Life is great for the Atlanta Hawks right now. After rallying to stun the Phoenix Suns on Sunday night, they have won five games in a row. Trae Young hasn’t played in any of them. Kristaps Porzingis has been sliding in and out of the lineup.
Guard Vit Krejci has earned one of the best nicknames in the NBA during this stretch, as he now goes by “Heat Czech“.
A 47-point fourth quarter effort helped them rally from 18 points down heading into that quarter, the team now sits at 9-5. Between Onyeka Okongwu’s lights-out three-point shooting, Nickeil Alexander-Walker‘s continued emergence, and Jalen Johnson‘s dominants, it’s hard to pick an angle.
That doesn’t even include the near Dyson Daniels triple-double. This team looks dangerous.
Atlanta Hawks Playing Great Ball
A number of factors can be pulled out to try and dissect the Atlanta Hawks success. The continued strong play of their reserves. Onyeka Okongwu looking like one of the best shooters in the league. Of course, there is Jalen Johnson putting up insane numbers every night.
In their latest triumph, it was clearly Nickeil Alexander-Walker. In a game the team of course won by just two points, he had a line that proves just how valuable he was. He scored 16 of his 26 points in the final quarter.
NAW hit the go-ahead shot in the final minute, going on a mini-heater to close out the comeback victory. And, he was +22 in a game decided by one possession. They were -24 when he was off the floor. Deni Avdija has had a similar impact in Portland.
The biggest free-agent acquisition for the team, Alexander-Walker brought winning experience from his time with the Minnesota Timberwolves. Filling in for Trae Young is anything but easy. But he’s been able to make it work, the team not missing a beat at all while he’s been out there. Credit to the former Hokie and cousin of reigning NBA MVP Shai Gilgeoux-Alexander.
Also worthy of a note here, is that Kristaps Porzingis has missed three of the five victories that Atlanta has amassed during this run. Quin Snyder has done a marvelous job of making the pieces fit.
Projecting the near Future for the Atlanta Hawks
Anytime a team wins five games in a row like this, the future becomes the main talking point. How long can the Atlanta Hawks continue to win at this pace? Will the win streak go on for another week? Or will it fold quickly and become a skid?
The next two games will provide serious tests for Atlanta. They will stake their five-game winning streak against the Detroit Pistons on Tuesday night, who come into the week on a nine-game run of their own. Victor Wembanyama and the San Antonio Spurs await on Wednesday night.
The Charlotte Hornets and New Orleans Pelicans are the two next after that, giving them a four-game week with a few less-stressful opponents on the backend.
Trae Young is still a few weeks from returning. A team that was projected to win 46 games is playing ahead of their pace. Atlanta has not won more than 43 games since he joined, but this season is looking like it can be different.
Look for the Hawks to push the Pistons to the brink on Tuesday on the tail-end of their back-to-back.
Anything can happen in ATL!
Like Heavy Sports’s content? Be sure to follow us.
This article was originally published on Heavy Sports
The post 47-Point Fourth Quarter Lifts Trae Young-less Atlanta Hawks to Fifth Straight Win appeared first on Heavy Sports.