PHOTO CREDIT TO AJC

We’re 26 games into the 2017 schedule which is exactly one quarter of the way through….don’t do the math, just trust me. Coming into the season, we had a few questions that I think have answered themselves over the first 26 games. We’re going to run through all of the ups, which will be brief, and downs, which will be constant, of the season so far. So strap in, grab your Zoloft and prepare to start looking at 2018 mock drafts like your life depended on it.

First question on my mind was who was going to step into Millsap’s scoring role. This was a guy who averaged 17.4ppg, 8.3rpg & 3.3apg while also providing elite defense in the 3-5 spots on the floor. This was the Hawks biggest issue facing them coming into 2017. Well, so far they haven’t really haven’t found a replacement. Dennis is doing his best, averaging 20/3/6, but what’s lacking is Millsap’s versatility on the defensive end and his consistency. At the end of the game, you knew Sap would make the right decision. Might not result in a win or points, but you’d never look at the decisions and go, “Why did he do THAT?!” Despite Dennis providing the points, the trust that at the end of the game he’ll 10/10 make the right decision, hasn’t arrived yet. Atlanta is still searching for the down the stretch, trustworthy player.

Piggybacking off of the, Dennis filling Sap’s void, the second biggest question was what was Schroder’s progression going to look like now that he is “the guy”? Despite him and Bud having their row against the Knicks, Dennis has performed very well all things considered. In only his second year as a starter, he’s improved his scoring by almost 3ppg while lowering his turnovers by almost 1 per game. This all while playing virtually the same amount of minutes and having far less offensive help than he did last year. He’s improved his shooting percentage while attempting more shots as well. You’ll still get the occasionally, “what the hell” three or the, “who was that pass to”, but far less than last year. No doubt right now, Dennis is Atlanta’s MVP.

The third burning question in my mind going into this season was, is Bazemore going to prove he’s worth the contract we signed him to? In short, not yet. His scoring is slightly up over last year, but this may be due to lack of offensive options. His shots per game are relatively the same, but his shooting percentage is down. Baze’s turnovers are also up over last years. On the bright side, his defensive energy is the same as it’s always been and he seems to constantly be a professional and elite teammate. His PER(Player Efficiency Rating) is up to 13.6 which is the highest it’s ever been in his 7yr career. At this point, I think we know what Baze is. Someone who ideally should be a 3rd or 4th scoring option, but will be the 2nd option in Atlanta until someone else is acquired or rises through the ranks.

After the summer league concluded, I added another question to my stuff to look for this season. It’s the maturation of rookie John Collins. Collins has done a phenomenal job while being thrust into action immediately. He’s 5th on the team in scoring 11.5ppg, 2nd on the team in rebounding 7.1rpg & tied for 1st on the team in blocks with almost 1bpg. This all while being 6th in the team in minutes played. Collins has shown that his offensive prowess is right up there with all the other bigs on the Hawks. His biggest weakness right now is his defense. He’s averaging almost 6 fouls per game in his per 36 extended stats. This is something over the off-season that I’m confident Bud will adjust. Overall, I’ve been very impressed and pleased with his performance.

Overall, this team has performed, exactly as I would’ve guessed. We won some games, but we’ve lost the majority. This is a team that, excluding Dennis, is a team full of 6th men. Prince is showing great improvement overall. His energy seems to be the same it was in the Washington playoff series and his 3pt shooting has vastly improved. Dedmon, when healthy, has proved to be a very good replacement for Dwight. He fits Bud’s system so much better. He’s not going to be a 20/10 threat that prime Dwight could’ve been, but he also won’t clog the lane like Dwight did for our slashing guards. Wouldn’t be surprised to see him moved at the deadline to a team needing bench paint depth. Belinelli is currently leading the NBA in FT% Ersan “Flop Daddy” Ilyasova is top 5 in charges drawn. Luke Babbitt has had some exciting moments, shooting nearly 50% from 3, as well as Isaiah Taylor, who might be the quickest player in the NBA with the ball in his hand. Bembry and Delaney have also added their own moments of entertaining basketball. The most underrated addition to this Hawks roster might be rookie Tyler Cavanaugh. While his season stats aren’t that impressive, the last 3 games he’s averaged 11.3ppg & nearly 7rpg on 24mpg.

Overall, my pre-season outlook may have been a bit overzealous. A 32-50 record at this point seems a bit of a pipe dream. Can this team get to that amount of wins? I’m sure it could. With a healthy roster, I don’t see it out of the realm of possibility. Is that a bit of a homer’ish viewpoint? Probably. This roster isn’t built to win now, we know that. This roster was simply assembled to try and build around a young core of Collins, Dennis, Prince and Baze. This team, despite the 20 losses, is an exciting fun team to watch and cheer for. The short-term outlook is bleak, but the horizon is bright & exciting.