The Atlanta Hawks had a pretty bad loss against the Denver Nuggets in their last outing. Not only were they out played, but with the exception of Onyeka Okongwu who bought great energy to the court, they were out hustled.
Given how the Hawks out hustled teams last year, coming back from big defecits and showing a level the level of intesity required to get the Eastern Conference Finals, this was not acceptible. As stated previously, it is ok to lose in this league, but it is not ok to not put the effort in.
As reported by Sarah K Spencer of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution, John Collins admitted that normally their effort was there on defense but it was not against the Nuggets. This was a sentiment backed up by his head coach Nate McMillan, also reported by Sarah K Spencer.
The Atlanta Hawks could be looking at rotational changes
McMillan has said that he is looking at what he can do with the rotations to try and fix their defensive issues. Having Okongwu back is certainly going to help this but he is not going to be the solution to the whole problem.
The Hawks are not just going to be playing for the win, they are going to be playing for their place in the rotation. This is the greatest motivator for any professional athlete. Their future with the team could be in question if the coaching staff do not think they are putting in enough effort on the defensive end.
The Cleveland Cavaliers present an interesting matchup for most teams. They have the biggest front line in the league with Lauri Markkanen playing the small forward. They also have the very dangerous Darius Garland leading their backcourt so the Hawks will need to have multiple focuses on defense.
The Hawks need to arrest their losing skid at home. They would be much higher in the standings if they were able to keep it together at State Farm Arena. If they can put a better defensive effort together then they could start this against the Cavaliers.