Atlanta Hawks drop Brooklyn Nets 114-102

The Atlanta Hawks continue to be pummeled by the injury report, as promising rookie John Collins was ruled out 2-3 weeks on Friday after injuring his shoulder Thursday night against the Cavs.

This left the Hawks with only 2 options at center – Miles Plumlee (he of the 12 total minutes played this season) and Tyler Cavanaugh (a rookie who has shown signs this season on a two-way contract).

This shorthandedness did not hamper the Hawks on this night, as they outworked the Brooklyn Nets and never trailed again in this game after gaining the lead late in the 1^st quarter.

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The Nets’ efforts was lacking and the Hawks took advantage by outscoring Brooklyn 54-28 in the paint as well as 18-12 on second chance points.

Individually, the Hawks had the highest scorer in the game as Dennis Schröder chucked up shots with alacrity, popping off for 24 points on 11 of 24 shooting (1 of 5 from three-point territory) and was a +3 in box plus/minus.

Dennis was active defensively as well, notching a steal and hounding the opposing ballhandlers whenever they touched the ball. He also possessed a critical loose ball late in the 4^th quarter that effectively sealed the game in the Hawks’ favor.

Pressed into starting duty due to the rash of injuries in the frontcourt, Miles Plumlee put in a solid effort at the center position and posted the highest BPM of any Hawk starter with a +6. Plumlee looked sharp on offense, with crisp passing and steady play in the middle leading to 6 points, 7 rebounds, 3 blocks and 2 assists.

Plumlee even had a hefty one-handed reverse throwdown in the 4^th, and he definitely looked sharp in his 19 minutes of play.

The major difference maker on this night was the play of the Hawks’ bench unit, which was spearheaded by DeAndre’ Bembry’s career-high 12 points.

Bembry was hyperactive on defense, as his quick hands led to 2 steals and his nifty footwork forced defenders into areas where they did not want to go. Bembry also had the game’s highest BPM of +13, as everything he touched turned to gold and he contributed to winning plays all over the floor, including a breakaway two-handed jam following a steal:

Luke Babbitt (+8 BPM) had his best game since returning from injury, pouring in 20 points on 7 of 9 shooting (4 of 6 from downtown), and Isaiah Taylor also looked his best since his two-week stint on the injury report, finishing with 11 points on 5 of 9 shooting including some of his trademark difficult finishes at the rim.

If Taylor can continue to showcase his explosiveness off the dribble and his knack for completing tough layups, good things will happen for the Hawks.

Elsewhere, Ersan Ilysova shot poorly from the field (3 of 11), but he did his best John Collins impression by nabbing 8 offensive rebounds (good for an incredible 34.3% offensive rebound percentage) and 11 total rebounds.

Ersan was tenacious inside and also drew a whopping 3 offensive fouls on charges – sometimes his overzealous flopping is comical but when it works, it really works – and was able to contribute to this victory in a big way without performing well on the offensive end.

This definitely looked like a 3 p.m. EST game on a Saturday, but the Hawks gutted out a victory, which is important for a club that’s looking for any and all positive signs this season.

Next: Dewayne Dedmon’s first year in Atlanta has been great

The Hawks will face Brooklyn again on Monday at the Barclays Center for a 7:00 p.m. EST tipoff; these teams are getting to see a lot of each other early this season.