The Atlanta Hawks would like to replicate their success from last season, that much is for sure. Their in-season turnaround to make a run for the Eastern Conference Finals was a wild ride to put it lightly. But, as any Hawks player will tell you, that was last season. This is a new campaign complete with unique challenges.
Of all the possibilities, the offense probably wasn’t going to be anyone’s first guess coming in even with the Hawks nursing several injuries.
But, in their 116-98 loss to the Jazz, their poor three-point shooting did them in.
The Atlanta Hawks had a rough go of it from behind the arc on both ends against Utah
On the season, the Hawks are scoring 6.9 fewer points per game even as they have taken more shots overall and grabbed more boards. They have seen their efficiency fall 2.1 percent from the floor and 3.4 percent from three-point range.
They finished the night with 28 attempts, about two fewer than their season average.
But they could only hit 7-of-28; a lowly 25.0 percent. It was their worst performance from long distance this season but already their fourth shooting below 30.0 percent from outside.
They started off abysmally, shooting 2-for-11 from beyond the arc in the first quarter. In the second, they went 0-for-5. Atlanta tightened things up in the second half, going 5-of-12 from distance in the second half.
However, their three-point defense was just as broken as their shots as the Jazz went from 5-of-20 on their first-half threes but 12-of-21 in the second half. That included a 15-point outburst from the reigning Sixth Man of the Year, Jordan Clarkson, who was 3-for-3 from three in the third. He finished with 30 points after being 1-of-8 for five points in the first half.
This is the second game in a row the Hawks let an opponent go off on them in the third quarter.
Kevin Durant had 15 points and was 2-for-3 from three in Wednesday’s loss to the Brooklyn Nets.
The Hawks are 19th in defensive three-point percentage on the year, allowing opponents to can their triples at a 34.4 percent clip. However, they’re 28th in that category over the last two games where they’ve allowed the Nets and Jazz to shoot 43.8 percent from downtown.
Clint Capela did finish with another double-double. And De’Andre Hunter had 14 points on 77.8 percent shooting, though only two points came after halftime. John Collins — who along with Bogdan Bogdanovic was a game-time decision — was the only other Hawks player to score in double-figures.
Having lost four of their last five games — and the second leg of both back-to-backs they’ve played so far — the Hawks are searching for answers.
Trae Young (21 points, seven assists) said they need to “figure out…who’s going to sacrifice for this team to win…” after the loss to the Jazz. Nate McMillan has been preaching that message since the summer and now we know why.
The head coach believes their often-stagnant offense is affecting their defense and, at this point, it’s hard to argue with him.
Next up is a road date with the Phoenix Suns on Saturday. They are averaging 117 points per and shooting over 40 percent from outside over their last two contests.