Atlanta Hawks Basketball: Biggest Takeaways From Hawks 120-116 Win Over Brooklyn

Atlanta is now 1-0 after defeating Brooklyn 120-116 in the season opener last night. What are the biggest takeaways?

Oct 23, 2024; Atlanta, Georgia, USA; Atlanta Hawks forward Onyeka Okongwu (17) dunks behind Brooklyn Nets guard Dennis Schroder (17) during the second half at State Farm Arena. Mandatory Credit: Dale Zanine-Imagn Images / Dale Zanine-Imagn Images

The Hawks took on the Brooklyn Nets last night in their season opener and while far from perfect, there were a lot of encouraging things to take away from Atlanta's season-opening win.

While Brooklyn is projected to be among the worst teams in the NBA, they played really hard last night and had the lead at various points in the game. Even when it looked like the Hawks were starting to pull away, the Nets fought back. No matter the opponent, the Hawks earned the win and are now 1-0 heading into their second game of the year vs Charlotte.

So what are the big takeaways?

1. Onyeka Okongwu had a career-night

While he did not get the start, Hawks head coach Quin Snyder elected to close with Onyeka Okongwu over Clint Capela and Okongwu played nine more minutes that Capela did last night. It resulted in a career night for Okongwu, who scored a career high 28 points on 11-12 shooting to go along with eight rebounds. He was solid defensively as well. Okongwu was not able to play much during the preseason, but he stepped on the court tonight and had a tremendous start to his season.

2. Dyson Daniels had a great debut

I have written at length about how important Daniels is to this team this season and he showed why last night. While the numbers will show Nets guard Cam Thomas scoring 36 points, go back and watch how Daniels guarded him in the first three quarters. Daniels ended this game with 15 points, five rebounds, two assists, and five steals. He was 2-4 from three as well. Daniels needs to improve from the free throw line going forward (1-4 last night), but it was a great debut for the Hawks new guard.

3. The Hawks were able to win a game in which Bogdan Bogdanovic and Jalen Johnson were not great offensively

Aside from Trae Young and Okongwu, it was not really a great night on offense for anyone, including the Hawks second and third best players. Bogdanovic did not score in the first half and finished with eight points on 2-6 shooting while Johnson scored 11 points on 4-9 shooting to go along with 10 rebounds, four assists, and three steals. Johnson was also 3-8 from the free throw line. Going forward, the Hawks need Bogdanovic to shoot the ball better on offense when he comes off the bench, but it does say something that the Hawks were able to win the game without them having big games scoring.

4. Trae Young had a great start to his season

Young looked like his usual self in last night's win. He scored 30 points on 7-16 shooting and he dished out 12 assists. He also had one of the best passes that you will see this season, but the shot did not go in.

Can't let this Trae Young pass go unnoticed just because Daniels missed the shot pic.twitter.com/erEBL1zlFZ

— Adam Mares (@Adam_Mares) October 24, 2024

It was a great start for one of the leagues best players and he led the offense when he was in.

5. The Hawks struggled when Trae was not on the floor

Atlanta was +12 with Young on the floor and -8 when off of it. The Hawks were without Kobe Bufkin in this game and went with Vit Krejci to lead the offense with Young off the floor. The first stint in the first half was really bad for the Hawks and this is going to be something to monitor all season.

6. Zaccharie Risacher did not have a spectacular debut, but he will be fine

Risacher had a great preseason and he was one of the most anticipated players to watch coming into the game. While he did hit his first shot attempt, the rest of the game on offense was less than stellar. He finished with seven points and one rebound in 19 minutes. Risacher is still a young rookie and there are going to be more games like this this season, but he did flash on defense and showed a willingness to shoot. There will be better days ahead for the No. 1 pick.

7. The Hawks did not have a great three-point shooting night

Atlanta finished 9-28 (32%) from three in this game and Brooklyn was much better in this department than the Hawks. Going forward, I would love to see the Hawks take more three-point attempts (Brooklyn took 43 in this game) going forward, especially against better teams.

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RECAP: Atlanta Defeats Brooklyn 120-116 To Start the Season 1-0