It was actually five games ago that the Atlanta Hawks seemed to show a different, increased energy level in what was ultimately a 106-93 loss to the Los Angeles Clippers. Following that game, Trae Young said the defense had stepped up the but offense had not. To Young’s point, the Hawks were coming off of allowing 130-plus points for the seventh time this season.
Since then, they have held four of their last six opponents below the 120-point threshold. Even more, they have scored 118-plus in three of those games.
The biggest development after the last two thrilling wins, which should push trade talk to the backburner for a little while, is the Hawks appear to be taking back their advantage at State Farm Arena.
The Atlanta Hawks have started cooking at home in State Farm Arena once again
Atlanta began the season 8-1 in their home gym. They entered the campaign openly talking about chasing homecourt advantage in the postseason and making State Farm Arena a tough venue for opponents. After their hot start, they proceeded to lose 10 straight at home until finally snapping the skid against the defending champs.
Their lowest points came when chants of “Let’s Go Heat” broke out at the end of their 115-91 loss to Miami and then falling to the New York Knicks after trading Cam Reddish to them.
The Hawks lost four of the five games in their five-game overall skid after giving up their last 130-plus-point performance to date. But little by little they began putting the pieces back together that allowed them to go on the run they has last season.
They’ve nearly doubled the number of loose balls they are recovering and are contesting nearly 23 percent more shots than they were before that last 130-point game.
Things have ratcheted up lately as the Hawks have avoided or outright solved their fourth-quarter and clutch scoring issues. They rank 21st in clutch scoring and 25th in fourth-quarter scoring on the season but rank to 2nd and third, respectively, over their last two contests; both wins at home.
They’re first in third-quarter scoring after ranking fourth prior to beating the Bucks.
Young scored 23 points of his 37 points in the third quarter on Wednesday and Atlanta outscored the Bucks and Timberwolves 72-50 in the second half in the last two wins.
"We've got to just keep doing what we're doing ... and not look too far ahead." pic.twitter.com/5e2B8f29jt
— Bally Sports: Hawks (@HawksOnBally) January 20, 2022
They still have a lot to clean up defensively, though, ranking 25th in opponent PPG this season and over the last two games, albeit with a nearly six-point increase.
The Hawks are also still in the bottom third of the league in terms of opponents scoring over this two-game winning streak ranking 21st but they are making them work for it. Other teams are shooting just 35.6 percent from the floor and 24.0 percent from deep.
Those numbers are 20 percent overall and a goose egg from three in the clutch.
This would be a great time for the Hawks to regain their mojo in their building. Nine of their next 14 games before the All-Star break are at home including Friday’s date with the Heat.