The Hawks had one of the worst starts to the season under Lloyd Pierce after shattering records on opening night against the Bulls, but Atlanta has turned a serious corner since Nate McMillan took over. Since March 1st, the Hawks are 20-7 and have won 11 of their past 14 games. Most of that has come without the meat of their roster.
Hawks when trailing by double digits at any point of the game…
December 23-February 28: 1-14
March 1-Tonight: 7-7— Mike Conti (@MikeConti929) April 26, 2021
Keeping in mind the Hawks have played just 15 minutes ALL SEASON with Trae-Bogdanovich-Hunter-Collins-Capela on the floor at the same time, they’re now…
5-2 without Trae
6-2 without Capela
7-2 without Collins
25-16 without Hunter
24-11 without Reddish— Mike Conti (@MikeConti929) April 26, 2021
However, not all of these additions came at the same time. The pieces began falling into place last season when Clint Capela was acquired for Evan Turner and a first-round pick, and he’s rewarded the Hawks with over 15 points and 14 rebounds per game while rating as a top-five defender via RAPTOR.
This offseason, the Hawks gave Bogdan Bogdanović a lucrative contract after a comedy of errors by the Kings. After a proposed sign-and-trade fell through with Milwaukee, the Kings didn’t match the Hawks’ offer sheet and even turned down a first-round pick in a sign-and-trade. He’s been going off since returning from injury.
I really, really hope Bogdan Bogdanovic gets some Eastern Conference Player of the Week consideration:
21.8 ppg, 47.8% FG, 45.9% 3pt, team 3-1
— Mike Conti (@MikeConti929) April 26, 2021
On top of Bogdanović playing so well, Danilo Gallinari has shot over 40% from beyond the arc when he’s been healthy. Since acquired from Detroit, Tony Snell has also been a gem; he has been insanely efficient — shooting an unprecedented 51.7/57.1/100. Solomon Hill has been solid, and undrafted free agents Nathan Knight and Brandon Goodwin have also shined and filled critical roles.
Finally, swapping Rajon Rondo for Lou Williams has turned out to pay off big time. Against the Bucks last night, Williams took over.
Lou Williams just caught one of the sickest heaters of the season.
Coming out if the 9-minute TV timeout in the 4th, here is every Hawks scoring play until the final moments:
Lou AST Bog 3
Lou 3
Lou 3
Lou AST Bog 3
Lou FT
Lou 3
Lou AST Bog 3
Lou 2
Collins FT
Lou AST Bog 3
Lou 3— Rob Perez (@WorldWideWob) April 26, 2021
Even with nothing close to resembling a fully healthy roster, the Hawks are half of a game out of the fourth seed in the Eastern Conference. I want everyone to be ready to go for the playoffs because I promise, with a full squad, nobody in the NBA wants to play this team right now.
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