Can the Hawks Defense Improve?

[Jamaaliver]

I do foresee a ton of foul trouble for Clingan as a rookie:

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[Jamaaliver]

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[Jamaaliver]

Personnel improvements...

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[Jamaaliver]

Ehhhhhhh.....

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[Jamaaliver]

I fully expect Dyson, Kobe and Zacc to be competing to be on this list next season.

[Jamaaliver]

I do believe the additions of Dyson and Risacher can turn around the defensive culture around this squad.

Combined with leaps from Kobe and Okongwu, we now have the dogs to really make life hell for opposing wing players.

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[tbhawksfan1]

I do believe the additions of Dyson and Risacher can turn around the defensive culture around this squad.

Combined with leaps from Kobe and Okongwu, we now have the dogs to really make life hell for opposing wing players.

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Larry...?

[Jamaaliver]

Larry...?

Sure.

Assuming he stays here for the whole season...or even gets any playing time.

[Jamaaliver]

I expect Zacc and Dyson to be this caliber of wing defenders very soon.

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(I'm starting to see a ton of similarities in how the Knicks roster is structured and how the Hawks roster is structured.)

[Jamaaliver]

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[Jamaaliver]

This is a fun exercise...

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[Jamaaliver]

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[Jamaaliver]

Spoiler:

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[Jamaaliver]

I expect some serious improvement in these numbers for us with Dyson, Kobe and Zacc being added to the rotation.

[Jamaaliver]

Can Hawks Fix their Defense?



The Atlanta Hawks have some big-picture questions to answer, not the least of which being the long-term viability of Trae Young as their cornerstone. They may not need to get quite that existential if head coach Quin Snyder can finally figure out how to address a problem area that has persisted for years.

In five of the last seven seasons, Atlanta has finished with a bottom-five defensive rating. Not since 2016-17, when the roster and coaching staff were completely different, have the Hawks graded out above the league average in defensive efficiency.

Rookie Zaccharie Risacher has the length and smarts to become a quality contributor on that end, but can he be ready immediately? Will either Clint Capela or Onyeka Okongwu shut down the paint and control the glass? Does last year's breakout forward Jalen Johnson have another gear on D?

Young is what he is: a vulnerable point-of-attack target who has never capably defended his position. The Hawks will always have to cover for him, and that'll mean plenty of scrambling, switching and extra work by the other four players on the floor.

Can Snyder coax passable defensive work out of a group that allowed a franchise-worst 119.4 points per 100 possessions in 2023-24? If not, another 30-something wins will be the result, after which those existential questions will creep to the forefront.

Bleacher Report

[Jamaaliver]

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[Jamaaliver]

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[Jamaaliver]

I have no evidence to support it, but I'm definitely taking this as an attack on Trae.

Your days are officially numbered, young'n.

Spoiler:

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[jayu70]

Here’s more from the Southeast:

If the Hawks want to improve their 36-46 record from last season, a good place to start would be to perform better in clutch situations, particularly on the defensive end, Williams writes for The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. “I think having clarity down the stretch, and the biggest thing is getting stops,” Snyder said Thursday. “It’s hard to score late in an NBA game. You have to make shots (and) sometimes those shots are more contested. The way to score is to get stops and to score in transition. One thing that will be important for us is there’s a mindset where you can continue to attack, and there’s also a mindset where not one player has to do that.”

https://www.hoopsrumors.com/2024/10/southeast-notes-daniels-hawks-martin-hornets-sarr.html

[Jamaaliver]

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