On the second night of a back-to-back, the Atlanta Hawks looked rough against the Detroit Pistons in Mo-Town, falling 122-101. For Atlanta, this was another failed chance for the club to top the .500 mark for the first time since early-December. Yet again, they fell short against a team near the bottom of the standings. Atlanta came into this game looking to solve their elusive quest for a plus .500 record, but may have left with more questions than answers.
Atlanta squeaked out a victory last night in New York against the Knicks, and started this game strong. Trae Young had 9 points and 4 assists in the first quarter alone, on his way to 21 points and 9 dimes. From there it was the Pistons, who took the lead from the Hawks for good around the 10-minute mark in the second quarter. Detroit, who is now 20-53 overall, once led Atlanta by as many as 29 points in this game.
Pistons guard, Cade Cunningham, controlled the pace of this game with his smooth play. He personally finished with 17 points, 8 assists, and 6 rebounds. The Pistons, as a team, had eight players score in double-digits. Detroit out-rebounded Atlanta by a healthy margin of 54-40.
The Hawks shot the ball poorly all night, ending up with a 40.2% field goal percentage and 31.8% from three. The team went ice cold from the field for stretches of this game, and the lack of defensive communication was on full display as it has been all season.
Hawks fans must feel like they are stuck in a horrible loop. The team is middling with no signs of life for improvement. Impressive wins against Memphis and New York have been over-shadowed by ugly losses against New Orleans and Detroit.
Atlanta heads home to host the Golden State Warriors on Friday at State Farm Arena. If there is one silver lining this season is that the Hawks have played well against the league’s top teams. Warriors guard, Steph Curry, will not be available for this match-up, which should be a huge advantage for the Hawks. Tip-off for this one is at 7:30 from “The Farm.”
