The Atlanta Hawks season is over and now we can sit back and reflect on the season as a whole. Do you consider this season a success or a failure? We can break down the team and the season into several sections in a report card and grade them accordingly.
Coaching: Incomplete
The Hawks fired Nate McMillan on February 21 of this season and hired Quin Snyder a few days later. Snyder didn’t have enough time to implement a system or staff but he did begin to inject his philosophy of pace and ball movement. He did not allow the Hawks to lay down and fold on the season.
He gave the team a fresh voice and a new angle to view the game. The team responded to Snyder and it will be interesting to see the real changes that will come next season as the coach gets his staff together.
Offense: A-
The Hawks finished in the top three in scoring with 118.4 points per game. Atlanta also finished in the top 10 in offensive rebounding as well as in field goal percentage. Surprisingly, the Hawks were top five in turnovers with 12.4.
Toronto turned the ball over the least with 11.2 turnovers per game.
The Atlanta Hawks offense was not the problem with the team this season
When new head coach Snyder came into the picture he made an emphasis on pushing the ball and increasing the tempo to put pressure on the defense, along with the philosophy of not being afraid to shoot. While Trae Young’s numbers stayed fairly consistent in the regular season (26.8 points per game). His points per game increased to 29 points per game in the postseason.
John Collins’ three-point percentage increased from 24.8% to 38% while also taking more three-pointers a game under Snyder. Bogdan Bogdanovic’s three-point percentage also increased from 38.3 % to 45.3%. Just about all of Jalen Johnson’s numbers increased with Snyder’s influence.
It will be fun to see this team in action next season when the whole system is in place.
Defense: D
Many times it felt as if the Hawks couldn’t get a stop in key moments when needed that would’ve been helpful to win games. Opponents often appeared comfortable getting to spots and getting the shots that they wanted. It was frustrating to watch and not know that when it comes down to it, you could assume that the Hawks could not stop the other team.
Atlanta ranked 26th in points allowed on defense, allowing 118.1 points per game. While the Hawks shot 48.3% from the field, they allowed their opponents to shoot 48.6%. That percentage ranks Atlanta 25th in the league. Atlanta ranked 21st in defensive rebounds and 19th in total rebounds. The team was 16th in creating turnovers, 21st in blocks, and 18th in steals.
Next season while the Hawks tighten up the offense, I hope they bring some of that same energy and focus to the defensive side of the ball.