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One Thing Killing Each NBA Team This Season

Atlanta Hawks: Backup Point Guard



There's nothing new about the Atlanta Hawks' offense cratering whenever Trae Young is out of the game.

Atlanta couldn't score without Young last year, which prompted the offseason acquisitions of Bogdan Bogdanovic, Kris Dunn and Rajon Rondo. Those three were supposed to provide varying paths to respectability when Young rested. Bogdanovic made sense alongside the Hawks' high-scoring guard and as a capable second-unit lead ball-handler; Rondo would inject steadiness and experience; and Dunn would ratchet up the defense, giving the Hawks another way to succeed without their best offensive player.

All three have missed significant time, though, and Atlanta is suffering through the same issues that plagued it a year ago.

Really, we could just cite injuries as the killer in Atlanta. Danilo Gallinari has barely played, and De'Andre Hunter, a breakout sophomore, has had knee trouble as well. But to keep things specific, we'll go with the Hawks' poor performance in their non-Young minutes.

Non-Trae Young minutes are disastrous for Hawks for third straight year



The play of the backup point guards last season was so egregiously bad the Hawks’ offensive rating with Young off the floor was 95.7. Cleveland had the worst offensive rating last season at 104, which means the Hawks were 8.3 points worse (!) than the worst offense in the league last season when Young wasn’t on the floor. It’s not much better this year for the Hawks when Young isn’t on the floor. The Cavs once again have the league’s worst offense, tied with Minnesota at 104. The Hawks’ offensive rating when Young isn’t on the floor is 98.1.

Yes, the consistency of who is and isn’t available makes things more challenging, but even before the season began, the Hawks preached about the depth they had at every position. The depth at point guard is subpar. When Young isn’t on the floor, the Hawks have yet to figure out how to stabilize themselves. That’s a problem that has been a recurring theme for three seasons.

The Hawks are three years into the Young era and they still haven’t figured out what to do offensively when he isn’t on the floor. Kris Dunn, whenever he’s healthy, isn’t the answer because he struggles offensively. A mixture of Huerter and Bogdan Bogdanovic, when healthy, could work, but both are better suited for secondary roles.

The Hawks have to figure out who can lead them as the initiator during the minutes Young isn’t playing. Otherwise, they’ll have to add another name to the list of backup point guards sooner rather than later.