What Isn’t Working For Atlanta Hawks?
Clint Capela has not looked like the avid rim-protector he was a season ago and with Onyeka Okongwu out until sometime near early February as he recovers from offseason shoulder surgery, the Hawks’ overall depth in their frontcourt is weaker than expected.
“We’re not 14-20 but we’re struggling right now,” Trae Young told reporters following their 110-98 loss in Utah. “We’re 4-8 but we got time to make it up. We’ve been playing some really tough teams on the road. We have to figure it out. We’ll be all right. I know when we get back playing in front of our fans, it’ll be a lot better.”
Young does bring up a good point in the Hawks facing some challenges on the road this season. Eight of their first twelve games have been on the road and they are currently 3-1 at home this season. Atlanta has one more game on the road in Denver on Friday, but then they have a five-game home span against the Bucks, Magic, Celtics, Hornets, and Thunder.
This gives Atlanta plenty of time to get back on track in the Eastern Conference, but it could also sink them farther down in the hole they currently find themselves in. Defense is obviously key for the Hawks to turn their recent misfortunes around, but there is a very big difference in their play offensively this year compared to the 2020-21 season.
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Trae Young and the Hawks were one of the best free-throw teams in the league last year in terms of percentage, makes, and attempts, but this season, they rank just 21st in the league in free-throw attempts and Young is only taking 5.3 free-throw attempts per game, compared to 8.7 free-throw attempts a year ago.
The NBA’s new rules on offensive/defensive fouls have definitely played a role in this, but Atlanta as a team seems very less aggressive on the offensive end of the court in terms of attacking the basket. “I don’t want to get fined too much, but it’s frustrating,” Young said in regards to the new rules and officiating. “There’s a lot of missed calls. It’s basketball. It’s just, it feels that they’re learning, and they’re just — I don’t know. It’s frustrating.”
