On opening night, it was Dyson Daniels. Game two, it was Jalen Johnson. Once again against Oklahoma City, foul trouble plagued Atlanta en route to a demoralizing loss and a losing record one week into a season chock-full of promise.
While it wasn't the Hawks' stars picking up fouls against OKC, the dynamic frontcourt duo of Onyeka Okongwu and Mouhamed Gueye - well-known for each of their abilities to swat shots into the rafters - ended up bearing the brunt of the blame as far as struggling to maintain their aggression on the court thanks to picking up early fouls.
Early in the 3rd quarter, each big had three fouls - ordinarily, Quin Snyder would have had the luxury of benching the pair for any other combination of their frontcourt talents, but his well had nearly run dry: Jalen Johnson, Zaccharie Risacher, and Kristaps Porzingis were all out due to various injuries/ailments.
Lacking frontcourt depth before the ball was even tipped off, Snyder decided to keep each big man on the floor despite their foul trouble - a choice that ultimately gave Okongwu and Gueye nothing short of a dead man's hand.
Oklahoma City used Atlanta's lack of frontcourt depth to their advantage
Mark Daignault is an incredibly savvy strategic mind. As soon as he saw the report that the Hawks' three frontcourt starters would all be absent for their battle, he must've been grinning ear to ear.
Without their starting bigs, the pressure to contain SGA without fouling proved to be too immense for Gueye and Okongwu - either they pick up fouls, minimize their defensive aggression to avoid picking up such fouls, or both - no matter which route you choose, it's simply an impossible ask for such a young frontcourt to mitigate SGA's explosive offense.
Oklahoma City once again dominated Atlanta's interior defense. After a horrid opening night showdown against Toronto where the Hawks allowed a blasphemous 86 points in the paint and a less-than-stellar 52 points allowed the next game in Orlando, the Hawks once again couldn't hold down the interior against one of the league's most detailed interior attacks.
The bottom line for Atlanta is simple - if they can't keep their key players out of foul trouble (be it Dyson's four early fouls against Toronto, Jalen's five early fouls against Orlando, or Gueye and Okongwu's combined early six fouls against Oklahoma City), they lose their defensive edge, aggression, and ability to make explosive plays on the ball.
Quin Snyder must continue to emphasize the importance of disciplined defense for the squad, especially in an era that rewards savvy offensive engines like Gilgeous-Alexander for baiting fouls and initiating contact at will.