Atlanta Hawks: Lou Williams’ veteran presence was missed on the court

The Atlanta Hawks took out the Detroit Pistons on Monday in a runaway victory. This comes on the heels of a letdown against the similarly struggling Cleveland Cavaliers on Saturday. The final score of 122-104 might even be closer than the game felt in real-time. That was thanks to a couple of players who took command early and often.

Trae Young led the way with 32 points on nearly 62 percent shooting from the floor while knocking down 2-of-5 triples. Oh, he also dished out nine dimes and snagged four rebounds.

His running mate, John Collins, put on an aerial display as he is wont to do. He had 22 points on 64.3 percent shooting and 1-of-3 threes. Collins also had seven rebounds — which actually took away his double-double season average — with two assists, a pair of steals, and a block.

Still, there was something else in this game, that was missing from the others, that may have made a bigger difference than the box score shows.

The Atlanta Hawks missed veteran Lou Williams to start the season

Lou Williams’ nine points won’t make many headlines. Nor will his two assists, two rebounds, one steal, or one block to just one assist. Now in his 17th season, we know Williams — a three-time Sixth Man of the Year award winner — is a professional scorer. He averaged over 20 points per game off of the bench just a few seasons ago.

Just this past postseason we saw him step in for an injured Trae Young for two games, leading the Hawks to a win in one with a 21-point, eight-assist outing.

So it stands to reason that the Hawks, in particular their bench, missed the steadying presence Williams and fellow veteran Danilo Gallinari bring every time they step on the floor. Neither had played this season prior to Monday night’s contest.

Heading into the day, the Hawks bench was third in points per game.

However, they shot just 42.1 percent from the floor, 18th in the NBA. Even after Williams shot 50 percent from the floor and from beyond the arc, they are 21st in bench field goal percentage.

Much of that is due to Kevin Huerter being elevated to the starting lineup for the injured De’Andre Hunter and Solomon Hill replacing him among the reserves. But Williams still finished as a plus-12 on the evening, tied with Collins, Hill, and Kevin Huerter; just behind Young and Gorui Dieng.

They weren’t without Williams much last season as he only missed one game after being traded from the Los Angeles Clippers which Atlanta lost. He also didn’t play in the first three games after being traded from the Los Angeles Clippers. The Hawks went 1-2 in those games.

Gallinari issued 21 games and while the Hawks managed a winning record in his absence, they weren’t exactly dominant at 12-9.

Of course, there may be no direct correlation between the absence of the vets and the Hawks not being at their best. Any team would be worse off without key players. And Williams is closer to the end of the bench than the beginning at this point.

But, we also can’t deny the impact he and Gallo have on the bench unit as a support for the starters.

We’ll have to see if Wednesday is Gallos’s season debut. But it was certainly good to have Williams back on the floor for this one. Think of how close the Hawks came to losing him to another team or even retirement this offseason. Luckily, the player Young has called “a hero in Atlanta” (Young’s father said Williams is Young’s best teammate) back in the fold.