The Hawks fell 93-106 to the Los Angeles Clippers in Sunday’s mid-day match-up. This marks the Atlanta’s second straight loss to close out their West Coast road trip. The Hawks kept the game close in the first two quarters, but once again, they had trouble finishing the game in the fourth. While Atlanta did not have the defensive blunders that have been plaguing them lately, this was another atrocious loss. The Clippers were without star wings, Paul George and Kawhi Leonard, and were also without their shooting guard Luke Kennard
The Hawks seemed to lack energy and effort throughout the game, and Trae Young turned in, arguably, his worst performance of the season. He finished -14 in box +/- and was just 1-6 from three-point land. He finished with only 19 points a far cry from his 28 -points per game average.
John Collins also had a tough outing, finishing with just 9 points, on little-to-no usage. One possession summarized the Hawks’ lack of energy on Sunday afternoon was a simple post-up. After a smaller guard switched onto Collins, he called for the ball and received an entry pass into the post. Once he got the ball, he was utterly stifled at the rim and could not move a man who most likely weighed 30 pounds less than himself.
Collins seemed to be disappointed about the team’s performance Sunday, but for an entirely different reason than his own output. The fourth-year forward was cited as saying that he expects a more significant role in the Hawks offense and that he has felt that his voice has been “unheard” in the locker room. With the trade deadline quickly approaching, and Philadelphia 76ers guard, Ben Simmons, rumored to be in talks with Atlanta’s management, a trade involving Collin’s as the centerpiece is not entirely out of the question.
Piling onto the Hawks’ woes, Cam Reddish left Sunday’s game early with an apparent ankle injury, after logging only 3 minutes. His status for return has been set for day-to-day, but he will likely be unavailable for the Hawks match-up against the Miami Heat on Wednesday.
On a positive note, Bogdan Bogdanovic had perhaps his best game of the season, dropping 19 points overall and 3 of 9 shooting from three. This comes after a long absence from the “Serbian Sniper” and was a lone bright spot from an otherwise abhorrent performance from Atlanta. With more locker room controversy brewing, the Hawks will hope to get back on track with a win against the Heat on Wednesday night in Atlanta.
