NBA PREVIEW : ATLANTA HAWKS, PREVIEW, EXPECTATIONS AND TEAM SQUAD STRENGTH

Last season: 41-41 (lost in the first round of the 2023 playoffs)

Starters: Trae Young, Dejounte Murray, De’Andre Hunter, Saddiq Bey, Clint Capela

Bench: Patty Mills, Bogdan Bogdanovic, AJ Griffin, Wesley Matthews, Jalen Johnson, Mouhamed Gueye, Onyeka Okongwu, Bruno Fernando

MOVEMENTS IN THE MARKET

Withdrawal of Louis Williams. Departure of Aaron Holiday and important transfer of John Collins to Utah. They take on Patty Mills and Wesley Matthews. From the 2023 Draft they sign Kobe Bufkin (15th), Mouhamed Gueye (39th) and Seth Lundy (46th). They renew Dejuonte Murray for 4 years and 114 million.Backcourt: Trae Young, Dejounte Murray, Patty Mills, Kobe Bufkin, Bogdan Bogdanovic, Garrison Mathews, Wesley Matthews, A.J. Griffin, Jalen Johnson, De’Andre Hunter, Saddiq Bey, Seth Lundy y Trent Forrest (contratos duales).Frontcourt: Onyeka Okongwu, Clint Capela, Bruno Fernando, Mouhamed Gueye, Miles Norris (dual contract).

The Atlanta Hawks were the definition of mediocre last season. They went 41-41 in the regular season and faced the Miami Heat in the 8-9 play-in game.

The Hawks pulled off an upset versus the Heat in South Beach and were the seventh seed in the 2023 Eastern Conference playoffs. Atlanta put up a good fight versus the Boston Celtics, but the Celtics beat the Hawks in six games.

Trae Young and Co. have now lost in the first round of the playoffs two years in a row after reaching the Eastern Conference Finals in 2021.

With the 2023-24 season right around the corner, let’s take a cursory look at the Atlanta Hawks, their roster and how they might fare this coming season.

EXPECTATIONS

Since the Hawks have lost in the first round of the postseason two years in a row after coming two wins away from making the NBA Finals in 2021, they should be expected to get out of the first round of the playoffs in 2024.

A team with Trae Young and Dejounte Murray leading the way should win more than 41 games. With John Collins gone — the forward was traded to the Utah Jazz — there will be more shots for Murray and Young to take.

Young averaged 26.2 points, 3.0 rebounds, and 10.2 assists last season while shooting 42.9% from the field, 33.5% from beyond the arc, and 88.6% from the free-throw line. The two-time All-Star recorded 40 double-doubles and was ninth in the NBA in total points, 10th in points per game, first in total assists, and second in assists per game.

Meanwhile, Murray averaged 20.5 points, 5.3 rebounds, and 6.1 assists while shooting 46.4% from the field, 34.4% from 3, and 83.2% from the foul line in his first year with the Hawks. Atlanta rewarded the 26-year-old with a four-year, $120 million extension this offseason.

Trae and Dejounte, to give a revealing fact, have become the second couple in NBA history to each average 20 points and 6 assists in 70 or more regular season games. The other? Michael Jordan and Scottie Pippen in the 91/92 Bulls.

The Hawks were only 35-32 when Young and Murray were in the lineup together last season. Murray didn’t play in Game 5 versus the Celtics in the first round of the 2023 playoffs since he was suspended for making inappropriate contact with and verbally abusing a game official during Game 4. The former San Antonio Spurs star will have to keep his cool next season for Atlanta to make more noise in the Eastern Conference.

Atlanta isn’t a title contender, but the team should expect to get to the second round of the playoffs. Just making the postseason and losing in the first round can’t be considered a successful season with two All-Stars (Young, Murray) as the headliners of the roster.

Atlanta’s defense, though, has to take a huge step forward next season for the franchise to reach the second round of the playoffs. The Hawks averaged 118.4 points last season, which was good for third in the NBA. However, Atlanta gave up 118.1 points, which was 26th in the league. The Hawks’ defense was very poor last season, so much so that the team’s high-powered offense couldn’t save games.

Defense wins championships. While the Hawks are not going to compete for a title next season, their defense has to be better for the club to get past the first round of the playoffs next season.

We believe Atlanta will take its defense to the next level since Snyder will be the man in charge for a full season. The former Utah Jazz head coach is going to demand defensive excellence starting in training camp. If his players don’t defend, they won’t play, including Young, who is sometimes a defensive liability.

The summer comes with veterans to provide the locker room with experience and a few quality minutes (Matthews and Mills), and from the Draft the choice of Bufkin shines, who has split him in his second year in the NCAA, and fits like a glove in these Hawks to provide extra shooting and defense in the outside rotation.

Maturity, growth and evolution are the adjectives that we must associate with AJ Griffin, De’Andre Hunter and Saddiq Bey in this new basketball season, as well as a great step forward for Onyeka Okongwu, with the only opportunity to fill all that vacant space that has left by Collins after his departure, providing offensive balance in the outside/inside axis.

The Hawks shocked many people in the 2021 playoffs when they reached the Eastern Conference Finals. While we don’t have Atlanta getting to the Eastern Conference Finals next season, winning a postseason series and making the conference semifinals is going to be a big stepping stone in the Young-Murray era.

If Young and Murray can’t co-exist in 2023-24, don’t be surprised if one of the stars is traded.

STAR FOCUS

BOGDAN BOGDANOVIC

A lot of people were left confused when the Atlanta Hawks announced that Bogdan Bogdanovic had signed a four year $68 million back in March.

It seemed confusing at the time that Bogdanovic would be locked down to a long-term contract when he had shown some injury concerns and had trouble staying on the court (playing fewer than 55 games in two of his three seasons in Atlanta), including some effects as a result of those injuries, particularly defensively where he has looked a step slower at times than when he first arrived in Atlanta.

These are fair concerns to have even now, especially on the defensive end, but Bogdanovic — especially after the All-Star break — looked strong on the offensive end, shooting 45% from three on 5.9 attempts and 49% from the field, and for whatever those defensive issues are worth, the offense is still firing on all cylinders for Bogdanovic, playing 20 of the final 23 games after the All-Star break having missed 25 games prior to the break.

This good form carried over into the summer, where Bogdanovic spearheaded the Serbian team into the FIBA World Cup final with a number of fantastic offensive games before falling short of glory in the final against Germany.

Bogdanovic’s rhythm to begin seasons has been slow at times, and he cites not being healthy enough to participate in training camps as a reason for this, which marks 2023 as an exception because this year he will be fit and healthy from the jump.

Bogdanovic being healthy is obviously a huge plus for the Hawks, because — with the exception of Young, and perhaps Murray at times — there is no one on this roster who can ignite like Bogdan Bogdanovic, especially from the perimeter.

Bogdanovic is enormously important for this team’s three-point shooting, at times he was the only carrying that (forgive the pun) torch, and his health/ability to stay on the floor is going to be an important aspect for this Hawks season. Simply put, they absolutely need Bogdanovic to be healthy and available for the sake of their offense

The 2023-24 season marks Bogdanovic’s fourth season with the Hawks, and in a sense this fact has suddenly crept up on everyone, including Bogdanovic himself.

“It’s unbelievable,” said Bogdanovic when asked about his four-year extension. “Somebody asked me at the world cup as well and I said this is the first team since Partizan, since my first team, that I stayed four years. I’m really excited for what’s next, I’m really happy to be here. I didn’t know much about Atlanta before I came here, now, when I go back to Serbia, I miss it. I love it here, so hopefully I stay here ‘til the end (of the extension).”

Now secured to a contract for the foreseeable future, a clean bill of health would go a long way towards a successful season for Bogdan Bogdanovic, because when he’s healthy he has been — for the most part — a very reliable member of the Atlanta Hawks and his normally reliable shooting (40.4% from three in three seasons in Atlanta) is essential in any success that the Hawks want to enjoy in the 2023-24 season.

Bogdan Bogdanovic is ready to hit the ground running again.

COACH

HC Quinn Snyder

A full season of Snyder in Atlanta is going to tell the story as to how far the Hawks can go during the 2023-24 season beyond. Snyder spent eight years as the head coach of the Utah Jazz, leading them to 372-264 (.585) regular season record. The Hawks hope to get that same style of coaching. In 21 games last season, Snyder led the team to a 10-11 record.

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