.
The big-man situation in the A was back and forth. Capela missed a large chunk of December and January while Okongwu played 80 games but was only given more than 30 minutes in 11 of them. Capela did shoot 65 percent from the field. And Okongwu was right behind at 64.
As usual, the Hawks’ offensive and defensive splits were a flip-flop. A top-10 offense with a bottom-10 defense is their calling card.
There was the craziest stat floating around about how mid the Hawks were in terms of their record:
The Hawks finished right at 41-41. Pure insanity.
And yet, the Hawks soared in the play-in game, getting revenge on the Heat for the first round of the last year’s playoffs. And they made Boston sweat a little in the first round, too. Ice Trae’s game-winner in Game 5 was a reminder that he can show out in the playoffs.
Having a head coach that Trae believes in is the first step.
Getting Trae to move off the ball and utilize his catch-and-shoot 3 is next.
Quin Snyder’s time is now.
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Additional Notes
Rookie AJ Griffin’s welcome to the NBA moment occurred in November, hitting a game-winning buzzer-beating shot in OT to beat the Raptors. Griffin replicated the exact feat a couple of weeks later against the Bulls on a turnaround shot from a perfect inbound pass from sophomore Jalen Johnson.
In the seven games that AJ Griffin scored 16+ points, the Hawks went 6-1.
Jalen Johnson’s career-high is 16 points. He has not been much of a scorer yet.
The Holiday Bros. did not do much here. Really thought that Nate Mac would be able to utilize them like he did in Indiana, but that just was not the case.
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Did our preseason Over/Under prediction hit?
Too many questions in a loaded East for that many wins. Under 46.5 wins.
Hawks 2022-23 record: (41-41)
Yes indeed! Never a doubt about this one.
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What’s Next?
The No. 15 pick in Thursday night’s draft. KOC has Gradey Dick in his latest mock draft and that sounds perfect for ATL.
Is this the summer that John Collins finally flies out of Atlanta?
The Hawks are already over the salary cap and looking at the luxury tax next year without having a full roster on the payroll yet. Gulp.
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