Making the Eastern Conference Finals last NBA season was a big accomplishment for Trae Young and the Atlanta Hawks, even though they came up a couple of games short of reaching the NBA Finals.

Entering the 2021-22 season, they had high expectations to be one of the better teams in the league, but the Hawks are having trouble taking flight! 

With their most recent defeat in Utah to the Jazz, the Hawks are now 4-8 and are just 1.5 games in front of the Detroit Pistons for last-place in the Eastern Conference. Atlanta was one of the most balanced teams in the NBA a season ago on both ends of the court, but so far this season, they have really struggled to get in any sort of rhythm both offensively and defensively. 

Guys like Bogdan Bogdanovic, Kevin Huerter, and Danilo Gallinari have struggled on offense to begin the season, as all three guys are averaging at least three points per game worse than they did a season ago, but a lot of the Hawks problems right now lie on the defensive end of the floor. 

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One of the things that made the Hawks a great team near the end of the season last year was the way they were able to contain teams on the open floor and get back on defense, but that does not seem to be the case to this point in the new season. 

Atlanta is giving up about 111.4 points per game this season, fifth-worst in the NBA, and over the course of their five-game losing streak, they have surrendered at least 110 points to each of their opponents. In fact, they have given up at least 110 points in eight of their twelve games so far this season.