The Atlanta Hawks are Improving On Defense and Believe It Or Not, Trae Young Deserves A Lot Of Credit For It

Young and the Hawks have one of the most improved defenses in the NBA this season and it has led to a recent surge in wins

Dec 11, 2024; New York, New York, USA; New York Knicks guard Miles McBride (2) controls the ball against Atlanta Hawks guard Trae Young (11) and forward De'Andre Hunter (12) during the third quarter at Madison Square Garden. Mandatory Credit: Brad Penner-Imagn Images / Brad Penner-Imagn Images

The Atlanta Hawks have been one of the NBA's worst defenses over the past few seasons and it has hindered the team from making actual progress on the court. Last year, Atlanta ranked 26th in points allowed per 100 possessions and 29th in effective field goal percentage allowed (Per Cleaning the Glass). The only time the Hawks have ranked higher than 21st in points allowed per 100 possessions is the 2020-2021 season, the year in which they made a run to the Eastern Conference Finals. The Hawks have been looking for a consistent defense and the right personnel to have around Trae Young and this offseason, they may have struck gold.

Atlanta had only a 3% chance to win the 2024 NBA Draft Lottery, but they won it and selected French forward Zaccharie Risacher with the No.1 pick. Risacher has given the Hawks a lot of versatility and length on that end of the floor, but he is not the only one. The Hawks acquired Dyson Daniels in the trade that sent Dejounte Murray to the Pelicans and he has been transformative on the defensive end of the court for the Hawks. Daniels leads the NBA in steals per game as well as deflections per game.Time and again, Daniels is tasked with guarding the opposing teams best guard/ball handler and he is up to the task.

While Daniels, Risacher, De'Andre Hunter, Jalen Johnson and Clint Capela deserve the lions share of the credit, so does Trae Young.

Whenver Trae Young is talked about around the league, it is always asserted that he is one of the worst defenders in the league and gives no effort on that end of the floor. While Young is never going to win defensive player of the year, he has made considerble strides on that end of the floor and it does seem like that is starting to get noticed.

Watch Trae Young this entire play pic.twitter.com/z3JJZ7yc31

— The Hood Therapist (@OhhMar24) December 14, 2024

focus on trae young throughout this defensive possession pic.twitter.com/RWWyT7yeek

— ben pfeifer (@bjpf_) December 13, 2024

After practice on Tuesday, Young was asked about what it was like for him to see so many people giving him praise for his defensive improvement and here is what he had to say:

"Yeah, I mean, I have seen it, a lot of my friends have been sending it to me and my little brother sent it to me as soon as the game was over and I mean I am upset that we lost but a lot of those moments are really cool. But I mean for me, if we were on TV a lot, especially this year, the culture for me and really this whole team on the defensive end and understanding that the offense is going to come and that if you want to win and that is what you want to do, I am the type of guy that would rather show it than talk about it and it starts on that end."

Again, Young is not the premier defender on the team, but his buy in is crystal clear and the Hawks would not be where they are without his improvement on that end of the court.

The Hawks have won seven of their last nine games and made a run to the NBA Cup Semifinals and the defense had a lot to do with it. Atlanta is up to 15th in points allowed per 100 possessions and they could keep climbing. If they do, this could be a team to be reckoned with in the Eastern Conference.

Additional Links

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Updated Eastern Conference Standings: Atlanta Remains In Hunt For Top-Six Seed After NBA Cup Run

NBA Analyst Poses Tough Question About Hawks No. 1 Pick Zaccharie Risacher