Atlanta Hawks: Month-By-Month Review of 2018-19 Season

February

Record: 5-7

Best Win: v. Minnesota

Worst Loss: v. Orlando

Another decent month saw the Hawks sending two players to All-star weekend, with Trae Young and John Collins both participating in two events including reuniting as teammates for Team USA in the Rising Stars challenge.

Back in the NBA-sphere, a 3-game losing streak near the start of the month derailed what could have been one of their better ones. They won five, and for the most part were in the losses until the final few minutes. This was due in large part to their great month scoring from deep.

Just a few months removed from being last in the league in 3P% the Hawks ranked second to just Indiana in that front, making 40% from downtown. Ageless Vince Carter, who turned into quite the 3-point chucker this season, made 53% of his threes, and Alex Len found his shot as well, making 47.6%.

Rookies Kev Huerter and Trae Young led the charge however, with Huerter draining 44% of his 4.5 attempts per game, and Young got up 7.3 tries per game, making 44% as well. Quite the difference from the 19% in November.

This was when Trae fully turned the corner and officially put his name in the Rookie of the Year debate. He averaged 23.3 points a game, nearly 10 assists and an uncharacteristic, but welcomed 4.3 boards.

February also saw the trade deadline come and go with little action for Atlanta. Tyler Dorsey was the only name traded, and Jeremy Lin was bought out a few days later. They decided to give more minutes to their own guys like Justin Anderson and Jaylen Adams rather than acquire outside pieces.

The turnover and defense issue was still an issue as per usual, but they improved slightly on these. They were also among the league’s highest in personal fouls per game. All three signs of a young team, but it’s a little discouraging they didn’t improve more as the season went on.

John Collins also fell back down to earth a bit after playing like an All-Star, but continued to be one of the better young forwards in the league.

Still, it’s a good sign if you have to stretch and look hard to find negatives for a team with a record like the Hawks.

Finally, this month ended with a bang when Trae Young and John Collins combined for 70 in a OT win against the T-Wolves.

It was one of their most entertaining games on the season, and once again showed the potential that the two have as franchise cornerstones.