REHawksFan

Not sure what thread this fits best in, but it's about injuries so....... https://theathletic.com/2543848/2021/04/26/hawks-soar-despite-slew-of-injuries-sizing-up-pistons-rookie-killian-hayes-hollingers-week-that-was/ By John Hollinger Apr 26, 2021 32 Every NBA season, we have surprise teams and disappointing teams, but here’s the thing: Usually you can look at one chart and tell quickly which teams will be in which camp. That chart is called “games lost to injury,” and it’s especially true once you combine it with the quality of the absent players. For instance, Phoenix’s surprise ascension in the West is perhaps less surprising when one considers the Suns’ lack of significant absences this season; ditto for teams such as Utah and San Antonio. Meanwhile, the Lakers’ plummet to the fifth seed in the West can rather obviously be laid at the feet of two hugely significant injuries, and a combination of repeated absences and shaky depth also has helped stymie last year’s Eastern Conference finalists, Boston and Miami. And then there are the Atlanta Hawks. By all rights, they should be deeply locked into the “disappointments” bin by now. Atlanta went 20-47 last season and has arguably had the biggest injury burden of any team in the NBA; moreover, the Hawks didn’t enter the season as a team that seemed to have the terrifying depth to make up for it. Instead, the Hawks keep shrugging off injuries (the latest to All-Star guard Trae Young) and winning. Sunday night’s rousing comeback win over Milwaukee, which featured Bogdan Bogdanovic and Lou Williams taking turns raining 3-point bombs on the Bucks during a 41-point fourth-quarter eruption, was Atlanta’s 20th in its last 27 games. In other words, the Hawks have gone from 20-47 last season to 20-7 since a midseason coaching change put Nate McMillan on the sideline. They are tied for fourth in the Eastern Conference and project to finish with home-court advantage for the first round of the playoffs. This isn’t some fluke borne out of eking out close wins either: Atlanta has the NBA’s ninth-best point differential. In a recently upside-down NBA where the Knicks and Wizards are a combined 16-0 since April 11 (no, seriously), the long-term significance of the Hawks’ surge isn’t getting enough attention. If they can be this good while being this injured, what might Atlanta accomplish with a full roster? I’m not sure the Hawks’ injuries this season have received enough attention. Based on this chart by mangameslost.com, the Hawks’ injury burden has been the most significant of any team except Brooklyn’s. This one accounts for quality as well as quantity, so that losing a two-way player for the season doesn’t really matter but losing, say, James Harden or Kevin Durant does. Usually, a team so dented by injuries will land much farther down in the standings, especially if it doesn’t have overwhelming top-end talent (hi, Brooklyn) to offset it. Nonetheless, Atlanta has emerged even though every relevant player except Kevin Huerter (who somehow has played all 61 games despite weighing four ounces) has missed at least seven games. Young, out with an ankle sprain, has missed seven, and amazingly the Hawks are 5-2 in those games. Historically, Atlanta’s offense has cratered with Young off the court, but since acquiring Williams, that’s no longer been the case: Atlanta’s offensive rating has been a survivable 112.2 points per 100 possessions in the 14 games with Williams. Free agency was supposed to vault Atlanta toward the playoffs this season, but Atlanta’s prized offseason acquisitions were particularly hard hit. Bogdanovic has missed 25 games with an avulsion fracture in his right knee. Danilo Gallinari has missed 20 games over two different stretches. Tony Snell wasn’t supposed to play, got pressed into service as a starter and then went out again, missing the last seven games. Lottery pick Onyeka Okongwu had a broken foot and missed the first 10 games; without any training camp, he didn’t get into the regular mix until late March. Finally, remember Kris Dunn? He still hasn’t played a minute. That’s not all. The two lottery picks from 2019, De’Andre Hunter and Cam Reddish, have played just 46 games combined. Reddish wasn’t helping much, but Hunter was arguably the league’s most improved player over the first 20 games, and his potential return could give this team yet another boost. Young, John Collins and Clint Capela — Atlanta’s triumvirate of elite talent — have combined to miss another 24 contests. So injured have the Hawks been at the forward spots that veteran Solomon Hill — originally signed to a non-guaranteed minimum as an end-of-the-bench guy — has played all but one game and started 12 of them. My point in regaling you with all of Atlanta’s injury woes is to make the related point that the full-strength version of this team looks strong. Maybe not strong enough to threaten the three kingpins in the East, but not that far away. A starting five of Young, Bogdanovic, Hunter, Collins and Capela seems unguardable, especially if “Bombdan” keeps shooting 99.9 percent on 3s. Alas, that quintet started one game together, sharing the court for a total of seven minutes before Bogdanovic hurt his knee. The second group of Williams, Huerter, Gallinari and Okonwgu seems equally potent, especially at the offensive end. Throwing a defensive stopper like Dunn into that mix offsets the team’s biggest weakness, perimeter D. (Atlanta is still just 22nd in defensive efficiency). Carrying a top 10 like that into a playoff series, while having assorted Snells, Reddishes and Hills around in reserve, makes Atlanta a scary opponent for anyone. It also makes the Hawks a likely permanent resident in the East playoff picture. Look at the birth certificates on this roster: Young and Huerter are 22, Collins and Hunter are 23, Capela is 26 and Bogdanovic 28. Look deeper, and it’s more of the same: Okonwngu is 20, Reddish 21 and tantalizing two-way Nathan Knight is 23. Dunn, should he ever play in a game, is 26. Yes, there are questions about his roster, but they’re mostly the good kind of questions. Re-signing Collins, for instance, could present a tough offseason decision, but the Hawks have kept their books clean even after this summer’s free agency spree, and Collins has demonstrated he can coexist with Capela. Building an elite defense around Young will be a challenge, but historically that’s more easily done than finding a pick-and-roll maestro to run the offense. We haven’t even talked about trades, but the Hawks have kept all their draft equity and could easily throw picks and contracts into a deal to get another star this offseason. The Hawks are 20-7 with an impressive plus-5.4 margin since McMillan took over, and it seems inevitable he’ll be retained on a longer team deal. As good as he’s been in churning out regular-season wins over his career, his playoff history has been … rocky. But the mere fact we’re looking at this is a huge win; going from 20-47 to 20-7 is a massive U-turn. One also can strongly argue McMillan has been at a talent deficit in virtually every playoff series he’s coached. All in all, this is the most optimistic time to be a Hawks fan since the 2015 Eastern Conference finals. The injuries, to an extent, have masked just how successful this season has been and how bright the future now looks for the Hawks.

I've griped and complained about how long it takes our guys to be cleared to play but I'm not sure how Chelsea is supposed to prevent the injuries.

What on earth are you talking about?

No offense dude but you got no clue what you are talking about

I see a lot of standing around watching on offense. A lot of dribbling and a late clock jumper. Detroit is pressing Bogie and he can't feed the bigs cuz he's not a pg but they can't get their own offense either. Goodwin isn't good enough but he's the only option to facilitate. Gonna take another huge individual effort or a piston collapse to win.

It would help if they had their star pg to run the show

And Trae is to the starters

7 ast / 8 tos so far. No bueno.

Goodwin just isn't a guy that I'm comfortable giving regular minutes to.

Flu-like symptoms aka got some funky wangs from Magic City

I don't bet on sports so it wasn't me, but $10K to win $500,000 is a bet I'd probably make if I did bet on sports. I don't see any dominant team in the east that just can't be beat. If the Hawks are healthy, I'd take a chance for sure if I was a bettor. Now I wouldn't touch the NBA Title bet cuz there's 4 or 5 teams in the West I don't think the Hawks could beat. But I think they have a fighting chance at the east IF HEALTHY.

Somebody in the the Big D is gonna be mega mad.

Guessing Solo

That's a little strong. I'm not really buying the Knicks as a potential NBA finals or even EC finals team. I agree they are the worst matchup for the Hawks out of the potential matchups, but that's just because we have no one that can check Randle consistently. With that said, IF you tell me the Hawks are reasonably healthy (not even including Hunter or Dunn), I'll take my chances with anyone in the East. Hawks can beat boston, miami, nyk, charlotte, and even bucks if they are healthy. That's my story and I'm sticking too it.

And to be clear, I think Capela has lifted the entire team's defense. SOME of Trae's improvement is most assuredly due to the team getting better. But SOME of the team getting better is also attributable to Trae no longer being an extreme liability too. It's both and. I just cringe when I see people claim that all of Trae's improvement is team based, and we have those here that do so because they really hate Trae for whatever reason.

I have a significant issue with this type of take because it lends itself to just say any progress Trae makes is team driven while still making the claim that he's a horrible defender. It's the perfect hater argument (not saying you are a hater though) because it gives all credit for improvement to others and still allows the hater to claim Trae is the worst. The reality is, if Trae is the worst defender in the NBA (or one of them) as purported by some on this board, then he would be dragging the other defenders down rather than them propping Trae up. Unless he's surrounded by elite defenders all the time, it just doesn't make sense that he's as bad as some claim while the team defense even with him on the court is solid.

If that's true how does he have the 3rd highest net rating on the team for the season at +4.5?

I've long questioned defensive stats for individual players as defense in general is so incredibly dependent on the TEAM. So I certainly think SOME of the improvement for Trae is the overall team defense improving. That said, he's DEFINITELY improved defensively. Those saying he hasn't are just hating. He gives better effort, plays passing lanes, gets steals and deflections, and has pretty active hands for the most part. We don't see nearly as much spectating since Nate took over. I wasn't able to find the DRPM number since Nate took over, but NBA.com does have Defensive Win Shares and Trae ranks 166th out of 500 players since March 1 when Nate took over. Even if you sort the data on a per game basis, he ranks 239 out of 500. So yeah, Trae has definitely improved on defense.

The change from LP to Nate has seemingly given everyone what they wanted.... 1. Trae is more under control and less dominant 2. The offense spreads the ball more 3. There's more of a TEAM concept 4. The Hawks have the best record in the East The move SHOULD ha e made everyone happy. Instead certain people have used it to further denigrate Trae. The Hawks ain't better without Trae. Enough with the idiocy.

I guess if you call top 6 in NBA since Nate took over "horrible" then sure. You keep making yourself look foolish.

Proof positive that haters are here too. Your take isn't rational. It's idiotic.

Apparently this place is no better with that sentiment.

Wow. Wow. Wow. This team is special.

Hellz yeah. Sweet Lou comin thru in the 4th. Still gotta play D!!!

They can win this game if they keep playing defense like this once Giannis comes back.