The NBA is in full swing. The Hawks have played seven games, going 4-3. They need to take care of the Xs and Os. Here are the problems the Hawks face in their season’s slow start.

Different Year, Same Problems

The Hawks prove that they can fight with the top contenders, losing narrowly against the bucks, but they have also shown that they can play down to the level of their opponents, like losing to the Hornets. The Hawks have no identity. Even with the acquisition of Dejounte Murray, the defense is a glaring weakness. The Hawks’ have always struggled in defense. The only capable perimeter defenders are Hunter and Murray. Defense is all about effort and communication, and the Hawks struggle to maintain consistent effort and communication. Their

Dribbling for Shooting

The Hawks addressed one of their problems this year by getting more ball handlers in Dejounte Murray. At the same time, the Hawks lost two of their shooters in, Kevin Huerter and Danilo Gallinari. The Hawks are dead last in the league in 3-pointers attempted, which shows in the offense when they struggle to create in the half-court and transition. Delon Wright was an excellent pairing with Trae Young. While upgrading from Wright to Murray is obvious, the roster improved from Huerter to Gallinari to the Holiday brothers. This problem is nothing to panic about since Bogdanović is a prolific 3-point shooter that has yet to play a game. In addition, rookie AJ Griffin deserves more minutes. The combination of Griffin and Bogdanović should be enough to lift the Hawks’ 3-pointers attempted out of the last place in the league.