Atlanta Hawks: Studs and duds from loss to red-hot Warriors

Atlanta Hawks dud from collapse versus Warriors: Clint Capela was a no-show

Clint Capela didn’t do his part to dominate the weakness of the Warriors with just two points and six rebounds on a little over 23 minutes of action. It was the second game in a row the Swiss big man was held to 10 or fewer points and fourth time in 11 games.

The most disconcerting part of it is that he’s just 5-of-16 from the floor in that span, good for 31.3 percent. That includes his two-point,1-for-5 shooting performance on Monday night.

Capela was also shooting a career-best 68.2 percent from the free-throw line this season before going 1-of-4 free against Golden State in what was easily the 2021 rebounding champs worst showing of the new season.

Much of the disappointment stems from the fact that each of the last two games has set up for better offensive showings.

But he’s not out there for offense. He’s there for defense first and foremost. That was absent too on Monday, though, not completely to his discredit. After holding opponents to 46.7 percent shooting over the Hawks first seven games, that number has risen to 50.5 percent over their four-game skid.

He could be experiencing some fatigue after averaging 33.8 minutes per game over the Hawks games against the Wizards, Nets, and Jazz. That would be a career-high across an entire season and comes after he had a limited preseason.

Whatever the case, the Hawks need him to bounce back in a big way if they are to have any chance against the Utah Jazz.

That is assuming, of course, that Capela plays. Any number of Hawks could be out on the second leg of a back-to-back for that matter as McMillan has already said he will take advantage of the team’s depth to give guys rest throughout the regular season. We’ll see if he opt to go that route on Tuesday.