3 things Hawks fans should be thankful for heading into December

The Atlanta Hawks have given their fans a mixed bag of results to start the 2024-25 season, going 8-11 through their first 19 games. They have logged signature wins over the 17-2 Cleveland Cavaliers and the 15-3 Boston Celtics, but they have also compiled a losing record against below-.500 teams.

With a quarter of the season behind them, the Hawks sit at ninth in the Eastern Conference standings. Quin Snyder’s squad clearly possesses the talent of a top-five seed but hasn’t quite reached its potential – yet.

Despite Atlanta’s inconsistencies, the fans have a lot to be excited about. In the spirit of the Thanksgiving season, here are three things Hawks fans should be thankful for.

1) Trae Young’s historic playmaking

Trae Young may not be shooting the ball as well as he can, but he has given Hawks fans one of the best passing displays ever through the first quarter of a season.

With a career-high 22 assists in his latest outing, Ice Trae moved up to 12.5 assists per game for the season. Only five players in NBA history have averaged 12.5 or more assists in a single season. Young is looking to become the sixth.

Despite his playmaking brilliance, Young has been self-critical of his shooting woes. Shooting a career-low 38.2% from the field with his lowest scoring average since his rookie year, Young called out his struggles after Atlanta’s latest win over the Cavs.

“I’ve been shooting like sh-t,” Young said. “Excuse my language but I ain’t been shooting well. I mean it’s gonna pick up, and we just gotta keep shooting. Keep trusting the work that we put in, and we’re gonna get wins like we did tonight.”

Hawks fans should remain optimistic about Young’s outlook moving forward. He has endured many slow starts throughout his career, and he is still orchestrating an offense with the No. 2 pace in the NBA. 

Young may not have found his rhythm as a scorer yet, but he is putting together an all-time great passing season to make up for it.

2) The Great Barrier Thief’s breakout campaign

Dyson Daniels has quickly become a fan favorite during his first season as a Hawk. The 21-year-old rising star has already earned a new nickname from Hawks fans: The Great Barrier Thief. 

Daniels is on track to make an All-Defensive team, win the NBA Hustle award, and contend for Most Improved Player. He is far from a finished product, but Daniels’ raw two-way talent has helped the Hawks in many key moments already this season.

From his game-winning block on De’Aaron Fox to his 28-point explosion in a win over the Celtics, Daniels has more than earned the love he is receiving from the city of Atlanta. Daniels’ breakout season has also silenced many of the fans who doubted the Dejounte Murray trade that brought Daniels and Larry Nance Jr. to Atlanta.

In early November, Daniels gained some serious national attention when he had four straight games with at least six steals. The pocket-picking machine is just scratching the surface of his potential, which is scary news for the rest of the league.  

Funnily enough, it isn’t just his on-court excellence that has fans fully bought into Daniels. The Aussie has a lovable personality off the court, and he is having plenty of fun embracing his new team’s culture.

The Hawks have officially found Young’s backcourt mate of the future, and the fans absolutely love him. The sky’s the limit for the Great Barrier Thief.

3) The weakness of the Eastern Conference

The Hawks should find more consistency as their young pieces build more chemistry with each other, but the return of the “Leastern Conference” certainly doesn’t hurt their playoff chances. With a 49-32 record against Eastern Conference opponents, the Western Conference is on pace for its best win percentage (60.5%) against the East in over a decade.

Only four teams in the east have winning records with the 9-9 Milwaukee Bucks sitting in fifth place. For comparison, the Bucks would sit at No. 11 in the West standings with that record. 10 Western Conference teams have gone above .500 so far.

Just 1.5 games out of a top-six seed, the Hawks can capitalize on a relatively weak conference. While teams like Boston and Cleveland – both of which the Hawks have already beaten – could prove too tough to topple in a playoff series, the Hawks could avoid facing either of them in the first round if they can take full advantage of the “Leastern Conference.”

While the Hawks will play six of their 10 games in December against Western Conference opponents, they will only play against 17 more after that in their 51 remaining contests. If they can make the playoffs and even avoid the play-in tournament, the Hawks could make some serious noise out east.