Atlanta Hawks superstar Trae Young went for a career-high 56 points while also handing out 14 assists against a Portland Trail Blazers team missing Damian Lillard and CJ McCollum on Monday night. The Hawks still suffered a 136-131 loss, dropping them to a disappointing 16-20 on the season after entering 2021-22 with high expectations following a run to the Eastern Conference Finals.

Atlanta has dealt with a number of health issues, both in terms of injuries and COVID-19. Despite this, head of basketball operations Travis Schlenk came out Tuesday with some eye-opening comments about the expectations for this team:

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This is pretty harsh given all the time key Hawks players have missed, but it's the reality of the situation right now. Atlanta is currently sitting outside the play-in picture and just suffered an unfathomable loss to a team missing its two best players despite Young's career efforts. It's hard not to be frustrated with the situation after watching something like that.

The good news is there's plenty of time left in this season, and the Hawks have been here before. Just last season, Atlanta started 14-20 before firing Lloyd Pierce and hiring Nate McMillan. The team promptly went 27-11 to finish out the regular season, and then came the push to the Eastern Conference Finals in the playoffs.

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This Hawks squad should get better once they get guys back in the lineup. They have been absolutely decimated by COVID-19 of late, and it also hasn't helped that De'Andre Hunter has been out for a while. Schlenk said Hunter is moving forward in his rehab from a wrist injury and is nearing a return to the court, though there's no official timetable for a return. Hunter's presence will help a defense that's currently one of the worst in the NBA.

There are no guarantees Atlanta pulls off a run like last season, but this team should hopefully be able to turn things around soon, as long as there aren't any more major injuries. Even with this optimism, though, the expectations should probably be lowered a bit.