In the Atlanta Hawks' season-opening loss to the Toronto Raptors, there were several reasons for fans to feel frustrated. However, I would argue the biggest and most overarching reason why the Hawks disappointed in the opener was their defense. If Atlanta's defensive energy and toughness can improve, they will be unstoppable in the very near future.
Obviously, there are some that are overreacting to this game. An entire season is not going to be defined based on the first 48 minutes and how these guys look while still trying to figure out things in the very beginning of a season. With that being said, the defensive focus is something that's going to have to make a turnaround, and there's plenty of reason to think it will.
If we look at the numbers, we see that the Hawks allowed a staggering 86 points in the paint, were out rebounded by 20, and outdone 34 to 11 in fast break points. Quin Snyder said it best in his postgame presser. "Toronto played hard," he said. "They ran. Anytime you give up 30+ fast break points and you couple that with 86 points in the paint ... They were getting in there a lot of different ways but I think transition, having urgency to get back, you start there. If you don’t get back and give teams easy baskets in transition it’s going to be tough to do anything after that."
The Hawks will have to step up their effort defensively
It's hard to win against any team in the NBA if you're not playing with a high level of intensity, and taking pride in your defense. We saw Toronto race out to transition buckets, and take advantage of lacking communication on Atlanta's part all night. For a Hawks team that added a good deal of length and athleticism in the offseason, this opening contest exposed how far off they still are from their ceiling.
This issue comes down to more than any one player. The Hawks certainly have the talent to be a great defensive team this season, but we all know that talent means little without the proper buy-in, effort and communication that goes along with it.
Overall, this is probably not something that Hawks fans are going to have to worry about for too long. Atlanta's defensive lapses were glaring, but they also felt like the kind of early season issues that are going to be corrected with focus and time. This team knows that once that switch flips, the rest of the league is going to remember why the Hawks were so hyped in the offseason.