Hawks Fans Opinions On Team's Problems This Season

The front office received little blame.

Bruce Kluckhohn-USA TODAY Sports

Last night was most likely the worst loss (at least so far) of the season for the Atlanta Hawks. Their fanbase has been more than patient this season through the various slumps, losing streaks, and inaction at the trade deadline. 

However, last night felt different. The Hawks had an opportunity to jump to 8th in the Eastern Conference and get their record back up to .500 for the first time since December 2021. Instead, they lost to a lottery team in overtime.

Although far from a scientific poll, I used Twitter to take the pulse of the Hawks fanbase. I asked who deserved the most blame for the team's struggles this season. Out of 600 voters, the results are as follows.

Who Deserves Blame for Hawks Struggles?

Players (53.5%)

© Jason Getz-USA TODAY Sports

- "Strictly the players. Nobody out there leaving people wide open but them. Defense just gotta be better."

- "Players play defense. Or they don’t. It’s really that simple. When the Hawks lock in on defense, they can play with anyone. When they give up open shots and don’t rebound, anyone can beat them."

- "Players play down to the level of their competition. No effort or passion early in games and every team they play goes late into games feeling confident about their shot."

- "Anybody that doesn't say 'players' should have their accounts banned for a month. This is 1000000000% on the players."

- "We play the Suns and Bucks off the court this year, but don't show up against Pistons, Spurs, etc. It's a lack of leadership, no Kobe/Jimmy Butler type of player-leader. The talent and execution are there, we act like we have 'arrived' and haven't won **** yet. It's frustrating."

- "They don't take 'bad' teams seriously, even though everyone on the other side also made it into the NBA."

-"If you blame anyone other than the guys wearing the jerseys we ain’t got nothing to talk about real talk."

Coaching (30.5%)

© Dale Zanine-USA TODAY Sports

- "Coaching!!! Offensive & defensive scheme changes from last yr. - Terrible lineups - No personnel development (neither of the rooks can contribute?) We came into the season with a healthy roster and looked like ***! Move on from Nate at season's end please!"

- "The main variable that changed in the off-season was coaching staff. Even if the players are in the wrong headspace, that's at least partially on the coaches."

- "In all seriousness, I’d mostly say the coaching. The Clippers are winning games with Reggie Jackson as their best player so no way we should be dropping games like this."

- "I'm gonna have to go the coaching. At the end of the day, the blame falls on them, and rightfully so."

- "Keeping Nate was a short-sighted move which ended up being a detrimental mistake. that none of us including myself were willing to admit. It still hurts to admit it, SAD!"

Front Office (9.5%)

© Brett Davis-USA TODAY Sports

- "Not sure how you can say players, everyone and their mother knew getting to where we went last year was an anomaly. Was and never has been a championship-type roster. Sure, they’ve played down to comp at times... But this is on the front office, sorry."

- "It’s a team that believed their own hype after overachieving last year. This roster as presently constructed will end up like the 'Nique-led teams, entertaining but never winning at a championship level."

- "Needs to be a statement trade in the off-season."

Other (6.5%)

Dale Zanine-USA TODAY Sports

- "Sometimes a team overachieves and the expectations become unreal (take it from a Knicks fan)."

-"Players and coaching. Players hadn’t made a serious effort to play defense the majority of this season. Even in games this team wins it’s mainly because the offense outperforms. Nate’s rotations have been puzzling quite often. Also, his lack of adjustments or feel of the game is bad."

- "Players and coaches. I was concerned when Trae said the regular season is boring. Coach McMillan should have addressed that concern right there and then."

- "It’s a combination for sure. Coaching hasn’t had the team ready psychologically and the players seem both too young and too old for the moment."

- "Chemistry…so many lineup and injuries disrupted continuity."

- "I blame last season’s Eastern Conference Finals run."

- "All of the above."

- "Joe Biden."

- "I will place the blame on mentality. There is no urgency, the team lost focus of the regular season thinking that they can just shift into postseason gear if/when they make it. Coaches and front office have contributed to the disengaged mindset by how they managed the game and roster."

---

I appreciate all of the responses. You always hear my thoughts and opinions, so it was good for the roles to be reversed after last night's abysmal performance. The good news is the Hawks are still alive, and who knows, maybe they will flip the switch like last year? Either way, another day, another opportunity.

Recommended For You

Five Examples of Cade Cunningham Cooking Hawks Defense

Hawks More Likely to Make Playoffs Than Nets

Interview: Nick Van Exel at 50