The Atlanta Hawks are loving Delon Wright’s defense

The Atlanta Hawks traded for Delon Wright in the offseason, giving up Kris Dunn and Bruno Fernando to get the talented combination guard. The trade involved Dunn and Fernando going to the Boston Celtics, receiving Tristan Thompson in return. They then flipped Thompson to the Sacramento Kings to get Wright.

It was a mystery why Wright was not getting playing time at the start of the season. However, that changed when coach Nate McMillan chose to play Wright with Lou Williams, and together as a backcourt, they are showing a great deal of promise.

Last season McMillan tried Trae Young and Williams as a backcourt when the Hawks needed some greater offensive emphasis. This was not a good move from a defensive standpoint. However, getting the defensive acumen of Wright means that the Hawks have such a solid guard rotation.

The Atlanta Hawks need Delon Wright to play positive big minutes.

Wright played 29 minutes against the Philadelphia 76s and scored a grand total of two points on 1-of-2 shooting. However, he had a plus-ten impact on the box score in that time which was huge in the context of the game.

This was because of the fact that he was always active on both ends of the floor. He collect three steals and one rebound on the offensive end to go along with five defensive rebounds. However, it was his work in the passing lanes which had the biggest impact on the game.

Wright was able to collect three steals which led to some good transition offense. The 76ers started being very careful when Wright was patrolling the floor. This had an impact on their ability to move the ball and create open looks.

Wright has started to show why the Hawks coaching staff wanted to get him. He had an offensive explosion against the Indiana Pacers which helped the team to a win showing that he has the ability to step up in the absence of the Hawks wings.