The Atlanta Hawks came back down to Earth after a surprising run to the Eastern Conference Finals last season. The rest of the East got stronger and Atlanta’s defense stagnated them, keeping them from finishing above the play-in tournament. The Hawks are by all means a good team, but perhaps were playing over their heads last year in a weaker conference compared to this season. Still, they have a great foundation going forward and have a reasonable path to eventually contend with this group.
Atlanta will be entering the 2022 offseason with a relatively high payroll now that Trae Young‘s maximum extension is kicking in. Key decisions for them could include clearing up money to open up spending power, reshaping their core through trade, and potentially extending some of their starters.