Atlanta Hawks: Defense Will Be Key To Success

With the Atlanta Hawks having faced tough back-to-back games on Tuesday and Wednesday this week, it’s fair to say that we have learned something about the shape the team’s season could take on.

Facing the Washington Wizards on the road on Tuesday, and then returning home to host the Toronto Raptors on Wednesday, Atlanta got to test themselves against two of the East’s best teams.

The Hawks came out of D.C. with an impressive win, fueled for the most part by the play of their bench unit, while despite hanging tough for most of the game against the Raptors, the scoring from Toronto’s guards eventually proved too much as the Hawks succumbed to a home defeat on Wednesday.

What did we learn from those two games though? Well, quite simply, defense was the key. Ranking seventh in the NBA in offensive rating, fourth in assists per game and eighth in points per game, Atlanta have become one of the best offensive teams in the league.

With a reliable offense, the key then becomes the defense, and at the moment the Hawks are anything but consistent on that end of the floor.

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Atlanta are currently allowing opponents to score 107.2 points per 100 possessions they’re on the floor. To put that in context, only lottery-bound teams like the Los Angeles Lakers, Utah Jazz, Minnesota Timberwolves and New York Knicks are worse off in that category.

Heading into the season, defense almost seemed like the official buzz word of the Atlanta Hawks. Coach Mike Budenholzer was anxious to see his team improve on that aspect of their game, but at the moment they’re on track for a significant regression.

With the Hawks having finished last season with a defensive rating of 104.1, Budenholzer’s hope would have been to shave three points off that figure, not add them on.

To focus back in on recent games, we can get a sense of what the Hawks need to do to improve. Against Washington, Atlanta held the Wizards to 102 points, not exceptionally low, but an improvement compared to a lot of their defensive showings this season.

It wasn’t the final points totals that impressed the most though, it was how the Hawks forced the Wizards into panic.

With both teams significantly struggling to make shots throughout the game, the Hawks upped the intensity and pressure of their on-ball defense and forced the Wizards to cough the ball up. Wizards point guard John Wall racked up seven turnovers, while the rest of his team combined for another 13.

If a team is struggling with their shot, and giving the ball away, they’re not going to get many opportunities to see the ball go through the basket. Atlanta have a roster packed with players with active hands, from big men to guards.

Going forward, they need to make it a priority to aggressively play the passing lanes, and look to force traps and double teams, as that’s where their personnel can thrive defensively.

The flip side of the coin, and what the Hawks need to avoid is what happened last night. Shooting better than 51 percent from the field, and better than 48 percent from deep, the Raptors had a hot shooting night. There can be no arguments about that.

The problem for the Hawks is when their opponent is making every shot they look at, they need to find a way to disrupt their rhythm.

Atlanta allowed themselves to get into a track meet with the red-hot Raptors, and in the end that would always take it’s toll. Although Atlanta like to push the pace themselves from time to time, they need to understand that defensively there are times where it’s important to slow things down, and let opposing shooters cool off.

It’s still early in the season, and either way, it’s clear that the Atlanta Hawks are a good team this season, but if they can perform defensively like they did against the Wizards, they’ll be right in the mix for home court in the playoffs.

Otherwise, if their defense generally stays flat, it’ll be a case of same old, same old for Atlanta, and another season around the .500 mark.

Next: Atlanta Hawks: Plenty Of Effort, But Shooting Needs To Improve

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