Atlanta’s last two defeats, against Detroit (in overtime) and Milwaukee, illustrate the defensive difficulties and the inability to make a difference in the “money time” of the Hawks. Whether they face the defending champions or a very average team, they suffer in hot moments.
“We are not going to go as far as we did without shooting or defending well”recognizes Nate McMillan at The Athletic. “You have to start all over again, over and over again. “
But why aren’t the Hawks finding that spring 2021 magic anymore? How to explain this record of 12 wins and 16 losses, the third worst in the league, in the “clutch time”?
“I think most of the time we rely too much on Trae Young”analyzes Kevin Huerter. “It’s one-on-one. There are matches where he makes the difference and we win, others where he doesn’t. We don’t always have the right shots, our execution is not good in attack. In defense, we have to make stops. “
The problem is that the All-Star is not terribly effective in the end of hung encounters this season. He is clumsy and loses balloons.
“Mentally, we are hitting a wall this season. We are digging our grave and we have to get out of it”
The Hawks are thus dependent on their leader, who is not always at his best level, and as Kevin Huerter says, they therefore play a coin toss in almost every game. Which explains the chronic irregularity.
“It doesn’t happen overnight, it’s not easy”concedes Trae Young. “I know it might look easy when guys are on a good streak, but it’s not. When it works, it’s a question of chemistry, of cohesion. At times, we had that, and then there is a grain of sand. We live in a season of ups and downs. Despite this, we have to fight. “
Except that fighting for several months is exhausting. Never, except at the end of November with seven victories in a row, have they managed to install their game and chain successes over time. The Hawks imitate Sisyphus and his rock.
“It feels like we are constantly fighting against obstacles”says Kevin Huerter. “Mentally, we are hitting a wall this season. We’re never comfortable, it’s always hard. We won seven matches in a row, we came back to 50% of victories and, once again, we did not overcome the obstacle. It’s hard, it’s a battle. We dig our grave and we have to get out. “
However, the franchise did not change anything last summer, precisely to ride the dynamics of the successful 2021 playoffs, with this conference final. The players are the same, the coach too, but it doesn’t work like before. Nevertheless, even though he and his teammates are in tenth place in the East, Trae Young is in no doubt.
“We beat the best team in the East last season”recalls the leader since Atlanta had eliminated Philadelphia in the conference semifinals. “I don’t believe in the fact that a team ranked seventh or eighth can’t do anything in the playoffs. I have the feeling that in the playoffs, in a series, you can beat anyone. “
| Shots | Bounces | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Players | GM | Minimum | Shots | 3 points | LF | Off | Def | Early | pd | bp | Int | CT | party | Points |
| Trae Young | 60 | 34.7 | 45.4 | 37.9 | 89.5 | 0.6 | 3.2 | 3.8 | 9.4 | 4.0 | 0.9 | 0.1 | 1.6 | 27.8 |
| John Collins | 53 | 30.9 | 52.8 | 37.0 | 78.9 | 1.7 | 6.2 | 7.9 | 1.8 | 1.1 | 0.6 | 1.0 | 3.0 | 16.4 |
| Bogdan Bogdanovic | 47 | 29.5 | 43.5 | 36.3 | 82.9 | 0.4 | 3.6 | 4.0 | 3.0 | 1.1 | 1.0 | 0.3 | 2.1 | 14.1 |
| De’Andre Hunter | 37 | 29.7 | 44.5 | 37.8 | 74.8 | 0.5 | 2.7 | 3.2 | 1.2 | 1.3 | 0.7 | 0.4 | 3.1 | 13.2 |
| Cam Reddish | 34 | 23.4 | 40.2 | 37.9 | 90.0 | 0.6 | 1.9 | 2.5 | 1.1 | 1.3 | 1.0 | 0.3 | 1.3 | 11.9 |
| Kevin Hurter | 57 | 29.0 | 45.9 | 38.0 | 79.5 | 0.4 | 2.7 | 3.2 | 2.7 | 1.2 | 0.6 | 0.4 | 2.4 | 11.6 |
| Cameron Oliver | 2 | 21.6 | 66.7 | 33.3 | 66.7 | 1.0 | 2.0 | 3.0 | 1.5 | 0.0 | 0.5 | 0.5 | 2.5 | 11.5 |
| Danilo Gallinari | 54 | 24.3 | 42.0 | 38.7 | 89.9 | 0.5 | 4.0 | 4.6 | 1.3 | 0.6 | 0.5 | 0.2 | 1.5 | 10.9 |
| Clint Capela | 57 | 27.9 | 59.8 | 0.0 | 46.0 | 3.8 | 8.2 | 12.0 | 1.3 | 0.6 | 0.6 | 1.4 | 2.2 | 10.6 |
| Chaundee Brown | 3 | 27.7 | 36.0 | 40.0 | 83.3 | 0.3 | 4.3 | 4.7 | 1.3 | 0.0 | 0.7 | 0.0 | 2.3 | 9.7 |
| Onyeka Okongwu | 31 | 21.0 | 73.2 | 0.0 | 74.3 | 2.1 | 3.1 | 5.3 | 1.1 | 1.1 | 0.6 | 1.4 | 3.1 | 8.7 |
| Wesley Iwundu | 3 | 27.4 | 44.4 | 60.0 | 75.0 | 1.0 | 3.3 | 4.3 | 0.0 | 0.3 | 0.3 | 0.0 | 2.7 | 7.3 |
| Lou Williams | 45 | 14.6 | 41.0 | 36.4 | 87.1 | 0.3 | 1.3 | 1.6 | 2.0 | 0.8 | 0.5 | 0.1 | 1.0 | 6.8 |
| Malcolm Hill | 3 | 15.3 | 62.5 | 60.0 | 100.0 | 0.7 | 1.3 | 2.0 | 0.3 | 0.0 | 1.3 | 0.3 | 2.3 | 5.7 |
| Delon Wright | 60 | 18.1 | 44.1 | 35.6 | 83.7 | 0.7 | 2.2 | 2.9 | 2.4 | 0.6 | 1.0 | 0.2 | 0.7 | 4.3 |
| Timothe Luwawu-cabarrot | 38 | 12.0 | 38.5 | 36.8 | 85.0 | 0.2 | 1.1 | 1.3 | 0.7 | 0.3 | 0.3 | 0.1 | 1.2 | 3.9 |
| Gorgui Dieng | 40 | 8.9 | 48.1 | 43.3 | 70.8 | 0.8 | 2.1 | 2.9 | 0.8 | 0.5 | 0.3 | 0.3 | 1.2 | 3.6 |
| Skylar Mays | 24 | 8.7 | 51.6 | 32.0 | 88.9 | 0.2 | 0.8 | 1.0 | 0.7 | 0.4 | 0.3 | 0.0 | 0.3 | 3.3 |
| Kevin Knox | 10 | 6.9 | 30.4 | 8.3 | 66.7 | 0.3 | 1.0 | 1.3 | 0.5 | 0.2 | 0.1 | 0.0 | 0.7 | 1.9 |
| Lance Stephenson | 6 | 11.6 | 38.5 | 0.0 | 50.0 | 0.2 | 2.3 | 2.5 | 1.8 | 0.7 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 1.3 | 1.8 |
| Jalen Johnson | 16 | 4.2 | 50.0 | 37.5 | 66.7 | 0.0 | 1.1 | 1.1 | 0.1 | 0.2 | 0.0 | 0.1 | 0.2 | 1.8 |
| Sharif Cooper | 11 | 3.2 | 21.4 | 16.7 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.5 | 0.5 | 0.5 | 0.5 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.1 | 0.6 |
| Solomon Hill | 13 | 10.7 | 15.0 | 15.4 | 0.0 | 0.5 | 1.3 | 1.8 | 0.9 | 0.1 | 0.3 | 0.2 | 1.2 | 0.6 |
| Cat Barber | 3 | 4.3 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.3 | 0.7 | 1.0 | 1.0 | 0.3 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.3 | 0.0 |
