After a trip to the Eastern Conference Finals, the Atlanta Hawks had high hopes of starting the 2021-22 season with a healthy squad and renewed expectations.
It wasn’t nearly what they expected for the first couple of weeks after their 110-98 loss to Utah Jazz at 4-8 that season.
With five straight defeats, here are four stats that paint a difficult picture of their start to the season.
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7: Fight on the street
Eight of the Hawks’ first 12 games this season have left State Farm Arena and they have really struggled to find a rhythm on the road as they are now 1-7 in the season.
Their lone win came against the humble New Orleans Pelicans, who lacked forward Zion Williamson all year. It doesn’t get much easier for Atlanta after losing to the Warriors and Jazz as it travels to Denver to take on the Nuggets.
It didn’t help that the Hawks had to face the 76ers, Wizards, Nets, Suns, Warriors, and Jazz on the street earlier in the season.
111.5: Defense has a lot to do
The Hawks won’t pin you down, but they have enough viable defenders to protect the paint and athletic wingers to tackle shots. But they’re not doing much of either this season.
Their defense is currently ranked 27th in the league, giving away 111.5 points per 100 possessions. Only the grizzlies, pelicans and hornets have a worse defense this season.
Clint Capela is still working his way back after recovering from an Achillies problem during the off-season that limited his minutes in the first week of the season. As soon as he’s fully back in flight, the Hawks’ defense should come.
While they need help on the edge, they had no answer this week for Steph Curry, who dropped a 50 divider on them in the bay.
Can’t get to the line
The most glaring part of the Hawks’ early offensive fighting was their lack of free throw shooting.
After the All-Star hiatus last season, they were fourth on free throws (18.5) and seventh on tries (23.1), and that number has fallen sharply this season.
In 12 games, they only make 15.1 free throws out of 18.7 tries per game, with point guard Trae Young seeing a significant drop.
A combination of teams anticipating Young’s moves and the new rules that work against players like Young and James Harden who are pros at contacting has resulted in the Hawks star staring at officials for a whistle.
“I don’t want to be fined too much, but it’s frustrating,” Young said last month.
“There are a lot of missed calls. It’s basketball. It just feels like they’re learning, and they’re just – I don’t know. It is frustrating.”
12: Is the rotation too deep?
One of the Hawks’ greatest strengths last season was the fact that they had so much depth in multiple positions that they could cover any injury issue … but what if everyone is healthy?
During preseason it proved difficult to find the chemistry with so many guys out there, but right now, Nate McMillan has 12 players who average at least 10 minutes per game, and seven different players north of over 20 minutes per night.
DeAndre Hunter, who missed the most playoffs last season, has been huge this season, playing nearly 30 minutes a night, while Cam Reddish’s continuous improvement has sometimes forced Kevin Huerter to the bench. Add in Delon Wright and Gorgui Dieng who are adding to their bank depth and rookie Sharife Cooper barely sees the ground. The Hawks have a ton of players fighting for minutes of rotation that are just not there.
While they manage the roster between development and attempting to win, the front office may have to make some important decisions regarding their veterans as their young talent continues to flourish.
What’s next?
Luckily for the Hawks, they are returning to the State Farm Arena for a home stand for five games after their trip to Denver.
They’ve turned their home arena into a fortress this season (3-1) and have a number of winnable games against the understaffed Bucks, Magic, Celtics, Hornets and Thunder.
Things are looking tough for Atlanta right now, but the schedule hasn’t done them any favors so far. Let’s take another look after that five-game run and we’ll know a lot more about where they actually stand.
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