The Atlanta Hawks are not participating in the NBA restart at Disney World, although they actually wanted to take the next step this season. The season 19/20 clearly showed what was missing. Can you fill all the gaps now?
Before the season started, Atlanta had the right to orientate itself further after a good second half of the 2018/19 season and was now at least one of the 22 teams that are still playing for the title in Disney World. Nothing came of it, however, Atlanta even won just one more win than the ambitious Cavs (20-47).
The reasons for that are complex. Although Trae Young took the next step and became an all-star for the first time with outstanding individual figures, his designated co-star John Collins directly missed 25 games due to substance abuse. The Hawks could not compensate for this at any time, also because they let several veterans go without replacement in the summer.
The Hawks played for a long time with no established center, no backup for Young and no experience on the grand piano (rookies De’Andre Hunter and Cam Reddish played most minutes alongside Young and Kevin Huerter) – so it didn’t fit in the back and in the front. Atlanta finished 26th in the offensive and 28th in the defensive rating.
During the season, attempts were made to correct some of these problems. The Hawks, Clint Capela (still without an assignment) and Dewayne Dedmon, got two real centers in February, and Jeff Teague, an old friend who was supposed to represent Young, returned.
The cavalry came too late for head coach Lloyd Pierce to reverse the trend and at least catch up with Washington (24 wins). Due to the early end due to the corona virus, legend Vince Carter did not really get the proper farewell and had to officially end his career via podcast.