Back in September at Hawks media day, coach Quin Snyder said the team would need patience and urgency when incorporating the new players.
Six months later, the team looks much different from the one the Hawks began the season with. But the messaging remains even more true.
The Hawks shifted directions in January when they dealt Trae Young to the Wizards in exchange for CJ McCollum and Corey Kispert. They pivoted and moved Vit Krejci to the Trail Blazers for second-round picks. They swapped Luke Kennard for Gabe Vincent in a deal with the Lakers and acquired Jonathan Kuminga and Buddy Hield from the Warriors for Kristaps Porzingis.
They also acquired Jock Landale from the Jazz via the Grizzlies and added Christian Koloko to a two-way contract.
All seven of the Hawks’ new faces have contributed to the team’s success following the All-Star break in February. The Hawks have posted the best record (17-3) in the Eastern Conference since Feb. 19, and at 43-33, they are in sixth place. They have also positioned themselves to potentially escape the Play-In tournament doldrums that have plagued them the last four years.
“I think everybody’s just coming in with the same mindset and message — just protect home court,” Hawks forward Jalen Johnson said when asked about the team winning 13 consecutive games at home. “So, think we did a great job of doing that. Our fans have made it 10 times better. So we just got to continue to do that. Focus on one game at a time.”
In focusing on one game at a time, the Hawks have adjusted to the roles they each need to play. While some have downplayed the team’s strength of schedule after the All-Star break, it allowed the Hawks the flexibility to settle into how they wanted to play.
They moved McCollum into the starting lineup after the veteran, along with Nickeil Alexander-Walker, Dyson Daniels, Johnson and Onyeka Okongwu, had one of the best net ratings in the league.
McCollum has become a stabilizing offensive presence, providing them with jolts of scoring when the offense ran stagnant.
Alexander-Walker and Johnson have developed into key players in the closing minutes. Both took leaps in their outside shooting, as well as their abilities to create.
Daniels, along with Alexander-Walker, has set the tone for the Hawks’ defense. He’s also given the Hawks plenty of effort on the glass, allowing them to gain extra possessions.
Okongwu’s confidence behind the 3-point line has allowed the Hawks to gain optimal spacing on the floor, and he has provided a big body down low that has created an opening for Johnson, Daniels and others to win on the glass.
“When you space early before you’re open, you just space to space, and then you’re available,” Snyder said following Monday’s win over the Celtics. “(Okongwu) did a good job of that. The last time we played Boston, I think, we hadn’t been as disciplined with the way we spaced on the floor. We’ve got a foot inside the line, two guys cutting, and just not having enough awareness on that. Onyeka was ready to shoot.”
The Hawks want to play fast, and to do that, they need to have a cohesive defense that finishes possessions with stops, then gets out and runs. Since the All-Star break, the Hawks have been the second-best defense in the league, trailing only the Thunder.
To make it work, the Hawks have tried to stagger Alexander-Walker and Daniels’ minutes. It allows for the Hawks to have at least one of their elite defenders on the floor at all times, all while they’ve seen an uptick in defensive production with Vincent, Zaccharie Risacher and Mouhamed Gueye on the floor.
“It takes time to build chemistry,” Okongwu said. “We’ve got a bunch of guys here who are willing to work at things and play basketball the right way. I’m proud of that surge we’ve got right now. We’ve got to keep it going until the end of the season.”
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