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At 15-14, the Atlanta Hawks are currently in the 9th seed in the Eastern Conference Tournament, but they are not far from making the top six and a playoff team. However, even with Trae Young back, this team has hit a bit of a wall.
Atlanta has lost six of its last eight games, and some of them haven’t been pretty. They lost to the Detroit Pistons by 20+ points, trailed Charlotte by 24 before the comeback came up short, and then lost to the Spurs last night by 28 points, their biggest game of the season. They hope Young will come back and solve some of their problems. but Kristaps Porzingis is still injured, which leaves the Falcons with an undersized hole in the middle of the defense. Not only that, but N’Faly Dante, signed this summer to be a depth option at center, was injured in the G-League.
What is the Biggest Problem?
There are a number of issues facing the Hawks right now, and while I’d argue a lack of skilled centers/bigs and frontcourt depth is the main issue, it’s not the only one.
Bleacher Report’s Grant Hughes took a different tack, suggesting that defensive pressure might be the Falcons’ worst problem:
“The Atlanta Hawks have done a few things well since Trae Young was sidelined with a knee injury in late October, but handling pressure is not one of them.
It makes sense though. Take one of the most dominant players out of the picture and the rest of the guys will struggle to do all the dribbling and playmaking by committee.
With Young on the floor earlier this season, the Hawks converted on just 10.0 percent of their possessions. Without it, the turnover rate increases to 15.5 percent.
Had 20 turnovers in a recent 27-point blowout against the formidable and predatory Detroit Pistons (Atlanta’s third loss of the season series).
While Jalen Johnson and Nickeil Alexander-Walker have shown more shot-making ability than expected, the Hawks knew they were in trouble during a tough loss to the Cavs just days after Young went down.
Cleveland turned up the pressure and forced 23 Hawks giveaways.”
Turnovers have been an issue for the Falcons, but I’d argue that lack of size and frontcourt depth outweighs that.
The Falcons traded for Porzingis to address some of those issues, and while they had to give up a lot in the deal, Porzingis has been sidelined recently due to illness. Even when he was on the floor, the Hawks defense didn’t exactly take advantage of him being on the floor.
Per cleaning the glass, the Falcons’ defense is +4.9 points per 100 possessions (22nd percentile) when Porzingis is on the floor, the second-lowest mark of Porzingis’ career. On the other hand, when Porzingis is on the floor, the offense is +9.3 points per 100 possessions. He was great for the Falcons on one hand and not so good on the other.
While I think the Hawks will have to wait and see what the team looks like with Young and Porzingis playing together, it may be in Atlanta’s best interest to look at the big man market and see what upgrades are there. It shouldn’t even be as big a name upgrade as Anthony Davis, but if the Hawks want to be a contender in the Eastern Conference, it needs to be addressed.
