I thought Nate was a defensive coach!

[JayBirdHawk]

defensive adjustments in the 2nd half.

 

 

 

[JayBirdHawk]

Interesting!

 

 

[AHF]

I think a lot of Hawks stats are going to be inflated early this season due to the relatively low level of competition.

[JayBirdHawk]

 

 

[JayBirdHawk]

Five NBA coaches who could be on the hot seat this season, including Tom Thibodeau and Doc Rivers

5. Nate McMillan, Atlanta Hawks   

Nate McMillan led the Hawks on a surprising run to the Eastern Conference finals two years ago, but the team took a major step backward last season when they lost in five games in the first round to the Miami Heat. After adding guard Dejounte Murray over the offseason to pair with Trae Young, the Hawks are clearly looking to make another postseason run, and it will be up to McMillan to make that happen. 

During McMillan's tenure in Atlanta defense has been the main issue. The Hawks finished 26th in defensive rating last season, and they haven't been much better so far this season. If they're unable to improve on that end, it will be difficult for them to make too much real noise in the East, and it might also be difficult for McMillan to hold onto his job. 

https://www.cbssports.com/nba/news/five-nba-coaches-who-could-be-on-the-hot-seat-this-season-including-tom-thibodeau-and-doc-rivers/

 

[JayBirdHawk]

 

 

 

[JayBirdHawk]

 

 

[Atlantaholic]

Hawks now 11th in Defensive rating. 12th in offensive rating. 

[AHF]

32 minutes ago, Atlantaholic said:

Hawks now 11th in Defensive rating. 12th in offensive rating. 

We are in that small sample size part of the season where we will be a top 10 defense if our next game is good whereas a couple of games ago we were like #20.  Need a larger sample of games to get to meaningful numbers but I'm enjoying seeing the nuggets of improved play in the meantime.  No doubt DM is a difference maker for us.

[Atlantaholic]

32 minutes ago, AHF said:

We are in that small sample size part of the season where we will be a top 10 defense if our next game is good whereas a couple of games ago we were like #20.  Need a larger sample of games to get to meaningful numbers but I'm enjoying seeing the nuggets of improved play in the meantime.  No doubt DM is a difference maker for us.

Yup for sure still a small sample, but game by game we have been improving and playing better defense so trending in the right direction. The Offense has been around 10th throughout the whole season, we still haven't really been hitting in all cylinders there, and we won't until Trae gets back to his 2021 form probably. More AJ minutes instead of J-hol minutes should be a big boost too.

[JayBirdHawk]

 

 

[JayBirdHawk]

I'm ok with the offensive struggles/shooting early as long as the defense is improving and we are banking wins.

 

 

[kg01]

12 minutes ago, JayBirdHawk said:

I'm ok with the offensive struggles/shooting early as long as the defense is improving and we are banking wins.

 

 

Yeah but Trae took that shot I thought he shouldn't and ... that one bad pass he made .... and whatnot. 

[JayBirdHawk]

 

How the Hawks frustrated Giannis Antetokounmpo and the Bucks to give them their first loss

Giannis respects the Hustle of our Bigs on defense!

 

Quote

Following the Bucks’ 123-115 win over the Hawks on Oct. 29 in Milwaukee, Antetokounmpo told reporters about how much he admired the defensive effort of his three primary defenders against the Hawks, Onyeka Owongwu, Clint Capela and John Collins.

“I always love playing against people that love, that take pride in guarding and he’s one of them,” Antetokounmpo said of Okongwu. “Capela is another one. Collins, another one. But I always love playing against people that take pride in defending and take the challenge. You can kind of feel that. I have played against people that you kind of know that they’re not taking this too serious and they kind of have that fear factor in their mind and you can kind of see it in their eyes, kind of smell it from the first play.”

“But I’ve played against them a lot of times and I don’t feel that and I love that about it. And I understand that people are going to try to make my job difficult and I’m okay with that. I love that. I don’t want it to be easy. I want it to be a challenge and whenever I play those guys, it’s always a challenge and I respect that and they’ve improved from day one — all three of them. And it’s always a battle when you play against Atlanta. So, I love playing against Atlanta.”

https://theathletic.com/3774022/2022/11/08/giannis-antetokounmpo-bucks-hawks/?source=weeklyemail&campaign=602288

[dalamchops]

i love giannis... drives me nuts that we were gonna take him instead of dennis if he had slipped another pick

[Diesel]

19 hours ago, kg01 said:

Yeah but Trae took that shot I thought he shouldn't and ... that one bad pass he made .... and whatnot. 

Don't forget... when Trae went to the bench, he wasn't sitting the right way.   He was sitting with his legs gapped open instead of his knees touching.

 

[Diesel]

Ain't no fear in Captain Capela!!

[kg01]

3 hours ago, Diesel said:

Don't forget... when Trae went to the bench, he wasn't sitting the right way.   He was sitting with his legs gapped open instead of his knees touching.

 

Bad teammate.

[JayBirdHawk]

On 11/11/2022 at 3:38 PM, JayBirdHawk said:

I'm ok with the offensive struggles/shooting early as long as the defense is improving and we are banking wins.

 

 

 

[JayBirdHawk]

Still a work on progress, but trending in the right direction.

Finally, an identity on defense

 

As of the day of writing, the Hawks are 10th in defensive efficiency – 110.8 points allowed per 100 possessions – and 18th in offensive efficiency – 112.3 points per 100 possessions. The obvious caveats apply; it is early in the 2022-23 season and the schedule can dictate certain trends that may not hold by season’s end.

Acquiring Dejounte Murray has been a major driver in turning around what had been a 26th ranked defense a year ago for Atlanta. His tenacity and activity on the ball and in the passing lanes has shown up in a big way, as well as in gaudy steal numbers. Steals aren’t the perfect proxy for perimeter defense to be sure, but currently Murray is second in the league in total steals with 29 and fourth in steals per game with 2.2 per contest.

With his 6’10” wingspan, Murray is able to contest and help against taller opponents in a way that no Hawks.

Additionally, the extra ball handling Murray provides has kept the Hawks in the top three in fewest turnovers given away on a per possession basis. That in turn limits the opportunities opponents have had to score on fast breaks, as the Hawks now rank tops in the league in fewest points conceded off of turnovers – just 14.8 per game – and top 10 in fewest opponent fast break points – 12.6.

Clint Capela is reportedly back to full health which means he is back to anchoring the defense with his usual high level rim protection.The Holiday brothers of Aaron and Justin – while overmatched at times – have generally held up well in team defense. John Collins has continued to emerge as one of the better defensive power forwards in the league after a slow start to his career on that end.

But most importantly have been the schematic changes installed by the coaching staff with the new defensive pieces. Defensive performance is much more than the sum of individual players but rather a system that requires buy-in from all five guys on the floor.

For one, the Hawks are shutting off the path to the rim well, allowing opponents to shoot just under 60% at the rim and putting them in the top-5 in that area. This was an area in which the Hawks struggled mightily a season ago, finishing with the sixth worst field goal percentage allowed at the rim.

Two big reasons for that were the recovering Clint Capela and then presence of the statuesque Danilo Gallinari. The 2022-23 Hawks’ have 48 minutes of elite paint defense between their two main centers, and all four of the frontcourt rotation players display a good amount of switch-ability out onto the perimeter when necessary.With a more aggressive point of attack ball pressure and the athleticism of Jalen Johnson in place of Gallinari behind it, the Hawks have enjoyed a defensive resurgence. This has allowed guards and wings to climb above screens to chase shooters off the three-point line as opposed to defending at the level of screens as much as last season.

https://www.peachtreehoops.com/2022/11/14/23456809/examining-early-season-trends-atlanta-hawks-analysis-stats-video-trae-young-dejounte-aj-griffin-nba