He said the Hawks' challenge was getting the team together, in the best shape it could be, for the start of the season. That was proving difficult due to imported players missing early-season games.
"Not having a couple of the key players has been unhelpful."
He said coach Kirstin Daly-Taylor had a "pretty-tough environment" last season due to management issues "so it probably wasn't surprising they failed to achieve".
He said it was too early to predict this season's performance after just two games.
"I would like to give Kirstin at least three games with the full team together before we offer any sort of ideas on improvements. Hopefully over the next few weeks all those players will be on board and she will make the decision which American she will keep and which she cuts - that will be a challenge."
Mr Atkinson said the numbers that attended last week's game were "pretty good" considering poor results last year and continued fan support was vital for success.
"The key thing is to make your home court a real fortress people and I think the focus needs to be on winning home games. If we give good crowd support it makes it that much easier to achieve."
The league is the pre-eminent men's basketball league in New Zealand, with just six other teams: Auckland, Christchurch, Invercargill, Nelson, New Plymouth and Wellington.
He said "provincial" expectations were high so he hoped support would continue.
"If we don't support teams playing in national competitions we will end up not having them."
The Hawks were in "a far worse state" than 20 years ago, both financially and on the court.
"They were basically reliant on this single player - Jamie Dixon. He would go out and score up to 80 points a night.
"In all things you go through tough periods and the Hawks got through a tough period last year. Everyone is hoping they can pull through and get a couple under their belts."