Atlanta Hawks the only team with three players averaging double-doubles

It has been an up-and-down start to the new campaign for the Atlanta Hawks. After they took it to the visiting Dallas Mavericks in the season opener, they found themselves on the other side of the ledger, falling to the Cleveland Cavaliers 101-95. It stung more than a normal second game of the season because they also lost to the Cavs in the preseason.

Only one of those losses counts, though. And, in the grand scheme of it all, even it won’t be of much consequence.

There were, however, some positives to be taken away from the Hawks first two contests.

The Atlanta Hawks lead the way with three players boasting double-double averages

Clint Capela, John Collins, and Trae Young are all averaging triple-doubles this season. That’s pretty special in and of itself, even if it is just three games. Young is averaging 21.5 points with 10.5 assists and is one of three players, all point guards, to average at least 10 assists so far.

The other two, Chris Paul and Darius Garland both average slightly more assists but are well behind Young in scoring.

Capela and Collins’ are of the point-rebounds variety, making the high-flying duo two of 24 players with the distinction.

The 2021 rebounding champ, Capela has been as steady as ever, averaging 11.0 points and 13.5 boards. Both numbers are off from his pace of last season. But the fact that he has been so consistent is great considering he missed most of the preseason recovering from an offseason shoulder procedure.

Collins came just one rebound short of a double-double in the opener. He followed that with a 12-rebound night against Cleveland, but could only muster six points.

He should bounce back against the Pistons. He’s averaged 20 points on 67.1 true shooting percentage and eight rebounds in three games against them last season. Collins has averaged 16.8 points and 7.3 boards in 10 career games facing Detroit. This would seem as good of a spot for him as it does teammate Bogdan Bogdanovic, who also played poorly last game.

It’s great to see three of the four players the Hawks gave new money to this offseason start the year off in a positive fashion.

They’ll all surely admit they can be even better, especially after Saturday.

Again, it is so early in the season that every statistic must be taken with a grain of salt. We could have more or fewer teams making the cut by the end of the season. Still, only two other teams have two players averaging double-doubles.

Saddiq Bey is Detroit’s lone qualifier, averaging 16.5 points and 12.5 boards. He’ll be a challenge, for sure. But Atlanta’s Big 3 should be up to the task.