Hawks start season with win against Houston Rockets

The Atlanta Hawks won their season opener last night vs. the Houston Rockets 117-107.

State of play: It was easy to have mixed emotions after watching the game.

• A win is a win. And there are no guarantees through an 82-game NBA season. So starting off 1-0 is fantastic.
• New Hawks guard Dejounte Murray finished with 20 points and 11 assists.
• And John Collins carried the Hawks in the second quarter.

Yes, but: Atlanta goes as Trae Young does. He had 23 points and 13 assists but made just seven of his 22 shots. His efficiency has to improve as the year goes on.

• Also, this game felt a lot closer than it should have been. Houston projects to be among the bottom teams in the league and the Hawks seemed to struggle at times to really put the game away.

The big picture: Atlanta starts the season with three consecutive home games — all versus teams they should beat.

• It's not unrealistic to expect them to start 5-0 — something they haven't done in seven years since they won seven straight to begin the season in 2015-16.

1 fun thing to go: The stars were out last night.

• TV cameras spotted NBA legend Dr. J; rap artists Quavo, Lil Yachty and 2 Chainz and actors Michael B. Jordan and Jonathan Majors.

What's next: The Hawks face the Orlando Magic on Friday at 7:30pm.