Hawks are better, but that alone won’t cut it in improved East

The Hawks had a breakthrough season last year, took the New York Knicks to six games in the first round of the playoffs (don’t ask about the last three), improved the roster, and … may not make the playoffs.

Welcome to the next step of the journey toward a championship.

Buckle up.

The team assembled by president of basketball operations Onsi Saleh and guided by coach Quin Snyder did accomplish something meaningful last year — a 46-36 regular-season record (the franchise’s best since 2020-21) that tied for fifth in the Eastern Conference and got the Hawks out of the Play-In Tournament after four consecutive seasons in that festival of mediocrity.

Two back-to-back Most Improved Player winners in Dyson Daniels and Nickeil Alexander-Walker (the first time a team has had consecutive winners) and the ascension of forward Jalen Johnson — an All-Star and All-NBA selection for the first time last year — testify to the player development and progress being made under the Snyder/Saleh team.

However, after a busy offseason in the Eastern Conference, the slope up the mountain has steepened from “Climbing gear recommended” to “Your Sherpa may need a Sherpa.”

The Philadelphia 76ers, who finished one game behind the Hawks, signed LeBron James and added five-time All-Star (and Wheeler High grad) Jaylen Brown in a trade.

The Miami Heat traded for two-time MVP Giannis Antetokounmpo. The Indiana Pacers, who went from reaching Game 7 of the NBA Finals to a 19-63 record this past season, will have two-time All-NBA guard Tyrese Haliburton back after missing all of last season with an Achilles tear.

The Hawks made their own moves, notably adding two players with NBA title rings, wing Lu Dort and guard Aaron Wiggins, from the Oklahoma City Thunder, and drafting guard Kingston Flemings with the No. 8 overall pick.

But the short of it is, they could be a better team but still fall back in the standings in the fortified East. A return to the Play-In Tournament is a possibility.

After tying for fifth, eight teams in the East have higher over/under win total projections (per BetMGM) and the Hawks are tied with Orlando at 43.5. That’s 2.5 wins fewer than last year. ESPN pegged the team’s playoff chances at 48.7%.

Ca-CAW!

In the long haul, the young Hawks will benefit from the stiffer competition. But the road to get there, starting with Wednesday’s season opener at Orlando, will be treacherous.

“I think you’re aware of it,” Snyder said Monday of the heightened competitiveness in the conference. “I guess there’s a number of things — depth, of course (in the conference), as you’re saying. Every team tries to get better in the offseason. We feel like we’ve done some things to help us get better. You don’t really know how all that plays out, really, until the end of the year.”

Alexander-Walker said that “for sure” the East will likely be stronger than last year.

“But at the end of the day, you can’t look too much into it,” he said. “Like, the acknowledgment is there, but you don’t want to kind of have that mindset and approach of fear. I genuinely feel we can compete against anybody.”

That includes the 76ers, who now boast James, Brown, Joel Embiid and Tyrese Maxey.

“Probably, what, four future Hall of Famers, I guess?” Alexander-Walker said. “But, in my opinion, it makes the story better.”

The story includes surpassing last year’s win total and advancing deeper into the playoffs.

“I try not to put a cap to it, a ceiling, a baseline,” he said. “The goal ultimately is to win a championship.”

If the Hawks meet this next challenge, it will be because of players like Alexander-Walker — unselfish, willing to play defense, dedicated to getting better.

Snyder has spoken of how “the strength of this team is the team.” It’s a little hokey for the NBA. But the roster does seem to buy into it.

“The thing is trying to improve,” Alexander-Walker said. “For me, I see it as a service. I’ve been blessed to play this game, and I’ve been blessed to create a life for my family and myself, and this city has given me the opportunity to do so.

“The organization has given me the opportunity to do so, so I feel like it’s my personal life’s mission to do as best I can while I’m here and to win games, to grow, to be a better player. Like, all of the above.”