Behold the official Loshawquis off-season introduction guide. Will I write anything in the next 18 months? Too soon to say! Enjoy the vibes and ignore the lack of expertise.
Our Hawks valiantly bowed out in 6 games to the Knicks, a fact that is becoming less shameful by the day (Admittedly, game 6 itself wasn’t OVERLY valiant). The disparity between the teams laid bare that this roster is still very much evolving and likely to undergo significant change before it is capable of consistent playoff runs.
How do we get to that status? First, we need to improve our talent and improve the talent. We need confidence in our core players before making roster moves designed to maximize a playoff run/runs (no repeats of the Dejounte trade, please). This team doesn’t have a path to a championship right now without significant roster improvement through development or additions. This is not meant to be gloomy about the future; in fact, if anything, what we saw last year should give us a lot of hope that this core has room to improve greatly organically. It’s possible that this time next year, without any major roster moves, we are discussing a more fruitful run deeper into the playoffs and realistically thinking about whether we can be playing in June sooner rather than later.
Acknowledging that we, the royal we, of course, are still in a “growth mindset™” phase, what are the goals for next year?
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Priority 1: Continued Growth of Jalen Johnson (today’s focus)
Priority 2: Net positive asset accumulation: continue looking for market opportunities to accumulate draft picks, net positive contracts, and/or interesting young players (AKA DRAFT PREVIEW)
Priority 3: Finish above .500 again/avoid the play-in
Not a priority yet: maximizing the roster for the playoffs. It’s worth acknowledging that while I argue this team should remain in a growth area, emphasizing player development and accumulating assets, there are obviously deals, if available, the Hawks would take which would speed up the process (IE the 76ers called, and they want to move Maxey for Kuminga, ZR, and a few picks then yes, definitely yes. To the moon, etc.).
Priority 1: Jalen Johnson
Jalen Johnson took an awesome step forward in the regular season last year. He led a dynamic Hawks attack on the break. He improved in almost every facet of offense last year. Crucially for his long-term success, his 3-point shot looked noticeably better (disclosure: I know basically nothing about shooting, so this is very vibes-based and susceptible to confirmation bias). He shot more threes and essentially tied his shooting percentages from the prior year (career best 35.5%).
Additionally, his assist-to-turnover rate actually fell while taking on a much increased workload. Per 36, JJ went from 5 assists and 3 turnovers a game (hmmm let’s math that out to a 5:3 ratio) to 8 assists and 3.5 turnovers. Simplistically, that ratio shows improved decision-making under increased workload and indicates a player who isn’t forcing the final pass.
Some of the league’s best players noted JJ”s ascendancy, including our former and still beloved Trae Young, Nikola Jokic (somewhat weirdly describing JJ as a “little fawn”), and LeBron James. Players voted Jalen the league’s most underrated player in the Athletic. So real is recognizing real, and if the Hawks didn’t already believe that JJ can become a Tier 1 best player on a team, then maybe the words of those players provide some more evidence in that direction.
Moving forward, I think it will be pretty easy to retroactively identify a number of reasons why JJ has taken another leap. He’ll get stronger; he will feel more comfortable in the midrange against smaller defenders; his decision-making will slow down in the halfcourt. This will all occur naturally if we continue to foster a good development environment and keep getting him reps in high-leverage situations.
The other side of the ball is a little trickier; clearly, JJ has tools to be a good defender, but too often we saw slip-ups that led to open layups via blown assignments. It’s unrealistic to expect perfection, but hopefully there can be some more cross-team accountability. Hopefully he can work on not getting lost, ball-watching, and this will help him cut off the backdoor cuts that seem to occur every game. Additionally, JJ sometimes gets a bit upright in his defense, which can lead to easy opportunities for the other team if they get past him. Again, for a player as talented as him, perfection isn’t required, but just eliminating one easy layup per game has a big impact on winning and losing.
Outside of helping him prioritize some increased strength (PLEASE NO MORE JOSH HARTS PUSHING HIM OFF HIS DRIVES), surrounding JJ with good vets like CJ who can help him hone his leadership will be helpful. Next year is the first year JJ will go into it as the undisputed team leader. From a personnel perspective, I suspect the more good shooters around JJ, the better (but isn’t that every ball-dominant player in the NBA?). But if I had my druthers, as long as we are still in a building mode, another good passing big man would be my choice. Someone like Hartenstein from the Thunder, potentially available, and someone who JJ could run a myriad of hand-offs with. If we aren’t focused on being a championship team, let’s explore how varied our offense can be with JJ at the helm.
Part two soon, or perhaps never. One never can tell.
Los Hawquis 