Listless Hawks Fall to Raptors

After a signature win against the Utah Jazz on Monday night, the Atlanta Hawks played a desultory game against the Toronto Raptors and were defeated by a final margin of 108 to 93.

The Raptors put on a defensive clinic early in this game, especially in the 1^st quarter as the away team’s boundless energy had the Hawks on their back foot all night. Atlanta only scored a measly 16 points in the 1^st period – while the Raptors notched an impressive 28.

The Hawks were thoroughly outplayed by the Raptors, who went up 3-0 in the season series and look to be contenders for the number 1 seed in the Eastern Conference. While the solidity and strength of the team’s starting five is unquestioned, the Raptors bench unit made mincemeat of the Hawks on this night – led by Kyle Lowry’s backup Fred VanVleet.

VanVleet was the Raptors’ leading scorer with 19 points on only 6 of 9 shooting in 18 minutes of action. Jonas Valanciunas – a noted Hawks killer – also contributed mightily to this drubbing by pouring in 16 points and 13 rebounds in 24 minutes.

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Overall, the Raptors outworked and outexecuted the Hawks – who definitely looked like one of the worst teams in the league on this extraordinarily forgettable night.

Atlanta had only 3 players score in double figures, while the Raptors had 5 and no Raptor who played more than 15 minutes had less than 5 points.

This balance attack played right into the Raptors’ defense – which was completely lights-out. The Hawks shot a miserable 39.4 percent from the field, which was mostly due to the tremendous defensive pressure Toronto was providing in the paint. Valanciunas, Jakob Poeltl, Serge Ibaka and Pascal Siakam combined for 7 blocks and game MVP VanVleet added 3 of his own.

Though there were very few notable performers for the Hawks (at least in a positive way), one notable exception came in the form of John Collins.

Despite getting bullied by the immense size of the Raptors frontcourt, JC managed to use his athleticism and feel for the game to get himself into prime rebounding position – leading to a career-high and game-high 16 rebounds.

John the Baptist’s final stat line was encouraging: 13 points (on a less-than-efficient 5 of 13), 16 rebounds, and a career-high-tying 4 blocks in 26 minutes. He also finished with a +15 box plus/minus in a game the Hawks lost by 25 but were down by as many as 32 — an impressive feat for the rook.

With that stat line (and those on/off numbers), it’s clear that Collins is ready to play more. The Hawks are rebuilding, but let’s see what JC can do when he’s really given free rein. Maybe he’ll do more things like this in-game or in the Slam Dunk Contest:

https://twitter.com/ATLHawks/status/956348476312268800

The Hawks, as usual, killed it in the extended garbage time of the 4^th quarter as both Luke Babbitt and Isaiah Taylor played well in the game’s waning minutes.

Babbitt came out stroking from 3 – finishing with 9 points on 3 of 6 from downtown and a +8 BPM in 16 minutes, and Taylor was aggressive and confident, notching 6 points, 3 assists and a team-high +16 BPM in only 10 minutes of action.

Next: 3 Realistic Trades the Atlanta Hawks Could Make

The Hawks will look to brush themselves off and move on from this absolutely crushing blowout as soon as possible, something that Malcolm Delaney (4 points, 4 assists, 6 turnovers) echoed postgame:

Atlanta are off tomorrow but are on the road against the Charlotte Hornets on Friday night for a 7:00 p.m. EST tip-off.