Why Trae Young believes ‘nobody’s gonna feel sorry’ for Hawks amid losing streak

ATLANTA, GA – Defeated. Deflated. Dejected.

That was the vibe of the Atlanta Hawks when the clock hit zero after losing 126-111 to the Miami Heat a day after Christmas. It was the fifth straight loss for the Hawks, and the fifth straight game where their opponent has scored more than 125 points.

It’s been the same story for the Hawks in the past few weeks, where the defense has not been connected. A group that once was one of the better defensive units in the league has seemed to have lost its edge. Wide open shots, easy paint touches, and letting the opponent beat them off the dribble have all been problems for the team this season. The offense can score at will, but it’s been an issue on the other end of the floor.

“Teams are putting too many points on the board for us… It’s not our offense that’s too much of a problem,” Trae Young said after the game. “We had a lot of turnovers, but the last few games weren’t necessarily our offense, it’s been our defense, and tonight was a little bit more of both.”

Trae:

“Teams are putting too many points on the board for us… It's not our offense that's too much of a problem. We had a lot of turnovers, but the last few games weren't necessarily our offense, it's been our defense, and tonight was a little bit more of both.” pic.twitter.com/0HPxLvJHJw

— Malik Brown (@_MalikATL) December 27, 2025

All of the losses have not been the same, and the Hawks know that it’s on them to fix things.

“Nobody’s gonna feel sorry for us,” Young said. “There’s 30 teams and only one champion. We got to figure out how we can put ourselves in that top tier of the group and just try to give ourselves a chance. Right now, we’re not even in that giving ourselves a chance group. We just gotta figure it out. It’s a long season for a reason.”

Hawks continue bad habits in fifth straight loss

The Heat took advantage of the Hawks wherever they could, and they did, even without their best two players. They outworked them in the paint, whether it was offensive rebounds or getting points in the interior. The Hawks didn’t make it better on themselves on offense at times, as they finished with 21 turnovers.

“We had some turnovers tonight, which is our offense, but defensively, which was better, we couldn’t rebound whenever they missed shots,” Young said. “We got to be better at not letting them get to two opportunities. Anytime a team can get a put-back or a rebound and be able to put it right back up, we’re either fouling them or giving them and-ones, or they’re putting it back up. We’ve got to be better at making sure we hit our man and just hit him early and try not to let him get too far in the paint.”

“Getting hits and boxing out,” Nickeil Alexander-Walker said. “In any basketball clinic you go to, no matter where you go,  they’re going to say rebound and boxing out. It starts with that. Get more hits, box out, and compete. Because that’s what it’s about… The art of rebounding is getting hits, wanting the ball more, and collectively doing so.”

Outside of the rebounding, the Hawks have to play a full 48 minutes. There were times when it looked like they were going to get back into the game, and at times they did, but then they reverted to their old habits, and the Heat put the pressure on.

With the loss, the Hawks are now two games below .500 and in 10th place in the Eastern Conference.

It doesn’t get any easier for them, as their next three opponents are the New York Knicks, Oklahoma City Thunder, and Minnesota Timberwolves, all teams that are playing well so far this season. If the Hawks want to be in the same conversations as those teams, they’re going to have to figure it out soon.

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