We have now firmly entered the dog days of the NBA season — with half the games under wraps, there is enough of a sample size to gauge where teams are headed. The strongest in the league will have demonstrated a clear identity, a formula or process towards games that emphasizes strengths and hopefully mitigates weaknesses. So what exactly is this Hawks identity?
Well we know that Atlanta had been a great home team. To start this season the Hawks went 7-1 in State Farm Arena, with that lone loss coming at the hands of a good Utah Jazz team. Last year the team also performed well in front of the home crowd, finishing the season at 25-11.
As things stand now however, the Hawks haven’t been able to get a win at home since November 22nd and Wednesday’s game against a depleted Heat team extended that drought. Throughout the first half things were close — getting DeAndre Hunter back gave this team a plus-defender on the wing, who not only can hang at the POA but also be in the right place during rotations and help situations. He dropped eight points in his first seven minutes of action since returning from a wrist injury that had sidelined the former number four draft selection.
Outside of Hunter’s return, Atlanta managed to stay in the game during the first half against Miami, who was missing Jimmy Butler and Bam Adebayo. This is the point where I want to circle back to team identity and how establishing one early on can carry a group through these mid-season stretchers where injuries begin to pile up. Despite the Heat’s absences, they are a well-coached team with clear offensive principles — non-stop motion, ball movement, and a heavy dose of PNR, mixed with off-ball screens, to free up shooters. Their scheme is executed well down the entire roster and after opening up the second half with a 19-2 third quarter run, the Hawks were never able to get closer than 13 points.
The Hawk meanwhile are still searching for their identity — on offense it’s simple, Trae usually initiates out of a high PNR and sprays the ball all over the court after generating an advantage. This works well as the team’s offense is one of the strongest in the league (currently they sit at number ten in the league with a 110.3 offensive rating), but heliocentric basketball can also have its shortcomings, specifically when the centerpiece rests. This was not the case though in the loss against Miami — the whole roster couldn’t get it going, which resulted in a 16 point third quarter outing.
Because Atlanta needs its offense to be nuclear in order to have a chance at winning, an off-night in that department has cascading negative effects. I’m not going to go into too much detail about the defense but it’s evident that Capela is being asked to do much more than he can handle. Last year, there was a much more concerted effort towards funneling opposing players into the Swiss big man, which was essentially the defensive gameplan. This year that effort has significantly waned, which Hunter touched on: “We’re kind of disconnected right now [on the defensive side] and we just gotta get back on the same page.”
All in all, it was a rough game from a team that had been in the news cycle for player dissatisfaction and swirling trade rumors. Now that Atlanta has traded Cam to the Knicks in order to consolidate its group and gain an asset for future trades, maybe they can start trending in the right direction. Just ask John Collins who has shown some of the most visible frustration with how this season has gone: “But really we need some damn heart … if we have that, we can beat anybody.”
