The Atlanta Hawks stopped a three-year playoff drought last season, surprising absolutely everyone with a run to the Eastern Conference Finals. There, the Trae Young-led team went to six games but ultimately could not deal with Giannis Antetokounmpo and the Milwaukee Bucks. Still, for a team led by a soon-to-be 23-year-old in his third year in the league, this was an amazing results. The whole league is now on alert, and the Hawks will not be underestimated.

Now that a major success has been achieved, coach Nate McMillan and his squad will look to build on this success and further improve in the upcoming years. Young agreed to an extension that keeps him in the State Farm Arena until 2026, and the same can be said for forward John Collins. Center Clint Capela is also tied down for the next four years, while valuable pieces guard Bogdan Bogdanovic and forward Danilo Gallinari are tied down for the next two.

Building on the success with their current roster to ensure another deep run in the postseason means that some players will need to take a step forward. While the overwhelming majority of people will be looking to Trae Young and Clint Capela to lead, the supporting cast will need to make strides to fulfill their roles. Rather than the duo mentioned above, it is clear that the determinant factor for this Hawks team will be either Bogdanovic or third year guard Kevin Huerter.

The Hawks' X-Factor Next Season

The Serbian guard has lit the arena on fire on multiple occasions this year. Bogdanovic scored 32 points on two occurrences, both in April of this year. Even more importantly, he did it with great efficiency for a high-volume shooter. For example, in a win against San Antonio Spurs in April, Bogdanovic scored 28 points on just 17 shots, shooting 12/17 from the field and 4/5 from three.

Overall, he finished the year with 16.4 points per game, on 47.3/43.8/90.9 shooting splits. In particular, the shooting splits are looking elite, with only a few percentage points missing from a 50/40/90 season, a feat that is not easy to do. Bogdanovic dropped off a bit in the postseason, but he was still very useful and produced some energetic performances.

If Bogdanovic can take a step forward, and possibly reach 20.0 points per game next season, the Hawks would be even stronger in the upcoming season. However, he also needs to expand his game. Bogdanovic is a shooter and a good one, but he is a defensive liability and it is very hard to pair him with Trae Young, who is also not a great defensive player. One thing that breathes optimism is that Bogdanovic has shown improvement in every NBA season he had, and he is clearly ready to work on his craft.

In terms of the other proposed X-Factor, Kevin Huerter is a very interesting prospect. Unfortunately for the guard, he stagnated in his third season, but the 23-year-old still has tons of potential. Obviously, most comes from his shooting, which is the main reason why he gets the starting spot and 30 minutes per game. However, Huerter has all the tools to be so much more than a shooter.

Looking at his frame, while he is not the heaviest player around at 190 pounds, he is still 6 foot 7 and can expand his game further to become a good defensive player. As mentioned above, Young cannot be expected to be a good defensive player, due to his physical limitation, but since the Hawks are clearly all-in to start Huerter over Bogdanovic, Huerter can carry the load and become a good defensive player to take the better guard in the opposing backcourt.

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Other than that, Huerter also has potential to become a better slasher and cutter. Similarly to guard Joe Harris from the Brooklyn Nets, who incorporated slashing and cutting in his game after being signed by the Nets, Huerter can expand his offensive game this summer and preseason. When there is more of a threat of slashing or making a move towards the basket, the defense will need to decide what they want to give up.

Huerter is, as mentioned above, just in his fourth year and players have shown that giant strides can be made even after the first few years when there is most room for improvement. It does take work and a lot of effort, obviously, but if Huerter can have a bombastic season and if he can reach new levels of offensive and defensive game, the Hawks could not only repeat their success, but also build on it and more seriously contend for the Finals spot coming out from the East.

This is incredibly important, since the other two contenders are in different spots. While the Bucks do have the Greek Freak and guard Khris Middleton as younger pieces, guard Jrue Holiday is getting up there in age and will be difficult to replace. On the other hand, Nets core is susceptible to injuries and they are all in their 30's. The Hawks have an unique opportunity to challenge the East and the whole league in the upcoming years, especially with their core intact and under contract.

It will not be easy, of course. It is clear that the Bucks and the Nets will be the main threats for at least two more years, but should some things fall their way, the Hawks might sneak up in the conversation again. It will take them a lot, most notably for the supporting cast to expand their games and add to their arsenal, and for the starts of the team to remain consistent. However, it is not outside of the realm of possibility that the Atlanta Hawks contend even before the sun sets on the cores in New York and Milwaukee.