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Photo by Chris Coduto/Getty Images Forrest wasn’t always called upon, but he usually provided a steady presence. There are some players in the NBA whom coaches know they can depend upon, and in some of these cases the players may eventually follow their coach to their new respective teams. Such is this level of trust and familiarity to embody (whether it’s on or off the court) what it is you, as a coach, wish to run. Famously, Taj Gibson and Knicks head coach Tom Thibodeau have united and reunited on multiple occasions for three different teams. Atlanta Hawks coach Quin Snyder has a similar level of trust and familiarity with one such player whom he knew from his time in Utah and reunited with him in Atlanta, guard Trent Forrest. Forrest joined the Hawks in 2022 on a two-way contract originally, before Snyder arrived to the fray, but the former Jazz coach was present in Atlanta when Forrest was brought back to ‘the A’ on another two-way contract for the 2023-24 season. On a two-way deal, Forrest’s playing time and involvement was limited, and when he was with the team, he often didn’t see game time unless there was extensive foul trouble or blowout games. That said, Forrest saw regular minutes for much of the month of January before his contract was converted to a full NBA contract on February 29th — just under a week after Trae Young was sidelined due to a finger injury which would see him miss the next 23 games in the Hawks’ run-in. From this point on, Forrest appeared in 15 games in March as he provided point guard cover in the absence of Young, before being phased out of the rotation in April as Young returned to the lineup. In the end, Forrest averaged 2.2 points on 37.8% shooting from the field, 20% from three on 0.2 attempts, 1.3 rebounds, 2.4 assists, and 0.5 turnovers per game in an average of 11 minutes per game in 38 games played — the majority of which took place in the months of January (11 games) and March (15 games). Trent Forrest is a basketball player who is never going to wow you with stats. That’s just not his forte. But therein lies one of the great qualities of Forrest, of which some players should absolutely take a page out of: he knows exactly what his strengths and weaknesses are and very much plays to his strengths. He just knows exactly who he is, and it’s this in which Snyder can trust Forrest. “We have a lot of confidence in Trent, and he really knows who he is as a player,” said Quin Snyder of Forrest after a victory against the Oklahoma City Thunder in January, a game where Forrest played a key role. “We felt, along with [Jalen Johnson], that Trent was a good matchup where we had the opportunity — during various rotation situations — we needed a matchup on Shai. Trent was able to defend and defend without fouling. On the offensive end, he’s capable of getting in the lane and making plays. He’s got a lot of poise in the lane, and he made his floater a couple of times. I think our coaching staff — and his teammates as well — have a lot of confidence in him. Tonight was a night where we felt Trent could give us something unique and he did.” Forrest’s defensive work was usually solid, and in that OKC game he was very solid in defending Shai Gilgeous-Alexander: Forrest is also trusted to be a voice for Snyder, of sorts, to help other players acclimate to his system, which has been described in the past as complex. While Forrest admitted that there have been changes to this system since their days in Utah, Forrest has still enjoyed helping implement that system with his teammates. “Obviously just playing for Quin, I knew his system and I knew what he was going to bring to our team,” said Forrest of playing with Snyder. “It was easy to help players when they needed it. He’s changed it a little even from when it was in Utah so some of the stuff was a little new for me but for the most part it was a lot of the same things. It was fun helping in whatever way I could.” Forrest’s offensive work is, essentially, exclusively inside the arc, attempting just 10 threes this season. Forrest doesn’t hunt for offense, as his strength is setting up others and prioritizing others over himself. And he is a pass-first guard, reflected in averaging more assists than points, and he’s solid at doing so too, as he averages an assist/turnover ratio of 4.6 assists per turnover. When the Hawks have needed some stability, Forrest was solid in bringing that one the floor because you know exactly what you’re getting — it’s usually low-risk and sensible plays. At the end of the season, Forrest came away believing he has improved. “I thought it was good,” said Forrest of the season during the Hawks’ exit interviews. “Definitely felt like I got better, learned a lot. Just with the season we had, it was a lot to take away from it and just to go into the summer with things to work on.” Going forward, Forrest is a free agent this summer and mentioned during the exit interviews that the Hawks and he would reconvene in ‘a few weeks’ to discuss the future. It remains to be seen what Forrest’s future will look like in Atlanta, but in terms of a third point guard, Trent Forrest has proved a safe pair of hands when called upon. View the full article

Photo by Glenn James/NBAE via Getty Images Explaining why Vit Krejci was kept on a two-way contract and more. As we transition into the offseason, the franchise will have to answer some unsettling questions about the disappointing performance this past season. Despite ostensibly being set up to grab an Eastern Conference playoff spot over the past few year, in 2023-24 they were repeatedly beset by defensive collapses and untimely injuries to key members. It’s not a stretch to say an early exit in the Play-In Tournament was not anyone’s goal. And so, the Hawks will have to consider every player and current asset in efforts to improve the roster as they look to turn the corner in 2024-25. That consideration begs a proper look ahead to who is under contract and who is not from last season’s team. First, I wanted to address maybe the most underrated question that emerged down the stretch of the season — what to do with Vit Krejci? The Hawks signed the third-year guard/wing Krejci to a two-way deal midway through the season after waiving him in the summer of 2023. While he spent the majority of his time in the following weeks with the College Park Skyhawks, he was recalled to the senior team in early March for good once injuries struck. He soon started a stretch of 13 games for the Hawks, providing valuable ‘glue guy’ contributions with improved defense, shooting, and always crisp ball movement. For the season, he averaged just six points, two assists, and two rebounds per game, but he shot 41% from three and was often tasked with slowing down the opposing team’s best wing. However, two-way players are ineligible to play in the postseason, including the Play-In Tournament. To have had his services in the postseason, the Hawks needed to have converted his deal to a standard deal by the last game of the season — something that would have required waiving one of the 15 guaranteed players. Instead, they stood pat and kept him on his two-way deal. The Hawks were of course blown out by the Bulls, so maybe the issue was always moot. But why not just sign him? He was certainly deserving of a standard contract with his play. Well, as a two-way player yet to reach his fourth season, the Hawks now retain his rights in restricted free agency by keeping him on that contract (in addition to losing the Bird rights from the waived player). The qualifying offer will be just that of another two-way deal in 2024-25, but should Krejci turn that down — something likely to happen — he’ll then be a restricted free agent, open to test the market. Of course, the Hawks would then have the right of first refusal, i.e. they can unilaterally match all offer sheets signed with any of the other 29 teams. Still, there seems to be an indication from the team — not to mention the player — that the desire is to sign Krejci to a standard multi-year deal without him (metaphorically) leaving the building. Seth Lundy, the other two-way player eligible to sign to another year on a two-way deal, most likely would sign the two-way offer if extended I would figure given his lack of experience. For reference, here’s a quick rundown of the roster as we head into the summer (all figures per Spotrac if not otherwise stated): Guaranteed salary for 2024-25: Trae Young (~$43 million) Dejounte Murray (~$26.2 million assuming a bump for unlikely incentives reached, first year of extension) Clint Capela (~$22.3 million, expiring) De’Andre Hunter (~$22 million) Bogdan Bogdanovic (~$17.3 million) Onyeka Okongwu ($14 million, first year of extension) Jalen Johnson (~$4.5 million, extension eligible) Kobe Bufkin (~$4.3 million) AJ Griffin (~$3.9 million, team option in 2025-26) Mouhamed Gueye (~$1.9 million, unguaranteed in 2025-26) Partial guarantee/non-guarantee/team option: Bruno Fernando (~$2.7 million unguaranteed) Garrison Mathews (~$2.3 million team option) Restricted free agency (if qualifying offer is declined) Saddiq Bey (~$7 million qualifying offer for making starter criteria) Vit Krejci (<$100,000 two-way qualifying offer) Seth Lundy (<$100,000 two-way qualifying offer) Unrestricted free agency (either non-Bird, early Bird, or full Bird rights): Trent Forrest (early Bird) Wesley Matthews (non-Bird) Dylan Windler (unrestricted due to him exhausting his two-way eligibility, non-Bird) View the full article

Photo by David Sherman/NBAE via Getty Images A long offseason is here. After going all in to bring Dejounte Murray from San Antonio to Atlanta in the summer of 2022, the franchise has now reached an ominous crossroads. Murray was supposed to pair with Trae Young in the backcourt to give the Hawks a dangerous outlet when teams key in on Young. Additionally, his defensive reputation as disrupter should have been a valuable addition as well. Two seasons later, it’s clear that the sending out three first-round picks — two of them unprotected — and the rights to a pick swap for the slender guard has brought underwhelming results. The Hawks went 41-41 in the 2022-23 season then followed that up with a 36-46 mark this season — their first season in the last four years without playoff action. A consistent theme is that the Hawks simply look more productive with just one of the duo on the court rather than both. Across the two seasons, the Hawks were outscored by around three points per 100 possessions with both sharing the court per pbpstats. Compare that figure to around one point per 100 possessions underwater with just Murray and three points per 100 possessions to the positive with just Young. And so, just like just before the 2024 trade deadline, rumors have again begun swirling about the future of the backcourt. This piece from national insider Marc Stein’s newsletter posted to his Substack contains tidbits of league-sourced information: As one league source well-versed in the Hawks’ dynamics told me then in the wake of Atlanta’s weeks-long exploration of Dejounte Murray’s trade market before ultimately keeping Murray: “They know they have to trade one or the other.” The Hawks were outscored by 6.3 points per 100 possessions when Young and Murray played together, according to Cleaning The Glass. With only one of them on the floor, as noted by CBS Sports’ Sam Quinn, Atlanta had a positive net rating in both cases. The leaguewide expectation is thus only stronger, two months removed from my piece, that the Hawks will try to trade Young or Murray this offseason. You could also say that there is a growing belief in many corners of the league that Atlanta’s preference would actually be shopping Young. The challenge there, of course, is that Young would not exactly enter the trade market at peak value if Atlanta decides to seriously explore moving him. Young, 25, just completed the second season of a two-year [sic], $215 million contract. He is scheduled to earn $43 million next season and has a player option for 2026-27. The Hawks will undoubtedly hope, provided that moving Young gets cemented as their desired scenario, that the fact he’s under contract for two more full seasons will hold more sway with a potential trade bidder (did someone say Los Angeles Lakers?) than the 119.1 points per 100 possessions that Atlanta allowed this season with Young on the floor. Or that the Hawks were 22-33 with Young in uniform (including Wednesday’s Play-In rout inflicted by the Bulls) and 14-14 without him. Another potential sidebar to make note of here: Young continues to be represented by Klutch Sports — same as Murray — but league sources say Young’s father Rayford Young also recently secured formal NBA agent certification. On top of the fact that Stein misstated Young’s contract (a five-year deal), all of this is conjecture from league sources. There’s been nothing concrete from inside the organization that Young would be a preferred trade chip — or that that consideration is as of yet tangible. This from John Hollinger of the Athletic details the next steps for the Hawks: After a year of front-office paralysis where Murray trades (and others) were courted but never completed, the attention this offseason will likely turn to Young’s future. The logic is simple: Atlanta’s guards don’t fit together, despite the multiple unprotected picks the Hawks sent out to get Murray to join forces with Young, and if they had an offer they liked for Murray they would have taken it by now. Look for Lakers rumors, especially, to heat up if L.A. can’t get past its first-round series against Denver. The other thing Atlanta can’t do is tank, however, because of those same picks they gave the San Antonio Spurs in the Murray deal. The Hawks have other moves to ponder this offseason as well. Can they afford to keep paying both Capela and Okongwu, now that Okongwu is starting a four-year, $63 million extension? Is there enough money to bring back Bey, a restricted free agent they acquired at the 2023 trade deadline? And can they nail the draft, one where they are likely to pick 10th and could also land a pick at 15th if Sacramento wins its play-in game with New Orleans on Friday? Johnson, who had a breakout year that was the best story of an otherwise forgettable season, is likely due an extension ahead of his 2025 free agency, and the Hawks will also have to find more ways to get 2023 first-rounder Kobe Bufkin into the mix. Hanging over this is an inexperienced, gun-shy front office and ownership that has been unwilling to pay into the luxury tax. The Hawks enter the summer an estimated $5 million from that line, depending on where their draft pick falls and if another one is coming from the Kings, and will have some hard decisions to make. These are just rumors, of course. And in the past almost all of the smoke surrounded Dejounte Murray, so this talk about Young should come as a surprise. As recent as January, John Hollinger himself listed Young and Jalen Johnson as the only ‘keepers’ on the roster, save possibly a rising Kobe Bufkin. It sure seems as though the end of the two together in Atlanta is near, although we won’t have any real indication of the next steps until the new league year commences in July. Buckle up, I predict we’re about to have a turbulent summer. View the full article

Dale Zanine-USA TODAY Sports Just one pick in the 2024 NBA Draft for Atlanta. It’s been a rough few weeks for the Atlanta Hawks. They ended the season with seven straight losses, including an ugly season-ending loss to the Bulls in front of a national audience in the Play-In Tournament. Injuries, of course, were a big reason for the decline, but now all focus is on upgrading the roster to as the organization aims for a big bounce back season in 2024-25. The next important date in the offseason calendar for the Hawks is the NBA Draft Lottery, which will be held on Sunday, May 12. The Hawks’ 2023-24 record of 36-46 put them alone for the 10th-best odds in the lottery. They will have a 13.88% chance at landing in the top-4 of draft positioning in advance of an admittedly lesser top end of the draft compared to other years. Graphically, here is what that looks like: The Hawks could use all the luck they’re afforded as they look to break free of a string of disappointing season results since 2021. But as of Friday night, their short term draft asset luck ran out. In the 2022 offseason, the Hawks traded Kevin Huerter to Sacramento Kings for, in part, a protected future first-round draft pick. This 2024 offseason was the first chance for that pick to convey, provided the Kings did not make the playoffs. The pick is top-14 protected in 2024, top-12 protected in 2025, and top-10 protected in 2026 (and then turns into second round picks). The Sacramento Kings played the New Orleans Pelicans on Friday night in the 7-seed/9-seed matchup in the Western Conference. It was a true elimination game for both, and as such it was a physical and testy battle. But the Pelicans pulled away and sent the Kings home, meaning Sacramento keeps its 2024 first round pick. Atlanta also sent out its own second-round pick in 2024 in the Saddiq Bey trade at the 2023 trade deadline. Bey, who is now more than likely entering restricted free agency, tore his ACL late in the season as part of those injury woes you may remember. So now, all there is left is waiting with bated breath for the results of the 2024 NBA Draft Lottery followed by the 2024 NBA Draft — which for the first time is spread across two days on June 26 and June 27. The biggest questions will most likely come in free agency in July, as there are sure to be trade rumors aplenty about many members of the team. But before we get there, remember to pray to the basketball gods for Atlanta to see their lucky ping pong numbers. View the full article

Photo by Jamie Sabau/Getty Images When the Bulls threw the third quarter punch, the Hawks could not reply and they stumbled to defeat. The Atlanta Hawks’ 2023-24 season officially came to an end as the Hawks fell short in the NBA’s Play-In tournament fixture against the Chicago Bulls at the United Center on Wednesday night, 131-116. Dejounte Murray led the Hawks in scoring 30 points, as Clint Capela added 22 points and 17 rebounds to the cause. For the Bulls, Coby White scored a career-best 42 points with Nikola Vucevic adding 24 points and 12 rebounds. This was it. The collision course that both knew was coming for, roughly, three months now. The Hawks and Bulls knew that victory for one in the 9/10 matchup would mean a chance to progress towards the playoffs, and the other would be eliminated. The stakes could not have been more clear, and the opponent could not have been known clear — both teams knew this was coming for a long time. In the end, there was no comeback in the season for Jalen Johnson or Onyeka Okongwu, their respective injuries keeping them sidelined for this one — having already lost Saddiq Bey to season-ending injury along the road to the Play-In. The Hawks were also without Vit Krejci, the team electing not to convert his contract to a ‘rest of season contract’ (the Hawks would have needed to waive someone on the existing roster since Krejci was on a two-way deal) on the final day of the regular season. The Bulls were without Zach LaVine and Lonzo Ball — as they have for a while now — and were dealt a blow during the game when Alex Caruso sustained a foot injury and played only 17 minutes. In the first quarter, it was all Chicago. A 40-point first quarter, highlighted by a 16-2 run to end the quarter put the Bulls in a commanding position early on, leading by 18 points by the end of the first quarter. The Bulls did an excellent job of keeping the Hawks largely to the perimeter, and these perimeter attempts did not fall in the first quarter as Atlanta shot 1-of-9 from three. Plays like this, where the Hawks just can’t get themselves a look inside, and Bogdan Bogdanovic misses the three here: The Bulls’ perimeter defense was strong in the first quarter, led by Caruso and Ayo Dosunmu, but the Hawks didn’t help themselves by settling into pull-up threes. Or in this case, a three where Trae Young should probably stay in the corner and allow Murray to drive, but instead comes to the ball and bring Caruso with him, forcing Murray to bail on his drive. Young pulls up from three and misses: This is probably just a miscommunication/misunderstanding, but at the same time Young and Murray have played together long enough at this stage that this shouldn’t be occurring in a game like this. Young himself has clearly not been 100% healthy and his comfort level with the bandaged left hand (which he removed at half time) was clear and it most likely contributed to some of his five first quarter turnovers. Defensively for the Hawks, the Bulls did a really good job of shifting the Hawks’ defenders around and working openings for themselves on drives with ball movement. Their pick-and-roll game — led by DeMar DeRozan and White — was very good in the first quarter, with DeRozan hitting those mid-range shots coming off of the Vucevic screens (who you have to be wary of in pick-and-pop situations and on the roll as he’s a large presence near the basket) and White picking his spots. The Hawks didn’t help themselves at times, a couple of Young’s live ball turnovers led directly to Chicago points, such as this attempted pass to Bruno Fernando leading to a Bulls fastbreak in which DeRozan cleans up the miss at the rim: To end the first quarter, Young’s pass is easily telegraphed by Caruso, and Dalen Terry finishes in transition with the dunk to give the Bulls their 40th point: Possessions such as this next play, where White just paces up the floor and springs into a pull-up three with the Hawks still getting back, were just poor: That said, as bad as the first quarter was, the Hawks mustered a response in the form of a 14-0 run to begin the second quarter to bring this game to within three points behind a 45 point second quarter, led by Murray who scored 23 points in the first half. The Hawks kept pace with the Bulls for a large portion of the third quarter, but, similar to how the first quarter ended, the Bulls went on a big run — a 17-2 run — to blow the game open from 88-85 to 105-87. The Bulls’ run began with the only three Vucevic hit in six attempts last night but demonstrates the problems he poses defenses with his ability to hit a jumpshot, with Capela having to give DeRozan his attention and Vucevic hits the corner three on the find from DeRozan: Following that three, Young tries to draw a foul on a three-point attempt, doesn’t get the call, and the Bulls streak in transition for an easy basket, prompting a quick timeout from Hawks head coach Quin Snyder: That timeout — taken to stop the bleeding and prevent things from getting out of control — was a precursor of what was to come as the Hawks soon lost control of this game. With the shotclock winding down, the Hawks are stuck on the perimeter and the ball is shifted to Wesley Matthews at the last moment to attempt a three, but he can only draw air: Coby White was excellent in the third quarter (scoring 11 points in the third), slicing, dicing and weaving his way through traffic at times in the third, including this play where he finds and creates a gap to finish at the rim in impressive style: With the Hawks now down by double-digits again, the need for a basket is obviously high, but Young cannot make a reply as his three results in an airball: I think Young’s discomfort played a factor here, you can see he wants to use his left hand and go to his left but ends up settling for that three. White would again weave his way through the Hawks’ defense, this time with an excellent spin move to evade Bogdanovic to score at the rim: To cap the run, Murray is blocked at the rim and White again hits the Hawks where it hurts in transition to push the lead to 18 points: By the end of the third, the Bulls had outscored the Hawks 37-25 on 65% shooting. The Hawks nothing left after this point, this punch from the Bulls to end the third proved one too many. While Atlanta eventually found some offense all they could do at best was match the Bulls. The lead never dipped below 15 points from this point forward, only hitting 15 points with a meaningless three at the end of the game. The Hawks have staged a number of dramatic comebacks but didn’t have another one in them when their season needed it most. And when the buzzer sounded after an uninspired fourth quarter sounded to bring the 131-116 game to a close, so too did their season. Postgame, Quin Snyder alluded to the effort the Hawks put into making the initial comeback after the first quarter took a lot of energy out of them, a well which eventually ran dry. “We didn’t start well,” said Snyder postgame. “A lot of times when you’re playing catch-up it takes a lot of energy. When we did cut the lead, at a certain point we just ran out of gas. You want to dig down deep for a playoff game but hats off to Chicago, they played well. Obviously not the result we wanted, but very appreciative for our guys and feel grateful to have an opportunity to coach them and be the coach for the Hawks.” The two teams went on their respective runs, but the Bulls were able to save themselves the energy of having to mount a comeback and were ready to throw another punch against an opponent who was weary after making their run. “The NBA is a game of runs,” said Trae Young. “They made runs and they were beating us pretty bad early. And we came back in the game and made it a game and had a run too. It’s tough when you get down that much, fighting that hard to get back in the game it’s tough to take the lead too. We put ourselves in a tough situation. It’s tough, I feel we had a good chance but they put us in a tough situation and they played really well and shot the lights out.” The Hawks’ gameplan was revealed after the game, and it involved doubling DeMar DeRozan/getting the ball out of his hands and test others to make shots. DeRozan finished with 22 points 10-of-19 shooting from the field “DeMar started making shots and you’re game-planning to get the ball out of his hands if it’s appropriate,” said Snyder. “We did a bunch of different things, eventually Dosunmu and Coby White in pick-and-roll, a number of things challenged us.” Dejounte Murray spoke to the gameplan postgame, but didn’t exactly appear to endorse it, and also spoke to the pride of guarding his man in the NBA. “I guess the gameplan was they wanted to double DeMar, so you as players respect your coaches and you follow the gameplan and that was the gameplan,” said Murray. “You see who has doubling DeMar and they gave other guys confidence. I wish they would have missed shots, I wish they didn’t gain confidence this game, but it’s the NBA. They work hard. They’re here for a reason. We’re doubling one of their teammates all game, so it’s up to them to make or miss shots, and they made shots.” The Bulls did the majority of their work inside the paint, scoring 72 points in the paint with White scoring 24 of his 42 in the paint. It was very easy for the Bulls to get inside, not just in the halfcourt but in transition too, where the Bulls scored 19 points. “I thought our offense hurt our defense at times, they were really good in transition when they made their runs,” said Snyder. “That’s a hard one to quote-unquote gameplan against. Any time you commit two to the ball it puts you in positions where you have to closeout and people are driving you, that was a consistent theme. If you don’t do that, you saw Coby White getting into the lane. A lot of things we can pick apart that we can do better, but bottom line is we had a group that competed and went through a lot together. Hopefully that will make us better going forward.” The Bulls combined this efficiency (57% from the field) by shooting 42% from three, whereas the Hawks shot 30% from three on 37 attempts. Bogdanovic struggled with 3-of-10 shooting from distance, while De’Andre Hunter shot 0-of-7 from three. Speaking of Hunter, his consistency is often referred to as an area that needs improvement, as he’s just as likely to follow a 24 point game with a 4-of-14 game than he is with another efficient night. While this season was certainly a step forward in this regard, this was a bad game to shoot 3-of-16 from the field from Hunter — a really tough night shooting the ball that proved costly. Of the other Hawks who struggled, Young’s issues have been highlighted already as he shot 4-of-12 shooting from the field to go with six turnovers, finishing with 22 points and 10 assists. Young was clearly uncomfortable physically but more so mentally playing with the brace — which he removed at halftime. “I wasn’t being as aggressive to start the game, and I had a few turnovers and was thinking about it too much,” said Young of taking off the brace. “My doctors probably won’t be happy with me, I’m just happy I made it through the game. It was frustrating to begin the game, so I took it off to kind of have my mind not even think about it anymore.” The Hawks also got very little from their bench, just 13 points with eight of them coming from Garrison Mathews. It’s not that the Bulls’ bench was much better (18-13), but the Hawks really had nothing outside of Mathews last night off the bench. Fernando, Matthews, and the two minutes of Mouhamed Gueye didn’t move the needle. It again highlights the curious decision involving the ineligible Vit Krejci, who had been a solid rotation member down the stretch. Overall, the Bulls were quite clearly worthy winners — they shot the ball better from the field, from three, their ball movement was superior, they took better care of the ball, they lived on the rim and got greater contributions across the board. Every Chicago starter shot 50% or higher, and all made great contributions across the board. Coby White was obviously fantastic, scoring 42 points on 15-of-21 shooting from the field to go with six assists and zero turnovers. White becomes the latest to go off for a career-night against the Hawks in a season that has featured a number of these outings. The plan to slow DeRozan wasn’t entirely effective, and White’s confidence, as Murray alluded to, grew and grew. You can make the argument that this game would have been even uglier had Caruso been able to feature in the second half. The Hawks obviously had their challenges this season, namely personnel limitations created through injury, and the team had designs at the start of the season higher than crashing out in the Play-In Tournament. “At the beginning of the year we didn’t think we’d be in this position,” said Young. “Injuries made it tough on us, and we were still able to be in this position to give ourselves a chance. We didn’t come out and make enough plays tonight. They were making a lot of plays, Coby got going, Vucevic was playing really well, everybody played really well. You’ve got to tip your hats to them.” Snyder, meanwhile, was proud of his player’s approach in how they handled adversity this season. “You want to grow and try to get better, regardless of what you’re handed,” said Snyder. “Dealing with adversity, embracing it on some level is what you want to do. I thought our guys did that throughout the course of the year. I’m proud of them and their approach.” Now, it’s finished. This injury-ridden season can be put away. There are plenty of takeaways and questions ahead of their offseason — ones that will be surely be posed during exit interviews. But for now, the 2023-24 season is over for the Atlanta Hawks. And for the sake of the health of the roster — those playing and those not playing — perhaps it’s for the best. Until next time... View the full article

David Banks-USA TODAY Sports A bitter end. The Atlanta Hawks were in Chicago on Wednesday night to take on the Bulls in the 9/10 Play-In matchup. The winner of this game will go to Miami on Friday to face the Heat for the 8-seed in the playoffs. Atlanta and Chicago played two weeks ago — and the Hawks won in convincing fashion with the help of the three-ball falling — but with the team being down several key players, they were going to need all the help they could get. Dejounte Murray got the Hawks on the board with his patent mid-range jumper. Down the stretch of the third, the Hawks got cold and the Bulls took advantage, extending their lead back to double digits, and it was up 19 points going into the fourth. The Hawks started off the quarter cold, and they continued just like that for most of the period. The Bulls stayed afloat and were able to come away with the win. Murray finished with 30 points, Young finished with 22 points and 10 assists, and Capela finished with 22 points and 17 rebounds. The Hawks will be back in action next season! View the full article

Dale Zanine-USA TODAY Sports The first of potentially two elimination games. The 10-seed Atlanta Hawks meet the 9-seed Chicago Bulls in the Windy City in a game that will end one of the two teams’ season. Please join in the comments below as you follow along. Where, When, and How to Watch and Listen Location: United Center, Chicago, IL Start Time: 9:30 EDT PM TV: ESPN Radio: Sports Radio 92.9 the Game (WZGC-FM) Streaming: YouTube TV, Hulu + Live TV, fubo View the full article

Dale Zanine-USA TODAY Sports Win or go home. The Hawks will need to fight off elimination twice just to qualify for the postseason — something no 10-seed has yet to do in the current Play-In Tournament format dating back to 2021. The winner will travel to play the loser of the Philadelphia 76ers-Miami Heat 7-seed versus 8-seed game. But the first step will be a matchup with the ninth-seeded Chicago Bulls in the United Center. A Clash of Styles The Bulls play at a deliberate halfcourt pace — 28th in the NBA — something that will be at odds with the Hawks’ fifth-fasted pace in the NBA. Chicago has both a below average offensive rating and defensive rating, but they’ve been among the best clutch performers in the league this season. The Bulls had the second-best clutch net rating in the league in 2023-24 (and the Hawks were unsurprisingly ranked 26th). If the Hawks can speed the game up through the pacey Trae Young, spread the floor, and share the ball, I like their chances. Offense Chicago is built around DeMar DeRozan and his midrange scoring and creation, but guard Coby White has had a breakout season (19 points and five assists per game this season) that may see him take home the Most Improved Player Award. Nikola Vucevic has slowed down in recent seasons, but can still stretch the floor and act as a high post hub. De’Andre Hunter will be tasked with not letting DeRozan getting to his spots around the free throw line. But most important will be containing White and Dosunmu, who have had great success getting to the rim in earlier matchups with the Hawks. My guess is that Wesley Matthews tag teams with Hunter to make life as hard as possible for DeRozan. Defense Alex Caruso remains one of, if not the, toughest on ball defenders in the league, and so Trae Young and Dejounte Murray will need to avoid turning the ball over and giving Chicago easy points the other way. Jevon Carter and Ayo Dosunmu are both versatile perimeter defenders who can provide secondary ball handling if needed. Despite Vucevic’s low mobility and lack of rim protection, the Bulls are first in the league in points in the paint per 100 possessions surrendered. Stylistically, Chicago prefers to go under a lot of screen actions and bring multiple bodies into the paint on drives to make up for that lack of rim protection. Rebounding Atlanta may breathe a sigh of relief if large human being Andre Drummond — who had put on a rebounding clinic to this point in matchups with the Hawks — is ruled out. Both teams are likely to go small if so, with the likes of De’Andre Hunter and DeMar DeRozan battling at the 4-spot. Final Word With Trae Young recently reincorporated into the rotation from a torn ligament in his left pinky finger, Atlanta will have the best player in the game. They have leaned into greater floor spacing units in recent weeks, with Garrison Mathews making a late run to finish inside the top-5 on the three-point accuracy leaderboard. Facing a less mobile Bulls frontcourt, Atlanta will need to drive and kick to great success — like in their sole 2023-24 win over the Bulls on April 1. The Hawks have yet to lose a Play-In game in the three seasons since its introduction in the current format. And despite an injury-riddled season and a lack of faith from NBA pundits, I don’t expect the Hawks to simply lay down in this one. Games from the regular season: Bulls won the season series 2-1 December 26, 2023 — Chicago 118, Atlanta 113 February 12, 2024 — Chicago 136, Atlanta 126 April 1, 2024 — Atlanta 113, Chicago 101 Bulls projected starters: G Coby White G Alex Caruso F Javonte Green F DeMar DeRozan C Nikola Vucevic Bulls projected bench (*listed as questionable): G Jevon Carter G Ayo Dosunmu* W Dalen Terry F Torrey Craig C Andre Drummond* Hawks projected starters: G Trae Young G Dejounte Murray W Bogdan Bogdanovic F De’Andre Hunter C Clint Capela Hawks projected bench: W Garrison Mathews W/F Wesley Matthews C Bruno Fernando Unlikely to play: G Trent Forrest G Kobe Bufkin W AJ Griffin F Mouhamed Gueye Ineligible (two-way contract)/out due to injury: W Vit Krejci (TW) W/F Dylan Windler (TW) W Seth Lundy (TW, ankle injury as well) F Jalen Johnson (ankle) F Saddiq Bey (ACL surgery) C Onyeka Okongwu (toe) Where, When, and How to Watch and Listen Location: United Center, Chicago, IL Start Time: 9:30 EDT PM TV: ESPN Radio: Sports Radio 92.9 the Game (WZGC-FM) Streaming: YouTube TV, Hulu + Live TV, fubo View the full article

Photo by Scott Cunningham/NBAE via Getty Images Dishing out a few regular season awards for the Atlanta Hawks. With the NBA’s regular season coming to a close over the weekend, I thought it would be a fun activity to hand out some awards in order to commemorate some memorable moments and individual player performances for the 2023-24 Atlanta Hawks. Now to be clear, this is no obituary — Atlanta can still secure the 8-seed with two road victories in the Play-In Tournament this week. However, given their status as the Eastern Conference’s 10-seed, and that they’ll be without Jalen Johnson and Onyeka Okongwu for at least the next three, and four weeks, respectively, we shouldn’t have any delusions about the difficulty of the task ahead for Quin Snyder’s squad. As of Monday April 15th, FanDuel gives them the longest odds (+650) to make the Playoffs out of all the Play-In teams, and even if they do manage to emerge from the Play-In Tournament unscathed, they’ll be rewarded with a first-round matchup against the Boston Celtics — the team with the best record and net rating in the NBA this season. However, all that being said, if there’s one thing we’ve learned about the 2023-24 Atlanta Hawks it’s to expect the unexpected. This team has shown us that they have both the mentality and the ability to rise to the occasion when the odds are stacked against them. As unlikely as it might seem, I have a feeling that this team has a surprise or two in store for us before the season is over. Without further ado, let’s hand out some regular season awards for the 2023-24 Atlanta Hawks. Dunk Of The Year Nominee #1: Jalen Johnson Detonates On The New York Knicks (10/27/23) Plays like the ones above are just the tip of the iceberg for Bufkin. I can’t wait to see what he has in store for us in the future. Winner: Nominee #1 - Kobe Bufkin View the full article

Photo by Ron Hoskins/NBAE via Getty Images The Hawks were run out of Indy in a 157-115 demolition. The Atlanta Hawks ended their 2023-24 regular season with a 115-157 drubbing at the hands of the Indiana Pacers at Gainbridge Fieldhouse on Wednesday afternoon. Dejounte Murray led the Hawks with 32 points with Mouhamed Gueye adding 19 points off the Atlanta bench. For the Pacers, Myles Turner led with 31 points, and Pascal Siakam added 28 points. The Hawks entered this game with nothing to play for — their Play-In seed secured — and as such Clint Capela rested ahead of this contest with Bruno Fernando starting at center. The Pacers, meanwhile, needed a victory to secure the 6-seed and an automatic playoff berth. And from minute one\ they ran down the Hawks’ throat, and 8-0 start was a precursor of the result that was to come. The Pacers quickly ran out to a double-digit lead in the first quarter before scoring a whopping 49 first quarter points, extending their lead to 15 points by the end of the first quarter. Myles Turner was fantastic for the hosts in the first quarter, and he utterly destroyed Fernando in the matchup. Fernando has had some good spots at center this season, but he was utterly decimated in this matchup while Turner’s size, athleticism and shooting excelled. Here, Fernando gets too drawn into the paint and leaves the threat of Turner from the outside looming, and so Turner hits the three: Fernando isn’t so much to blame on this next play from Turner, as Murray allowing Tyrese Haliburton to get ahead of him down the floor forces Fernando to go with Haliburton. But on the trail Turner is a deadly threat, and he hits the trailing three here: On a pick-and-pop, Turners rises into his shot before Fernando can get a hand up to contest, and it’s an easy make for Turner: When Fernando wasn’t near the rim/on the floor there was simply no contest for Turner’s height inside: The Hawks made a run in the second quarter to tie the game in the second quarter at 62-62 but a missed free throw from Murray — meaning they never took the lead despite Murray’s 20 points in the second quarter on 8-of-9 shooting. The Pacers then made a 14-0 run to undo everything the Hawks had done to get into the game again. A 39-21 third quarter in favor of the Pacers opened the game up for good as the scoreline completely fell apart in the third quarter, and the Pacers saw the game out from this point forward having weathered the storm in the second quarter and returning the favor before the end of the first half. The Pacers finished with another extremely high-scoring effort against the Hawks, scoring 157 points on 65% from the field, 19 threes on 53% shooting, and they led by as many as 44 points, scoring 80 points in the paint. The Pacers were hot, but the Hawks were considerably poor in certain spots and matchups. And they looked, quite frankly, disinterested in winning this game — again, their seeding already set with nothing to play for in the grand scheme of seeding. Postgame, Hawks head coach Quin Snyder commented on the difficulties involved with playing the Pacers (the Hawks finished 0-4 against the Pacers, including two games conceding 150 or more points), as well alluding to the fact that this game simply did not matter in the grand scheme of things. “It’s more what Indiana is doing.” said Snyder postgame. “We’ve played about five different pick-and-roll coverages against them, usually it’s in transition when you have to score. There was a point where I thought we showed some resilience in the first half where we cut the lead, and we were the game at that point. In the beginning of the third it blew up. They obviously shot the ball well tonight.” “To the extent that it’s a game you have to put behind you, there isn’t time to look at it, analyze it and you need to move forward immediately because we play Chicago on Wednesday,” he continued. “What I’d like to take from the game, if there’s something we can take, would be the fact that we were down the way we were early and we were able to get back in the game. We were out of the game quickly thereafter, but whatever adversity you’re going to face that’s what the playoffs are about. They’re about handling and dealing with adversity, playing through it and giving yourself a chance.” Snyder would reaffirm this stance on a couple of occasions in his postgame comments, alluding to the seeding the Hawks faced as well as the unpredictability the Pacers play with. “This is not a game that, in my mind, is a teaching game,” said Snyder. “I’m not saying you don’t always look at certain things and try to take things with you, but in a lot of respects the way that they play is hard to simulate.” Something that was noteworthy from this game was the fact Trae Young became the franchise leader in assists as he registered 12 assists on the night to take his tally beyond 3,867 assists, eclipsing the long-standing record belonging to Glenn ‘Doc’ Rivers. Now, this did come with eight turnovers on the night, but on a night where we’re talking about things not mattering in the grand scheme of things, those eight turnovers won’t matter given the night that was in it. It’s a remarkable achievement at age 25, and Young deserves a lot of credit for this achievement. With the extended garbage time that this game eventually offered, there were extended runs for the likes of Gueye (who showed flashes) as well as A.J. Griffin, who shot 4-of-14 in a tough outing as he concludes a bitterly disappointing — and confusing — sophomore season after a promising rookie campaign. His summer and his road ahead will be an interesting point of development. There is little else to note from this game that is worth taking away — to which as Snyder alluded. It was a throwaway game against a team in Indiana who needed to pick up a victory, and they did so with ease in the end. For the Hawks, their destiny is the same as it was arguably two months ago: a play-in game against the Bulls. And it’s here wherein the focus lies for the Hawks. “As I said, I think the important thing for us is to focus on Chicago,” said Snyder. “Obviously you’re disappointed when you end the season on a note like this, but the season isn’t over. Both can be true.” The Hawks finish the regular season with a 36-46 record and lock themselves into the 10-seed and set up a Play-In contest with the Chicago Bulls (39-43) in Chicago on Wednesday night in a ‘win or go home’ contest. Until next time... View the full article

Photo by Michael Hickey/Getty Images The Atlanta Hawks and Indiana Pacers faced off in the final game of the season for both teams. While the Hawks remained locked into the 10 seed regardless of outcome, the Pacers were playing to win in hopes of avoiding the play-in tournament. The Pacers started out on a 8-0 run before the Hawks called their first timeout. The run extended to 21-6 before Bogdanovic put an end to the bleeding with a triple. Mo Gueye entered the game after, and went on to score 10 points in the quarter. However, the Pacers scored at will similarly to the last matchup in Gainbridge Fieldhouse, leading 49-34 at half. Kobe Bufkin entered the game for the first time in the middle of the fourth, and immediately drained a midrange. The Pacers crossed 150 points for the third time against the Hawks this season, and continued to add on. The game ended with a final score of 157-115. View the full article

Jesse Johnson-USA TODAY Sports 82 of 82. The Atlanta Hawks (36-45) close their regular season campaign with a game against the Indiana Pacers (46-35). Please join in the comments below as you follow along. Where, When, and How to Watch and Listen Location: Gainbridge Fieldhouse, Indiana, IN Start Time: 1:00 EDT PM TV: Bally Sports Southeast (BSSE) Radio: Sports Radio 92.9 the Game (WZGC-FM) Streaming: Bally Sports+, The Bally Sports app, and BallySports.com View the full article

Jesse Johnson-USA TODAY Sports The kids are alright. The Hawks came into this contest with their postseason fate having already been sealed. Atlanta will finish with the 10th-best record in the Eastern Conference, and they will have to travel to the 9-seed Chicago Bulls to stave off elimination next week. For that reason (and especially following a double-overtime game against the Miami Heat this past Tuesday), Quin Snyder has opted to forgo fighting for every win. Instead, he rested his taxed starters in the fourth quarter Friday night in advance of the game on the horizon that really matters. So while the Hawks showed a ton of fight through three quarters and change, their 109-106 loss to the Minnesota Timberwolves — who were scrapping and clawing for the 1-seed in the Western Conference the entire way — is a positive takeaway in a season full of negatives. In fact, Atlanta needed to overcome a rough shooting first half and a second half 17-point deficit to even make it a game. Trae Young played in his second game back from a lengthy absence, and his first with Dejounte Murray, after a ligament tear in his left pinky finger. He put together another efficient game in just 27 minutes of play: 19 points and seven assists against just two turnovers. No doubt Trae Young can still lead fastbreaks with the best of them. Bufkin finished with six points and three rebounds, all in the fourth quarter, and Gueye chipped in two points and five rebounds. Ultimately the Hawks couldn’t quite claim victory. But the loss was immaterial to the standings, and so the bigger aim was getting the young players a taste of crunch time in the NBA. “They put in the same work that we put in in practice,” said Young after the game. “And it’s paying off. Just like my rookie year, my second year. We got a lot of young guys playing a lot of minutes. It’s good experience. That’s the best teacher – experience. It’s good for all the guys. Especially all the rookies.” Atlanta played solidly all game long, even if the scoreboard didn’t show it after the first half. They created good opportunities on offense, but were beset by 1-for-11 (9%) shooting from three and 10-for-16 (63%) shooting from the free throw line in that half leading to a nine-point deficit. But they continued to plug away — not letting the shooting discourage them — and as a result they had tied the game up by the end of the third quarter. “We were 1-for-11 from three at halftime,” continued Snyder. “And the message is ‘keep shooting’ because we need to get more attempts. And then sometimes those things even out. And it did. We missed some free throws too. When you hang in those games, it doesn’t always happen. They came out in the third quarter and just went ‘bam, bam, bam.’ And we weren’t horrible, but we needed to be better. And our guys responded. They started missing a few and we were able to capitalize.” This game will go down in the record books as a loss, but the promise shown from both the starters and the young bench players against such a difficult foe was a win in of itself. And in a season like this, silver linings are the best currency. Atlanta finishes their regular season at the Indiana Pacers on Sunday. View the full article

Jesse Johnson-USA TODAY Sports A good fight shown by the young Hawks. The Hawks and Timberwolves faced off in the second to last regular season game for each side this season. Atlanta welcomed back the Trae Young-Dejounte Murray backcourt for only the second time since the All-Star Break. It was a hot start for both teams offensively, as Karl-Anthony Towns was looking to hit the ground running in his first game after a long layoff for Minnesota. Atlanta took an early lead lead by the star backcourt in the early portion of the first quarter. But once both teams inserted their respective bench units, the Timberwolves were able to claw back to even at 20-20 with three minutes left in the period. Mouhamed Gueye got some early run in his second game back from injury woes, with this cut and reception from a Bruno Fernando pass for two. But Minnesota hit just enough free throws and got just enough stops to put away the young reserves of Atlanta in this one, 109-106. Trae Young scored 19 points to go along with seven assists in just 27 minutes of play. The Hawks will conclude their season in Indiana on Sunday. View the full article

Brett Davis-USA TODAY Sports A tough Western Conference foe. The Atlanta Hawks (36-44) play their penultimate regular season game against a great Minnesota Timberwolves squad (55-25). Please join in the comments below as you follow along. Where, When, and How to Watch and Listen Location: Target Center, Minneapolis, MN Start Time: 8:00 EST PM TV: Peachtree TV (WPCH), Atlanta News First (WANF) Radio: Sports Radio 92.9 the Game (WZGC-FM), SiriusXM Streaming: NBA League Pass (out of market) View the full article