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This season has not gone the way that the Hawks envisioned.
Granted, there is still time and it is only December, but it is starting to become clear that this Hawks team, even when healthy, is limited. They have defensive issues, size issues, and depth issues. The defense and the size were two worrisome things to me at the beginning of the season, but I thought the Hawks had good depth on the roster and could challenge for a top-six spot. Again, there is still a lot of season left to be played, but time is running out for the Hawks to get things going.
ESPN NBA analysts Zach Lowe and Kevin Pelton were discussing the Hawks yesterday on his Lowe's Podcast, the Lowe Post, and when talking about the nicest thing he could say about Atlanta this season, this is what Lowe had to say:
"My nice thing to say about the Hawks is that they have achieved clarity and that clarity is that their team is not good. This has not worked. The 2021 Conference Finals run is a long time and mega trade ago. The Hawks are 9-13, they are 5th in offense, which is fine, and 27th in defense and I just hate watching them. I hate watching them. They are -26 with Murray and Young on the floor together with an offensive rating that would be about average and if this is what they are..."
Lowe did have high praise for how forward Jalen Johnson was playing before he got hurt:
"Jalen Johnson was their second-best player before he got injured. They have something in that dude. He was their second-best player. You could argue with the way that Trae Young was shooting that he might have been the best player on the team."
This is not the first time this week that the Hawks and their the way their team has been constructed has come under criticism.
When appearing on Bill Simmons podcast earlier this week, Doc Rivers was discussing the pairing of Murray and Young and if he thought it would work and he gave his honest assessment:
"It has not worked. They are both small in size. Now, Murray will try to defend and he is very competitive, but he is still small at the end of the day and slight. Yeah... I don't see it working. I'm with you, I thought Q (Haws head coach Quin Snyder) would come in and change them and they have, they have been better on offense at times, but after that, they are not a deep team and you just don't see it on a night-to-night basis with them."
Rivers did praise Young for his ability to be clutch late in games, while also criticizing Young's defense :
"Trae at the end of a game... no one wants to be in a one-point game and you saw it last year against Boston, you don't want to be in a one-point game when that dude is on the floor with the ball because he is capable of making shots, but the defense from him is poor and you have to do both ends if you want to win in this league"
I will say that Young has been better on defense this season and has been putting good effort in on that end. He has his limitations for sure, but his effort level has been pretty good from him.
Atlanta has been thrown in the middle of a lot of trade rumors and if they can't get it going soon this season, more people are going to come to the same conclusion as Doc Rivers and say that Young and Murray are not a good pairing for this team.
Follow Jackson on X here: @jacksoncaudell
Follow Hawks coverage on Facebook here: All Hawks
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