De'Andre Hunter's future & 4 more Hawks hot takes after loss to 76ers

The Atlanta Hawks fell to the Philadelphia 76ers in their second preseason game.

After a fun win in the preseason opener versus the Indiana Pacers, the Hawks suffered a rather decisive loss to the 76ers, who lost Paul George after 12 minutes.

As with any game during this period, the end result is not as important as the process by which they arrived there. And for the Hawks, that part was still troubling enough. But the most notable (hot) takeaway from Game 2 on the preseason slate was something that popped in the opener.

Zaccharie Risacher should start for the Hawks. 

While that could mean replacing Dyson Daniels – who has started both preseason games – with him, it should mean replacing De’Andre Hunter.

Hunter struggled from the floor for the second game in a row. But this time, he only played 15 minutes, finishing with 2 points on 1-for-3 shooting. The explanation postgame via “Locked On Hawks” host Brad Rowland was that the Hawks simply decided to shut Hunter down.

If there is no injury involved (it is still likely maintenance related), perhaps a trade is in the works.

With no further indication of that, the Hawks should at least get more comfortable with the idea of Risacher (14 pts, 5-for-11 FG, 8 rebs) in Hunter’s place alongside the starters.

Dyson Daniels making the necessary adjustments

Daniels made the bold claim about wanting to earn first-team All-Defensive honors this coming season. Even if he doesn’t reach that landmark, Daniels’ contributions on the defensive end are essentially a given.

But his offense remained a question mark with Daniels a low-volume and inefficient three-point shooter. 

Encouragingly, he has attempted eight triples through two games.

However, the efficiency has yet to match the efforts he showed with Australia during the 2024 Paris Summer Olympics. Daniels has only made two of those deep looks. But again, it is imperative to focus on process over results at this point.

A 4.0 3PA per game average would be a career high for Daniels, and could be essential to keeping defenses honest when he’s on the floor.

He will, of course, need to make them for it to pay off. But appears willing to try.

Non-Trae Young minutes could get scary for Hawks

Trae Young did not have his best outing, finishing with 10 points and 9 assists, but shooting 4-for-12 from the floor. Still, the moments when he was off the floor offered a disturbing glimpse of what to expect when he sits during the season.

Bogdan Bogdanovic will not go 2-for-11 every night, so there will be some reliable offensive assistance.

But the creation and overall shotmaking take a significant dive without Young on the floor.

That is nothing new for the Hawks, who acquired Dejounte Murray in 2022 to help alleviate the burden on Young with Bogdanovic already in tow. Now, that responsibility will have to fall upon several players until someone emerges.

The Hawks probably hope that is Jalen Johnson. But he is still a young and relatively inexperienced player in his fourth NBA season.

How the Hawks handle those stretches will go a long way toward determining their season.

The East is going to be tough

Process over results, but the 76ers proved to be the better (or perhaps just the deeper) team in a resounding fashion. A 54-48 Hawks deficit at halftime ended in a 104-89 defeat with most of the starters playing while the game was in contention.

The Hawks already faced a daunting landscape with one team – the Chicago Bulls – looking like a clear candidate to take a step back this season.

Philly was already closer to the other end of the spectrum.

They finished the 2023-24 regular season ranked seventh in the East, fighting in the Play-In Tournament like the Hawks. But they also boast a former MVP in Joel Embiid, the reigning Most Improved Player in Tyrese Maxey, and they signed Paul George in free agency.

Even with those additions, the 76ers may be no better than fourth in the conference which brings into question how ominous the Hawks’ outlook truly is.

Cold night at the FT line alters framing of Hawks’ loss to 76ers

For all that could be said about this game, the Hawks’ poor showing at the free throw line cannot go unmentioned. 

The Hawks went 6-for-11 from the charity stripe versus Philadelphia.

Atlanta ranked eighth in the NBA in free throw efficiency last season, shooting over 79% as a team. They ranked third in that category in 2022-23, when Young played his typical number of games instead of the career-low 54 played in 2023-24.

A better night there would change the framing coming out of a regular season game like this one. Expect the Hawks to bounce back from the line going forward.