Atlanta Hawks: Early expectations for the 2021-22 season

With the slightest of glimpses at how this Atlanta Hawks squad is looking, there is plenty to be excited about. The season is only just beginning, and there is no doubt the best is yet to come, but with three games now under their belt what initial impressions have been made?

The first week of Hawks basketball is now wrapped up, and fans have already experienced some highs and lows. Atlanta coupled a dominant opening night home win against Dallas with a more scrappy, tightly contested affair in Cleveland which unfortunately resulted in the Hawks picking up their first loss of the campaign, before taking care of the Pistons back in Atlanta on Monday.

Against Dallas, there was a lot of composure and confidence in every facet of the performance. They tallied more rebounds, assists, blocks, and steals – and obviously points – while shooting a higher field goal percentage and three-point percentage, with fewer turnovers. It was a complete performance that highlights the type of dominant performance this squad is capable of.

Similarly, the dominance displayed in the second half against Detroit illustrated how tough it is going to be for away teams this year.

Belief should be high that at home, results like these can become commonplace.

The Atlanta Hawks confidence should be just as high as the expectations for them

Top teams in the NBA are always going to defend their home court and with the depth of talent at every position, there aren’t many teams who will be looking forward to traveling to the State Farm Arena.

If you can control your home games, you put yourself in a great position to make the playoffs, but the road record is what separates a playoff team from a true contender.

Cleveland will likely turn out to be a blip on the radar by the end of the season. Just now, teams are still trying to figure each other out in these early stages and learn how to play against different systems.

The NBA is full of upsets as one player being hot – or cold – can cause enough of a momentum swing to decide the victor in a close game. However, if the Hawks want to be represented in the conversation with Milwaukee and Brooklyn for the top of the East, they need to assert themselves in games against lottery teams.

Cleveland is a young team full of great prospects and with that, they will likely have a bit of a rollercoaster year.

The good thing for Atlanta is that it allows an early understanding of some areas to improve on. Defending without fouling is crucial and last night proved the difference in what was a tight contest.

Free throws can win you games and that was on display last night. This can be fixed and it was the main glaring issue however the ball was also more stagnant on offense, which resulted in easier coverage for Cavalier defenders.

Throughout the season, Trae Young and the Hawks will continue to improve and look to build on last year’s incredible run. Belief should be high they can replicate the playoff success of 2020-21, or go one better. From a small sample size, my way too early expectation is that Atlanta makes the finals – there, I said it!

A healthy season will allow Young, Bogdan Bogdanovic, De’Andre Hunter, John Collins, and Clint Capela to gel as a starting unit and will be huge ahead of the postseason and I don’t see any of the main teams in the East boasting an entire five with as much ability.

It is hard for teams to guard Young, let alone the threat of Collins, Hunter, or Bogi also giving you 20 points. Defensively, Capela is the anchor, with Hunter and a much-improved Collins offering fantastic coverage.

Against Detroit, Collins in particular looked hungry and played with as much belief as I have seen from him. The two posters are going to be what is remembered but his effort on both sides of the ball is miles ahead of what he has shown in previous seasons.

Behind these five, the Hawks have one of the deepest benches in the league.

Kevin Huerter and Cam Reddish will take turns being the sixth man as well as options such as Lou Williams, Delon Wright, Gorgui Dieng, and Solomon Hill who can all come in to offer impactful minutes and important periods of rest for the stars.

Onyeka Okongwu and Danilo Gallinari are also still to make their season debuts as they battle back from injuries and will be sure to bring another level of intensity on defense and offense, respectively.

This team is built for the playoffs, there is an absurd amount of depth and a surreal opportunity where they can continue to grow together for the better part of the next decade. Schlenk has played all of his cards right during his time at the helm and we could be looking at the early days of a modern dynasty in the NBA.

It is about time to start putting the league on notice, and what better way to do that than with national coverage, in the middle of June.