The Atlanta Hawks closed out the 2024-25 regular season on a three-game winning streak. Admittedly, the competition level was not too high for the Hawks in those matchups, as Atlanta faced a pair of tanking teams (Brooklyn, Philadelphia) before a matchup against Orlando in the finale. Still, the Hawks pushed to the 40-win mark and finished the campaign on a high note.
Here are three takeaways from Game 82.
Atlanta's system generally works
The Hawks didn't play anyone on Sunday. Because the game was meaningless as far as impact on the standings, Atlanta sat Trae Young, Dyson Daniels, Onyeka Okongwu, Caris LeVert, and Georges Niang, in addition to already injured players like Jalen Johnson, Clint Capella, and Larry Nance Jr. As such, Quin Snyder was left with a skeleton crew and, with a caveat for opponent quality, a lot of what Atlanta did on both sides of the floor still looked relatively "normal."
The Hawks created 40 3-point attempts, making 17 of them, and handed out 32 assists in the game. Atlanta also generated 58 points in the paint and leaned heavily on the transition game, producing 26 fast break points against Orlando. Offensively, things were quite balanced, with seven players in double-figures and no individual netting more than 19 points.
Obviously, there are some differences to what the Hawks were doing without Young, Daniels, or Okongwu available to play. However, Atlanta's preferences to get up 3s and attack the rim with pace were evident and present throughout the game.
Keaton Wallace was the perfect Two-Way signing
Keaton Wallace made a bit of history on Sunday afternoon. Wallace finished the game with 15 points, 15 assists, 11 rebounds and five steals, becoming the first player in Hawks franchise history to finish a game with at least 15-15-10-5. The circumstances were a bit odd, to be sure, but Wallace also managed to produce at this level despite a rough shooting night (7-of-20, 1-of-7 on 3s), so he didn't need to be scalding-hot to achieve it.
One showing like this in mid-April does not suddenly mean that Wallace is a top-flight NBA point guard, but it was a reminder that the Hawks hit it out of the park in signing Wallace to a Two-Way contract. He fit the role brilliantly, stepping in for big minutes when Young was unavailable, providing quality depth in certain games, and also buying into the overall organizational direction. He was a strong leader in College Park and a useful backup at the NBA level all at once. It isn't a given that any team will unearth that level of value in a Two-Way deal, but the Hawks found it in Wallace.
Zaccharie Risacher and Mo Gueye should gear up for Tuesday
The Hawks deployed nine players on Sunday, which wasn't quite the minimum of eight but functionally as few as Atlanta thought it could get away with. However, Zaccharie Risacher and Mo Gueye appeared only in the first quarter and, once it was clear there was no foul trouble or injury concern for the rest of the active roster, they were put on ice.
For Risacher, that seemed like a no-brainer, as he has been taking on a big workload for months. However, Gueye getting that treatment while players like Terance Mann and Vit Krejci were deployed for big minutes was interesting to say the least.
It would be silly to over-read the situation, but it does perhaps whisper that Gueye could be in for a big role when the Hawks face the Magic on Tuesday in Orlando. If nothing else, Atlanta could certainly use his size, athleticism, and rim protection against a Magic team that relies on getting to the rim.