Checking in with the hottest team in the NBA
The Jake Fischer Latest covers what’s going so surprisingly right for the Atlanta Hawks … plus explores the various moves this very active franchise might be making next
ATLANTA — There's a stain on the otherwise immaculate black carpet inside the Hawks' home locker room.
The culprit: Something from the shellfish section, tail still attached, sprinkled with cajun flakes.
"Come on, y'all," crows CJ McCollum. "Who dropped a shrimp?"
From his stall across the room, Gabe Vincent chimes in: "We gotta be better than that."
The veteran pair, two of several trade deadline additions who have seized key roles in leading Atlanta's revamped young roster, are teasing their greener teammates. But this moment also provided a useful glimpse at the new energy flying amongst these Hawks. Buddy Hield chirps during film sessions. Jock Landale and Corey Kispert return to timeouts with specific notes to share with the huddle. Big moves last offseason were supposed to push Atlanta toward Eastern Conference contention … only for a midseason renovation to effectuate a much more meaningful spark instead.
Entering Saturday's home date with Milwaukee, Atlanta had unexpectedly won eight straight games and nine of its last 10. Part of that is due to a soft schedule, true, but it's also because the Hawks have assembled a new starting lineup that ranks among the league's best in net rating for five-man units. While true that Jalen Johnson, Dyson Daniels, Nickeil-Alexander Walker, Onyeka Okongwu and McCollum have only logged 179 minutes together as a starting fivesome, they have outscored the opposition by 26.8 points per 100 possessions in their time together, which tops even the best lineups fielded by Oklahoma City and San Antonio..
"Everyone's speaking up [and] the locker room's gelling,” Daniels told me as Afro house music filled the air. "Everyone's speaking in the group chat. It feels like a whole different vibe."
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