The Atlanta Hawks have spoken openly about their belief that they can make the playoffs this season despite preseason doubts from the outside and roster shakeups during the campaign.
However, they have dropped six of their last eight games, including a potentially pivotal outing against the Orlando Magic on Tuesday. Following that loss, Hawks head coach Quin Snyder offered telling commentary about where his team fell short.
It is an issue that has plagued them for most of the season.
“I thought we were giving them a little too much space to drive the ball. There’s a fine line between being pressed up out on the floor and being too far back.” Snyder told reporters on April 9. “Sometimes when you’re not as solid in your pickup points, you give those guys a chance to kind of get downhill, and that’s hard. That’s when strength and size come into play even more, and you put yourself in positions where you’re susceptible to fouling.”
The Magic’s attack also opened the Hawks up to kickouts. The Magic were 6-for-12 on corner threes (the Hawks were 4-for-13).
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“Just little things like showing your hands, making them make a tough shot. They’re going to make some of those. But you foul them, you get to the line –,” Snyder said.
The Magic were more efficient than the Hawks in this game, shooting 50% overall and 41.2% from beyond the arc compared to 45.5% and 34.1%, respectively, for Atlanta. Orlando made just two more field goals while they two teams hit an identical number of threes, though.
They also attempted nine more free throws, but only sank four more than the Hawks.
“Whether it’s a turnover, or fouls, or making a few more shots, there’s a lot of little things on the margins that we need to do better to win,” Snyder said.
To Snyder’s point, the Hawks were minus-5 in the turnover margin and minus-6 in steals – despite having the current steals leader in Dyson Daniels – in the contest. Their giveaways being live-ball put additional stress on an already leaky defense.
Oversized Magic underscored Hawks’ shortcomings
The Hawks rank 13th in defensive transition frequency, per Cleaning The Glass. They allow the eighth-most points per 100 possessions, ranking 24th.
Against the Magic, the Hawks allowed a 12.5% transition rate (28th percentile) but allowed 150.0 PPP (75th percentile). Conversely, the Hawks had a 20% transition rate (85th percentile) and scored 94.4 PPP (19th percentile).
Specifically, the Hawks struggled off live rebounds on both ends against an oversized opponent.
The Hawks’ lack of size has increasingly become an issue in the final weeks of the regular season, and that could be an ominous sign for the postseason.
Atlanta could have to beat Orlando for a chance to make the playoffs.