How do the Hawks get better defensively?

jayu70 · Post #161 » by **jayu70** » Fri Feb 14, 2020 4:00 pm

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CP War Hawks · Post #162 » by **CP War Hawks** » Sat Feb 15, 2020 12:28 am

A much better defender at two guard. A guy with quick hands and quicker feet. I saw a play where Jerami Grant was man to man with AD and just stone walled him while forcing a turnover. Not saying you need Grant in particular, but someone in that mold for sure.

So a versatile two guard and a defensive combo forward with the ability to contest shots and block them on the help side would be wonderful.

Rainwater · Post #163 » by **Rainwater** » Sat Feb 15, 2020 1:27 am

Why isn't time an option? Lol. All your core guys are young. You got two rookies and your best player is only in his second year. You got an excellent starting group with Hunter, Cam, Collins, Young, and Clint. And I think Huerter will be an amazing 6th man. And you guys have a decent pick coming next year. I expect next year you guys will be fighting for a playoff spot. But in two years I expect you guys to make the playoffs. We live in a microwave society but be patient your time will come.

Post #164 » by **Jamaaliver** » Sat Feb 15, 2020 2:44 pm

Rainwater wrote:Why isn't time an option? Lol. All your core guys are young.

That's a good point.

The poll/OP was actually from last March. Since then we have dumped Taurean Prince and brought in De'Andre Hunter, Cam Reddish and Clint Capela. We needed an upgrade of defensive players and clearly our GM has made that a priority.

I am really pleased with the overall collection of personnel he's acquired.

But I do regret trading up for Hunter when we could have stood pat and gotten Brandon Clarke and/or Matisse Thybulle.

But, at this point, I do agree it's just a matter of time.

CP War Hawks · Post #165 » by **CP War Hawks** » Sun Feb 16, 2020 8:10 pm

Rainwater wrote:Why isn't time an option? Lol. All your core guys are young. You got two rookies and your best player is only in his second year. You got an excellent starting group with Hunter, Cam, Collins, Young, and Clint. And I think Huerter will be an amazing 6th man. And you guys have a decent pick coming next year. I expect next year you guys will be fighting for a playoff spot. But in two years I expect you guys to make the playoffs. We live in a microwave society but be patient your time will come.

The thinking for some is the team needs to be playoff ready by the 2021 offseason. Collins is due a payday, Trae is guaranteed his rookie max... so why not position for a max guy while you can.

We know Ressler wants to go that route while Schlenk probably wants to build it slower. Collins, Trae, and now Cap changes the timeline. Those three make the team potentially top 6 in the East, and if the Hawks want to sign a marquee FA, you need to show them the organization is serious.

Rainwater · Post #166 » by **Rainwater** » Mon Feb 17, 2020 12:24 am

CP War Hawks wrote:
Rainwater wrote:Why isn't time an option? Lol. All your core guys are young. You got two rookies and your best player is only in his second year. You got an excellent starting group with Hunter, Cam, Collins, Young, and Clint. And I think Huerter will be an amazing 6th man. And you guys have a decent pick coming next year. I expect next year you guys will be fighting for a playoff spot. But in two years I expect you guys to make the playoffs. We live in a microwave society but be patient your time will come.

I think the potential is

The thinking for some is the team needs to be playoff ready by the 2021 offseason. Collins is due a payday, Trae is guaranteed his rookie max... so why not position for a max guy while you can.

We know Ressler wants to go that route while Schlenk probably wants to build it slower. Collins, Trae, and now Cap changes the timeline. Those three make the team potentially top 6 in the East, and if the Hawks want to sign a marquee FA, you need to show them the organization is serious.

A potential f/a should view themselves as the final piece that may push the hawks over the top as the key pieces are already there. Such a case would be similar to what LeBron did in his second return to the Cavs. The Cavs had the pieces and it was LeBron that push them over the top.

And honestly I don't think the hawks necessarily need another big time free agent I think the pieces are there already. I do think Cam and Hunter can develop into something special and plus you guys will have a lotto pick next year as well. With that being said, F/a would be a nice insurance policy if all else fails.

Post #167 » by **HMFFL** » Tue Feb 18, 2020 2:09 am

Can NBA All-Star Trae Young reach MVP level? Improving defense key to silencing skeptics

https://www.google.com/amp/s/amp.usatoday.com/amp/4771635002

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jayu70 · Post #168 » by **jayu70** » Fri Feb 21, 2020 1:46 pm

Coach Pierce called it!

Even then, it’s unclear whether the Hawks can defend well enough to compete for a championship with Collins and Young bookending them, especially if Hunter isn’t the defender Atlanta hoped he’d be when it drafted him. Collins’ limitations will require more support from the defenders around him; Huerter, Hunter, and Reddish must all become stronger, more versatile, and more disruptive, and Young simply has to compete harder on that end.

“He ain’t gonna get any bigger, so get peskier, get nastier, you get a little more physical,” Pierce said. “That’s how he has to approach it, and more importantly, what it does is it tells his teammates he’s in that fight and he wants to be in that fight and he embraces that fight.”

Post #169 » by **Jamaaliver** » Sun Feb 23, 2020 2:53 pm

Read on Twitter

jayu70 · Post #170 » by **jayu70** » Sun Feb 23, 2020 5:52 pm

I guess the answer is playing a zone defense. LP made the right call on this last night

Post #171 » by **Jamaaliver** » Thu Feb 27, 2020 3:31 am

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Post #172 » by **Jamaaliver** » Sun Mar 1, 2020 12:38 am

‘I didn’t expect us to be great’: The positive effects of Hawks’ zone defense

Atlanta is a bad defensive team. The Hawks rank 27th in opposing points per possession, at 1.02 points. But in a zone defense, they’re second in the league behind the Los Angeles Clippers, allowing just 0.82 points per possession. Most teams settle around two percent of their defensive time in zone. Miami leads the NBA in time spent in the zone, with 13.5 percent of opponents’ possessions. According to Synergy, the Hawks have operated out of the zone for 100 possessions, or 1.7 percent of the time, and the majority of those have come in February.

When the Hawks are in a zone, they’ve generally settled on a 1-2-2 scheme. Against Brooklyn on Friday, the Hawks ran zone on nine possessions, according to Synergy, and the Nets scored only once. That happened because Temple pulled up from well behind the 3-point line before he encountered the zone and drilled the shot. The other eight possessions consisted of five missed 3-point attempts, two turnovers and one foul called.

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Every player I asked about the zone defense said the same thing — the Hawks rotate much better and cover for one another in zone more effectively than they do in man. Why that is, they don’t know. None of them had an answer.

The Athletic

Post #173 » by **Jamaaliver** » Wed Mar 4, 2020 12:57 am

This a huuuuuge flaw with us shooting so many deep threes. It basically gives opposing teams a free, unchallenged fast break at the other end when we miss.

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D21 · Post #174 » by **D21** » Thu Mar 5, 2020 1:36 am

Jamaaliver wrote:This a huuuuuge flaw with us shooting so many deep threes. It basically gives opposing teams a free, unchallenged fast break at the other end when we miss.

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In this example, the main thing I see being stupid is not the long 3, it's fighting for a rebound position just under the basket, which is crazy as there's almost no chance that a rebound from a long three like this can end in this area.
And the two players in the corners take too much time watching the shot

jayu70 · Post #175 » by **jayu70** » Mon Jun 22, 2020 6:00 pm

LP, JC, KH and TY discuss.

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jayu70 · Post #176 » by **jayu70** » Sun Jul 5, 2020 8:09 pm

Our two wings each bring different defensive metrics/styles:
Cam is more of a steals, deflections, paying passing lanes, blocks guy.
Hunter is a one on one position defender, quick enough on the perimeter and strong enough in the post.

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jayu70 · Post #177 » by **jayu70** » Mon Jul 6, 2020 12:08 am

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Radioblacktive1 · Post #178 » by **Radioblacktive1** » Tue Jul 7, 2020 10:13 pm

I’m going crazy here, does anybody else remember the preseason game where Trae was locking the opposing PG up pretty well and we were all impressed

jayu70 · Post #179 » by **jayu70** » Sat Jul 18, 2020 8:00 pm

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Spud2nique · Post #180 » by **Spud2nique** » Sun Jul 19, 2020 2:09 pm

Radioblacktive1 wrote:I’m going crazy here, does anybody else remember the preseason game where Trae was locking the opposing PG up pretty well and we were all impressed

I believe it was against Orlando. The three headed monster in DJ, MCW and Fultz went 5-23.

Also a few games later, the Knicks point guards went 2-9 combined, Dennis Smith and Frank Ntilikina.

What needs to happen to fix the defense?