21–22 NBA Previews: The Atlanta Hawks (#6)
Feels like I made a pretty huge mistake over here at The Windmill in waiting until the season started to finish writing our NBA team previews, but to be fair to me, it is because I have no idea what I’m doing.
Anyway, the Hawks, a team I figured was the sixth best in the league, might be a bit better than that when it's all said and done. I knew the Hawks were going to be excellent; they’ve got an elite offensive player in Trae Young who is surrounded by lots of players with at least some two-way talent. Some of those players are absolutely awesome, but in terms of their ability to win in the regular season, what is so important is that none of the players in their rotation are bad. This team can play any style they need to play, and they can do it with depth.
Where I might have underestimated them is in the importance of getting De’Andre Hunter back from being injured most of last season. From the 23 games he managed to play last year, it was clear Hunter—after a rookie season in which it looked like he might be a bust, especially since he was 22 years old that year—was really good. He has a chance to be much better than that. His combination of size, strength, and quickness on the perimeter reminds me a little bit of Kawhi Leonard. On offense, he’s got some ability to get to his own spots and create offense. He needs to get better as a passer, but the complimentary skills are there, which might be all you need alongside creators like Trae, Bogdan Bogdanović and Kevin Huerter.
Hunter unlocks all kinds of interesting combinations for this team. For one thing, the more excellent defenders the Hawks have on the floor, the easier it is to hide Trae from bad matchups. For another thing, Hunter’s ability to defend basically across the positional spectrum while slotting into a wide range of roles offensively means it’s easy to have him out there with different combinations of players. He can play the wing when the Hawks are big with Clint Capela and John Collins both on the floor. When Collins shifts to the 5, they can can go small with Hunter at the 4, but Hunter should be able to play the 4 alongside Capela, too. Hunter should even be able to play the two in some lineups. If they want to switch everything, they can pull Trae, and have a gigantic backcourt with Huerter and Hunter out there.
Hunter also means the Hawks are in a really good position to pounce if the right star player becomes available. I’m not suggesting they trade Hunter, but the embarrassment of riches they have on the wing (Hunter, Huerter, and Cam Reddish) at least makes that possible. Having said that, maybe it’s besides the point. This team really might already have everything it needs. Every key player here is still in his 20s. They’ve got Collins, Capela, Trae, and Huerter already locked up long-term. If ownership is willing to go into the luxury tax, this team is going to be able to keep growing together for a little while. Decisions are coming on Reddish and Hunter, to be sure, but even those decisions are still over a year away.
To be clear: the Atlanta Hawks could absolutely win the title this year. They are the third best team in the East with the potential to be better than that, and if the injuries to Kawhi Leonard, Jamal Murray, and Klay Thompson don’t resolve the way their respective teams hope, the Hawks might honestly be the third best team in the NBA.