How do they Hawks were they going to behave collectively after the departure of Dejounte Murray? Because we knew that with the first choice of a 2024 Draft announced as very average, Zacharie Risacher in this case, they were not going to have a reinforcement with a strong immediate impact.
Three months after the start of the season, they are balanced with 22 victories for 22 defeats. It's not fantastic but it's better than last season (18-26) at the same time. Above all, there is a notable change between the two exercises: the creation of an identity.
“I don’t think in the past we had one. That was our problem. We played one match in a certain way and then the other in a different way.”summarizes De'Andre Hunter for The Athletic.
“He can’t do things alone and he knows it. Nobody can”
This identity is a more varied offensive style, with Trae Young who carries the ball less. It was Quin Snyder's idea during the offseason. The coach wanted to see his playmaker release the ball very quickly in possession.
“He put it in front of me and showed me how we could do it, while still having a lot of balls because it helps our team”says the All-Star. “But it’s playing without the ball earlier and doing pick-and-rolls at the end of possessions. The ball is in my hands, but in different ways. »
“It was our wish, it’s not just a dream. He can't do things alone and he knows it. Nobody can”insists Quin Snyder. “We see that he approaches things with a different mentality,” notes Larry Nance Jr. “He tries to involve and take advantage of his teammates. He makes a real effort to move the ball, not just to make assists. »
Trae Young has “young people doing things well” around him
The best passer in the league currently recalls that he has always “one of the five best passers in the NBA” since his arrival so that “this is not the first season” that he makes passes. So what is the real change? “We see it more because I have young people who do things well”he replies.
Among these young people, there are Jalen Johnson and Dyson Daniels, who take full advantage of this Trae Young who is less greedy with the ball. “The pick-and-roll between him and I is very effective. I try to connect with him when he releases the ball because we want the ball to flow,” says Johnson. The playmaker makes 13.7 passes per game towards Jalen Johnson (who passes back to him 26.5 times per game) and 11.4 towards Daniels.
As Trae Young himself says, “There are a lot of players who accept their role and I’m proud of that. I do the same thing ». Thus, with this new identity, the Hawks have found their balance and can aim for a direct place in the playoffs. “We are on the right track in relation to the objectives set and we are doing very well. In our opinion, we are not in overdrive”concludes the Hawks star.
| Shots | Rebounds | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Players | MJ | Min | Shots | 3pts | L.F. | Off | Def | Early | Pd | Bp | Int | Ct | Party | Pts |
| Trae Young | 41 | 36.0 | 40.1 | 34.6 | 86.0 | 0.5 | 2.8 | 3.3 | 11.7 | 4.4 | 1.3 | 0.2 | 2.0 | 22.9 |
| Daeqwon Plowden | 1 | 25.3 | 87.5 | 83.3 | 0.0 | 3.0 | 1.0 | 4.0 | 0.0 | 1.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 4.0 | 19.0 |
| Jalen Johnson | 36 | 35.7 | 50.0 | 31.2 | 74.6 | 1.7 | 8.3 | 10.0 | 5.0 | 2.9 | 1.6 | 1.0 | 1.9 | 18.9 |
| De’andre Hunter | 31 | 28.2 | 45.7 | 39.9 | 85.6 | 0.6 | 3.1 | 3.7 | 1.5 | 1.5 | 0.9 | 0.1 | 2.4 | 18.7 |
| Dyson Daniels | 40 | 33.6 | 46.8 | 30.9 | 57.6 | 1.8 | 3.4 | 5.2 | 3.6 | 1.8 | 3.1 | 0.8 | 2.5 | 13.6 |
| Onyeka Okongwu | 37 | 24.4 | 55.6 | 24.6 | 76.5 | 3.0 | 4.8 | 7.8 | 1.9 | 0.9 | 0.8 | 0.9 | 2.2 | 11.7 |
| Zacharie Risacher | 39 | 23.7 | 40.3 | 28.1 | 71.3 | 1.3 | 2.2 | 3.5 | 1.2 | 1.2 | 0.8 | 0.5 | 2.1 | 10.5 |
| Bogdan Bogdanovic | 23 | 24.8 | 38.2 | 31.4 | 88.2 | 0.4 | 2.2 | 2.6 | 2.0 | 1.6 | 0.8 | 0.2 | 2.4 | 10.3 |
| Larry Nance, Jr. | 15 | 19.4 | 58.5 | 52.0 | 87.5 | 1.1 | 3.2 | 4.3 | 1.6 | 0.7 | 1.1 | 0.7 | 1.5 | 9.5 |
| Clint Capela | 43 | 22.7 | 57.2 | 0.0 | 54.9 | 3.3 | 5.7 | 9.0 | 1.2 | 1.0 | 0.6 | 1.0 | 2.0 | 9.5 |
| Garrison Mathews | 35 | 18.3 | 40.8 | 40.0 | 82.1 | 0.3 | 1.4 | 1.7 | 1.5 | 0.6 | 0.7 | 0.3 | 1.7 | 8.2 |
| Keaton Wallace | 17 | 16.8 | 43.8 | 38.6 | 100.0 | 0.2 | 1.5 | 1.6 | 2.1 | 1.1 | 1.0 | 0.4 | 1.1 | 6.0 |
| Vit Krejci | 29 | 18.7 | 43.4 | 37.4 | 76.5 | 0.4 | 1.9 | 2.3 | 2.5 | 0.8 | 0.7 | 0.4 | 1.8 | 5.9 |
| Kobe Bufkin | 10 | 12.4 | 38.3 | 21.1 | 72.2 | 0.5 | 1.6 | 2.1 | 1.7 | 0.8 | 0.3 | 0.2 | 0.9 | 5.3 |
| David Roddy | 24 | 13.2 | 48.8 | 39.0 | 80.0 | 0.4 | 2.2 | 2.6 | 1.2 | 0.8 | 0.5 | 0.3 | 0.7 | 4.8 |
| Dominic Barlow | 8 | 6.0 | 46.2 | 66.7 | 75.0 | 0.0 | 0.8 | 0.8 | 0.3 | 0.0 | 0.4 | 0.0 | 0.4 | 2.1 |
| Mouhamed Gueye | 2 | 5.7 | 25.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 1.0 | 1.0 | 0.0 | 0.5 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 1.0 |
