A quarter of the way through the regular season the Atlanta Hawks find themselves below .500 for the first time this season after a lack luster performance against the 9-20 Orlando Magic. The Hawks gave up a 50 points in the first quarter, a franchise record for most points scored in a single quarter for the Magic, and fought an uphill battle the rest of the way that fell short to the tune of a 135-124 loss. For Hawks' fans this script may feel all too familiar to last year's. But are Atlanta's early season woes a product of missing key contributors or a sign of what the rest of the season will look like?
Luck hasn't exactly been on their side. Nate McMillan's squad has been ravaged with injuries early on. Bogdan Bogdanovic missed the first 23 games of the season recovering from knee surgery. John Collins, who seemingly is on the trading block every other week, has missed 7 games. Newly acquired Dejounte Murray missed his fourth consecutive game and is not expected back for another two weeks.
It would not be a stretch to say the Hawks haven't had enough time to gel together especially with the addition of Murray and the loss of Kevin Huerter in the offseason. However, the coaches and players alike would say that is not an excuse. Injuries impact all teams. The best ones find a way to despite them. Which leads to the next question, "Is this just who the Hawks are?"
Amidst rumors that star point guard, Trae Young, and Nate McMillan are not seeing eye to eye, many have pointed to leadership being the major issue. Others have suggested that the team's youth and in experience plays a part. The Hawks are currently the ninth youngest team in the NBA based on average age (25.1 years old). Whatever the reason may be, the Hawks have a talented roster but the results have not been there thus far.
Was their magical Eastern Conference Finals run in the 2020-2021 season just that? Magical. That year the Hawks were lead by a white hot Trae Young, but also were a fierce defending team during their run. This season Atlanta ranks 22nd and 19th in offensive and defensive ratings respectively, and Trae Young is shooting his worst field goal % from three-point range in his career.
That's the bad news. The good news, the Hawks have 50+ games to right the ship. If this is just a case of injuries getting the better of them, then once John Collins and Dejounte Murray return this team should start reaching its potential, a top-4 team in the East. However, if the issues run deeper than injuries, the Hawks will be in for another season of hovering around .500 hoping win enough games to make it to the play-in games.
