NBA Analyst Says This Player Will Be The Hawks Biggest X-Factor Down the Final Stretch of the Season

The Atlanta Hawks are 26-30 with 26 games left this season and they are fighting to avoid the NBA's play in tournament. Their final stretch started with a loss to the Magic on Thursday, but they will be back on the court tomorrow in a big game vs the Detroit Pistons, who are currently 6th in the Eastern Conference and hold a 2-1 advantage over Atlanta in the season series. What is going to be the biggest X-factor for the Hawks over the next 26 games? Bleacher Report's Grant Hughes made the argument in an article today that it is going to be starting center Onyeka Okongwu:

With stellar production since taking over staring center duties from Clint Capela, 24-year-old Onyeka Okongwu will be key to the Atlanta Hawks offsetting major offensive losses.

De'Andre Hunter and Bogdan Bogdanović departed at the trade deadline, and Jalen Johnson is out for the season with a shoulder injury. Trae Young is still an offense unto himself, and new addition Caris LeVert will help. But Okongwu's 13.6 points per game since joining the first unit need to represent his floor going forward.

Most critically, the mobile big man can be a swing factor as a spacer. Though he's shooting just 26.6 percent from deep on the year, Okongwu is canning 28.0 percent as a starter and has shown an increasing willingness to let it fly from deep.

With so many shooting threats gone, his potential from deep could determine Atlanta's offensive ceiling."

It is not unfair to say that Okongwu could help raise the Hawks ceiling, especially with Jalen Johnson gone. He is averaging 14.4 PPG and 9.5 RPG in the month of February, but his three point shooting has still not come around consistently (23% for the mont). The Hawks are already a poor shooting team and having a center with those kinds of inconsistencies can hold back the offense. Still, he is not the only X-Factor for Atlanta over the final stretch of games and it is going to need to be a team effort for Atlanta.

When talking with the media after practice on Saturday, Atlanta head coach Quin Snyder talked about the matchup with the Pistons and the first thing he was asked about was how to slow down Malk Beasley, who has been one of the NBA's best bench players this season. Beasley has scored at least 18 points off the bench in each of the three matchups between the two teams and Snyder talked about how difficult it is to slow him down:

"I think he stays hot. His percentages are around the tops in the league and I think the most important thing is to try and limit his attempts. And then, there is an adjustment when you are on him and it requires a lot of concentration, not just for him, but for the other four guys on the floor because they can be lost in action or transition or switches so it has to be a collective effort."

When it comes to the job that Pistons head coach JB Bickerstaff has done this season, Snyder could not have been more complementary of what they have accomplished so far:

"He has done a terrific job. I think it starts with their mentality defensively, not just in Cade's leadership but JB empowering him to do that. For a coach, anytime that you get a couple of guys that have a knowledge of the league, it can reallly help. They have been playing this way for the whole year and they have gotten better as the year progresses and that is a credit to JB and the job that he has done."

It is safe to say that the first game after the All-Star break did not go the Hawks way and they would love to get a win tomorrow vs Detroit. There are only 26 games left and every one of them counts for a Hawks team looking to get back into the postseason.

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