Atlanta Hawks: 3 takeaways in second straight loss to the Hornets on historic night

Atlanta Hawks takeaway No. 1) Clint Capela needs help inside.

Now, just to clarify, I do not believe Clint Capela needs help inside when he is on the court. When he is manning the middle Capela is challenging every shot that comes near him. While he is not being credited with many blocks, he is changing shots inside the paint.

Capela is also rebounding at a high level, being second in the league with 13.1 per game. He is also a beast on the offensive rebounds, often giving the Hawks multiple second-chance opportunities. Unfortunately, unless he can get the tip in, the Hawks are missing a lot of the wide open looks he is giving them.

Where he needs help is when he is off the court. The Hawks do not have an effective shot-blocker on the court when Capela sits. While players like John Collins and Nathan Knight are capable of doing the job, Collins is often defending his player on the perimeter and Knight has not got the timing yet.

This led to a number of easy buckets from within three feet tonight which most NBA players do not miss. Ball scored a couple of times this way and gave several of his assists to players who were able to capitalize in a similar manner. Hopefully, when the Hawks get players back from injury they will be able to solve this issue.