It’s been a frenetic start to the 2025-26 season for the Atlanta Hawks.
Atlanta opened the season with a blowout loss at home against the Toronto Raptors – a performance deemed as “embarrassing” by Trae Young postgame. They bounced back a couple nights later, notching an impressive comeback victory over the Orlando Magic (who have stumbled out of the gates as well with their record sitting at 1-4), then lost their next two games – a 17-point home defeat to the defending champions, Oklahoma City (6-0), and a heartbreaker on the road against a plucky Chicago Bulls team (4-0)*.
*Team records are accurate prior to the five-game Thursday night slate.
On Wednesday night, they got back on track, beating the hapless Brooklyn Nets (0-5) on the road in a game that was a little too close for comfort given the opponent – though they were without Trae Young for the majority of the contest, who exited the game early with a knee injury after a frightening collision with Mouhamed Gueye in the first quarter. Head coach Quin Snyder said postgame that the injury “wasn’t [Young’s] ACL”. The four-time All Star was scheduled to have an MRI yesterday, and there’s no timetable on his return.
With their record standing at 2-3, the Hawks are scoring 1.11 points per possession on offense (a bottom 10 mark) and are conceding 1.18 points-per-possession on defense (also a bottom 10 mark). While these numbers carry little meaning this early on in the season, it is worth noting that the Hawks have already been dealing with injury trouble thus far.
Kristaps Porzingis and Zaccharie Risacher both missed the Orlando game. Jalen Johnson joined them on the injury report against Oklahoma City. All three players have since returned to the lineup, suiting up in the last two games against Chicago and Brooklyn. However now the team will be without Trae Young for a period of time as he recovers from a knee injury.
Injuries were a concern for this team going into the season, and unfortunately the first five games have done nothing to allay those anxieties.
The Hawks will finish out their road trip against Indiana (NBA Cup game) and Cleveland, before returning to Atlanta for a three-game home stand against Orlando, Toronto and Los Angeles (purple and gold).
After five games, here are a few Hawks topics that are top of mind for me on this Halloween Friday.
When Atlanta acquired Kristaps Porzingis, they knew they were not only getting one of the league’s premier three-point shooting big men, but also one of the best post scorers in the NBA. Over the past two seasons, Porzingis has scored 1.25 points per post up possession – the no. 1 mark amongst players who averaged at least two post ups per game over this span.
After he logged just one field goal attempt out of the post in the season opener, the Hawks have done a better job of utilizing Porzingis’ size down low in their last two games, and I’d expect possessions like these to become a bigger part of Atlanta’s offense as the team grows more comfortable playing with each other.
While Porzingis can score over stronger, taller defenders, he thrives when mismatched against non-centers, utilizing his enormous 7’2” frame to shoot over the top of them. His first two field goal attempts out of the post this season (both misses) came when he was matched up against Jakob Poetl and Nikola Vucevic.
Since then, the Hawks have done a better job of getting him matched up against smaller players. In the play below from their game against Chicago, Porzingis gets the switch onto Josh Giddey and goes straight to work.
Early in the second quarter, Porzingis is matched up against Okoro at the elbow and the outcome is similar.
In the fourth quarter, Porzingis finds Okoro on him again and he muscles his way through for the score (a more generous referee may have even given him an and-one).
Against Brooklyn, going head to head against our old Hawks pal Terance Mann, Porzingis finds the bottom of the net once again.
Porzingis also flashed his passing ability from these positions against Brooklyn – with three out of his seven assists on the night coming out of the post.
Atlanta will be in need of reliable sources of offense for however long Trae Young is sidelined for. Exploiting Porzingis’ ability to score over smaller defenders is a safe bet to put pressure on defenses.
Jalen Johnson’s Supreme Finishing Ability
News flash: Jalen Johnson is a stud (you heard it here first!), and it’s been great to see him back on the court and up to his usual tricks this season. Appearing in four out of Atlanta’s first five games, Johnson is averaging 20.5 points on 59% true shooting to go along with 7 rebounds, 4.3 assists and 1.5 steals for good measure.
One aspect of Johnson’s offensive game that’s really stood out for me this season is his improved confidence scoring from inside the arc. So far, Johnson is shooting 23-for-30 (76.7%) at the rim*, the third best mark amongst players who have taken at least 30 rim attempts this season (only Giannis and Wemby have been more efficient). He’s also shot 7-for-15 (46.7%) from floater distance**. Now it’s still early, and there’s still plenty of time for these numbers to truly take shape, but even so, Johnson’s short-range finishing has been really impressive thus far.
*Up from 72.2% last season
**Up from 37.2% last season
Always a menace in transition, his grab-and-go game has been a positive this season.
He’s also done a good job using his physicality in the half-court.
A dangerous roll man, he’s thrived in these situations as well.
It hasn’t all been rosy for Johnson. His defense needs to be better. He’s also shot just 1-for-8 from three-point distance. Still, it’s great to see the shoulder injury Johnson suffered last season hasn’t negatively impacted his finishing ability. It will be interesting to see if he can sustain his efficiency from the interior as the season goes on.
Who Steps Up With Young Sidelined?
The Hawks have yet to release an update on the knee injury Trae Young suffered against the Brooklyn Nets on Wednesday night, though based on how it looked, I’d be surprised to see Young suit up in tonight’s contest against the Indiana Pacers. Regardless of how long Young is sidelined for, Atlanta is going to need everyone on the roster to step up on offense in his absence.
Through five games, the Hawks have a 116.2 offensive rating with Young on the court relative to an ugly 106 offensive rating with him on the bench. His importance on offense is undeniable – as it has been throughout his entire career. So where can Atlanta turn with their star point guard on the sidelines*?
*Anywhere but Ben Simmons is one correct answer, but we’ll carry on
I’d expect Nickeil Alexander-Walker to replace Young in the starting lineup, and for Atlanta to use a committee of ‘NAW’, Dyson Daniels and Jalen Johnson to shoulder the ball handling duties in the starting unit. All three players can be a little turnover prone but are all good passers capable of initiating the offense.
We also do seem set for an increased dose of Keaton Wallace going forward. Wallace is a second-year pro who has had some nice moments in his brief NBA career. He’s averaged around 10 minutes per game this season and has played in all five of Atlanta’s games – primarily serving as the second-unit point guard when Young is on the bench.
I like Wallace as a player — he generally makes good decisions and will always give 100% effort. He is also a favorite of Quin Snyder. However, given that his skill set leans more towards the defensive end than the offensive end, I’d be surprised if we see him out there for more than 20 minutes a night with Young out (and even that could be pushing it).
Fan favorite, Vit Krejci, is a player who could be called upon to help buoy the offense in Young’s stead – and is my preferred candidate (over Keaton) for increased minutes. The 6’8” Czechia native has made just two appearances this season, but he is a serviceable ball handler and a wildly understated passer who shoots 40+% from three (43.1% since the 2023-24 season). Krejci is more than capable of giving Atlanta’s offense a lift if he is called upon.
Another candidate for increased ball handling duties is Luke Kennard. Kennard has averaged just over 24 minutes of action a night this season and finally got going as a scorer against Brooklyn – pouring in 17 points on 5-for-8 shooting (4-for-5 from three), but he is also a fine ball handler who has averaged 3.5 assists per 36 minutes for his career. While I’d prefer for the Hawks to keep Kennard in his current role as a secondary ball-handler (I like the scoring punch he brings in an off-ball role), I wouldn’t be surprised to see him bringing the ball up some more with Young on the sidelines.
These are all internal solutions for a reason, and I don’t expect Atlanta to peruse the free agent scrapheap* for guards unless Young’s injury turns out to be serious.
*Names like Cam Payne, Markelle Fultz and Dennis Smith Jr. come to mind.
End of Quarter Heaves (metaphorically)
It’s early so the following numbers should be taken with a grain of salt, but here are a few more stats that caught my eye I wanted to share…
- Atlanta’s starting lineup of Trae Young, Dyson Daniels, Zaccharie Risacher, Jalen Johnson and Kristaps Porzingis have played at a ferocious pace of 118.7 in their 24 minutes on the court together – the fastest pace of any five-man lineup this season (min. 15 minutes played)
- The Hawks defense has not been great to start the year. In particular they’ve struggled to contain their opponents on the offensive glass and on the interior, allowing the third most second-chance points per game and the second most points in the paint per game this season.
- The Hawks rank in the bottom five in both offensive and defensive rebounding percentage.
- Atlanta ranks just 21st in three-point attempt rate this season, but the breakdown of their three-point shots has been interesting. They rank third in corner three frequency (the second-most efficient shot in basketball after a layup), taking 11.4 attempts per game. They also rank 28th in above-the-break three frequency, taking 22.4 attempts per game. Clearly, the Hawks are making an effort to generate corner threes and eschew (relatively) above-the-break threes. My guess is this has something to do with the transition defense, but nonetheless, I’m curious to see if this trend continues.
- Dyson Daniels and Jalen Johnson have played in all but one game this season (Johnson missed the Oklahoma City game), yet the pair have combined to knock down just two three-pointers in five games and are shooting a combined 2-for-11 (18%) from deep. Long term, this number has to improve.
- Atlanta’s 12.3% turnover percentage is a significant improvement from last season, and is a mark which ranks second in the league at this early stage of the season. Can they maintain this with Young sidelined? We will find out.
