The 1 metric responsible for the Atlanta Hawks’ recent surge

The Atlanta Hawks are officially on a tear. After a bumpy 7-11 start to the season, Quin Snyder’s team won six straight games to enter playoff contention. 

While the Hawks lost their latest matchup with the Denver Nuggets thanks to a 48-point explosion from Nikola Jokic, they have still won six of their last seven. Now sitting in the No. 7 seed with a 13-12 record, Atlanta has turned things around in a big way.

There is one specific area the Hawks have excelled in during their latest surge. After several years of poor ball movement and middle-of-the-pack assist numbers, the Hawks have finally figured out how to share the rock as a unit while still leaning on superstar Trae Young to run the offense.

The Hawks have led the NBA in assists during their current 6-1 stretch

The Hawks have averaged a league-high 32.0 team assists over their last seven contests. This season, they have ranked third in assists per game with 30.0 dimes a night.

In each of the last two seasons, the Hawks ranked bottom-half of the league in assists. In six previous years of the Ice Trae era, Atlanta has cracked the top 10 in assists just once – Young’s rookie season.

Recent Hawks teams have typically finished closer to bottom-10 than top-10 in assists, making Atlanta’s latest ball-movement surge that much more special. Young has seemed to turn a corner as a floor general, relying less on heliocentric offense and more on making sure everybody eats no matter what.

While Young has always possessed exceptional passing talent, the Hawks are reaping the rewards of his playmaking more than ever before. They have fully committed to spreading the wealth and sharing the basketball, thriving off of Young’s ability to orchestrate offense as well as anybody in the league.

In their most recent win, the Hawks exploded for 40 assists on 50 made shots against the Los Angeles Lakers. Atlanta weathered the storm of a LeBron James triple-double as Young went beast mode with 31 points, 20 assists, and a game-winning 3-pointer.

Dejounte Murray’s departure has helped the Hawks’ ball movement

While Dejounte Murray played some all-star-level basketball during his two years with the Hawks, his departure has seemed to open up Atlanta’s “everybody eats” offense. Jalen Johnson, De’Andre Hunter, and Onyeka Okongwu are all posting career-high scoring averages.

In Murray’s first season with Atlanta, the Hawks ranked dead-last in passes per game. The following year didn’t look much better as they still finished in the bottom 10. Murray’s ball-dominant playstyle led to a more iso-heavy offensive process, making the Hawks lethargic and predictable when they needed offense the most. 

This season, the Hawks have averaged 289.3 passes per game. Two years ago, they averaged 251.

Murray’s absence also paved the way for Jalen Johnson’s ascension. In his heightened role as Atlanta’s clear second option, the 22-year-old forward has served as an elite playmaking hub with greater efficiency and connectivity as a passer than Murray ever brought to the table.

If they keep moving the basketball at a high level, the Hawks should make the playoffs this season. Led by Young’s historic 12.2 dimes per game, Atlanta is officially a team to watch out for moving forward.