Revisiting the 5 keys to the Hawks’ season

One thing the Hawks have been able to count on this season is their resilience.

The Hawks have had a road-heavy start to the season, which has included 15 of their first 25 games away from State Farm Arena.

But they’ve played through the grind of an NBA travel schedule, posting one of the best road records (10-5) in the NBA.

The Hawks still have a lot to work through, though. At 14-11, they are tied with the Heat and Cavaliers in what would be considered the Play-In Standings.

Luckily for the Hawks, they still have plenty of games to figure things out. They’ll do that while reintegrating guard Trae Young, who has missed the past 20 games with a right MCL sprain.

Here is how the five keys to the season that we offered before the opener have stacked up since that game against the Raptors on Oct. 22.

1. Defense

The Hawks want to play fast on offense. To do that, they’ve tried to lock in on their defense, which has had some ups and downs this season.

For the most part, the Hawks have had one of the top defenses in the league. Earlier in the year, they ranked among the top five defenses in the NBA.

But their inconsistency on the defensive boards has put them in trouble too often despite how much size they added in the offseason.

Per Cleaning the Glass, the Hawks allow their opponents to rebound 30.5%. It never allows them to kill possessions and gives opponents too many opportunities.

2. Rotation depth

The Hawks have continued experimenting with different lineups, especially in the absence of Young. They’ve also gotten the chance to look at different combinations in the frontcourt as they’ve managed the workload of veteran center Kristaps Porzingis.

It’s resulted in the Hawks extending their rotation to as many as 10 players on any given night. So, the Hawks have gotten rookie Asa Newell some key developmental minutes.

The Hawks also have seen Vit Krejci and other players gain more confidence beyond the 3-point line because of the minutes available in the rotation.

The rotation will, of course, change again when Young returns to the lineup. The guard should be re-evaluated sometime this week.

3. Offense clicking

Despite not having Young for much of the season, the Hawks have been efficient from the field. Through 25 games, they have a 56.5% effective field-goal percentage, according to Cleaning the Glass.

The Hawks have struggled to generate opportunities, ranking 16th in the NBA with only 89.6 overall field-goal attempts per game.

The team needed an adjustment period when Young exited the game Oct. 29. But over the past five games, the Hawks have had the sixth-fastest pace in the league and rank third in overall field-goal attempts.

4. Youth

Atlanta has the third youngest team (23.79), behind the Nets (23.4) and the Wizards (23.78). But the Hawks don’t always look like it.

Forward Jalen Johnson, who turns 24 on Dec. 18, has pushed himself into All-Star conversations. He’s taken over running the offense in Young’s absence, putting up career numbers across the board.

Johnson has averaged 23.4 points, 10.4 rebounds and 7.9 assists in 22 games, all while navigating different coverages. He’s taken steps forward as a shooter, knocking down 40.4% of his four 3-point attempts per game.

Like Johnson, Krejci has had a career year from deep, upping his shooting volume by two attempts per game. Krejci has knocked down 45.8% of his 5.6 3-point attempts and has stepped into those shots with confidence.

5. Big-man pairings

This season, the Hawks looked to run lineups with Porzingis and Onyeka Okongwu. Atlanta has had only 112 possessions with Okongwu and Porzingis together, and there still are some growing pains. But the two have given the team a boost on the defensive end.