Where Do We Go From Here? (Atlanta Hawks Edition)

Usually when a team is only a player or two from contending, as the Hawks may be, it's easy to identify the ideal type of player(s) that would fit into their roster.  But the problem with lineups like Atlanta's is that they don't really seem to lack anything in particular, except maybe experience and a backup PG.

I deadass forgot that Lou Williams was on this team until I just looked up the roster.  But for whatever reason, he wasn't even listed among active players for Game 5 vs. the Heat.

Earlier in the season, some lingering beef from 2020-2021 carried over in which John "Onfroy" Collins was pissed at Trae Young for being a chuck and for awhile was like demanding a trade or some shit.  I'm glad that didn't happen, because Young + Collins is the most exciting PG/PF combination since Kidd + Martin.  And one thing I will give Trae credit for is this.  Most players, amateur or professional, when you complain about them chucking, like they don't really give AF.  But it looked like Trae really made an effort to be more of a facilitator and less of a scorer as the season progressed, even when Collins was injured.  In fact, some people were even starting to say that now Trae isn't shooting enough.

Also, the most experienced players on this roster are Danilo Gallinari who, despite looking young, feels like he's been in the NBA since the 1990s, and Clint Capela, who played alongside the Beard during some of Harden's best years in Houston.  Lou Williams also falls into the category of experienced vet, but again, where dafuk is he?  I just googled him, and like some shit came up about him tweeting(?).

So now the question is like, who's even Trae Young's backup?  The only other PG actually listed on the roster is Sharife Cooper, someone who was getting mad love during the offseason, and I only remember hearing of him once since.

CONCLUSION

I felt that the Hawks making the ECF last season was a "fluke", and now that has been proven.  At the conclusion last season, they were supposed to be the next big thing.  But instead, that prize rather goes out to the Grizzlies and/or Timberwolves, or maybe even the Pistons come next year.

And off the top of my head, I can't even think of the type of player who would instantly cure Atlanta's woes.  Of course they need a quality backup PG, but they're rarer these days than perhaps they've even been.

One thing I will say though is that whereas Trae Young may be the star of the team, I think De'Andre Hunter is the model the Hawks should build upon into the future.  He has a very stable, veteran-like feel to his game - not none of that wild shit.  And it looks like he's going to keep getting better into the future.  So if his health holds up, he should become the team's centerpiece, even if Young is the franchise player.

In fact now that I think about, I don't think a team has ever won a Championship that like depended primarily on a PG for points.  You know what I mean?  Maybe the PG will be the main scorer, but there also has to be other dudes who can score, on their own, at a higher FG%.