The Atlanta Hawks were taken down by the Miami Heat on Tuesday night in a stinging 97-94 defeat.
With that, the season was officially over for the Hawks.
It was a very disappointing end for Atlanta after a rough, up-and-down season that never truly saw the team coming together like they had just a season before.
Perhaps one of the most troubling aspects of the postseason was how completely absent Hawks star Trae Young was.
Trae Young finished this playoffs with more turnovers (30) than baskets (22). pic.twitter.com/jY9lyi3P5l
— StatMuse (@statmuse) April 27, 2022
Throughout the first round, Young had more turnovers (30) than baskets (22).
That’s a shocking stat, especially from a player who is usually so reliable and red-hot.
But the Heat were able to figure Young out and shut him down again and again.
Without Young, the Hawks didn’t have a chance.
Fall From Grace
The Hawks, like a few other teams in the league, weren’t living up to the hype this year.
You have to remember that in the previous season, they were doing well in the playoffs and even made it to the Eastern Conference Finals, falling to the eventual champion Milwaukee Bucks.
This year, however, they were struggling to even make it into the playoffs.
If it weren’t for the play-in tournament, the Hawks wouldn’t have even had the chance to fall in the first round to the Heat.
They just couldn’t stay consistent this year and suffered from constant dysfunction.
There was a hope that things would turn around when the postseason began and the team would suddenly come to life and be a Cinderella story again.
As we can see, that just wasn’t the case.
Young is a terrific player but he got outsmarted this year.
That doesn’t mean he can’t return next season better than ever.
Hawks fans expect a lot of Young – but he does too.
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