The Atlanta Hawks have already locked up a chance to play in the NBA's new Play-In game, at the very least, but they will be looking to secure a top-6 seed here in their last four games. When the playoffs do roll around, this team will be looking for its X-Factor. We all know how important guys like Trae Young, John Collins, and Clint Capela are to this team, but Jon Chuckery points to Bogdan Bogdanovic as the team's wild card.
After signing a 4-year $72 million contract, Bogdanovic struggled with injuries for much of his first season in a Hawks uniform. He missed 25 consecutive games between January 11th and February 28th. It took him another month to get a minutes increase and be inserted into the starting lineup.
It's no coincidence that the overall play of this team elevated when he played more minutes. In fact, in the 21 games he played 30+ minutes the Atlanta Hawks are 14-7. In those 21 games, he averaged north of 20 points per game and he didn't meet that mark only seven times.
If you ask Jon Chuckery, he is this team's X-Factor, "What are some of the things to look for in how the Hawks look to advance, there's a number to keep in mind. Is Bogdanovic healthy and can he play 30 minutes per night. If he does, really good things happen for the Hawks".
