The Atlanta Hawks have had a resurgence under new interim coach Nate McMillan. A big part of this is that players are now going on the court knowing their role and then executing that role. This has led to McMillan earning the Eastern Conference coach of the month honor for March.
John Collins was responding extremely well to McMillan, setting a career-high with 38 points against the Golden State Warriors and the “best defender to ever play in the NBA” in the form of Draymond Green.
Collins seems to be re-energized, being active and engaged the entire time he is on the court. There were games under coach Lloyd Pierce that Collins would be dominant in the first half and not get a shot for the entire second half. Tellingly, Collins has a negative plus/minus in only five games of the 13 he has played under McMillan, including the game where he injured his ankle.
The Atlanta Hawks cannot catch a break on the injury front.
The Hawks have had so many injuries this season, they would be forgiven for tanking for another high draft pick. However, they are not doing that and the team is switched on, and they are finding a way to win.
Collins injured his ankle against the Phoenix Suns and the already depleted Hawks have shown resilience in the face of adversity. They won the two games since Collins was sidelined and that was at the end of an eight-game road trip.
Now, let’s take a look at the five players who have stepped up already, but will need to keep producing until Collins comes back. That may be at the end of the week, or it could be longer. Ankles are notoriously hard to predict.
Atlanta Hawks player stepping up No. 1) Solomon Hill
Solomon Hill was a player who signed on at the veteran’s minimum during the last offseason. He showed during the bubble how his defense has the ability to impact games. He also has a solid 3-point shot, which he has deployed at a 33.1 percent effectiveness, slightly down on his 33.6 percent career number.
However, he keeps getting larger chunks of court time than he would normally get on this team given the injury issues. Under McMillan, Hill has slightly improved his shooting, up to 35.7 percent from deep, a small rise but sometimes that is all that it takes.
However, looking at the two games so far that Collins has been out, Hill has stepped into the starting role. This is to keep the Hawks’ potential sixth man of the year, Danilo Gallinari coming off the bench. This is a true McMillan move, he values Gallinari’s bench production so much he is willing to sacrifice a little with his starting unit.
Hill has responded by averaging 5.0 points, 5.0 rebounds, and 1.5 assists over the two games, all of which are an increase on his regular-season averages. His rebounding numbers are more than double his season average.
However, Hill is not being overwhelmed, he had a minus five impact on the box score against the San Antonio Spurs and a plus 19 impact against the New Orleans Pelicans. As long as Hill holds his own when he is on the court, he has done his job for the team.
Atlanta Hawks player stepping up No. 2) Onyeka Okongwu
The rookie, Onyeka Okongwu has been a different player in the last two games. This has coincided with the arrival of Lou Williams who knows how to use a big man who lives close to the hoop, given what he achieved partnered with Montrezl Harrell.
For the first time in his career, Okongwu had a double-digit scoring night against the San Antonio Spurs and then followed it up with another one the night after against the New Orleans Pelicans. He does not have the ability yet to replicate Collins scoring efforts but averaged 10.5 points for the two games, which is way higher than his season average of 3.2 per game.
However, Okongwu has also stepped up his rebounding in the past two games. His season average is 2.6 rebounds per game, with Collins out he is averaging 7.0 per game, missing out on a double-double by a single rebound against the Pelicans.
If Okongwu can keep this level of production up, or at least something similar, then he is a good chance to keep earning rotation minutes even when Collins returns. He is now able to show why he was considered the second-best big man in the 2020 NBA draft and this will allow McMillan to rest his better big men for what could potentially be a deep playoff run.
Atlanta Hawks player stepping up No. 3) Danilo Gallinari
Even though he has only played one of the two games that Collins has been out, Gallinari has shown how valuable it is to have a veteran big man on the bench. When he was injured, Gallinari was clearly the missing big man out of the rotation for what he can offer his team.
With Collins out Gallinari had his biggest rebounding night of the season. He collected a double-double with 16 points and 12 rebounds. Both of these numbers are above his season numbers of 12.9 points and 3.9 rebounds per game.
Gallinari would miss the next game against the New Orleans Pelicans to rest his ankle on the second night of a back-to-back. However, it is going to be Gallinari’s continued production that is going to be the key to the Hawks continuing to build on this momentum.
They have four home games coming up and Collins production has historically been good against some of these teams, including the Warriors who he torched last time out. Gallinari may not replicate his points production but look for the big man to get down into the paint and help on the boards every chance he gets.
Atlanta Hawks player stepping up No. 4) Clint Capela
Surely the Swiss pivot could not be asked to do any more than he is, could he?. Clint Capela is leading the NBA in rebounding and is third in blocked shots per game. Well, in the two games since Collins has been out Capela is doing exactly what his team needs.
He had 28 points, 17 rebounds, and five blocks in the double-overtime thriller against the San Antonio Spurs. This was a huge effort considering his starting frontcourt partner was Hill, a solid defender but does not do much work inside the paint.
The next night, after playing 44 minutes against the Spurs, Capela produced another double-double against the Pelicans with 14 points and ten rebounds. He also collected six blocks in just under 29 minutes before he was rested for the final quarter due to the Hawks being so far up.
What was even more impressive is that Capela was sent to the line 16 times in the two games and made 14 of them. Considering he was shooting at just above 50 percent for the season before these games, he is accepting greater responsibility.
Until Collins returns, Capela is going to have to be doing almost all the dirty work in the paint. He will welcome the responsibility and other teams are going to struggle against the Hawks in the paint.
Atlanta Hawks player stepping up No. 5) Bogdan Bogdanovic
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After coming back from injury, Bogdan Bogdanovic has been used in a combo guard role, helping as the secondary playmaker. This has allowed him to create his own shot more and as a result, the Hawks are benefitting from the play which made him so valuable in the last offseason.
If you include the game where Collins was injured, Bogdanovic has averaged 25.3 points, which is well up from his season number of 12.0 points per game. He is able to get to his spots and is making a really good percentage of his shots.
In the three games, he is 14-of-24 from deep, or 58.3 percent. This is even better than Tony Snell‘s league-leading 57.1 percent from deep. What makes this even more impressive is that Bogdanovic didn’t have Trae Young starting beside him in the game against the Pelicans and he was still able to dominate.
Bogdanovic has been able to step up and is scoring at a level that helps minimize the impact of losing Collins. However, his playmaking is opening up the floor for the Hawks with six assists per game over the last three. This team is showing that there is no mountain too high for them to climb under McMillan.