The Atlanta Hawks went aggressive this offseason, drafting Kingston Flemings and Henri Veesaar, plus trading for Lu Dort, Aaron Wiggins, and Ryan Nembhard to tighten up that second unit. They even got CJ McCollum and Jock Landale back, with McCollum moving into the starting lineup. But despite all that hustle, one massive issue still looms large as the season kicks off: this team still lacks a reliable backup center behind Onyeka Okongwu. That’s a huge problem.
The Knicks Already Showed The World
We all saw it in the postseason, didn’t we? Size absolutely killed the Hawks when they ran into the New York Knicks. Observers were immediately questioning how Atlanta would even begin to handle Karl-Anthony Towns and Mitchell Robinson playing together. The answer? They couldn’t. That matchup against Towns and Robinson wasn’t just tough; it became the biggest mismatch of the entire series. Robinson absolutely feasted, dominating the Hawks’ second unit with ease, racking up points and grabbing rebounds like it was nothing. Why? Because the team simply had no true option behind Okongwu at center. No plan B, nothing.
Why This Gap Is a Time Bomb
When Jock Landale went down with an injury, it was pure panic mode. The front office scrambled to sign Tony Bradley and even tried to shoehorn Mouhamed Gueye into the center role. But let’s be real, Gueye doesn’t have the frame or the skill set for that. The Hawks don’t even view him as a center! That kind of gap leaves this team wide open to getting absolutely punished by any squad running two big men. And guess what? The Eastern Conference is stacked with teams ready to do exactly that. Robinson already proved what a single elite big man can do to the backup line; imagine a duo.
Sure, Flemings and Veesaar offer some long-term hope. *Sports Illustrated* thinks Veesaar could become an excellent or at least reliable center, and Flemings has star point guard potential. But development takes time, and the immediate threat is screaming right now. The Hawks need a solution today, not in two years. The drop-off from Okongwu to the next guy up is just too massive to ignore.
Seriously, without a true backup, this team won’t survive a long playoff run against elite size. They’ll get run out of the gym, no question. The front office HAS to find a true center who can eat minutes when Okongwu is off the floor. They can’t keep relying on Gueye or those small-ball lineups forever. Landale’s return helped, but his health is a risk; if he gets hurt again, they’re back to square one with no plan. The draft picks were smart for the future, but the immediate problem is what wins or loses games *this year*. Atlanta needs to stop the bleeding against big men. The Knicks showed the whole league what happens when that backup center spot is empty. The Hawks need to fix this, like, yesterday, because the rest of the East is already licking its chops, ready to exploit this massive Achilles’ heel.
This article was created with AI assistance and published under Seattle On Tap’s editorial standards. See our Editorial Policy.
Originally reported by Yahoo Sports.
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