Atlanta Hawks starters ranked 6th-best in Eastern Conference ahead of next season
The Atlanta Hawks‘ starting lineup ranks in the middle of the Eastern Conference despite expending a lot of draft capital to reshape their roster this offseason. Trading three unprotected first-round picks is no small sum. And, when you include the player losses of Danilo Gallinari and Kevin Huerter, the Hawks need these moves to pay off.
Much of that will come down to Dejounte Murray’s fit alongside Trae Young. Both players have been ball-dominant to this point in their careers.
They will also be hoping for improved health which is also off to a shaky start.
All of that, plus the general unknown and injuries of an NBA season play a part in the Hawks’ coming in where they do. But the questions arise when parsing through some of the teams ranked ahead of them.
How does the Atlanta Hawks’ projected starting lineup stack up in the Eastern Conference?
These rankings come courtesy of Bleacher Report’s Grant Hughes who broke down the starting unit of every team in the league. Hughes offers strengths, weaknesses, and questions surrounding each group.
For the Hawks, the biggest question is now spacing.
“If [John] Collins isn’t traded, his three-point shooting will be a key. Murray is developing gradually in that area, but he’s still a low-volume long-range shooter for a guard and hit only 32.7 percent of his treys last season. Collins is at 37.6 percent for his career, excellent for a power forward, and his spacing will be key whenever Murray and [Clint] Capela share the court.
As for health, Hughes names De’Andre Hunter as the key in that regard as the forward heads into his fourth season.
“Hunter needs to get back on the path he was walking two years ago before injuries interrupted his progress toward becoming one of the better young three-and-D wings in the game. Entering his age-25 season, he’ll have every chance to dial in on that limited role with Murray sparing him from too much responsibility as a playmaker.”
Hunter’s playmaking seemed to be coming along. But simplifying his responsibilities would allow him to play faster.
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It’s not like the Hawks were bad last season.
“Young, Hunter, Collins, and Capela put up a 55.9 effective field-goal percentage when sharing the court last season, blitzing opponents for 116.7 points per 100 possessions…Because the Young-led Hawks were such a potent scoring outfit, they still won the minutes with those four players on the floor. And with Murray joining the party, that positive differential is sure to increase.”
How exactly will adding Murray help if he isn’t going to spread the floor?
“Murray’s true value will come on defense…where he’ll stalk passing lanes (league-leading 2.0 steals per game in 2021-22) and put the clamps on matchups that used to salivate at the prospect of exploiting Young.”
Murray and Young have spoken of their goal being to win championships. Their fit on the court will go a long way toward determining that. Head coach Nate McMillan thinks it will work while vowing not to take the ball out of Young’s hands entirely.
Just as we saw last season, the expectation for the season and the reality can be two very different things.
Will the Hawks’ starters really fare worse than the Cleveland Cavaliers as Hughes ranks them? Are they really going to be better than the Chicago Bulls, Miami Heat, and Toronto Raptors all of whom finished higher last season?
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The Hawks did make a surprise trip to the Eastern Conference Finals two years ago. But they will have to prove that this group can accomplish something similar let alone more.