The Atlanta Hawks are now 3-2 and sit sixth in the East following their 122-111 loss to the hosting Washington Wizards. They had the chance to be tied for first right now. In the long run, this game might not mean much. There are still three more meetings between the two division rivals on the schedule, the next being on Monday.
This was a game that saw the Hawks solve one of the problematic trends they had displayed going back to last season: starting slow.
They scored 35 points in the first quarter of this one while shooting 58.3 percent from the floor and 42.9 percent from beyond the arc. The problem was they allowed the Wizards to shoot 50 percent overall and, even worse, 55.6 percent from deep.
For the game, the Hawks were the more efficient team overall.
The visitors shot 54.5 percent compared to 46.5 percent for the Wizards. Unfortunately, three is greater than two and Washington had a 38.2 percent to 28.6 percent for Atlanta. Three of the four Hawks to take at least 10 attempts shot better than 50 percent from the floor. De’Andre Hunter shot 44.4 percent from the floor.
The Atlanta Hawks were admittedly dissatisfied with defensive effort in loss to Washington
It was an off night for Trae Young as he had just 15 points on 35.3 percent shooting and 1-of-5 triples. He did add 13 assists and three boards. But Young was held to just one point in a bit over six minutes in the fourth quarter, going 0-for-3 from the field.
John Collins was a different story.
Collins has averaged 22 points per game over his last three. That is thanks in part to his 28-point, 12-rebound double-double as he has been the Hawks most consistent player.
He canned 14-of-16 shots, a whopping 87.5 percent, without attempting a single triple.
There is another Hawk, however, that is also trending positively and could soon force some tough decisions for the coaching staff.