From an eastern conference final berth in 2021 to a disappointing first-round exit in 2022, the Atlanta Hawks have had a rocky road since rebuilding. The Hawks have made significant changes this offseason, tweaking the current rotation.

Who are the Hawks?

The Hawks need to solidify their identity. In his media day interview, Coach McMillan said the Hawks need to decide whether they are the team that went to the Eastern Conference Finals two years ago or the team that fizzled out in the first-round playoffs last year. The addition of Murray is a statement that the organization is willing to build around Trae Young and is in a win-now mode. 

The Defense Problem

The Hawks are terrible on the defensive side of the ball, but the offseason was to fix their weaknesses. Newly minted coach, Mike Longabardi, is a defense-first coach. McMillan wants to construct a new defensive identity that the Hawks sorely need. Furthermore, the addition of Dejounte Murray brings in much-needed defense in the backcourt. Murray can take the tougher defensive matchup and help relieve Young on the defensive end. In addition, Clint Capela needs to stay healthy. He is the sole defensive anchor for the Hawks and is the backbone of their defense. The Hawks also brought in veteran Justin Holiday to bolster the defense at the end of their rotation.

If Everything Connects…

Let’s assume the Hawks play above-average defense, at least breaking out of the bottom ten defense, and the fit with Murray into the offense is seamless; I believe the Hawks can make another run similar to their Eastern Conference Finals run. The Eastern Conference this year will be a bloodbath. Virtually everything would have to be in the favor for the Hawks to win a championship. The ceiling for the Hawks is a championship, while the floor would be to scrape by into play-ins. I refuse to believe this iteration of the Hawks team will miss the playoffs. There is too much talent within the roster for the Hawks to flop. We will just have to wait and see how the Hawks will perform.