Casual Lessons Ep. 1: Atlanta Hawks

If you didn’t read my last Boston article “Things to Know”, which you should go do right now, then let me catch you up on some future plans for some articles. It occurred to me that a good portion of people who read the site don’t have as much extensive basketball knowledge as I do. In that article, I talked about some things to know about the Celtics this season. I figured, if I wanted to teach basketball, I should do that type of article for every team, just to help the more casual fans learn the game some more. Not only that, but I plan on doing it for a bunch of the most notable players, too. Here we go.

The Atlanta Hawks are one of the youngest teams in the league, with Trae Young leading the way. Young is a point guard who went to Oklahoma and is in his second year in the league - he’s absolutely lighting it up. If you haven’t yet, I highly recommend looking up some of his highlights from this season on YouTube. He has the talent to be an All-Star this year, and the talent to back it up, averaging around 26 points a game. On top of this, the Hawks have a great young core to back him up. Kevin Huerter is another second year player who went to Maryland, and is a shooting guard who’s looking to become a good 3-point shooter for the team. Then there’s third-year player John Collins, a power forward who went to Wake Forest and is a solid offensive player in the post. He’s suspended right now, but once he comes back the Hawks could make a playoff run. Finally, there’s rookies DeAndre Hunter, Cam Reddish, and Bruno Fernando.

Trae Young

DeAndre Hunter was the fourth overall pick in the draft last year, and he specializes in perimeter defense and 3-point shooting. He won a National Championship at Virginia last year, and the Hawks drafted him because they knew he’d be able to contribute right away to a team they believe is ready to push for a low playoff see. Cam Reddish is a wing out of Duke, who was also a lottery pick in this past draft. Some people say he has one of the smoothest jump shots they’ve ever seen. Lastly, Bruno Fernando is a center who went to Maryland last season. He isn’t as polished a prospect as the other two rookies, but he sees some playing time, especially with Collins out.

Cam Reddish (Left) and DeAndre Hunter (Right)

As for the organization as a whole, the Hawks have been bad for a few seasons now. In the mid-2000s they were a playoff team pretty much every year. They had a core of Al Horford, Paul Millsap, Joe Johnson, and Kyle Korver. When these guys started to get older, the team decided it was time to move on and trade them all. They got good assets for each one and transitioned to a rebuilding state. They made great draft picks with the guys I mentioned earlier, and everything is looking up for the franchise.

Al Horford

If I had to guess, the Hawks will probably just miss the playoffs again this season. I think they have a chance as long as Trae Young keeps up the pace and Collins plays well after his suspension, but in the long run I don’t think it’ll be enough. There are too many talented teams, even in the Eastern Conference. I predict they’ll finish around the 11 seed in the East, get another good draft pick, and then make a solid playoff push next year.

Trae Young (Left) and John Collins (Right)