Atlanta Hawks are garnering attention from national pundits

Jack the Giant Slayer resides in Atlanta! The Hawks recently beat the formerly one-loss Cavaliers twice, and then followed it up by ending the Bucks seven-game winning streak last night.

With wins over the Hornets and Pelicans sandwiched in between, the Hawks are winners of five straight and doing so without much scoring from Trae Young , who is averaging less than 17 points during that stretch.

How are they doing it? Well, Trae Young has leaned into the strength of his game playmaking.

The star point guard is averaging a league-leading 12 assists per game, while the Hawks get contributions from Dyson Daniels on the defensive end, DeAndre Hunter off the bench, and Jalen Johnson in all facets of the game.

In the double-digit win over the Bucks, Johnson finished with 23 points, 13 rebounds, and five assists.

Hunter chipped in 20 points, and Young finished with 17 points and seven assists.

The Hawks were seen as a club that was rebuilding, taking a step back when they traded Dejounte Murray in the offseason.

It was hard to argue.

I described it as taking one step back to take two forward, but there was a clear direction, a foundation being built in Atlanta.

Whats come is better than I think any Hawks fan couldve imagined.

They might not be viewed as Eastern Conference contenders just yet, but theres something brewing in Atlanta that is garnering national attention.

Keith Smith of Spotrac and Front Office Sports says , I love this Hawks team.

They are so much fun, via Twitter/X Kendrick Perkins of ESPN said , These damn Hawks out here preying on these top dogs in the Eastern Conference.

First the Knicks, then the Celtics and Cavs and now the Bucks?!!! Perks colleague at ESPN, Bobby Marks, had this to say: Quick hitters on this fun Atlanta team The one word that I thought would never apply to Atlanta- DEFENSE!!! 5 game winning streak includes Cleveland (twice) and Milwaukee) 2nd in defense the last 5 games The Dyson Daniels impact: 16 steals vs.

Milwaukee (Bogdanovic with 5) Atlanta ranks #2 in steals (last year #16) Getting out and running: 30-12 (+18) Playing bully ball in the paint (+30 vs.

MIL) Bench: 3rd in points | 4th in 3P% Evan Sidery of Forbes had specific praise for Jalen Johnson: Jalen Johnson is becoming one of the most versatile wings in the NBA: 20.1 points 9.9 rebounds 5.5 assists 1.4 steals 1.1 blocks 58.5 TS% The Hawks five-year, $150 million extension for Johnson already looks like a steal as he takes an All-Star leap.

The Hawks are playing team basketball again, something they havent done since their Eastern Conference Finals run back in 2021.

Trae Young is the focal point, but Jalen Johnson is quickly becoming a star, with even younger guys like Dyson Daniels and Zaccharie Risacher making massive impacts in the starting lineup.

On top of that, the Hawks feature one of the best benches in the league, led by DeAndre Hunter, who is having a career-year in his new role.

Seriously competing this season might be far-fetched, but the Hawks are already better than they were a year ago, and the foundation is being laid for the future.

This article first appeared on SportsTalkATL and was syndicated with permission..

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