This is the start of a series of roundtable questions I’m asking the staff here at Peachtree Hoops about the Hawks as we approach the postseason. Today’s question: what grade would you give for the Hawks’ performance this season?
What grade would you give the Hawks for their regular season performance?
Wes: I predicted the Hawks would win 50 games and be a top 4 seed in the Eastern Conference. I never knew the season would turn on its head after a knee injury to Trae Young just five games in. The team had three iterations of a roster all in one season, and despite this
they won literally just enough games to escape the Play-In Tournament. So, with all that unforeseen chaos, I’d have to say a B+ for getting close but coming up just short of my prediction.
Jackson: B. Judging by preseason expectations, Atlanta ended up either at or slightly below where most pundits thought they would, in the mid-40s win range and finally escaping play-in purgatory. However, when considering the roller coaster that Atlanta went through by reconstructing the roster mid-season, the team deserves credit for clinching a top-six seed in an Eastern Conference that was a lot deeper than most projected it to be.
Malik: Looking at who was on the Hawks at the beginning of the season, and how there were several different iterations of this team and they still won 46 games is pretty impressive. With four of the starters having career years and the team going on that huge run to start March, they found themselves in the top six after all. I’d have to give them a B+.
Hassan: Boy, I would not want to take a class being graded by my fellow writers here at Peachtree Hoops! Atlanta’s preseason win total over-under was 46.5, and even though they finished slightly under that projection with 46 wins, I don’t think anyone could have predicted the manner in which they got there. Taking the journey into account, I’m giving Atlanta an A- for their performance in the regular season.
The Hawks got through the first half of the season with a 20-21 record despite a) playing one of the toughest schedules in the league, b) their two most expensive players, Trae Young and Kristaps Porzingis, being on the court for just 14% and 21% of the time respectively, and c) the team being outscored by a whopping 8.7 points per 100 possessions when their most expensive player (Trae Young) was on the court. Atlanta leaned into their newfound identity as an aggressive defensive team looking to get out and run in transition at every opportunity. Jalen Johnson established himself as an All-Star and potential All-NBA candidate. Nickeil Alexander-Walker cemented his spot in the starting lineup and emerged as a Most Improved Player candidate.
Then, after dramatically re-shaping the roster between January and the trade deadline*, Atlanta pulled off a stunning turnaround after the All-Star break, going 20-6 over the final third of the season while posting the fourth-best (!) net rating in the league over that span. As a result, the Hawks were rewarded with the Eastern Conference’s six-seed and what should be a feisty first-round series against the New York Knicks – escaping ‘Play-In purgatory’ for the first time since 2021. Caw caw!
*The Hawks have retained just eight players from their roster at the start of the season
That said, one grey cloud hanging over Atlanta’s impressive finish to the regular season is the lack of faith the coaching staff has shown in last year’s no. 1 overall pick, Zaccharie Risacher. Though Risacher hasn’t shown too many signs of improvement from his rookie season, he has been better on the boards in recent weeks and did shoot 36.8% from three during the regular season. I still believe in his upside as a Playoff-level rotation piece and for him to reach his ceiling, these minutes in high stakes games are critical for his development.
Corey Kispert has been eating into his minutes lately, and while he’s the better shooter, he’s not someone I see as part of Atlanta’s long-term plans – and frankly, not a playoff-level defender either. I’d be really disappointed if he gets the nod over Risacher in Atlanta’s postseason rotation. On the whole, I don’t think Atlanta has handled Risacher’s development well this season – which is one of the things holding them back from receiving an even better grade.
Still, this is just a minor quibble about what was otherwise a very encouraging regular season for the Atlanta Hawks and I’ll gladly give them an A- for their efforts.
Graham: Overall, a B. The Hawks ultimately got to where they needed and wanted to: they escaped the doldrums of the Play-In Tournament and made the top-6. They could have made the top-5 had they really wanted to, but they ultimately achieved their goal. However, it took a significant overhaul of their roster in-season to do so, an admission that the trajectory of the team at the time was not working, despite the (rightly) overwhelmingly positive perception of their summer.
Prior to these changes with Trae Young still with the team, and Kristaps Porzingis not playing – with Luke Kennard and Vit Krejci also shipped out along the way – the Hawks were heading to another Play-In Tournament appearance. The decision was made to end the Trae Young-era, and that decision has helped the Hawks turn the page with Jalen Johnson and Nickeil Alexander-Walker leading the way, which helped the Hawks turn the page on their season and progress to a level I’m not sure was possible as was constructed.
While it wasn’t the 50-win season many expected heading into the campaign, the Hawks changed their trajectory for the season in a positive manner whilst also changing their long-term identity to focus on Jalen Johnson as the team’s franchise cornerstone going forward; a really solid job all-around from all involved to make the Playoffs after so much change and making a franchise pivot mid-season.
