Three Tactical Changes The Atlanta Hawks Could Make Next Season

While head coach Quin Snyder showed a lot of growth in his fourth season with Atlanta, there are some important tweaks that the Hawks should make in their strategy next season.

Apr 30, 2026; Atlanta, Georgia, USA; Atlanta Hawks head coach Quin Snyder on the sideline against the New York Knicks in the first quarter during game six of the first round of the 2026 NBA Playoffs at State Farm Arena. Mandatory Credit: Brett Davis-Imagn Images | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

The Atlanta Hawks' focus on making margin moves to improve the overall floor of their roster rather than the ceiling is an interesting approach when compared to the rest of the Eastern Conference. While it's probably the right one at this stage, it's far more important for the Hawks to figure out the right tactical plans for their offense and defense if they're working at a talent deficit.

In his fourth year, head coach Quin Snyder showed the most promise as a tactician that he had at any other point in his tenure. He figured out a way to build an offense around a playmaker like Jalen Johnson, correctly identified ways of boosting Nickeil Alexander-Walker's offensive potential, and imbued the Hawks with a fast-paced, athletic identity that proved evident in the second half. It ran out of gas against the Knicks, but Snyder deserves credit for executing his tactical plan and getting Atlanta back to the postseason.

Next season will be full of further experimentation on both sides of the ball. While the Hawks were one of the ten best offenses in the NBA (6th in points per game), there are several areas where their offensive tactics could improve.

The Double-O Offense

Mar 4, 2026; Milwaukee, Wisconsin, USA; Atlanta Hawks center Onyeka Okongwu (17) passes the ball away from Milwaukee Bucks guard Ryan Rollins (13) in the fourth quarter at Fiserv Forum. Mandatory Credit: Benny Sieu-Imagn Images | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

Onyeka Okongwu isn't thought of as one of the best passing bigs in the NBA. When he was coming out of USC in the 2020 draft, it was actually one of the red flags on his profile as a prospect. He posted a measly 1.3 assists per game and had a poor 0.54 assist-to-turnover ratio. Fortunately, he's put in the work to demonstrate that he's quietly a much more effective passer than the average fan would believe.

Last season, Okongwu ranked 5th in passes made among all centers per NBA Advanced Stats. He usually found his teammates in places where they could score at an effective clip, as evidenced by the effective FG% of 87% that they shot when receiving his assists. For comparison, that was in the 91st percentile relative to all centers. He also ranked in the 94th percentile in potential assists per minute relative to his on-ball time. If Okongwu were able to run the offense or make more decisions with the ball, there's some evidence to support the idea that he could be an effective facilitator.

However, Atlanta's game plan didn't necessarily feature Okongwu as that type of player. He was only on-ball for 8.1% of his possessions, which ranked in the 24th percentile relative to all power forwards. If he's correctly categorized as a center, that percentage puts him a tick below Ivica Zubac (9.6% of possessions on-ball) in the 69th percentile. It's a tweak that the Hawks should certainly explore more in the non-JJ minutes.

Less Transition, More Intention

Dec 12, 2025; Detroit, Michigan, USA; Atlanta Hawks guard Dyson Daniels (5) heads up court after stealing the ball from Detroit Pistons forward Duncan Robinson (55) in the third quarter at Little Caesars Arena. Mandatory Credit: Lon Horwedel-Imagn Images | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

The Atlanta Hawks are a fast-paced and athletic team by design. They can turn games into a footrace if opponents make too many mistakes, and they loved playing in transition last season. During the regular season, they ranked 4th in transition frequency on offense. Despite the frenetic nature of transition offense, they also did a good job of not turning the ball over themselves on those possessions. Atlanta turned the ball over on transition possessions just 10% of the time, which was the second-best mark in the NBA last season.

Even so, it wasn't a very productive style of offense. They scored on only 50.8% of those transition possessions, the 20th best mark in the NBA. Nor were they forcing free throws (22nd in transition FT frequency and shots fouled percentage) in those situations.

Rather, they shot a comparatively inefficient 60.5% from the field in EFG% (19th league-wide) when considering how many possessions they spent generating transition offense. It's especially damaging when considering how badly they performed in transition defense (3rd-worst points per possession conceded as a transition defense).

This season, it would behoove Atlanta to rely less on beating the opponent to the basket. They were the fastest offense in the league last season (4.74 miles per hr), and that is certainly an advantage. However, it will improve their playoff ceiling if they have more chances to actually set up their offense in the half-court and try different actions rather than out-athleting the other team.

Offensive Rebounding Overhaul

Dec 29, 2025; Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, USA; Atlanta Hawks forward Asa Newell (14), Oklahoma City Thunder guard Shai Gilgeous-Alexander (2) and center Branden Carlson (15) watch for a rebound during the first half at Paycom Center. Mandatory Credit: Alonzo Adams-Imagn Images | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

By several metrics, the 2025-26 Hawks had a lot of room for improvement as an offensive rebounding unit.

During the playoffs, they were 14th out of 16 teams in offensive rebounds per game. The regular season was slightly better - they were 18th in the regular season, but only 20th in offensive rebounding percentage. That implies they were failing to get to the available offensive rebounds in a game. That idea is further supported by the fact that they were 14th in OREB chances and 22nd in OREB chance percentage. Atlanta wasn't very good at getting the second-chance rebounds that they could have gotten, and that cannot continue next season.

One change I wonder if the Hawks would consider making is to run Asa Newell in conjunction with OO or Jalen Johnson next season. Newell is a bit undersized, but he grabbed 9.4% of his teammates' missed shots (88th percentile) as a rookie. The offense may be a little clunky, but the Hawks should experiment with more lineups that help them generate extra possessions during the regular season.