The worst thing the Atlanta Hawks (21-25) could do right now would be to look ahead. Not that they are, but there is a serious risk when taking a glance at the upcoming schedule. Sure, they have a tilt with the Phoenix Suns on the horizon. But a matchup with the Sacramento Kings offers more pitfalls than meets the eye.
Sacramento is coming off of a 53-point loss to the Boston Celtics, whom the Hawks will see just a few nights later.
It’s the classic trap-game scenario.
That is especially true given the outcome of their previous meeting, a 108-102 Atlanta win without the services of John Collins, De’Andre Hunter, or Trae Young. Hunter is an especially interesting figure in Wednesday’s contest.
De’Andre Hunter’s offense is great, but his defense will make the difference down the stretch
In the first matchup, the Kings got major contributions from De’Aaron Fox (30 points on 52.2% FG) and Tyrese Haliburton (24 points, 5-of-7 3P) in the backcourt. The only other Sacramento player to score in double-figures was Buddy Hield, another guard. That was more of an omen than many realized.
Opposing guard play would become the theme of their most recent losing streak as even those who were typically backups were setting or tying career highs.
Atlanta has since tightened up on some of that leakiness. They have been holding opposing guards to 63.4 percent shooting in the restricted area and 35.9 percent from the in the paint outside the circle over their current four-game winning streak.
The other team’s backcourt was shooting 65.5 percent from the circle and 44.2 percent from the non-restricted paint area before the streak started.
During the recent skid, those numbers were 67.4 percent inside and 59.9 percent outside.
That isn’t Hunter alone. He has admitted his explosiveness isn’t back to where it was before he initially tore his meniscus last season. He hasn’t quite been as quick laterally because of it but he’s still the best point-of-attack defender the Hawks have, especially now that Cam Reddish – who was better in theory than in reality – is in New York.
Hunter allows Kevin Huerter, who had 25 points off of the bench in the first meeting with the Kings, to slide down a defensive assignment. While Huerter has shown an ability to cover the other team’s best player, he is much better suited to hound the second option.
Having Clint Capela and Onyeka Okongwu healthy does wonders for the Hawks too.
But they were leaving their bigs on an island by failing to stay in front of ball-handlers.
Hunter has been one of the few capable of limiting Miami’s Tyler Herro and just held LaMelo Ball of the Charlotte Hornets to 1-of-7 shooting and limited forwards R.J. Barrett of the New York Knicks and Anthony Edwards of the Minnesota Timberwolves to a combined 6-of-15 shooting from the floor just since his return.
The Hawks defensive turnaround has been a group effort, to be sure.
But Hunter is the key in that he allows the rest of the squad to play with much more integrity instead of scrambling from incorrect guesses allowing them to pressure the ball.
Dre scored in double figures in the first half.@Kelly_Crull | @DreHunter pic.twitter.com/AyPjWckYxt
— Bally Sports: Hawks (@HawksOnBally) January 24, 2022
Hunter is also been on a tear offensively averaging 16.9 points on 47.1 percent shooting and 38.9 percent from deep since he returned from his wrist injury with 4.3 boards, 1.6 assists, and 1.0 blocks.
In his last four, he’s averaging 18.8 points on 47.3 percent shooting with 6.5 rebounds, 1.8 assists, and 1.3 steals, though, he has hit just two of his last nine triples.
He did take a nasty fall in the win over the Hornets, one of several bumps he took on the night.
Head coach Nate McMillan said that the third-year wing is still sore but he did go through practice on Tuesday. He’s listed as questionable with “lower back soreness” for Wednesday’s contest.