AJC: Atlanta Hawks at Bulls, AKA Big Ray and Woody’s Way

[Hawksquawk]

Salmons saw too much Iso-Joe. (Gregory Smith, AP)

Big Ray brings the funk today with strong takes on iso and D. They are seemingly unrelated topics but I’m going to tie them together after taking a look at what he’s saying.

Ray observes that “the Hawks don't seem to buy into the defensive precepts of Mike Woodson anymore.”

What happened? A team once known for getting wins by playing a suffocating defense, now finds itself as one of the more defensively inept teams in the league. Hawks commentator

Bob (Rathburn)

noted that Atlanta is in the bottom third of the League in defense. Why? Is the defensive concept an issue? Are the players not listening to the coaching staff? Can it really be attributed fully to one or the other, or (solely) to any other theory?

First, let me say the Hawks aren’t quite that bad on D. If Rathburn was referring to points allowed per game, the Hawks actually rank 12th at 97.3. I prefer to look at efficiency (points allowed per 100 possessions), where …

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