The Atlanta Hawks may be struggling right now, but they are dealing with injuries to Trae Young, Jalen Johnson, and Dyson Daniels. For much of this season, the Hawks have looked like a new and improved group.
The Hawks currently sit just 1.5 games out of the No. 6 seed, and they are on pace for three more wins than last season despite an injury-riddled campaign. They have endured the sixth-most missed games of any team in the league. Head coach Quin Snyder has navigated Atlanta’s injury woes with the help of Ice Trae’s development as a leader on and off the court.
In a recent January 24 article from The Athletic, NBA analyst Jared Weiss interviewed Snyder along with Young and other Hawks players. Weiss took a deep dive into how Young and Snyder have revamped Atlanta’s offense this season by slightly tweaking his usage and approach to the game.
This past offseason, Snyder and his All-Star point guard committed to getting the ball out of Young’s hands earlier in possessions to involve him in the offense more efficiently. Young aimed to promote more ball movement by dominating the ball less while still affecting the game with his presence. This strategy has benefitted the Hawks to the tune of 29.2 team assists per game, good for third-most in the NBA.
“He put it out in front of me and showed me how we can do it, and I can still get the same amount of touches because it helps our offense,” Young told Weiss. “But it’s maybe getting off the ball early and getting a pick-and-roll later in the shot clock that can help too. The ball’s in my hands, but I’m getting it in different ways.”
Trae Young’s teammates and coaches recognize his transformation as a player
Atlanta’s reimagined offense has helped many Hawks role players put together breakout seasons. While Larry Nance Jr. has only played 16 games and dealt with a fractured hand, the veteran big man is shooting a career-high 48.1% from three on a career-high 3.4 attempts per game. He has posted the best per-minute production of his 10-year career.
Nance has noticed Young’s evolution as a leader and offensive engine for ball movement. A flip has clearly switched for Young, who is dropping a career-high 11.5 dimes per game on the lowest usage rate of his career and his lowest shot attempts per game since his rookie year.
“You can see he’s approaching the game with a different mentality,” Nance told Weiss. “He’s trying to include and get the most out of his teammates, which has been fun to see. He’s making conscious efforts to get the ball shared around. Not just to get the assist, but just to encourage ball movement. He’s getting off it sooner and we’re benefitting from it.”
With Young facilitating earlier in possessions and embracing it, Atlanta has adopted a new “everybody eats” identity. Eight different Hawks are averaging double-digit points with two others averaging more than nine points (Nance and Clint Capela).
De’Andre Hunter, who is averaging a career-high 19.2 points, talked to Weiss about Atlanta’s lack of identity in past seasons.
“I don’t think we had one (in the past) at all, actually,” Hunter told Weiss. “That was our issue. We’d play one way one game and then another game, play a different way.”
Hunter has reaped the rewards of Atlanta’s fast-paced, movement-driven offense as a strong Sixth Man of the Year contender. The former No. 4 pick is the Hawks’ second-leading scorer this season.
As Weiss wrote in his story, “Young has taken a step back so the Hawks can take a step forward.” Snyder recognizes how well Young has adapted to Atlanta’s new style of offense and how the future Hall-of-Famer has controlled the tempo as a leader.
“We’ve been intentional about that. It’s not just kind of a dream,” Snyder told Weiss. “He can’t do this by himself and he knows that. No player can frankly. So figuring out the ways he can be efficient has been the idea, and he’s been the one looking at that and thinking about it and making those plays.”
Faced with a daunting slate of opponents heading into the All-Star break, the Hawks need Young back on the court as soon as possible. Ice Trae missed Atlanta’s latest loss to Minnesota but could return for the second half of a back-to-back against the red-hot Houston Rockets.
Whether the Hawks can overcome their injuries and make a serious playoff push or not, one thing is certain. Atlanta has finally found its identity, and it starts with a new and improved Trae Young.