Monday night's loss to the Houston Rockets was much, much more painful than the first half of the double-header affair.
While Atlanta was able to keep the game close for the vast majority of the game's duration, it was a gut-wrenching 14-0 Houston run deep into the fourth quarter that ultimately shot down a Hawks squad seemingly clawing their way back into a tough game.
At least Atlanta can take solace in knowing their weakness that cost back-to-back losses against the Rockets is rather easy to address - as long as Okongwu and Landale can find their shot again, gentler airs are ahead.
Okongwu and Landale's break-a-mirror shooting seasons continued to suffer against Houston
Jock Landale didn't receive excessive burn against his former teammates in Houston, but he once again failed to convert on any of his long-range shots. After an 0/4 performance the previous game, he couldn't get either of his two looks to fall in the second showdown.
Okongwu shot a subpar 1/4 from behind the arc after going 0/5 the game before - while losing out on a few points doesn't seem terrible in theory, it was Okongwu's inability to pull the Rockets' interior defenders out to seriously contest him from range that bit the Hawks.
With more attention paid to the Hawks' backcourt interior attack, the offense all but died out as the game progressed in the fourth. The infamous 14-0 run spearheaded by Alperen Sengun was ultimately the demise of the Hawks - perhaps a bit more floor spacing could have opened up the offense in such a dire time.
Time for a frontcourt shift in the A?
It's been typical of the pair of undersized Hawks bigs for their three-ball to drop through the net at a relatively consistent rate.
In fact, Okongwu and Landale were coming off their very best shooting seasons ever - Okongwu shot nearly 38% on over five looks per game from behind the arc, and Landale marginally exceeded such an efficiency on nearly three looks per game.
Obviously, it's far too early to demand a trade to push Okongwu out of his starting center position. After all, his unique ability to spearhead the "death lineup" as a versatile, movement big late last season was nearly unparalleled in the league.
That being said, if Okongwu (not extended this summer) can't find his shot and Landale can't mitigate the lack of an outside presence from the bench, don't be shocked if Onsi Saleh shakes things up sooner rather than later - especially given how impressive Atlanta's backcourt has been.
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