Hawks give front office plenty to chew on in Trae Young’s absence

Heading into this season, one of the Hawks’ biggest concerns was how the new roster additions would mesh with their returning players.

Injuries have limited the number of games that their new combination of players has shared the court, including All-Star point guard Trae Young, who has played in just 10 of the Hawks’ 37 games this season.

The Hawks have a lot to think about when it comes to their star.

In Young’s absence, the Hawks have found a way to make up for the shot creation and play-making Young has historically brought to the team. They lead the NBA with 31.3 assists per game, and they lead the league in points off catch-and-shoot opportunities.

The Hawks are also among the top teams in drives to the basket, with the second-highest number of assists (5.8) off them.

Their margin for error is small, but the Hawks generated enough offense to put up a 13-10 record in the first 23 games Young missed earlier in the season.

The Hawks needed an adjustment period to get Young reacclimated to the lineup, especially in the absence of veteran center Kristaps Porzingis. Young has played approximately 24 minutes with Porzingis this season.

Per Cleaning the Glass, the Hawks have been able to play the starting lineup they projected at the beginning of the season for just 59 possessions.

Porzingis missed the Hawks’ two games after the team’s season opener, as did second-year forward Zaccharie Risacher.

Then the Hawks played just one more game together fully healthy before Young went down with his injury.

So, the Hawks have a small sample size of how a completely healthy roster could function. In the five games Young played upon his return, the Hawks had an 0-5 record that fell smack dab in the team’s seven-game skid, the worst losing streak this season.

Since Young’s absence with a right quad contusion over the last four games, the Hawks have gone 2-2, with wins over the Timberwolves and Knicks and losses to the Thunder and Raptors.

Even in those losses, the Hawks remained competitive for the most part, with the outcome of their matchup against the Thunder coming down to the final four minutes. The Hawks did run out of gas on the second night of back-to-back games against the Raptors on Saturday.

Part of what made those games competitive was the Hawks raising their defensive effort. The Hawks have still slipped toward the latter half the league in terms of defensive rating, having given up 120-plus points in eight of their last 10 games.

But the Hawks have generated enough offense to allow them to hang in games.

Part of that has come down to opponents not having the option to hunt Young on defensive possessions. According to Cleaning the Glass, Young, on average, spots opponents 15 points per 100 defensive possessions and opponents’ effective field-goal percentages increase by 9.2% in 280 possessions when he’s on the court versus when he is off.

But the Hawks, of course, benefit offensively when Young is on the floor as opposed to when he is not. The four-time NBA All-Star accounts for 8.6 points more per 100 possessions when he is in the game.