the latest on Giannis and the hawks
January 20 Episode:
Now that Trae can't be blamed, who is to blame? Do the Hawks actually have a level up to go anyway? Has Quinn Snyder lost the locker room? What would the Hawks need to do to actually compete for a championship in the next handful of years?
Recorded: Late January 2026 | Featuring Jesse and Travis Jesse: Welcome to the Ca-caw Podcast. This is Jesse, and that is Travis... I was thinking about the intro music when I assembled the last episode. It’s chock-full of Trae. We may have to redo it. Travis: We have to redo it. Jesse: No Trae anymore. And the Hawks are on a four-game losing streak. They lost to the Lakers 141-116. They got slobbered. Then they lost at Portland, a game they shouldn’t lose. Then Boston beat them 132-106. Then the Bucks beat them 112-110 on MLK Day. They clawed back, and it was almost an achievement to lose it at the last second. Travis: They really suck right now. The Bucks game wasn’t as bad, especially the second half. It was like they remembered they’re a team and can play. But the previous seven quarters were putrid. Jesse: Jalen didn’t score more than 20 against the Lakers, Blazers, or Celtics. He got erased. Travis: Jalen is everybody’s target now. Every team is zeroing in on him. There’s no other real No. 1 option, so he gets all the defensive attention. Turns out it’s harder. Jesse: The drop-off has been kind of nice for Trae supporters like me. It’s like: our problems weren’t Trae problems. I’m not saying Trae wouldn’t help, but we weren’t having “Trae is the whole problem” issues. Travis: Trae wasn’t the problem, but he also wasn’t the solution. Jesse: I look at the standings and think: are the Bulls really better? The Heat? I don’t think the Magic are good. I don’t think the 76ers are good. But it’s still frustrating. I hate saying it, but I don’t know if it’s Quinn — they don’t feel urgent. Nobody feels like a killer. Travis: Against Milwaukee, they couldn’t make a shot in the first half — it was comical. If you remove variables and it still sucks, you come back to: maybe it’s the coach. I can’t see Quinn surviving if they don’t right the ship, but I doubt they fire him midseason. Jesse: Coaches like D’Antoni, Thibodeau, Ime — they have an identity and drill it. With Quinn, I don’t know what the signature is. Snyder feels like a systems coach, like Budenholzer. Bud’s stuff became league standard, and eventually it stopped being an edge. With Snyder, I wonder if the “system advantage” is gone. Travis: The only other variable is the center spot — a stronger five who sets real screens. I was looking at screen assists on NBA.com. Luke Kornet is high. If you add that kind of five, maybe it opens things up. They have length, not strength. That’s the problem. Jesse: The simplest answer: the guys just aren’t as good as the opponents’ guys. It’s hard to separate that from coaching, but this is year four of Snyder, and they’ve been under .500 in the East for three years. Jesse: Coach Bud used to come into my coffee shop all the time. Almost nobody recognized him. He learned I was a Hawks fan, and one day he asked if I wanted to go to the game. I picked up the tickets from friends-and-family and ended up sitting next to Paul Millsap’s wife. Travis: Amazing. Jesse: The coolest part: I didn’t talk hoops with Bud much. But one day I told him I’d watched the Shaq/Penny Magic 30 for 30. It was Bud’s first year in the league as a video guy for the Spurs. I said something like: if Shaq could’ve stayed in that frame, he would’ve been Giannis. Bud lit up and agreed. It felt like he clocked that I actually watched the game. Jesse: All-Star voting came out. In the East: Giannis, Cade Cunningham, Tyrese Maxey, Jalen Brunson, Jaylen Brown. Jalen Johnson will probably make his first All-Star team from this voting. That’ll be deserved. Jesse: Maxey vs. Trae: Maxey shoots better from 3, and the extra height might matter. I think Maxey is better overall. Travis: Embiid still averages 24... He looks like the undead version of MVP Embiid — still scary, but slow-zombie scary. Jesse: I’m reaching the point where I watch other teams more than the Hawks. Two games this week: at Memphis, then home vs. Phoenix. They should win both. Travis: Maybe we’ll get a win. Ca-caw.Transcript
The Post-Trae Reality: A Four-Game Skid
Jalen Johnson as the Number One Option
The Quinn Snyder Identity Crisis
Length vs. Strength and the Search for a Five
A Personal Encounter with Coach Bud
All-Star Voting and the "Scary" Embiid
TOP STORY:
The Giannis Antetokounmpo Injury News Could Have Massive Ramifications On The Atlanta Hawks
What? Giannis Antetokounmpo said he expects to miss four to six weeks with a right calf/soleus strain suffered in Milwaukee’s 102–100 loss to Denver on Jan. 23. The Bucks are 18–26, 11th in the East. Atlanta owns the more favorable 2026 first-rounder between New Orleans and Milwaukee. ESPN, Reuters, ESPN (assets)
So What? If the Bucks slide while Giannis sits, the Hawks’ “better-of NOP/MIL” 2026 pick gains lottery odds, boosting Atlanta’s ammunition in a retool, or its ability to hold the pick as a blue-chip asset through the deadline.
Now What? Watch for MRI results and any setback/return timeline (target late February to early March), Milwaukee’s record without Giannis, and moves before the Feb. 5 deadline. Track Pelicans’ position too—both outcomes affect Atlanta’s pick value. AP/NBA.com, AP recap
