The Atlanta Hawks Have Started Slow Since the All-Star Break, Can They Find A Way To Turn It Around In March?

Atlanta is 1-4 since the All-Star Break and are losing ground in the NBA Play-In Tournament Race

Jackson Caudell | Mar 1, 2025

Feb 28, 2025; Atlanta, Georgia, USA; Atlanta Hawks guard Trae Young (11) shoots against the Oklahoma City Thunder in the third quarter at State Farm Arena. Mandatory Credit: Brett Davis-Imagn Images / Brett Davis-Imagn Images

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Atlanta Hawks

At one point this season, the Atlanta Hawks seemed like a real threat to make the top six of the Eastern Conference. Atlanta surprised the NBA by making a run to the NBA Cup Semifinals, nearly knocking off the Milwaukee Bucks and it looked like it was only going to get better from there. Unfortuntately for the Hawks, things seem to be trending in the wrong direction.

Ever since it was revealed that Jalen Johnson was going to be out for the season, Atlanta was facing an uphill battle to remain in the race for a top six seed, but it is not just Johnson's injury. Larry Nance Jr and Vit Krejci, two crucial parts of the Hawks bench, were injured just right before the All-Star Break. The Hawks moved De'Andre Hunter and Bogdan Bogdanovic at the deadline and brought back Caris LeVert, Georges Niang, and Terance Mann. You can argue that the Hawks bench is better after the moves, but without Johnson, Krejci, or Nance, the talent on this team has dropped off and it shows.

The Hawks still don't have a true backup point guard to run the offense when Trae Young is off the floor, and without Johnson, the huge hole at power forward is being exposed. Mouhamed Gueye has been forced to start, but only plays 14-16 minutes per game, or in some cases, just nine minutes, like last night's loss vs Oklahoma City. Gueye is still a talented, but very, very raw prospect who would not be on the floor if Johnson had not gotten hurt. Niang provides the Hawks with spacing and shooting, but struggles in a big way as a defender. In Wednesday's loss vs the Miami Heat, Niang was 3-10 from the field and 1-6 from three, as well as a game-worst -19 when on the floor. NIang has been better than Gueye overall, but his defense has been a real issue for Atlanta.

The defense has been the biggest issue for the Hawks in the last two games. Miami and Oklahoma City each hit 23 three-point shots against the Hawks and that was the No. 1 reason the Hawks lost each game. Some of that is opponents getting hot and hitting difficult shots, but the Hawks also have not played great on that end of the floor. In their 1-4 start since the All-Star Break, the only game where the Hawks have had a solid defensive game was their first matchup against Miami on Monday.

Can the Hawks find a way to turn things around and salvage this season? It has not been all bad believe it or not. The bright spots of the Hawks' season have been the play of Dyson Daniels and Zaccharie Risacher. Both players had great months in February and appear to be getting better on both ends of the floor. Daniels and Risacher are going to be crucial parts of the future for the Hawks and this transitional type of season centered around them. It can be hard to take a big picture approach during a tough stretch, but it should not go unnoticed that those two have shown a lot of growth this season. Integrating three new players into the rotation also has its challenges on both ends of the floor.

After the loss last night, Atlanta is now 9th in the Eastern Conference, three games ahead of the 10th place Chicago Bulls and 5.5 games ahead of the Brooklyn Nets, who are in 11th. Atlanta is two games back of Miami for the No. 7 seed, showing how congested the play-in race is in the Eastern Conference. Any hopes of surging into the top six are likely dead and the best Atlanta might get at this point is the No. 7 spot. The matchups against Orlando and Miami the rest of the season are going to be crucial.

The final full month of the season is upon the NBA and for the Atlanta Hawks, they will be trying to snap out of this funk they have been in since the All-Star Break. There is still time to turn things around and make the most of this season, but time is running out.

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