When the Atlanta Hawks traded back in the draft so that they could take Trae Young rather than Luka Doncic, plenty of people around the NBA starting writing negative column inches. Then, Doncic started performing at an incredible level, collecting triple-doubles as a rookie in a way unseen in the NBA previously.
Doncic led his Dallas Mavericks to the playoffs last season, losing to the LA Clippers in six games. The Hawks were still down the bottom of the NBA, they did not get invited to the bubble last season.
This season, the Hawks were tremendous to start the season and then fell off a cliff. They had two massive losing streaks which led them to sit in 11th just prior to the All-Star break. Nate McMillan was then bought in, implemented his systems and structures, leading the Hawks to the fifth seed in the East.
The Atlanta Hawks have done something the Dallas Mavericks have not.
The last time that the Dallas Mavericks won a playoff series was in 2011. Admittedly they were the champions that year, but since then, they have not done anything else in the playoffs. They played four series prior to the two seasons they missed before Doncic was drafted.
The Hawks have had more success in the past ten years but they have also had more success in these playoffs as well. Part of the reason for this is the Hawks have played as a unit rather than a group of players around a team’s star player. Recently, the cracks in the Mavericks have started to show.