Young, Okongwu lift Hawks to victory in feisty opening night affair with Brooklyn

An entertaining opening act for the Hawks to begin the new season!

The Atlanta Hawks began their 2024-25 campaign with a home victory against the Brooklyn Nets, 120-116 at State Farm Arena on Wednesday night.

Trae Young led the Hawks with 30 points and 12 assists, while Onyeka Okongwu scored a career-high 28 points. For the Nets, the excitable Cam Thomas scored 36 points.

As it unfolded…a heated encounter

The Hawks looked as though they were powering up to start the season as they took a 13-4 lead on the Nets within the opening minutes, but in terms of a lead that would be as good as it got until the fourth quarter. The Nets recovered from a slow start, and through much of the game it was an even affair, a back-and-forth affair.

The Nets took the lead in the second quarter as the Hawks struggled for offense when Young came out of the lineup, but the Hawks responded in the third quarter and took the lead. The fourth quarter was a particularly chippy affair. It had been a physical game all night, there were a lot of fouls, a lot of contact, and it had all been slowly simmering away before the heat shot up as Nic Claxton clocked an airborne Dyson Daniels en route to the rim after a steal:

Daniels was, understandably, not impressed by Claxton’s non-attempt to play the ball but to stop the man, and Daniels followed Claxton into the stands to confront him, with both teams then engaging as tensions boiled over. Even after Claxton was assessed a flagrant-2 foul and was ejected from the game, the hostilities did not end there.

Following a steal, De’Andre Hunter pushes in transition and attacks the rim. He’s fouled by Thomas in what looked like an incident not too dissimilar from Daniels’ just a moment ago, and Okongwu did not take kindly to this latest infraction and both teams end up again exchanging pushes and words:

After review, Thomas was assessed a common foul (he did make a genuine attempt to play the ball) and Okongwu a technical foul. Despite emotions running high, the Hawks kept their composure following these incidents, and rallied to take their first double-digit lead of the game and looked comfortable enough to finish the game. A couple of hail-mary threes from Thomas kept the Nets close but the Hawks chose a good time to hit their free throws down the stretch and emerged as four-point winners.

In what was a feisty affair, an affair Hawks head coach Quin Snyder admitted got a bit out of hand, the Hawks were able to find a way to overcome adversity and pull through, which pleased Snyder. However, he wasn’t quite satisfied with the defensive execution but acknowledged both sides played a hard game.

“We were going to be tested one way or the other, particularly a home opener,” said Snyder postgame. “Brooklyn played very hard, it was a physical game and it got away, we adjusted to it very well. A lot of things I’ve mentioned from a habits standpoint. Defensively, we didn’t do a lot of things we have been working on trying to do, and that tells you they’re not there yet with the habits, and we’ve got to keep working. More importantly, we came together as a team late and executed really well and got some big shots. They hit some big shots and wouldn’t go away. I thought Brooklyn played very well and very hard. I thought we played hard too.”

Similarly, Young was also happy to see that the Hawks were able to move on to the next play despite any adversity that came their way.

“I think we did a good job of not letting the way the game was officiated play a factor,” said Young. “Yeah, we said our peace or whatever, but then we moved onto the next play. I think that really helped us tonight. There were times we didn’t get certain calls, played through a lot of physicality, just kept playing and playing. It ultimately turned in our favor.”

Okongwu makes his mark

When it came to the game itself, what helped the Hawks separate themselves from the Nets was their dominance inside the paint. Atlanta scored 54 points in the paint, 22 of them coming from Onyeka Okongwu en route to a new career-high of 28 points on 11-of-112 shooting from the field.

“I want to make sure I give my all throughout the whole year,” said Okongwu of his career-night. “I’m glad Coach ‘Q’ puts his trust in me. I’ll do my best not to kill it (that trust).”

Okongwu was a force in almost every facet offensively that he could have been. In the pick-and-roll — or slipping to the rim — he put pressure on the Nets that they had no answer for.

In this link-up with Daniels, Okongwu receives the ball and attacks the rim with force, and the Nets cannot prevent Okongwu from scoring:

Here, Okongwu slips in behind the defense to the rim and Jalen Johnson wastes no time in finding Okongwu for the lob with a great pass:

In another quick exchange, Okongwu slips the screen and Young finds Okongwu for the lob:

Okongwu played with a sense of urgency and energy the Nets lacked, especially in the first half. Here, Okongwu claims the rebound, Vit Krejci pushes in transition and Okongwu beats the Nets down the floor, receives the ball and finishes with the dunk:

Where Okongwu also played with force was on the offensive glass, claiming four offensive rebounds and scoring off of nearly all of them.

A miss from Zaccharie Risacher at the rim is collected by Okongwu and finished among the crowd:

Off of a miss from Risacher, this time from three, Okongwu waltzes into the paint to collect the free rebound and scores:

This last one may be the most impressive one of the bunch, as Young misses a three Okongwu fights and stretches to claim the offensive rebound and ducks in to score at the rim:

Okongwu was brilliant, he was the difference-maker off the bench. The Nets play a lot of wings and their big man depth is weak, and Okongwu just feasted on this weakness.

“‘O’ just played behind the defensive line,” said Young on how Okongwu excelled. “He was moving, didn’t stand still, was always looking for the ball whether it was going to screen or playing behind the big. When we would drive and they had to help he’d get in the right spots. They have a lot of wings on their team and not a lot of bigs so he really took advantage on the inside and getting some offensive rebounds and some put-backs. He has great touch around the rim and he used that tonight.”

Snyder, conversely, described some of Okongwu’s strengths, praising his hands and his instincts.

“He’s got great hands and he can really finish,” said Snyder of Okongwu. “He’s just got excellent touch around the rim. He’s been as focused as anybody on the little things defensively. He finds his way into plays because of his instinct.”

Defensively, Okongwu did the work everyone has been accustomed to, blocking three shots on the night, the pick of the bunch coming in the first half:

Okongwu played 28 minutes in the end, and was in the lineup to finish the game. With this hot start, along with Clint Capela scoring just six points in 19 minutes, it’s inevitably going to spark up the ‘Okongwu vs. Capela’ debate. We’ve discussed this subject on Peachtree Hoops in the buildup to the season, and it’s going to be discussed again today.

My own viewpoint on this is that I’m OK with Capela starting, and Okongwu is more likely to end games — I still think both of these can co-exist with each other. Okongwu was brilliant last night, but it’s still OK for him to come off the bench. He excels in this role, and as long as the Hawks are winning and center play isn’t an issue it should stay this way. Capela wasn’t at his best last night but it was a matchup that was going to play to Okongwu’s strengths, especially against second units.

When Snyder was asked about Okongwu postgame, he was quick to mention Capela’s support for Okongwu and how Capela handled not finishing the game. While some are quick to pit Capela and Okongwu against each other, Snyder went out of his way to highlight their togetherness.

“I’d be remiss if I didn’t point out the fact we got ‘O’ out at about the nine minute mark because we knew we wanted to finish with him,” said Snyder. “The way Clint handled that was to be unbelievably supportive of Onyeka. Those two guys having each other’s back, that’s what this team has to do — they have to support each other. That’s why I was so pleased with our reaction to somebody taking a hard foul, it’s a tough position to be in, that’s how people get hurt. I liked the way we responded — not in the moment but we came together after that. Clint and ‘O’ have been together and they support each other, that’s the essence of a team. It’s not about any one guy, how much you play, how many points you score, whether you start, whether you finish. There’s all those moments during the game where if you really care about winning, like they say they do, you have to care about the team than you do about your individual performance. As good as ‘O’ was, that’s what Clint was do.”

The debate will inevitably rumble on, but a hope in all of this is to appreciate that the Hawks have a really solid situation when it comes to having two very solid options for starting center and not all teams have such a situation.

Young picks his moments

Moving through the roster, Trae Young’s impact on this game was similarly impactful — 30 points on 7-of-16 from the field, 2-of-6 from three and 14-16 from the free throw line to go with 12 assists and just three turnovers. Young played a playmaker’s role in the first half, making a clear and conscious effort to get his teammates involved on opening night, dishing almost as many assists as he scored points in the first half with eight assists and nine points respectively.

Young scored 21 points in the second and, I thought, did a really good job of letting the game come to him and not forcing the issue a ton or chucking from three. Young brought a stability to the Hawks offensively, who struggled in the second quarter when Young sat for half of it having played all of the first quarter. With no Kobe Bufkin to run the offense off the bench, Krejci — among others — was responsible for handling the offense in Young’s absence. It was in this part of the game the Nets began to reel in and eventually take the lead.

“We didn’t flow as well,” admitted Snyder when asked about the second quarter with Trae on the bench. “That means the second quarter we didn’t run, we weren’t spaced so we weren’t able to get into possessions and connect and have multiple actions. I thought when that happened, when Trae is in the game, he’s able to make some plays … we may not have one or two players that are going make a play or make a play for someone else or gain an advantage, we have to do that collectively. It’s the same mindset we have to have defensively. I’m not putting any of that on Vit, that’s us, we’ve got to be better.”

I can’t say I was a big fan of Young’s first half rotation split — I think the Hawks would be better suited to play Young maybe half of the first quarter and then when the other starters are out, bring him back in to pair with Okongwu and company. It’ll be of note to monitor what the Hawks do in the next game knowing what they know from this game. Aside from that side of things, Young was great in this spot. He picked his moments, picked the Nets apart, and the floater was falling in this one — he was excellent.

Dyson delivers

Similarly excellent was Dyson Daniels I thought, who delivered basically everything one could’ve hoped for in this spot — he was brilliant defensively, snatched five steals, hit a couple of threes, and made his mark on this game.

His ability to break up plays last night was on display, and was evident in every one of his steals.

Off of a turnover from Young, putting the Hawks in a disadvantageous situation, Daniels comes from behind to poke the ball free and reclaims possession:

Even as this play begins, Daniels shows he’s not afraid of physicality off the ball, and as Ben Simmons drives Daniels pokes the ball from behind to create the steal:

On the exchange between old friend Dennis Schröder and Noah Clowney, Daniels gets his hand in between the exchange of hands and produces another steal:

Again, Daniels showcases his physicality, and even the defense flips direction Daniels is able to poke the ball free again for another steal:

Daniels finished with five steals to go with 15 points on 6-of-12 shooting from the field and 2-of-4 from three.

When Snyder was asked about Daniels postgame, he believed that what Daniels does can be infectious and help raise his teammates to another bar.

“I think any time you see someone guarding with a combination of being able to contain and also make plays and not get out of position, you see your teammate doing that you’re forced to raise your level,” said Snyder of Daniels.

Trae Young has been nothing short of excited to play with Daniels and has already had many words of praise for Daniels, and this was, again, the case last night and expects that this will continue to be the case.

“Dyson is a hell of a player,” said Young. “I’m probably going to be over-complimenting him all year! Just playing alongside him so far has been fun. He’s going to make my job a lot easier, on both ends. Not just defensively, offensively he cuts, he’s smart, I can get him the ball and if there’s not something there he’s coming right back to another action. He’s a smart player, a young player that’s still trying to establish himself but I feel like here in Atlanta he’s going to do that and put himself on the map even more.”

I think the only things you’d maybe like to see Daniels do is finish some of the opportunities he creates at the other end, as well as hit a few more of his free throws, shooting 2-of-6 from the line. Free throw shooting was an issue for the Hawks, shooting 33-of-46 from the line last night, with 46 attempts marking a high mark that has not been reached in over two years:

Despite that, Daniels was brilliant last night — his addition, if it’s anything like it was last night, is certain to raise the Hawks’ floor.

Risacher and the rest

Looking throughout the rest of the roster, let’s start with the debut of Zaccharie Risacher.

Risacher hit his first NBA shot, a three, but struggled throughout the rest of the game, scoring seven points on 2-of-8 shooting from the field and 1-of-4 from three. Despite this, however, Snyder praised Risacher for his performance and what else he was able to add despite a lack of scoring.

“I thought he did a really good job,” said Snyder of Risacher. “To me, the point of emphasis is ‘you’re not going to make shots every night, then how do you impact the game in other ways?’ Whether it’s a pass, a cut, defensively, and the other part of that is you don’t stop shooting because he’s a really good shooter.”

It was positive to see Risacher continue to shoot his shots with confidence despite the misses piling up somewhat as the game went on. He’ll continue to shoot which is positive, and he’ll have better games than this one. It was great to hear the reception he got from the crowd when he checked into the lineup, great to see the crowd behind him — they’ll have plenty more to cheer when it comes to Risacher going forward, even if this first game was a little tricky.

Fresh off of signing an extension, Jalen Johnson struggled at times in this spot, scoring 11 points on 4-of-9 shooting, 3-of-8 from the free throw line and registering six turnovers. Even if he didn’t score a lot of points, Johnson was still impactful in this game, grabbing 10 rebounds, dishing out four assists and grabbing three steals to go with a block.

“Jalen’s going to continue to get more looks,” said Young. “I don’t think he scored very much tonight but he’s a presence when he’s out there. Dyson, everyone is going to make plays this year. It’s going to be different guys each and every night. There’s going to be nights I don’t score 30, there’s going to be nights where someone else has a hot hand. It’s all about making the right plays, everybody playing for each other, getting the ball to the open man and we’re doing that right now … it was a good first game for us. That was our first fourth quarter we’ve played all summer, it was good the way we executed down the stretch.”

The Nets have a number of solid defensive wings at their disposal, so it’s not perhaps a complete shock some of the other Atlanta wings/forwards didn’t score a ton of points (eight points for Risacher, 12 for Hunter, 11 for Johnson, eight for Bogdan Bogdanovic). The Nets have solid wings but are considerably weaker when it comes to guard play and center play (as was reflected in Young’s and Okongwu’s big games).

On Bogdanovic, it’s clear he’s still getting reacclimatized into the swing of things after a busy summer, so any slow start here is not too worrying.

On the team side of things, the Hawks obviously did not shoot the ball well from three: just 9-of-28 last night, but with how much success they were having inside the arc/at the rim, the Hawks could — just about — afford to have a shooting night like this.

Elsewhere, something that was really fun to see in the first quarter especially was how quick and snappy the Hawks’ offense was. They often beat the Nets down the floor, were quick in their decisions…the offense was moving quickly in the first quarter especially. This slowed down in the second half, but it was certainly notable to begin the game.

A different dynamic?

Lastly, one thing that stood out in this game that I think feels different from previous Hawks teams is how they have each other’s backs and stick up for each other. In the very first game of the regular season, you saw guys have each other’s back right away — they had Daniels’ back after the Claxton foul and you had others getting involved after Okongwu went to go stick up for Hunter moments later (resulting in Okongwu’s first career technical foul in over four seasons in the NBA).

It’s early still of course, but the vibe of this team feels a little different in this capacity, and Trae Young — entering his seventh NBA season now — also feels this is the case.

“We’re going to stick up for each other,” said Young. “This is a different-type team that I’ve been a part of and everybody is going to stick up for each other. It shows and you can feel it on this team. Even ‘O’ sticking up for ‘Dre, ‘O’ had no business being in there but went over there and checked him. There’s been times teams have done that to us and certain things and nobody’s said a word or did anything about it. It’s a good sign and a great sign. If people don’t like it, that’s on them. I love it.”

“These are my guys,” added Okongwu. “You don’t want to see somebody go down that hard, first Dyson then two minutes later ‘Dre. We’ve got to stand up for our teammates. I don’t like my first career-tech being like that but ‘Dre’s worth it. Always got my brother’s back.”

Not to get too ‘Gen Z’ but the vibes surrounding the Hawks haven’t always been great but you have to love what transpired on the court last night in terms of guys sticking up for each other and having each other’s backs. The bonds seem deeper this season, the connections appear better, and hopefully it endures as the season progresses.

All in all, an ideal start for the Atlanta Hawks. A game they would’ve been expected to win, sure, but a very physical, chippy game; one where the Hawks went to the bat for each other, recomposed themselves, rallied, and executed in the fourth quarter to emerge victorious.

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The Hawks (1-0) are back in action on Friday to take on the Charlotte Hornets (1-0) back at State Farm Arena. Surprise winners in Houston on Wednesday, are the Hornets to be taken more seriously this season? We shall soon see!

…Until next time!