Hawks players’ midseason grades: Who gets an A?

LOS ANGELES — The Hawks had high expectations entering this season.

Despite their best efforts to temper the outside expectation that the team as constructed could make a playoff push, the outlook remained high.

But 41 games into the season, the Hawks at 20-21, look like a team destined for a fifth consecutive appearance in the NBA Play-In tournament. They traded their former franchise star, Trae Young, who played only 10 games before everyone realized he no longer fit with the roster.

Good thing for the Hawks that they still have 41 games to play heading into Tuesday’s game against the Lakers. The Hawks have shown plenty of good things that position them to regain some ground after they posted the second-worst record last month.

Here are some midseason grades for the Hawks after 41 games.

Starters

Nickeil Alexander-Walker (Stats: 20.6 ppg, 3.6 rpg, 3.3 assists, 37.2% 3FG in 39 games.) Age 27. Salary: $15.1 million.

Through his play, Alexander-Walker has turned into the Hawks’ most-important free agent signing this season.

The 27-year-old has taken on increased responsibility and at times has stabilized the Hawks offense when it runs stagnant. His drives to the basket have been instrumental in getting the Hawks going when perimeter shots have run cold but he’s also been one of the Hawks’ most efficient shooters.

His presence in the locker room has also helped the Hawks to begin building a culture centered on open communication and fostering an environment for the team to hold each other accountable.

Alexander-Walker’s elite defense has also proven a boon for the Hawks, especially on his inefficient scoring nights. Grade: A-

Jalen Johnson (Stats: 23.7 ppg, 10.3 rpg, 8.3 apg, 37% 3FG in 37 games.) Age 24. Salary: $30 million.

With Young missing so much time because of injury, Johnson stepped up in numerous ways. The Hawks always understood that Johnson could thrive in transition but the forward has given the Hawks far more than fast-break play.

The 24-year-old has developed into a confident shooter and has built an offensive toolbelt that can thrive in the post, on drives and when multiple defenders blitz him.

His defense has been shaky, though, disappearing on possessions during the Hawks’ slide last month. But Johnson has shown he can be a solid defender and when he gives that consistent effort, the team becomes one of the best in the league. Grade: A-

Onyeka Okongwu (Stats: 16.3 ppg, 7.9 rpg, 3.4 apg 36.8% 3FG in 39 games.) Age 25. Salary: $15 million.

The Hawks have asked a lot of Okongwu, especially with the depth at center taking multiple hits this season. He moved into the starting position permanently, with veteran Kristaps Porzingis’ dealing with the effects of postural orthostatic tachycardia syndrome, and other bumps.

It has led to Okongwu taking a big step forward offensively, with the Hawks sometimes playing through the 25-year-old. Like Johnson, he’s also become a confident shooter, allowing the Hawks to stretch the floor and punish defenders that don’t close out on him.

But Okongwu sometimes becomes an island in the post against some of the NBA’s bigger and more mobile centers. He also rotates away from the basket to give help, leaving opponents too much room to score.

The Hawks, though, would struggle without him as he’s holding them together. Grade: A-

Dyson Daniels (Stats: 11.9 ppg, 6.6 rpg, 6.2 apg, 50% FG in 40 games.) Age 22. Salary: $7.7 million.

Daniels defensive production has faltered slight, compared with how he ended his first season with the Hawks. Offenses continue to adjust to him, but he continues to be one of the team’s more impactful defenders.

His offensive production also took a hit early, but he has adjusted, finding a niche as one of the team’s better offensive rebounders. The 22-year-old has had to adjust to the increased role as one of the Hawks’ primary ballhandlers.

Daniels has become one of the team’s better drivers to crack the paint and collapse opposing defenses to get open shots to guys on the perimeter. He hasn’t been perfect, with some of his drives turning into turnovers when he gets tunnel vision or indecisive.

The former eighth overall pick has also regressed significantly as a shooter, making only 11.3% of his 1.6 attempts per game. Grade: B

Zaccharie Risacher (Stats: 11.2 ppg, 3.3 rpg, 35.8% 3FG in 36 games.) Age 20. Salary: $13.2 million.

The Hawks’ second-year forward has had a shaky start to the season. Through the first half, Risacher has missed time because of an ankle sprain, a hard fall and most recently, a knee bone bruise.

The former first overall pick just hasn’t been able to sustain a rhythm because of that missed time. Each time he begins to get some consistent and efficient production, an injury seemingly derails him.

But he has been a solid presence on the defensive end of the floor, with the Hawks being able to deploy him on some of the league’s top opposing wings. He does still have some trouble with bigger and opponents, who can still bully him with post-ups and bumps to create space. Grade: B-

Bench

Vit Krejci (Stats: 10 ppg, 2.3 rpg, 44.5% 3FG in 37 games.) Age 25. Salary: $2.3 million.

The emergence of Krejci has been one of the highlights for the Hawks this season. He has become one of the league’s better shooters, surpassing his career best for total 3-pointers made in 20 fewer games than the previous year.

He ranks among the top 10 most-efficient high-volume shooters in the NBA this season.

His defense has been among some of the best on the team this season, with the Hawks being able to put him up against opposing wings.

But Krejci’s offense has been shaky, with the 25-year-old sometimes still passing up shots at the rim to kick out for an ill-advised 3. The Hawks have been better when he employs a decisive and aggressive mindset when it comes to scoring. Grade: B+

Asa Newell (5.1 ppg, 2 rpg, 45.3% 3FG in 30 games.) Age 20. Salary: $3.2 million.

The Hawks began the season with seemingly a lot of depth at the big. They had Johnson and Mouhamed Gueye at power forward, with Porzingis and Okongwu at center. Then the Hawks also expected that Okongwu would play some minutes at power forward.

But Porzingis’ missed time and Gueye’s offensive struggles have opened minutes for the rookie Newell to get some playing time.

He often injects energy off the bench into matchups and often spaces the floor for the Hawks because of his aggressive mindset to shoot.

But Newell isn’t a true rim protector and still gets lost in the speed of the NBA game. He has taken everything in stride though and has shown that he belongs. Grade: B+

Luke Kennard (Stats: 7.9 ppg, 2.3 apg, 47.5% 3FG in 36 games.) Age 29. Salary: $11 million.

After his flurry of shooting in the Hawks’ win over the Warriors on Sunday, Kennard leads the NBA in 3-point shooting percentage. But it took the 29-year-old close to half the season to let it fly.

For much of the Hawks’ first 41 games, he passed up shots where it appeared he was wide open, leading to the Hawks having to scramble to find something closer to the rim.

Before Dec. 27, Kennard attempted only 1.7 3-pointers when the closest was 6-plus feet, which the NBA defines as wide open. Kennard has attempted 13 wide-open 3s in five games this month, averaging 2.6 per game. In the first three months of the Hawks’ season, he played 31 games, averaging only 2.2 wide-open triples.

But Kennard has been impactful in some aspects as a playmaker and his spacing has helped the Hawks rank fourth in the NBA in 3-point shooting efficiency. Grade: B

Mouhamed Gueye (Stats: 4.7 ppg, 3.5 rpg, 45.9% FG in 39 games.) Age 23. Salary: $2.3 million.

The Hawks forward has had an up-and-down season offensively. But Gueye has been one of the team’s better defenders. He has helped the Hawks so much with his defense that his impact is almost immediate, resulting in the Hawks allowing 7.4 points fewer in the half court when he’s on the floor versus off.

But that impact is often negated because he has not taken the next step to be a consistent presence offensively.

He is shooting 25.8% from 3 and his shots at the rim have often come up short, which has resulted in limited minutes. Grade: B-

Keaton Wallace (Stats: 4.2 ppg, 2.2 apg, 42.3% 3FG in 34 games.) Age 26. Salary: $2.3 million.

When the Hawks converted Wallace from a two-way contract to a standard deal, it was presumed that he would handle some of the backup point guard minutes.

Wallace has provided the Hawks a solid presence and has flashed as a more than capable defender, with the Hawks allowing 2.5 fewer points when he’s on the floor than when he is off.

But his offensive capabilities as a playmaker remain limited, especially with the lineups he’s run with this season. Grade: B-

N’Faly Dante (Stats: N/A.) Age 24. Salary: $2 million.

Dante has appeared in only four games for the Hawks, all in garbage time. He played most of his minutes with the Skyhawks before a knee injury sidelined him for the season. Grade: Incomplete

Nikola Djurisic (Stats: N/A.) Age 21. Salary: $1.3 million.

The guard has not appeared in a game with the Hawks this season and has spent much of the season with the Skyhawks. Grade: Incomplete

Corey Kispert (Stats: 2 points, 3 assists, 0% 3FG in 1 game.) Age 34. Salary: $13.9 million.

Kispert, like McCollum, has played in only one game. But the hustle and energy will pay off for the Hawks, who look to thrive on transition plays and opportunities created off turnovers.

He also shows a readiness to get in position and aggression to take 3s. Grade: Incomplete

CJ McCollum (Stats: 12 points, 4 assists, 0% 3FG in 1 game.) Age 34. Salary: $30.7 million.

The veteran guard has played just one game with the Hawks. But he flashed how much he can add to the offense, especially in dicey circumstances.

Plus his experience in the league provides the Hawks with a defender who knows how to communicate and get guys into position. Grade: Incomplete

Kristaps Porzingis (Stats: 17 ppg, 5.1 rpg, 2.7 apg 36% 3FG in 17 games.) Age 30. Salary: $30.7 million.