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The Atlanta Hawks were expected to have a bit of a fall-off heading into the 2024-25 season after they traded Dejounte Murray away to the New Orleans Pelicans — admitting that their trade for the 6'4″ guard back in 2022 was a failure after going 77-87 over the past two seasons. But there may be some sort of Ewing Theory effect going on with the Hawks, as they look like a much better team this season — clawing their way back to the .500 mark after a topsy-turvy start to the season with their 124-112 win over the New Orleans Pelicans.
Plenty of factors have contributed to the Hawks' better-than-anticipated start to the 2024-25 season; their over/under in terms of win total heading into the season was at 36, and it looks as though they'll be finishing with a better win tally this season — especially when they've proven capable of defeating two of the best teams in the association in the Cleveland Cavaliers (doing so twice) and Boston Celtics (doing so without Trae Young).
But there may not be a bigger factor fueling the Hawks' incredible play as of late than the play of the main piece they got from the Pelicans in the Murray trade.
Dyson Daniels is the player the Hawks thought Dejounte Murray would be
When the Hawks traded for Dejounte Murray in 2022, they were envisioning that Murray would act as the perfect complement to Trae Young in the backcourt. Young would handle the bulk of offensive creation, while Murray would thrive as a secondary ballhandler, capitalizing on the space that Young creates all the while covering for his backcourt mate's well-publicized deficiencies on the defensive end of the court.
But the Murray-Young fit was iffier than the Hawks envisioned. Murray needed more of the ball to thrive, and despite his penchant for racking up gaudy steals totals, his on-ball defense was suspect. There was a your turn-my turn dynamic that pervaded this backcourt partnership, as their skillsets simply weren't conducive to success regardless of how much they wanted it to work.
There was no surprise when the Hawks pulled the trigger on the trade that sent Murray to the Pelicans, and it looked like a godsend when they received Dyson Daniels as the centerpiece of the exchange. Daniels was playing behind CJ McCollum and Herb Jones in the Pelicans backcourt, although he has been dynamite defensively whenever he's been given minutes.
From day one, Daniels staked his claim as the Hawks' starting shooting guard, and he hasn't looked back since. For the long haul, it's looking like the 21-year-old guard will be Young's backcourt partner in Atlanta — with the trade paying immediate dividends for Atlanta.
Daniels' ability to make plays on the defensive end of the court cannot be taught; he was blessed with a preternatural feel for where to position himself on defense, and it's his fast-twitch reactions that make him an elite passing lane nuisance. And now that he's getting 30 or more minutes on a consistent basis, it's paying off in the form of historic steals totals that has him featuring prominently on opposing teams' scouting reports.
But defense has never been Daniels' question mark; it's his offense that has prevented him from featuring heavily in the Pelicans rotation through the first two years of his career. Through the first 19 games of the season, it has been made very clear that Daniels has a long way to go before becoming a more well-rounded offensive player.
He may be averaging a career-best 13.5 points per game this season, but he's doing so on 44/30/62 shooting splits — which is “good” for a true shooting percentage of 50.1. Among qualified players, Daniels ranks as the sixth least-efficient player in terms of true shooting percentage, with only Alex Sarr, Kyle Kuzma, Stephon Castle, Bam Adebayo, and Russell Westbrook being worse.
Regardless, Daniels is only 21 years old, and he has already made plenty of strides as an offensive player. He has been launching jumpshots with more confidence than ever, and he has been an active mover off the ball — benefitting off of Young's unselfishness. He only needs to continue working on his shooting stroke as he emerges as one of the league's most feared defensive threats on the perimeter.
Checking in on Jalen Johnson and the rest of Atlanta's young core
While Dyson Daniels has been the Hawks' most pleasant surprise this season, a lot of credit has to go to Jalen Johnson and his improvement for the Hawks' ascent. Johnson, after a bit of an inefficient start to the 2024-25 campaign, has been electric over the past few weeks, picking up where he left off last season — averaging 20.0 points, 9.8 rebounds, 5.5 assists, 1.3 steals, and 1.1 blocks this year on 50/37/75 splits.
Zaccharie Risacher may be playing limited minutes despite being a starter, but he has been making the most out of them as of late — being an impactful player on both ends of the court. Even Kobe Bufkin has been playing better as of late.
