Just two seasons ago, the Atlanta Hawks went on a magical run to the Eastern Conference Finals before being knocked out by the eventual NBA champion Milwaukee Bucks in six games. After several roster moves over the past couple of years, the squad that had so much promise and seemed poised to make a ton of noise in the East has been unrecognizable and is dwelling in mediocrity this season.
Atlanta Hawks sideline reporter Lauren Jbara checked in with “Dukes & Bell” on Thursday and gave her take about the lack of personality with the team and how it’s going to take some time for the Hawks to gel with the addition of some new pieces acquired just before the trade deadline last week.
“There really isn’t, right now, an identity. I feel like a lot of that, most of the season, came from not necessarily having everyone healthy…” Lauren stated. She continued, “That is a tough thing when you have so many new faces on a team -- to build that chemistry you need everybody out there to be able to find that identity and find that chemistry on both ends of the floor.”
The Hawks added former Detroit Pistons F Saddiq Bey in a deal before the trade deadline in an effort to help boost the three-point shooting that has been the Achilles heel of the team this season. When former GM Travis Schlenk was hired in 2017, after helping build the championship roster in the Bay Area, it seemed like the goal was to construct this franchise in the mold of the Golden State Warriors with a “3 and D” strategy.
That game plan has not exactly worked out as the team traded away a handful of their most consistent shooters, most notably Kevin Huerter and Danilo Gallinari, and has lacked the defensive toughness that Draymond Green and Kevon Looney brought to Golden State during their championship runs. The Hawks sit at the bottom of the league in three-point percentage and defensive rating this season.
As the NBA approaches the All-Star break, the question is will the Hawks be able to put all the pieces together and find some rhythm going into the final stretch of the season. The Hawks currently hold the 8th seed in the Eastern Conference (29-30) and have four games out of the next eight on the road With a little over 20 games left and four of their next eight on the road at Miami (7th seed, 3 games up) and Washington (9th seed, .5 game back), it seems like a tough ask to expect Trae Young and company to piece together a solid win streak or two and avoid having to work through the play-in tournament and make a run in the playoffs this season.