Soaring Down South
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Atlanta Hawks: All-Star Break Assessment

By Andrew Snyder

Jan 1, 2017; Atlanta, GA, USA; Atlanta Hawks center Dwight Howard (8) talks to forward Paul Millsap (4) against the San Antonio Spurs in overtime at Philips Arena. The Hawks won 114-112 in overtime. Mandatory Credit: Brett Davis-USA TODAY Sports
Jan 1, 2017; Atlanta, GA, USA; Atlanta Hawks center Dwight Howard (8) talks to forward Paul Millsap (4) against the San Antonio Spurs in overtime at Philips Arena. The Hawks won 114-112 in overtime. Mandatory Credit: Brett Davis-USA TODAY Sports /
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Feb 15, 2017; Los Angeles, CA, USA; Atlanta Hawks center Dwight Howard (8) heads to the bench in the bench after a picking up a foul in the third quarter agains the LA Clippers at Staples Center. Mandatory Credit: Robert Hanashiro-USA TODAY Sports
Feb 15, 2017; Los Angeles, CA, USA; Atlanta Hawks center Dwight Howard (8) heads to the bench in the bench after a picking up a foul in the third quarter agains the LA Clippers at Staples Center. Mandatory Credit: Robert Hanashiro-USA TODAY Sports /

The Slump And The Recovery

December was not a fun month for the Hawks. Their early season success seemed like a distant memory as they lost 10 out of 11 games to go from 9-2 to 10-12. The NBA comes at you fast. Nothing went right for the Hawks during that span.

Their offense sputtered, their once stingy defense began to bleed points, and Paul Millsap even missed three games due to a hip injury. All of the sudden, Atlanta looked like a lottery team rather than a contender for the Eastern Conference Finals.

Their offense was stuck in the mud for large portions of December. It was the worst shooting month of the season for Malcolm Delaney, Kent Bazemore, and Tim Hardaway Jr. Dwight Howard’s rim protection and Paul Millsap’s stout interior defense was not enough to win games when their offense struggled so mightily.

The losing led to some creativity from Mike Budenholzer. He inserted Thabo Sefolosha into the starting lineup and shifted Kyle Korver to the bench. Both players started to thrive in their new roles.

Eventually the Hawks turned things around. They won five games in a row to start January, bringing their record to 22-16. Overall in January the team went 11-4. A 4-4 start to February now has them as a middle of the road team in the Eastern Conference. The roller coaster ride never ends with this team.

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