Takeaways from the Atlanta Hawks victory over the Detroit Pistons by a final margin of 98 to 95.
With John Collins, Taurean Prince and Omari Spellman all sitting out this game with various injuries, the shorthanded Hawks pulled out an impressive 98-95 win against Blake Griffin and the Detroit Pistons.
The Atlanta Hawks have now won 3 straight games and guys like Alex Len and Vince Carter are really starting to show out. I know we want to be losing and getting the highest possible draft pick but seeing the players rally behind Lloyd Pierce and play their hearts out is super encouraging.
Just a quick reminder of the newest playoff lottery rules where the 3 worst records in the league all have the same lottery odds. So a couple of nice morale wins are not going to mean anything to our Zion dreams and will give our guys something to build on.
Alex Len played one of his best games of the season and maybe of his career. Putting up 15 points, 17 rebounds with 3 blocks and a steal was one of the main reasons the Hawks were able to pull out a W. After Collins had been on his absolute rampage, it was nice for Len to fill in while our franchise player got a well deserved rest.
John Collins' last 9 games:
— Kevin Chouinard (@KLChouinard) December 22, 2018
19/11
24/11
26/14
30/12
20/17
11/14
29/8
20/13
17/16
One of the early concerns for the game and the season has been the Hawks problems with turnovers. They shot an impressive 61% in the first quarter but had 8 turnovers that kept them from pulling away.
Hawks shot just 31% from the floor and 1 of 11 from three in the second half, but ATL took care of the ball (only 4 turnovers) and that helped to mitigate the cold spell.
— Brad Rowland (@BTRowland) December 24, 2018
The Pistons have to be asking themselves some serious questions in terms of team direction. Blake Griffin shot a horrific 4-14, scoring 15 points and missed two late free throws that would’ve changed the game.
Len has been a nice surprise all season and seeing him go toe-to-toe with guys like Griffin and Andre Drummond really helps out our depth at the frontcourt position. Funnily enough, if either big had been injured or in foul trouble, we would’ve had some serious issues as we only had Len and Dewayne Dedmon healthy.
Trae continues to shoot poorly but pass the ball very well, and if that shooting touch ever shows up then we’re in business boys.
As the Atlanta Hawks have won 3 in a row they are sitting in the 5th overall draft position right behind the Knicks.
The way the Hawks fought off runs from this Pistons team was encouraging as they opened the 4th with an 11-0 run and turned this from a blowout into an eventual 3-point game.
Guys like Kent Bazemore, Dedmon and Lin all look like eventual trade pieces and hopefully we can get some valuable picks/young players for these smart veteran contracts.
Anyways thanks for joining the Atlanta Hawks for what was an impressive road win and as always, GO HAWKS.