Last night, I talked about the Hawks’ defensive issues, if they were going to hold Atlanta back this season, and if they could even be fixed. Let’s talk about some things that the Hawks are doing well and should continue to do well this year.
Atlanta is 2nd in the NBA in PPG, 16th in field goal percentage, 9th in three-point percentage, third in offensive rebounding, and fourth in free throw attempts. Per Cleaning the Glass, Atlanta is 3rd in points per 100 possessions, 11th in effective field goal percentage, 4th in offensive rebounding rate, and 4th in free throw rate.
As you may have guessed, Trae Young is spearheading this effort on the offensive end. Young is currently averaging 27.1 PPG while shooting 40.9% from the field and 35.3% from three. Young is second in the NBA in assists per game, averaging 10.9. He trails only Indiana Pacers point guard Tyrese Haliburton in APG. Young started off the season not shooting the ball well, but he looks like he is rounding into form and has gotten back to playing elite-level basketball on that end.
Young’s backcourt mate Dejounte Murray has been inconsistent as of late, but has still had a solid season, averaging 20.4 PPG, 5.1 APG, and 4.1 RPG while shooting 45.8% from the field and 39.3% from three. Per Cleaning the Glass, Murray is a little bit above average in points per shot attempts (45th percentile) and assist percentage (57th percentile). Some of those numbers can be skewed because Young has a high usage rate, but Murray has not been a perfect offensive player this season.
De’Andre Hunter has been perhaps the most inconsistent offensive player on the Hawks. He is averaging 14.3 PPG while shooting 45% from the field and 35.9% from three. Per Cleaning the Glass, Atlanta is -3.9 points per 100 possessions on offense when Hunter is on the floor. He has not taken the stops on offense he has needed too but has time to turn that around.
Two of Atlanta’s top offensive weapons come off the bench.
Bogdan Bogdanovic is not getting enough love as a sixth man of the year candidate this year and the Hawks offense is elite whenever he is on the floor. The Hawks are +6.5 points better per 100 possessions when Bogdanovic is one floor per Cleaning the Glass and he is averaging nearly 16 PPG off the bench while shooting 45.2% from the field and 38.9% from three
Saddiq Bey is also having a nice offensive season and while he is starting, I think he is best suited to come off the bench. Still, Bey has been a good offensive player this season and the Hawks’s offense is 10.6 points better per 100 possessions when Bey is on the floor per Cleaning the Glass. He is averaging 12.4 PPG on 51.2% shooting from the field and 40% from three.
There is not a lot I can say about the Hawks’s offense that is not good other than they can have problems with turnovers from time to time. The problems for this team are on the other end of the floor and that is what Atlanta must figure out if they want to be a top-six team in the Eastern Conference this season.
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