2 Troubling Trends For The Atlanta Hawks

The Atlanta Hawks got off to a hot start, despite Trae Young’s suffering a sprained MCL on Oct. 29. Young returned to the court to face the Charlotte Hornets on Dec. 18. However, his return coincided with Atlanta hitting a prolonged rough patch. The Hawks are 2-6 over their last eight games.

Three of those losses came in blowout fashion. Atlanta fell to the San Antonio Spurs, 98-126, on Dec. 19. It also lost to the Detroit Pistons by 27 points and the Los Angeles Clippers by 23. Two disturbing trends have surfaced during the Atlanta Hawks’ struggles over the last few weeks.

2 Troubling Trends For The Atlanta Hawks

Hawks’ Defense Takes A Tumble

Atlanta ranks 16th with a 114.6 defensive rating on the season. This almost matches its 114.8 mark from the 2024-25 campaign, despite the defensive improvements the team made this past summer.

When the Hawks went 7-2 from Nov. 8 to Nov. 23, they carried a 113.4 defensive rating. They held their opponents to 110 points or below in five of those nine contests. The dynamic defensive duo of Dyson Daniels and Nickeil Alexander-Walker on the perimeter forces ball handlers into turnovers, igniting Atlanta’s fastbreak offense. The Hawks heavily rely on forcing turnovers for easy transition buckets because their half-court offense often goes through lulls, especially without Young on the floor. The four-time All-Star sat out the second night of a back-to-back against the Spurs, and his team only mustered 98 points and caused only 14 turnovers.

Over the last eight games, Atlanta owns a woeful 120.5 defensive rating. That number would rank 28th in the association, ahead of just the Washington Wizards and Utah Jazz. Atlanta had a top-eight defense from opening night until Dec. 6. The Hawks must find a way to regain the defensive potential they showed earlier in the season.