Brad Rowland here, the host of the daily Locked On Hawks podcast, with your daily Locked On Hawks newsletter. Each day we bring you the biggest stories about the Hawks and the NBA, including the hottest links to other stories you need to read. Plus, Josh Lloyd delivers daily fantasy notes to crush your league.
NBA Cup group play continues for Hawks on Friday
Oct 30, 2024; Washington, District of Columbia, USA; Washington Wizards center Jonas Valanciunas (17) drives to the basket as Atlanta Hawks forward Onyeka Okongwu (17) defends in the second half at Capital One Arena. Mandatory Credit: Geoff Burke-Imagn Images|Geoff Burke/Geoff Burke-Imagn Images
The Atlanta Hawks improved to 5-7 with a memorable and impactful win over the Boston Celtics on Tuesday evening. Not only did Atlanta pull off one of the biggest upsets in recent NBA memory, but the Hawks also began their NBA Cup run with a notably strong result to give themselves a chance in pursuit of a trip to Las Vegas.
NBA Cup factors
Atlanta is 0-2 against Washington this season. Neither loss was terribly out of the ordinary given the team’s injury problems, but the Hawks would be 7-5 if they swept the Wizards and 6-6 if they had simply split the two games. Friday night marks the third of four games against Washington this season, and it is also an NBA Cup home game.
Realistically, the Hawks must go at least 3-1 in group play to have a chance to reach the quarterfinals. The biggest mountain was already climbed, but Atlanta does face Cleveland in two weeks, and the Cavaliers have been a juggernaut to begin the season. As such, the Hawks likely must take care of business in this game — and against Chicago next week — to reach their NBA Cup goals.
The Wizards are winless against teams other than the Hawks this season. Washington also has the NBA’s worst net rating and defensive rating. Atlanta will also have revenge on its mind in this one, and the Hawks are significant betting favorites.
Trae Young and De’Andre Hunter return
Trae Young was out of the lineup on Tuesday in Boston, and he was ruled out a day early with right Achilles tendinitis. It was the first listing of Young on the injury report this season, but the Hawks delivered no additional context or timeline. That left real uncertainty about his prognosis, but Young is off the injury report entirely for Friday, giving Hawks fans a sigh of relief.
De’Andre Hunter is also off the injury report and projects to return after an 11-game absence with a right knee issue. His knee is something to monitor all season long given a history of problems, but Hunter is a two-way forward that can provide real value for Atlanta. His shooting will come in handy on offense and, on defense, Hunter is a sturdy, sound option.
I held off on writing about the apparent rash, or rise, of early-season athlete injuries because there’s always some recency bias involved when the subject comes up. Are there really more injuries this year than any other? Do we have the data to support it? Is there a new, underlying cause? Or are injuries due to the same compounding mix of bad luck and the NBA’s 82-game schedule running into a long postseason, running into the offseason, running back into a brand new long regular season and the erosion of bodies this eventually leads to?
A report early this week showed early-season injuries were up 35%, and indeed ESPN’s list of injuries, at a glance, looks like a ferocious Christmas tree, lit up in blazing reds and yellows. A handful of teams (the Grizzlies, Pelicans, Raptors) are cobbling together rosters game-to-game depending on who’s still healthy. TrueHoop’s Henry Abbott ran a draft of the injured list this week and each team reads like an All-Star squad on steroids, and when Abbott printed out the league’s official injury report it was 10 pages long.
Injuries are definitely up — but why?
The Paris Olympics proved extra playing time for a few top-tier stars, but most of them remain healthy. The early season schedule hasn’t served up any more back-to-backs to longer road game stretches, which tend to be more gruelling on athletes, than usual. However, when everything appears to be normal and the bodily price is anything but, perhaps it’s time to examine that “normal”.
The NBA’s current schedule of 82 games was adopted in 1967. Already, I’m sure your brain is picturing black and white basketball, that’s good. When you picture that grainy, glitchy footage, how fast is it going? The reality is that the game used to be a lot slower. Not just in its mechanics (think of an offensive passing sequence, the ball flipping from set of hands to hands at a speed that can be hard to follow), but the athleticism too. Bodies were moving slower. The game was still physical — the trope of players from the 80s and 90s complaining about the “softness” of current athletes is a trope for a reason — but full tilt sprinting, cutting, complex rotations, these weren’t the norm. Given that, the bodily mechanics were different. Guys weren’t stopping on a dime, pivoting hard, having to force their ligaments and muscles and bones into exacting motions with all sorts of volatile force behind them.
Katie Heindl is a credentialed NBA and WNBA writer, her bylines have appeared with The New York Times Magazine, SLAM, The Athletic, Yahoo Sports, Dime, Rolling Stone, among others. She writes the bestselling Substack, Basketball Feelings and is working on a book of the same name.
Home and Away
Analysis Get a detailed breakdown of Dyson Daniels’ performance with the Hawks. This article dives into his stats and role on the team, offering a fresh perspective for fans. (Peachtree Hoops)
Preview The Washington Wizards will travel to State Farm Arena to play against the Atlanta Hawks at 7:30 PM ET. Read the preview.(NBA)
Oklahoma City Thunder forward Chet Holmgren (7) holds his leg after a hard following a play against the Golden State Warriors during the first quarter at Paycom Center.|Photo by Alonzo Adams-Imagn Images
This week in the fantasy basketball world has been a rollercoaster of highs and lows. A major talking point has been Chet Holmgren’s unfortunate injury, which has fantasy managers scrambling for replacements as the Oklahoma City Thunder adjust with potential lineup changes. Keep an eye on players like Aaron Wiggins and Cason Wallace — who might see increased minutes — and consider them as temporary pickups in deeper leagues.
Don’t let these episodes pass you by — stay locked in with the latest Locked On Hawks podcasts.
Hawks mailbag, NBA Cup, and Bulls preview The show answers listener mailbag questions on the first twenty percent (16 games) of the Atlanta Hawks season, the health of Trae Young, Atlanta’s rotation at full strength, the Hawks’ NBA Cup situation, Friday’s game in Chicago, and much more.
Shooting nightmare sends Hawks to loss in San Francisco The show focuses on Wednesday’s game between the Atlanta Hawks and the Golden State Warriors, including Atlanta’s clean injury report, a shooting nightmare for the Hawks, encouraging defense, a total collapse at the end of the first half, and much more.
Hawks bounce back with roller coaster win over Kings The show focuses on Monday’s game between the Atlanta Hawks and the Sacramento Kings, including the surprise absence of Jalen Johnson, the return of Bogdan Bogdanovic and Kobe Bufkin, a lights-out start, a three-point shooting barrage by Sacramento, De’Andre Hunter’s strong play, Trae Young’s passing brilliance, Dyson Daniels sealing the game, and much more.
