Five Takeaways from Hawks Win Over Nuggets

The Atlanta Hawks entered Friday night's game against the Denver Nuggets under-staffed and underrespected. Yet, despite playing without three starters, Atlanta shocked Denver in an impressive 117-109 outing. Below are our five biggest takeaways from the game.

Bogdan Bogdanovic

After a seven-month rehabilitation from knee surgery, Bogdan Bogdanovic returned to the court on Friday night. Bogdanovic was the first player off Atlanta's bench and was greeted with a roaring applause from State Farm Arena.

Naturally, Bogdanovic was rusty. But he scored five points in 22 minutes of action. Once the veteran sharpshooter gets his legs under him, he will provide a huge shot in the arm to Atlanta's subpar offense.

Trae Young

Following Friday morning's shootaround, Trae Young appeared on the team's injury report. Young was listed as questionable with shoulder soreness. Not only did Young not play, but he was not even on the bench during the game.

Young did show love to his teammates by tweeting encouraging statements throughout the game. Right now, details about Young's absence remain scarce.

Nate McMillan

Hawks coach Nate McMillan is at his best when his team is under siege. He is the NBA's version of a wartime president. With several key players out with injuries, McMillan started a rookie, sophomore, and Two-Way player.

There is no reason Atlanta should have defeated the Western Conference's second-best team last night. However, McMillan and his staff maximized their players' potential and stole a win. These are the moments when McMillan is at his best.

"Need more chains because it was a team effort."

Facts 🤩 pic.twitter.com/pVQogoC4MV
— Atlanta Hawks (@ATLHawks) December 3, 2022

Dejounte Murray

Dejounte Murray had the backcourt to himself last night and lead the short-handed team. From the opening tip, Murray established the tempo, organized the offense, and limited his turnovers.

Murray finished the game with an efficient 34 points and eight assists. After a shooting slump to start the season, Murray has shot 47.6% from behind the arc over the past five games.

Clint Capela

Lastly, let's give some praise to Clint Capela. At Media Day, Capela espoused his goal to be an NBA Defensive Player of the Year Candidate again. While that might be a lofty goal, there is no denying that Capela looks more like his 2020-21 self.

Capela tallied another double-double last night, which has become the norm again. More importantly, he played a vital role in containing Nuggets center Nikola Jokic. Capela has been the unsung hero of this season.

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