Last year, the Atlanta Hawks had a historic season as they went 60-22 and finished the season losing to the Cleveland Cavaliers in the Easter Conference Finals. This season has been a different story though. The Hawks have come out of the All-Star break in a slump and suffered two embarrassing losses this past weekend to the Miami Heat and Milwaukee Bucks. There are a few reasons why their season just has not been as good as last season.
Lack of rebounding
The Hawks are one of the worst rebounding teams in the NBA. Last season, they were not strong in this department either but were able to finish well because they had a better offense. They consistently get dominated on the boards night in and night out. It does not help either when Tiago Splitter is now out for the rest of the season with a hip injury. The Hawks absolutely need to address this problem through free agency and the draft in the offseason.
Three-point shooting percentage has dropped
The Hawks had a 3-point shooting percentage that was almost at 40 percent last season. This season, their percentage lies around the low 30s. They simply do not have the same 3-point shooting as last season. Kyle Korver had a historic season shooting the three last year but this season has not been the same. He did break his leg in the Eastern Conference Finals last season, so that may be a cause of his struggles since he did not have a complete offseason to practice. Others have not done well either in their 3-point shooting efforts as well.
A better eastern conference
The Eastern Conference is better this season than it was last season. The Cavaliers, Raptors, Heat, Pacers and Celtics are just some of the teams who have improved from last season. The improvement of these teams has not boded well for the Hawks. These teams got better last offseason while you can argue that the Hawks kind of stayed the same.
The Hawks still have time to right the ship but they need to start getting it together soon. It'll be a huge disappointment if the Hawks are knocked out of the playoffs in the first round after having such a great season last year.