Several months ago, plenty of people felt the Atlanta Hawks were going to make noise this season in the NBA’s Eastern Conference.
They had acquired Dejounte Murray, an ascending guard who had averaged 21.1 points, 8.3 rebounds, 9.2 assists, and 2.0 steals last season en route to his first All-Star game nod.
But the Hawks have turned out to be a disappointment this year, as they hold a 38-38 record and sit in eighth place in the East.
This set of stats provided by ESPN’s SportsCenter shows how consistently mediocre they have been all season.
This Hawks stat is ABSURD 😱😳
(h/t @bloghawk) pic.twitter.com/vgCmIxsQr6
— SportsCenter (@SportsCenter) March 29, 2023
Offensively, Atlanta is doing fairly well, as they’re third in scoring at 118 points per game and ninth in offensive rating.
However, the defense is very substandard, and their 22nd ranking in defensive rating simply isn’t befitting of a playoff team.
Murray’s numbers have dipped a bit, and while franchise player Trae Young is putting up 26.5 points and 10 assists per game, he’s shooting just 43.2 percent from the field and 34.5 percent from 3-point range.
He attempts 6.4 treys a contest, which has led some fans to criticize him for attempting to play like elite point guard snipers such as Stephen Curry and Damian Lillard, sans the accurate marksmanship.
The Hawks are in an interesting position, as they may need to make significant changes to their frontcourt this summer in order to take the next step and finish the good work they put in two seasons ago when they reached the Eastern Conference Finals.
With the Boston Celtics, Cleveland Cavaliers, and New York Knicks improving, Atlanta will need to keep pace with them.
NEXT:
NBA Fans React To Trae Young Throwing Ball At Official
