Though the Atlanta Hawks lost their 18th game of the season tonight against the OKC Thunder, there were still some surprising positives. Read on to explore them.
The Atlanta Hawks suffered another embarrassing loss tonight in Oklahoma City. In the team’s first game against former point guard Dennis Schröder, the Atlanta Hawks were no match for the defensive effort the Thunder threw at them tonight.
With this young Hawks team (a team that is supposed to lose), it is important that we can find positives even in big losses. There were a couple positive performances that stood out tonight.
John Collins was back to himself after last game where he underwhelmed. Collins posted 19 points and 11 rebounds and was flying all around the court like usual. Collins still hasn’t found a consistent stroke from three, but looks comfortable and confident when he does choose to shoot them.
JC is working tonight. pic.twitter.com/pFJmltnJxi
— Atlanta Hawks (@ATLHawks) December 1, 2018
Collins is still getting his footing after starting the season late; expect him to be more consistent with his jumper as we move forward.
Taurean Prince continues to be able to score at a high level even when the offense isn’t firing on all cylinders. Prince poured in 15 points on 50% shooting and added 3 rebounds, 2 assists, and 2 steals.
Probably the biggest positive of the night was the play of Alex Len. Len scored 19 points along with 5 rebounds in only 23 minutes.
Len even went 3 of 6 from three, which will be huge for his development and role as a member of the Atlanta Hawks if he can continue to do that.
While losing games is expected from this Hawks team, it is nice when they at least put up a fight when they play against good teams. The team was completely outmatched by the Thunder all night long and never really looked like they stood a chance.
The good news is that the Hawks are another loss closer to being in on the Zion Williamson sweepstakes when the draft lottery comes around when the season comes to an end.