The Atlanta Hawks should be pleased with their standing, sixth in the Eastern Conference, as the calendar moves on from 2024 to 2025.
They should not be satisfied, though.
Almost every player on the roster has stepped up in one form or another since the season began. The Hawks are going to need even more the rest of the way. We have not even reached the halfway point of the NBA season, so there is plenty of time to hit the mark.
With that and New Year’s Day on the horizon, here is one resolution for every player (and head coach Quin Snyder) on the Hawks’ roster.
Trae Young – Refine shot selection: The Hawks’ star has already made significant strides in this area, and you do not want to take away his aggressiveness. However, his situational awareness can still wane at times.
Jalen Johnson – Dominate mismatches: This is nitpicking because Johnson is that good already. Still, his next step should include knowing when he has a mismatch and exploiting it until the opponent adjusts.
Dyson Daniels – 3-ball efficiency: This is no secret, but Dyson Daniels does not shoot the deep ball well, connecting on 32.7% of his looks this season. He is aware and willing to work on it, though, which is a big key to improving.
De’Andre Hunter – Stay healthy: While this could apply to many players, few are doing what Hunter is, leading the league in bench scoring. It is not the role anyone envisioned when he was drafted and traded to the Hawks, but it appears to be working for everyone.
Clint Capela – Hit your shots: This is not as broad as it seems. Capela is a non-threat beyond the restricted area, so the Hawks need him to hit those shots consistently. He is also shooting his worst mark at the free throw line since 2021-22.
Zaccharie Risacher – Find your range: The No. 1 overall pick of the 2023 NBA Draft, Risacher has showcased his defensive capabilities and advanced IQ and feel for the game. Now, the Hawks need him to knock down threes (28.9% 3P) consistently.
Onyeka Okongwu – Tighten up defensively: Okongwu boasts the fourth-best offensive on-off differential on the Hawks, per Cleaning The Glass. He has the fifth-worst defensive diff among the 14 Hawks players with at least 100 minutes on the floor this season.
Bogdan Bogdanovic – Tap into Olympic Bogi: This is a two-parter since the Hawks need Bogdanovic to 1) stay healthy and 2) shoot between his 2024 Paris Summer Olympics numbers (46.2%) and his career rate (38.3%) rather than his current pace (33.7%)
Larry Nance Jr. – Get back soon: Nance went from buried on the Hawks’ bench to proving he can be a key contributor and saying he wanted a larger role before suffering a hand injury that will sideline him for an indeterminate amount of time.
Vit Krejci – Be more assertive: Krejci’s 2023-24 3P mark (41.2%) was an outlier. But he has proven that he shoots the deep ball better when he takes more attempts, and his size at point guard can be an advantage defensively.
Garrison Mathews – Keep cashing: “G$” has continued to hit the deep ball at an absurd rate, knocking down 46.1% of those looks this season, besting his previous career high despite taking nearly 2.0 more attempts per game, and it has opened up driving lanes for him.
Keaton Wallace – Stay the course: Wallace is becoming one of the Hawks’ best stories, making the most of his opportunities with the Hawks while on a two-way contract. With 16 appearances, he has 34 more before he must sign a standard contract or cannot play for Atlanta.
David Roddy – Find some consistency: It is not hard to see what the Hawks like about Roddy, who is versatile on both ends of the floor. It is even easier to see why he has been unable to secure a consistent role to this point in his young career.
Kobe Bufkin – Get healthy: Bufkin has been plagued by injuries dating back to his college days at Michigan, so he and the Hawks must figure out how to get the talented guard back and stay on the floor.
Mouhamed Gueye – Bulk up: This process has already begun for Gueye, so the real goal could be to stay healthy. However, we have seen how interconnected the two issues may be, and the youngster can certainly impact his body mass.
Dominick Barlow – Stay patient: Like Roddy, Barlow offers many intriguing traits, though the latter was not a first-round pick or even drafted like his teammate. Still, he is also like Roddy in that he needs more refinement in his game before he will see time with any consistency.
Daeqwon Plowden – Keep it up: Plowen is the newest member of the Hawks, but he is already off to a good start. Signed to the final 2-way slot vacated by Seth Lundy’s release, Plowden scored 23 points in his first game with the College Park Skyhawks in the G League.
Quin Snyder – Be you: The vision was always there, and players have been bought in since his arrival. But Snyder’s impact is more evident than ever this season and the Hawks are better off because he is their head coach.