Is there a potential for a changing of the guard at the Atlanta Hawks?
With Trae Young out injured, the Atlanta Hawks would have expected their season to be over. Instead, they are fighting for a play-in spot and it leads to the question, could there be a changing of the guard?
The Atlanta Hawks have given themselves a really good quandary. They have probably lost their star player for the rest of the season, and it would have been a safe assumption that the Hawks would have fallen out of the play-in race. Instead of that, the Hawks have developed a new identity and continued to fight for a seed in the play-in tournament.
This has been on the back of the development of the younger, fringe players and the tremendous play of their remaining star, Dejounte Murray. His game has elevated to a similar level of his All-Star play when he was with the San Antonio Spurs.
This means that the Hawks are still fighting, they are playing every game like it is their last of the season and it is so much more enjoyable to watch. The likes of Garrison Mathews, Bruno Fernando, Trent Forrest, and other deep bench players are showing heart, grit, and energy that is infectious for the rest of the playing group.
What the Atlanta Hawks have had to overcome this season.
On top of that, the Hawks have lost Saddiq Bey for the season with a knee injury, Onyeka Okongwu and Kobe Bufkin are out indefinitely it seems, and AJ Griffin has also been injured during his time with the G League affiliate, the College Park Skyhawks.
The Hawks have also been without the services of De'Andre Hunter and Jalen Johnson for large chunks of the season. To say that they have been up against it is certainly an understatement and it is a testament to the rest of the group that they are still at a play-in level at all. Now, let's take a look at the pros and cons of changing the guard at the Hawks.