Atlanta Hawks: 6 Takeaways from Narrow Loss to Wizards

General Statistical Takeaways

This game was fairly even in terms of stats as both teams allowed mammoth offensive success in multiple quarters. It was the Hawks, however, that ended up giving up the most.

While both teams shot identical numbers from distance (12 of 38, 31.6 percent), the Wizards seemed to hit shots when it mattered most in the 4th quarter, whereas the Hawks did not.

The Hawks also shot only 74.2 percent from the line, with the normally automatic Trae Young missing 4 straight to end the game. The Atlanta Hawks broadcast crew of Bob Rathbun and Dominique Wilkins noted that Trae was in his head about the misses at the stripe – classic rookie growing pains.

Beal is a Beast

Without John Wall, Dwight Howard, Jeff Green and Ian Mahinmi for the night, the Wizards rode Bradley Beal hard in order to take this game on the road against the Atlanta Hawks. While multiple Wizards put up gaudy stat lines, none were as impressive as Brad Beal’s: 36 points, 9 assists, 6 rebounds.

Beal was completely unstoppable, and his fluid handle and beautiful jump shot was far too much for the Hawks to handle. His ability to carve out space with ease let him knife his way to the rim for easy layups or to get fouled – where he piled up a 10 of 13 showing at the charity stripe.

Perhaps the Wizards’ future is in flux, but Beal is a bona fide star, so at least that’s something.