“ It's always because of the defense that we lose certain games. Scoring points is not a problem, but avoiding points is often a little more so. In this respect, it was a successful evening for us since we kept control of our opponent's attack. » Pivot of the Hawks, Clint Capela breaks down an open door, but it perfectly sums up his team's evening, victorious in Toronto on Friday night.
After five defeats in a row, the players ofAtlanta have indeed finally returned to success by relying above all on their defense, although clearly not their strong point this season. Against Toronto, certainly not a model of efficiency in attack this season, Quin Snyder's men only conceded 40 baskets while causing the Raptors to lose 14 balls. They also outrageously dominated the rebound (55 for Atlanta against 32 for Toronto), particularly defensively (39 against 29).
“ It was a good match for us, considering what we showed [mercredi soir] », appreciated the coach of the Georgia club. “ We played with the right attitude, we were focused with good energy at two key moments of the match, the start of the first quarter and the start of the third. It was very important to manage these moments of the match. »
An association with two saving pivots
And if the Hawks were simply collectively exemplary in defense, one choice in particular by Quin Snyder paid off, and fueled this defensive “momentum”: that of starting Onyeka Okungwu on station 4, while De'Andre Hunter And Jalen Johnson are currently missing from Atlanta's rotation.
“ Given our absences, we didn't really have any other choice than to start them together. And it worked pretty well », noted a Quin Snyder satisfied with his two-pivot formula. “ So we'll see how we proceed when Jalen [Johnson] and De'Andre [Hunter] will have returned, but in any case we know that we have this option in our arsenal. They showed that it could work. »
An option which limits spacing and the possibilities of playing in transition in attack, but which on the other hand ensures a double dose of muscle in the paint, particularly in the often decisive rebound battle, which the Hawks dominated with a differential of +23 (!), notably limiting the Raptors to only 3 offensive rebounds.
“ I really like our association, because it brings stability in defense », Adds the Swiss kingpin, before going into detail. “ Particularly on rebounds. For example, usually when I go to the offensive rebound, I don't always have time to get back to defense in time, and we are vulnerable. With Onyeka, I know we are calmer then. And since defensive rebounding is an area in which we also suffer, his presence is even more valuable. »
Comments collected at Scotiabank Arena
| Shots | Rebounds | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Players | MJ | Min | Shots | 3pts | L.F. | Off | Def | Early | Pd | Bp | Int | Ct | Party | Pts |
| Trae Young | 21 | 35.8 | 41.7 | 35.8 | 87.2 | 0.6 | 2.1 | 2.8 | 10.8 | 4.0 | 1.4 | 0.1 | 1.6 | 27.2 |
| Dejounte Murray | 23 | 34.3 | 44.8 | 38.8 | 86.4 | 0.8 | 3.6 | 4.4 | 5.3 | 2.2 | 1.6 | 0.3 | 1.5 | 20.0 |
| Bogdan Bogdanovic | 23 | 27.8 | 46.6 | 40.9 | 91.4 | 0.4 | 3.0 | 3.4 | 2.4 | 1.3 | 1.5 | 0.3 | 2.7 | 17.3 |
| De'andre Hunter | 21 | 30.6 | 45.1 | 37.3 | 89.9 | 0.7 | 3.6 | 4.2 | 1.3 | 1.6 | 0.9 | 0.3 | 3.1 | 14.8 |
| Jalen Johnson | 15 | 29.9 | 59.4 | 42.5 | 75.8 | 1.3 | 5.9 | 7.3 | 2.4 | 2.0 | 1.1 | 1.0 | 2.2 | 14.1 |
| Saddiq Bey | 23 | 30.8 | 48.7 | 37.6 | 79.6 | 2.2 | 3.9 | 6.1 | 1.3 | 1.1 | 1.1 | 0.2 | 1.6 | 13.0 |
| Clint Capela | 23 | 25.5 | 56.7 | 0.0 | 63.8 | 4.8 | 5.5 | 10.3 | 1.1 | 0.8 | 0.7 | 1.7 | 2.7 | 11.2 |
| Onyeka Okongwu | 23 | 23.6 | 54.9 | 26.7 | 84.3 | 2.5 | 4.3 | 6.8 | 1.5 | 0.7 | 0.5 | 0.9 | 2.8 | 8.6 |
| Patty Mills | 2 | 10.8 | 33.3 | 50.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 1.0 | 1.0 | 1.0 | 0.5 | 0.5 | 0.5 | 1.0 | 3.0 |
| Wesley Matthews | 13 | 11.4 | 25.0 | 23.1 | 76.5 | 0.3 | 1.1 | 1.4 | 0.7 | 0.3 | 0.6 | 0.1 | 1.4 | 2.7 |
| Aj Griffin, Jr. | 12 | 9.2 | 29.4 | 32.0 | 100.0 | 0.2 | 0.8 | 1.0 | 0.3 | 0.3 | 0.1 | 0.0 | 0.5 | 2.5 |
| Trent Forrest | 5 | 8.7 | 33.3 | 0.0 | 100.0 | 0.4 | 0.0 | 0.4 | 1.6 | 0.4 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.8 | 2.0 |
| Garrison Mathews | 11 | 8.4 | 36.8 | 36.8 | 0.0 | 0.2 | 0.8 | 1.0 | 0.2 | 0.2 | 0.4 | 0.0 | 0.9 | 1.9 |
| Bruno Fernando | 5 | 3.2 | 33.3 | 0.0 | 100.0 | 0.6 | 0.2 | 0.8 | 0.0 | 0.8 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.6 | 1.4 |
| Kobe Bufkin | 2 | 2.2 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 50.0 | 0.5 | 0.5 | 1.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.5 |
| Mouhamed Gueye | 2 | 2.2 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.5 | 0.0 | 0.5 | 0.0 |
