There is No Fixing the Atlanta Hawks Roster
The Atlanta Hawks have struggled with consistency this season. One issue that has been a big part of Atlanta's unreliability began with how the roster was constructed last summer. This falls squarely on the front office, which has had its own problems this season.
Atlanta's depth issues have shown many times this season, especially when the team deals with injuries. Atlanta's deepest position is the guard spot. If Trae Young or Dejounte Murray go down, they have Bogdan Bogdanovic or AJ Griffin ready for action. Outside of that, do they have any other position with that kind of next-man-up capability?
DeAndre Hunter is crucial to this team, not just because of his scoring and defense. He is the team's only big, athletic wing. So when Hunter is hurt or in foul trouble, they don’t have someone else like him for the position. Hunter is the team's glue guy. In terms of wings, Atlanta's closest substitute is Jalen Johnson. Unfortunately, head coach Nate McMillian only sees Johnson as a four and refuses to play him at the three.
When Hunter isn’t playing, McMillan usually plays Bogdanovic or Griffin at the three, which is terrible on the defensive end. If those two are not providing offense, the three-guard lineup often ends up hurting the team. Atlanta has a -12.3 point differential when they use the Young-Murray-Bogdanovic lineup with the traditional bigs. Replace Bogdanovic with Griffin in the lineup, and the point differential improves to -8.7. Atlanta is +13.5 when the regular starting lineup is in place.
AJ Griffin and Bogdan Bogdanovic react after a play.
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The tradeline deadline is Thursday, and it remains unclear if Atlanta's front office will make any moves. They still need another true big because they don’t have much size when Clint Capela is out of the lineup. Their frontcourt lacks depth, and McMillian isn’t the best coach at utilizing the players as is when healthy.
The veteran coach rides the starters for heavy minutes, which has visibly worn them down at times. McMillan could give Griffin and Johnson more playing time to try and reduce that, but he doesn’t, only worsening the existing depth issues. Those issues continue to compound on top of each other, which has led to problems all year long for the team.
If the front office trades Bogdanovic, the team goes from bad to worse in outside shooting. If they trade John Collins, the frontcourt becomes weaker (barring a scenario where they receive an equal player back for him).
Do you see the issue? Any move the Hawks make feels like it would make them worse. It’s hard to reinforce every part of your team with good depth. Most contenders only need to upgrade one or two spots at the trade deadline. Atlanta has multiple holes, worsened by depth gaps. Also, let us not forget ownership avoidance of the luxury tax, which only makes acquiring players even more complicated.
The front office has not done a good job putting this team together. The roster has talent, but the pieces do not fit together from top to bottom. Injuries are a part of the game, and some teams can still maintain a certain level of play, but the Hawks are not one of those teams.
If they are not healthy, it's a struggle. The situation could worsen as time goes on, as every level of the franchise is in flux. Kyle Korver and Landry Fields have the task of fixing these problems, and all eyes will be on them.
