Atlanta Hawks: 3 biggest disappointments from the 2018-19 NBA season

With the Atlanta Hawks again heading to the draft lottery, it’s time to look at the most underwhelming aspects of their 2018-19 NBA season.

For any rebuilding sports franchise, the one thing you must consistently sell your fanbase on while the losses pile up is hope. That hope could come in the form of anything: a high draft pick, cap space for a free agent, or the potential to trade for a star player. But no matter the path, fans will swallow a few lean years as long as the organization has a plan for the future. In the early stages, the Atlanta Hawks look like one of those teams.

On the surface, Atlanta’s 29-53 record in 2018-19 likely elicits little more than a quick glance while your eyes scan through the standings, but the team’s young core — headlined by point guard Trae Young and forward John Collins — started to jell after the All-Star break, giving Hawks fans a glimmer of what could develop into a playoff team within the next couple seasons.

Still, this team finished where it did for a reason, and while most basketball followers expected the Hawks to place near the bottom of the Eastern Conference, there were a few areas in which they failed to meet even those low expectations.

For the purposes of this piece, let’s focus on these three lackluster portions of the Hawks’ 2018-19 campaign.