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The Atlanta Hawks continued their winning ways in Detroit on Wednesday night. The Detroit Pistons were without their star guard, Cade Cunningham, but the No. 1 seed in the East still gave Atlanta head basketball coach Quin Snyder’s team all it could handle.

With the victory, the Hawks would be the five-seed in the NBA Playoffs and would face the Cleveland Cavaliers in the first round, rather than either the New York Knicks or Boston Celtics, who are both battling it out for the two-seed down the stretch of the 2025-26 NBA regular season.

The Hawks, who have now won fourteen of their last fifteen basketball games, made a statement on the road last night in their overtime victory over the best team in the East, a team they’d lost to in all three of their previous meetings this season.

Let’s dive into my three takeaways from last night’s victory.

Atlanta’s Backcourt Was Everything Last Night

Nickeil Alexander-Walker had 14 points in the first quarter. Both teams were on fire from everywhere on the floor to start the ball game. With around six minutes to go in the opening frame, the Hawks were shooting over 80 percent from the floor. It looked as though it was going to be another big scoring night for the NAW, but he only scored seven more points, including overtime, the rest of the game.

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It was the Hawks’ other backcourt starter, the veteran McCollum, who carried Atlanta to victory last night. He, like Alexander-Walker, started the game hot. McCollum connected on his first three attempts from deep. When McCollum and Alexander-Walker are rolling, particularly from deep, the Hawks are a really tough team to deal with, particularly because of how consistently good Jalen Johnson and Dyson Daniels are around them, with both being triple-digit threats every night out.

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But it was McCollum, late in the fourth quarter, and then in overtime, making one big shot after another. In the fourth quarter in particular, McCollum was hitting shots in a variety of ways. He was drilling shots from deep, sometimes on one foot with the shot clock winding down, hitting huge and-1 opportunities, and even some in the mid-range. The longtime NBA veteran is a delight to watch when he’s playing like he did last night in Detroit, and he was the biggest reason the Hawks beat the Pistons for the first time this season.

What The Heck Happened In The Third Quarter

The Hawks had a 92.7 percent chance of winning this basketball game with 52.9 seconds remaining in the second quarter when Atlanta led 69-50, per ESPN. The Hawks took an eighteen-point lead into halftime. It looked as though there was going to be a lot of garbage-time minutes in the fourth quarter, given where things were headed.

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Then the second half happened. The Pistons started the third quarter on a 16-0 run, and in less than half a quarter, the Hawks’ nearly 20-point lead had completely evaporated. They trailed at points in the third quarter. It was a jarring turn of events and a testament to J.B. Bickerstaff and his team for how they rallied at home after getting blown out in the first half.

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It was another veteran, not McCollum, who came up big for the Hawks in the third quarter, though – Gabe Vincent. He hit two huge threes in the third quarter and scored all of his points in this brutal frame for Atlanta. Without his jolt off the bench, that also included two steals, Atlanta might not have won this game. (Alexander-Walker also hit a huge pull-up three in transition late in the third quarter that felt huge at the time, too.)

Dyson Daniels And Jalen Johnson Were Great, Too

Johnson tied McCollum in most points scored for the Hawks last night at 27. However, it’s easy to recount all of the latter’s makes, while Johnson is so good and so efficient that he can coast to 27. He was two rebounds shy of another triple-double and played winning basketball all night long. He passed the ball, drew a lot of fouls, converted at the line, and continued to be the do-it-all star for Atlanta. But on nights where McCollum is hitting some of the shots he did, particularly late in the game, Johnson’s consistently elite play can be overlooked.

For Daniels, who continues to be the best watch for Atlanta, does so many things that impact winning, too. He nearly finished with ten offensive rebounds alone and finished with 13. He added two steals, assisted on two threes for the Hawks, and nearly had a triple-double when he took zero free throws and made zero threes.

Atlanta doesn’t have enough remaining games to catch the Cavaliers, New York Knicks, or Boston Celtics, but they will face the latter in two of their next three games. The first one is Friday night in Boston.

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Let’s dive into my three key takeaways from last night’s win for the Hawks.

Dyson Daniels makes a huge impact all night long

Daniels started the game strong for the Hawks, dishing three assists and scoring two buckets at the rim in the first quarter. Outside of a Jalen Johnson floater or a Nickeil Alexander-Walker corner three, there is not a shot or look I feel better about for Atlanta than Daniels fighting his way through traffic inside. He’s either going to find a trailing Johnson for a dunk as he did late in this game, find somebody open on the perimeter, or he will lay it in for two easy points.

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Daniels impacts the game in so many different ways for the Hawks night in and night out. A common thing I write down on my trusty yellow notepad during games is whenever Atlanta looks out of sorts for any significant stretch of time, Daniels probably isn’t in the game. He played 36 minutes last night, and those 12 minutes he was off the floor were glaring. Only Oneyka Okongwu, who was fantastic in the first and fourth quarters tonight, had a higher plus-minus in this game than Daniels at +25 to +20, respectively.

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Daniels had a huge contest, stopping Marvin Bagley Jr. at the rim in the fourth quarter. The Hawks had forced 12 Mavericks turnovers with 6:54 left in the third quarter, with Daniels playing a large role in that. Overall, he flirted with a triple-double, posting a 14/7/10/3 line on the night. Daniels had the highest AST% of the night at 30.3% for the Hawks. That percentage fell in the 94th percentile on average, per CleaningTheGlass.

He did go 0-for-2 from three-point land, and while the Hawks broadcast encouraged Daniels to take those open threes, at 13% on the season now, I think it’s more of a Giannis Antetokounmpo situation from deep, where he should probably not ever shoot any threes, at least not for the remainder of this season. He’s too good at too many other things and doesn’t have to make any threes to be one of the Hawks’ best players every night out.

Nickeil Alexander-Walker’s Hot Shooting Continues

Alexander-Walker led the Hawks in scoring with 29. He was five-for-eight from three-point land overall, and drained two threes late to put the Mavericks away for good. I’ve written a lot about how good Alexander-Walker has been in his increased role with Atlanta this season, and this was another game where he was fantastic once again for the Hawks.

Alexander-Walker has been a big reason why the Hawks have won seven straight basketball games. Over his last three games, Alexander-Walker is 14-of-26 from deep. He’s scored 23 or more points in each of the last three games. Since the Hawks’ loss to the Miami Heat on February 20, Alexander-Walker has been hot from deep.

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When Alexander-Walker, along with Daniels, has nights like this to support the team’s All-Star forward Jalen Johnson, it’s a really fun and exciting team.

As the Detroit Pistons have swept the Hawks 3-0 in their season series, you hope the wins keep coming for Atlanta so they can avoid a first-round date with Cade Cunningham’s club. If Alexander-Walker keeps shooting like this from deep for a while longer, the Hawks just might be able to do that.

Hawks withstand vintage Klay Thompson and Khris Middleton Performances

I have watched Klay Thompson and Khris Middleton play a lot of basketball over the years—a lot of basketball. So, it was both exciting and frustrating to watch as two all-time great No. 2s on NBA championship teams continued to give Atlanta’s perimeter defenders all sorts of problems for most of the night in 2026.

In the third quarter in particular, Thompson and Middleton shot four of five from three-point land and six of seven from the field overall. The Mavericks stayed in the game largely due to what Thompson and Middleton were able to do in that third quarter against the Hawks. It can be a bit disorienting to watch both guys at this stage in their careers – where DID the time go, that sort of thing – but it felt like 2015 again watching multiple Hawks wings try and hang with the future Hall Of Famer on the perimeter to no avail in that third quarter.

Next up, the Brooklyn Nets come to State Farm Arena as the Hawks try to push their current win streak to eight games.

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New President of Football Matt Ryan, along with new general manager Ian Cunningham, did not draft Michael Penix Jr. They did not trade for Kirk Cousins. However, they did take jobs where they knew they would be inheriting both quarterbacks.

Early in the offseason, many folks wondered if the Falcons would roll with Cousins for one more year, given how well the team played down the stretch this past season. That will not be the case as Cunnninham reportedly informed Cousins he will be cut from the team on March 11.

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So now what in Flowery Branch?

It’s obviously a huge offseason for Penix Jr. Given how loaded the 2027 NFL Draft is at the quarterback position, it’s fair to project next season as a make-or-break season for the former Washington Huskies star, fair or not. The Falcons will likely be a trendy pick to win the NFC South once again, as the franchise looks to host their first playoff game ever inside Mercedes-Benz Stadium. Over his two seasons in Atlanta, Falcons fans have seen eye-popping darts from the southpaw mixed in with some back-breaking turnovers. It seems hard to imagine anyone, even Ryan or Cunningham, could have a strong lean one way or the other on Penix Jr. going into next season with a new offensive coaching staff.

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There has already been some talk about who the Falcons should bring in to either replace or compete with Penix Jr. this offseason. Some analysts have suggested trying to trade for former Georgia Bulldogs star Stetson Bennett, who is currently Matthew Stafford’s backup quarterback in Los Angeles. Others have reported on the scuttlebutt, which centers more on Joe Flacco or Tua Tagovailoa. With no first-round pick in their arsenal in this year’s NFL Draft and only five picks overall, reaching for a quarterback the new Falcons’ brass might like seems unlikely, especially when you take a gander at the names who all could be available in next year’s draft.

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If the Falcons’ brass believes that Penix Jr. has shown enough in his 14 games played in the NFL thus far, a player like Flacco makes the most sense to join Atlanta’s quarterback room next season. If they’re on the fence about Penix Jr., Tagovailoa makes more sense as a way to throw more darts at the dartboard if the Miami Dolphins do release the former Alabama star this summer. If neither pans out, well, Atlanta has their 2027 first-round pick to potentially use to take another quarterback in what could be an all-time great draft for teams who need a new signal-caller. In fact, the Falcons have all of their picks in 2027 and 2028 outside of a seventh-rounder in 2027.

As of this writing, Atlanta only has five picks in the 2026 NFL Draft, two of which are sixth and seventh-round selections. Perhaps Cunningham and Ryan stick with their five, or maybe they find interesting ways to accumulate another pick or two by trading back or trading a player on the roster we’re not even thinking about right now for additional picks in this year’s draft.

It’s no secret that the Falcons need to address a few different positions in the 2026 NFL Draft. In no particular order, it would not be a surprise to see Atlanta take a wide receiver, center, defensive tackle, cornerback, and running back with their five selections. If Atlanta is not sold on Penix Jr., couldn’t one argue that taking a flier on a quarterback would not be the worst idea in the world? The Falcons could still address multiple positions of need while still taking a shot on a quarterback in this draft. If Penn State’s Drew Allar or Arkansas’ Taylen Green are available when the Falcons are on the clock in the fourth round, would it not be worth a swing on a quarterback with the physical tools and the size those two former Power 2 quarterbacks possess?

If I were an NFL general manager, I would always lean towards taking a quarterback if I didn’t think I currently have a franchise quarterback on my roster. It’s the most important position in sports, so if you’re Atlanta, why not take a mid-round or later chance on a guy like Allar or Green? If Penix Jr. proves not be the guy this fall, along with an Allar or Green, who cares? You took a couple more swings, and you’ll be in a great spot to swing for a third time in one of the best quarterback drafts in years.

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Ultimately, if the Falcons replace Cousins with another veteran like Flacco, I would understand. Penix Jr., to me, has shown enough to see what he can do with this new staff for at least this season. I would also understand it, though, if the Falcons were to take a surprising flier on a high-ceiling, low-floor quarterback in the middle-to-late rounds of the 2026 NFL Draft.

Finding a franchise quarterback is extremely difficult, but the best way to find them is through the NFL Draft. If Atlanta is not sure about Penix Jr., take another quarterback this year. If neither proves to be the answer, take another next year, only this time in the first round. Atlanta should keep taking quarterbacks as long as they’re not sure they have a franchise quarterback.

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It felt like the game was already over when the Atlanta Hawks jumped out to a quick 7-0 lead against the Washington Wizards on Tuesday night at State Farm Arena. Head coach Quin Snyder’s team, with its new starting five, started the game the way it needed to. The Hawks began the fourth quarter with a 36-point lead, but with so much garbage time in the final frame, the final score of 119-98 did not paint a good picture of how the game went.

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Even with All-Star forward Jalen Johnson leaving the game early with roughly 7:00 minutes remaining in the first quarter and never to return, Atlanta did not miss a beat. Key starters Nickeil Alexander-Walker, Oneyka Okongwu, and Dyson Daniels registered a collective in-game plus-minus of +69 in the blowout win over the Wizards.

With Johnson not returning to the ball game, forward Mouhamed Gueye got the start in the second half and took advantage. There was one sequence in the third quarter where Gueye had a steal, one of two he forced on the night, and then dunked it on the other end. In all, he added 11 boards, a couple of steals, and was a solid +3 in his 18 minutes for the Hawks in Johnson’s absence.

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Jonathan Kuminga, who was acquired by the Hawks along with Buddy Hield at the NBA Trade Deadline in a deal that sent Kristaps Porzingis to the Golden State Warriors, made his debut for the Hawks. The man who wears No. 0 could not have started his Atlanta Hawks career on a higher note than the show he put on against the Wizards last night. Kuminga had 27 points in just over 24 minutes, was 9-of-12 from the field, and 3-of-4 from deep. Kuminga flashed in transition, made several great passes, and showcased his elite athleticism by slamming home a couple of dunks.

Kuminga’s 27 points did not feel forced. He, along with every other Hawk, moved the basketball well all night as Atlanta racked up 33 assists. Atlanta leads the NBA in team assists per game at 30.4, and it’s easy to see why on nights like last night. The Hawks are perfectly content to eschew a good shot for a great shot when the moment calls for it. Five Hawks had three or more assists in this game. You wonder what that final assist tally might have been last night had Atlanta shot the ball better from 3, as the Hawks were a frigid 12-50 from three-point land.

Dyson Daniels continues to be a really interesting player to watch. One of my favorite things about him as a basketball player is how often he successfully drives into the paint. He’s a winning basketball player in many ways, as his AST% ranks in the 99th percentile, per Cleaning The Glass. The bizarre three-point shot stuff does not matter because he’s so good everywhere else on both ends of the floor. 51 percent of his shots come at the rim, which is in the 95th percentile in the NBA, per Cleaning The Glass, and although he needs to improve at his overall makes there, he’s solid enough. He’s an elite offensive rebounder for his position and is fifth in steals per game. It’s never a surprise when he has the highest single-game plus-minus for the Hawks, like he did last night against the Wizards.

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Outside of Daniels doing all the little things well and Kuminga scoring from everywhere on the basketball court, I thought about something: Is Alexander-Walker’s corner three the best look the team can have on any given offensive possession? Alexander-Walker splashed two in the third quarter. You knew the second both shots went up, they were going down. The former Minnesota Timberwolves guard is shooting 46 percent on corner threes this season. He shot 47 percent from three in the corner last year, so the increased usage and role haven’t affected him in the slightest from that area of the floor. Of course, the answer is still any shot by Jalen Johnson. Still, I maintain there is no look I feel more confident about with the Hawks than an open Alexander-Walker corner three.

But the biggest takeaway was what Kuminga did in his debut. (And maybe how much every team in the NBA could see a Justin Champagnie off the bench who was 4-of-6 from three for the Wiz.) It’s going to be fascinating to see how Snyder manages his minutes and what lineups he inserts Kuminga into down the stretch here. When he’s shooting like he did last night, you can envision a lot of minutes at the three. Zaccharie Risacher certainly looked more comfortable and energized coming off the bench in that first quarter. He was solid overall, particularly on the glass and on defense, but he’s shooting 28 percent from deep over his last ten games. I wonder how Snyder experiments with Kuminga, Risacher, Corey Kispert, and even Daniels at the three, the rest of the way.

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