Last night, the Hawks were looking to end their back-to-back losses to the Houston Rockets and extend the offensive funk for the Miami Heat, who hadn't won a game heading into the matchup. Rather than reclaiming a winning record however, the Hawks became the Heat's first win of the season and fell to 2-3, with all three losses coming one after another.
This game also officially concluded the first week of the season for the Hawks. While a season is certainly not won or lost in the first week, there are several positives and negatives for the Hawks to take away from their first week of action.
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Positive: Turning steals into points
Thanks in large part to the expected defensive brilliance of Dyson Daniels, the Hawks rank fourth in the league in total steals. Not only are the Hawks ending possessions, but they are converting forced turnovers to points on the other end. The team ranks fourth in points off turnovers as well.
A large part of the scoring is their ability to push in transition and convert, ranking in the top five in fastbreak points. The Hawks are composed of tenacious defenders and talented ball handlers, which are ingredients in the perfect recipe for pushing the envelope in transition. This trend being a part of their identity will make them a dangerous team going forward.
Negative: Interior Play
If you've watched any of the three losses for the Hawks this season, you've probably noticed they are putting on their best matador impression in the painted area. In the three losses, they've been significantly outrebounded (147-117) and outscored in the paint (172 versus 164). At one point, in the second matchup against the Rockets, the Hawks were being outrebounded 14-4.
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The Heat scored 70 points in the paint, which was more than half of their total scoring output. Averaging the third fewest blocks in the league, the Hawks offer defensive resistance down low that is similar to using a piece of scotch tape to prevent a truck from driving through your house. If this trend continues throughout the season, the Hawks will put a heavy burden on their offense that may not be sustainable.
Positive: Emergence of Kingston Flemings
After losing Trae Young last season, the Hawks greatly needed another point guard. That need led to drafting Kingston Flemings with the eighth overall pick in the draft. Coming off the bench, Flemings struggled in his first game, going scoreless on 0-for-5 shooting.
Despite the early woes, his performance against the Heat was just the beginning of what the former five-star is capable of. Flemings scored 23 points on 9-for-12 shooting, which included shooting 3-of-5 from deep. Along with the scoring output, Flemings grabbed five boards, dished five assists, along with a steal and a block.
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He had a sequence of back-to-back buckets, which included an "and-one" finish, a block on a much taller Giannis Antetokounmpo, and an even more impressive finish over the future first-ballot hall of gamer. Flemings also found himself in the game down the stretch as the Hawks tried to rally a fourth quarter comeback before the effort eventually flamed out.
Though it's early in the season, it seems that Flemings could be the point guard of the future for Atlanta.
Negative: Slow start for Jalen Johnson
If you looked at only points, rebounds, and assists for Jalen Johnson, it would be fair to assume he was continuing his dominance from last season. In their first matchup against Houston, Johnson channeled his inner John Stockton and tallied a staggering 16 assists along with 26 points and nine boards. However, the averages have not translated to impacting winning in the same way.
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The biggest detractor for the former Duke Blue Devil is his less-than-ideal shooting percentages. He is shooting 42.8% from the field, which is well below the area a team's number one option should be. Johnson has only posted a field goal percentage above 45% once, which was his 19 points on 9-for-16 shooting in their huge win over Charlotte. His past two outings featured shooting 35.7% and 33.3%. Despite these poor numbers, his three-point efficiency is the most frightening part. Johnson's career high in assists against mentioned above is higher than his three-point percentage, which currently sits at 15.8%.
If the Hawks want to make another playoff push, Johnson has put the ball in the basket at a more efficient clip.
Positive: Productive scoring back court
Despite Jalen Johnson's slow start, the Hawks are still receiving great support from their back court. Nickiel Alexander-Walker and CJ McCollum once again are proving to be the Hawks' go to options for offense. 'NAW' is the team's only guy to score 30 so far, which was in the opening game against the Magic. He's also shooting 38% from three, proving to be a reliable option from behind the arc and seems to convert when his team needs it most.
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McCollum is the Hawks' undisputed microwave scorer, seeming to get hot quickly and put up points in a hurry. The 14-year veteran is shooting an impressive 53% from the field and 44% from three. There are times when it seems like McCollum simply cannot miss, which provides a huge boost to the Hawks. The duo averages a combined 36.1 points per game, which is more than ideal for second and third scoring options.
Aaron Wiggins has also been critical off the bench. Whether it be catch-and-shoot opportunities or creating his own shot off the dribble, Wiggins is averaging 15.8 points per game on 53.5%/48% shooting splits, which is the perfect spark of the bench for Atlanta.
Negative: Three-point shooting
In today's NBA, three-point shooting is undoubtedly a team's biggest weapon. For the Hawks, the three-point shot is one of their biggest deficiencies. In their last games, which again, are all losses, they have the second lowest three-point percentage in the entire league.
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In the second Houston matchup, the Hawks shot 28% as a team, which included their bench only shooting 3-for-15 for the game. One of the most startling revelations of their three-performance comes from the center position. Ideally, teams with bigs shooting at a high frequency spread out a defense and open up opportunities for an offense to execute at all levels of the floor.
However, when your centers are shooting 4-for-32 on the season from behind the arc, that vision is difficult to achieve. With their defensive and rebounding issues, the Hawks will have to counter with big scoring outputs, which can only be achieved with improved three-point shooting.
