The Atlanta Hawks are 2-1 three games into the season, and one of the biggest reasons they’ve looked so dangerous comes from an unexpected place.
Aaron Wiggins has wasted no time making his presence felt. Through three games, he’s given Atlanta a huge lift off the bench, and his arrival has already changed the feel of the second unit.
That impact showed up again in the Hawks’ home loss to the Houston Rockets. Houston controlled most of the night, but Atlanta still found a way to give itself a chance late. Wiggins was a major part of that push, scoring 16 points off the bench and drilling four threes, with several coming at key moments.
His shooting has been one of the early-season bright spots for Atlanta. Wiggins is connecting on more than 52% of his attempts from beyond the arc, a number that may not hold all season, but it’s made a clear difference so far. In three games, he’s averaging 17 points in 27 minutes per night, a ridiculously efficient start that has him drawing early buzz in the Sixth Man of the Year race, with a possible nod toward Most Improved Player as well.
What makes this start even more interesting is that Wiggins wasn’t even viewed as Atlanta’s top acquisition from OKC this summer. The trade for Lu Dort got most of the attention, but through three games, Wiggins has had the bigger impact than his longtime teammate.
For the Hawks, the key now is simple: keep getting this version of Wiggins. The exact scoring numbers may be tough to sustain, but there’s reason to think he can stay close to this level. Even if the points dip a little, Atlanta needs him to keep delivering the same kind of punch.
So far, he’s been the team’s most important weapon off the bench, and Coach Snyder already seems to trust him completely. In Atlanta’s opening-night road win over the Orlando Magic, Wiggins stayed on the floor for the final 17 minutes, a clear sign of how quickly he’s earned that confidence.
If the scoring cools off, the Hawks will still need the rest of his game to keep making an impact. Based on his career track record, that doesn’t look like a problem.
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Zaccharie Risacher Is Giving Hawks Fans A New Reason To Wonder
Zaccharie Risacher has been in the mix from the start, logging heavy minutes in the preseason and carrying that workload into the first two regular-season games with Dallas. For Hawks fans, the intrigue is easy to understand. The reputation he brought into the league was built around his shooting, and his early showing has looked very different from the polished perimeter threat many expected.
The opening sample has been rough enough to raise eyebrows, especially for a player whose pre-draft appeal centered on efficiency and spacing. He has had chances to settle in, but the early results have not matched the promise, leaving Atlanta observers with a familiar draft-night question: how much of the outside profile was real, and how quickly can it show up when the games start to matter? [Read more 🡒]
Hawks Hot Start Has Atlanta Dreaming About A Real Deadline Splash
A 2-0 start has put Atlanta in a place few teams reach this early in the season, with the kind of flexibility that can make the rest of the league take notice well before the trade deadline arrives. The Hawks have the cap room to be active if the front office decides this is the moment to push, and they also have expiring contracts on the books that could help grease a bigger deal if a buyers market develops.
Around the league, that naturally sends people hunting for the kinds of stars that could change a season in one move, even if nothing concrete is in place yet. The Hawks have already been floated in that broader conversation, which is enough to keep their situation interesting: a hot start, real roster tools to work with, and plenty of time for the idea of a deadline splash to gain steam before anything actually happens. [Read more 🡒]
Hawks Head Back To Houston With One Clear Concern Pre-Game
The Hawks head back to Houston with a familiar test in front of them, coming off a recent loss to the Rockets and trying to clean up the kind of offensive stretches that bothered head coach Quin Snyder after the last meeting. Atlanta already knows it will be shorthanded, with Mouhamed Gueye and Henri Veesaar ruled out because of injuries, while Houston enters with Steven Adams unavailable.
One name to watch on the Rockets side is Marcus Smart, who is listed as questionable as the rematch approaches. For Atlanta, the bigger immediate concern is less about the matchup details and more about whether the offense can look sharper on the road against a team that has already shown how uncomfortable this series can get. [Read more 🡒]